Food

Moroccan cooking is known as one of the best, maybe the North-African equivalent of French cooking. Specialities are numerous and diverse, from North to South, and spices are used by skilled hands, to mix flavours and avoid them clashing. Many recipes use both salt and sugar.

Tummy upsets, the plague of the traveller, can happen with just a change of climate, or a change of diet… and you can also catch it in Europe! Food in Morocco is of a high standard, and Moroccans themselves are very concerned with freshness and quality. There is a high demand for natural, organic produce. The usual precautions should be enough to avoid trouble – peel any fruit or vegetables and drink only bottled water. In large cities, ice-cream bought in shops is as safe as in Europe, and delicious; beware of buying from small stalls.

The Moroccan diet is a Mediterranean one, with lots of vegetables, chicken, beef, goat – and sometimes hedgehog. Pigeon and lamb are reserved for celebrations. There are lots of salads in the summer, not to be avoided because everything is carefully peeled and diced (even tomatoes). Dessert is usually fruit – Moroccan oranges with cinnamon are delicious. Dates, fresh or dried, and olives, may be eaten at any time of day. Breakfast is copious, with pancakes, bread, cheese, olive oil, mint tea and coffee, very often with milk.

Oil is used as cooking fat, fish is fried, seldom grilled, and can be found nearly everywhere, with deliveries to inland towns at least once a week, and when you’re on the coast, the harbours are full of small fish restaurants. Meat is grilled, after soaking in a marinade all night. Tajines, of meat or fish are cooked slowly and long, with the many ingredients added one after the other. Meat is never served rare.

Water can be drunk safely in the major cities (Casablanca, Rabat, Marrakech). It may have a bad taste, either because of added chlorine, or because of minerals acquired in the mountains. You can wash your teeth with it, but it’s pleasanter to drink bottled water, which you can find in all small shops and which costs between 5 and 10 dirhams for a litre and a half, depending on the shop and the brand. Mineral water (Sidi Ali, Sidi Harazem…) tastes better than spring water (Ciel, …). There are many springs in Morocco, and generally their water is filtered by the mountains or the sand. If you ever want to try them, take it directly at the source, and only if the fountain has been built so that it can’t be soiled by animals. Green tea was introduced to the Maghreb around 1830. It spread all over, is boiled (yes, boiled!) with mint or absinth (cheba) in the winter, or with rosemary. It is always served very hot and very sweet. Spices and herbs are everywhere – caraway, turmeric, coriander, ginger, saffron, cardamom, cinnamon, parsley … When buying spices at the souk (market), you can ask for a “ras-el-hanout”, a special mix, specially made for each dish.

So many dishes not to miss: tajines, of course, with chicken and pickled lemon, or with beef, with fish, couscous, and sfa (a semolina cooked with raisins, sprinkled with cinnamon and milked), pigeon pastille (minced pigeon mixed with eggs, almonds, spices, cooked in brick), cornes de gazelles (sugar-covered shortbread crescents), briwat, msamem (a sort of thin pancake), even the simplest dishes are delicious. You can also taste rayit, a kind of thickened milk, eaten with a spoon, sugared or flavoured with fruit.

Alcohol and pork. It is possible to find alcohol in any supermarket, but it is expensive. You can also find a lot of “delicatessen” made with turkey, and real bacon can be found in a few supermarkets in large cities only, and at a very high price. Moroccans drink, even if not obviously, but the pork taboo is very strong.

To do one’s own shopping, to wander in the souk can be a pleasure or an ordeal, depending on your point of view. You’ll get called to by everyone, caught in conversation, and you’ll learn not to answer. Some habits can also be shocking, such as customers probing the meat to choose the best piece (don’t forget that meat is always very well cooked!). You’ll find an abundance of spices, pastries and cakes for a few coins.

To eat with Moroccans. If invited into a Moroccan family, you’ll most probably have to eat in the large common dish where everyone takes their piece, with the right hand and a small piece of bread. If you can’t do that, don’t hesitate to ask for help – a fork, knife and spoon will appear! If you do eat the Moroccan way, be careful to take only what is in front of you (and your hostess will push in front of you the best pieces, in a quantity you won’t be able to manage), and that you eat the vegetables before starting the meat (which is often split into small pieces by the hostess). Most important of all, use only your right hand to eat or drink with. You’ll be served lemonade or cola, and will have to ask for water if you want it.

You can also have a look at our Moroccan recipes, and , why not ? at our cooking week-ends, a few days in Morocco to enjoy the souk, learn the spices and the secrets of this wonderful art, transmitted from mother to daughter.

Climate

Clothes

In large cities and tourist areas, you can dress quite freely. Bare backs, shorts and short skirts are accepted… but they attract attention. In the rest of the country, as soon as you leave the beach, or the club area, you should not show too much leg, and always wear a shirt or T-shirt, preferably with sleeves.

The deeper you go into the rural community, the more you should cover up. In the Atlas mountains or in the South, long trousers are compulsory, and long sleeves are recommended when you go through a village. To many Moroccans, T-shirts look like underwear, and it’s better to wear a proper shirt.

You’ll notice that men are dressed as decently as women, and, just like women, often cover their heads. Wearing the veil is an “individual decision”: in cities, you will often see a group of friends walking together, some veiled and some not. In villages, this individual decision is strongly influenced by social pressure…

Evening and nights can be cold, so you’ll appreciate good socks and a pullover, in winter even an extra polar fleece. You might buy a wool jellabah, or a short, thick wool jacket that keeps the cold out very effectively.

A type of turban known as a chesh is a traveller’s best friend. It has a cooling effect in the heat, and keeps you warm when the weather is cold. At all times, it protects you from wind and dust. There are several ways to tie it, but in each you leave tail hanging at the side that you can bring back in front of your mouth. In the South, you’ll find them everywhere, at prices ranging between 20 and 50 dirhams. When you buy one, check that it is colour-fast. If you’re told it loses its colour, soak it for an hour or two in vinegar, and rinse it with clear water to fix the dye. If you don’t know, or if you can’t soak it, choose a white one. Nothing is pleasanter in hot weather than to dip your turban in cool water and put it back on your head – but beware of colours that will run and leave marks on your clothing!