Armenian Cuisine

Armenian cuisine is one of the oldest continuous culinary traditions in the world, rooted in a highland civilization that has cultivated wheat, grapes, apricots, and pomegranates for millennia. Armenia is widely regarded as one of the cradles of agriculture: the wild ancestors of wheat and barley grew on its plateaus, and archaeological evidence suggests that bread-baking and wine-making were practiced here over 6,000 years ago. The Areni-1 cave has yielded the world's oldest known leather shoe and winery, dating to approximately 4000 BCE, placing Armenian viticulture among humanity's earliest.

Situated at the crossroads of empires, Armenia absorbed and resisted influences from Persia, Rome, Byzantium, the Arab Caliphates, the Mongols, and the Ottoman and Russian empires. Each left traces in the kitchen: Persian-influenced pilafs and fruit-based sauces, Ottoman-era kebabs and stuffed vegetables, and Russian preserving traditions.

Yet Armenian cooking maintained its identity through the centrality of lavash bread, the ritual importance of lamb and grain dishes, and the ancient Christian fasting traditions that produced an extensive repertoire of meatless preparations. Lavash (thin, unleavened flatbread baked in a tonir clay oven, inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list), bulgur wheat (the basis of pilafs, kibbeh, and salads), pomegranate (used as juice, molasses, seeds, and garnish), dried fruits and nuts (apricots, walnuts, and almonds are central to both sweet and savory cooking), and sumac (providing a citrusy, sour accent to meats and salads).