Gender differences fading in Maghreb kitchens

[Al-khiyal]

Gender differences fading in Maghreb kitchens

April 25, 2010 -- As the weather gets warmer across the Maghreb, souks are filling up and tables are groaning beneath delicious dishes prepared by women and, to an increasing degree, by their husbands. But the path to mastering the art of preparing the famed fare is different for every aspiring cook. Traditional Maghreb cuisine is highly intuitive, with recipes often including quantities that are rarely measured in grams and millimetres. The well-known saying "your eye is your weighing-scales" is put to the test in the typical Maghreb kitchen. This is why it is so important to take note of every detail that appeals to the senses, such as the texture of semolina or the sound pasta makes as it is kneaded.

Observation is the real first step towards learning how to cook, these Maghreb maestros of the kitchen agree. "I must have been twelve years old, and I felt frustrated at only being allowed to peel and prepare the ingredients while my mother was busy in the kitchen," Farida recalls with a grin. "But this was how I learned to cook, little by little, without even really realising it," she adds. "She got me involved in making our traditional cakes just before Eid. It was only a few years later that my mother had enough faith in me to delegate some or all of the job of making a meal to me," Farida explains.

Although mothers who are gifted cooks often inherited their own talent and enthusiasm for tasty dishes, they do not always pass on their culinary skills. Their intuitive methods often discourage young girls from learning how to cook. This can make communication between mothers and daughters difficult, as 30-year-old Leila complained. "Heaven knows my mother was wonderful, but I learned nothing or almost nothing from her. A bit of this and a pinch of that, that’s what she used to say to me, and in the end, I didn’t remember much," Leila says. "She had difficulty delegating tasks or even admitting that she had changed her recipe a little. 'Traditional recipes are sacred and untouchable.' Not very encouraging, is it?" she asks.

Absent detailed instructions, many people turn to cookbooks to get it right. Those written by famous Moroccan chef Choumicha are particularly popular. There are many collections of Algerian books about traditional or modern cakes, such as one written by Madame Benberim, who runs a cake-making school. Along with the cookbooks, a growing number of websites, blogs and forums attest enthusiasm to all things culinary. French or Arabic web forums such as Cuisine Testée or Lakii have become a medium for passing on knowledge. On the cooking blogs, photos of culinary successes evoke admiration from readers. Cooks are also willing to share their failures, posting pictures as proof of what other people should definitely not attempt to replicate.

While precise quantities of ingredients and exact cooking times can be reassuring for a beginner, there is no substitute for watching a maestro at work. Books and websites cannot replace home-based learning. "Of course, you can find a lot of recipes on the internet, but there’s nothing like family know-how," says Leila. "I learned to let my mother do her thing with her recipes. But her methods are totally different," she tells Magharebia. Younger cooks prefer recipes and menu specifics. So much for chef's intuition. "I come along with my measuring jug, my weighing-scales and sometimes my camera, and then try to note down the number of grams and degrees as best I can so that I can preserve this ancestral and valuable knowledge," Leila adds.

In the past, people would learn to cook, first by watching, then by helping, and finally by doing. Little has changed. People laugh as they admit that whether they become experts or not, the wives of the future will still start out by learning from their mothers. "I am fortunate to have been immersed at a young age in two different cultures and gastronomic tastes," says 34-year-old Hanane. "On the Tunisian side, I learned early on to appreciate spices and condiments. On the French side, I always think of my maternal grandmother, a true Breton, who made me discover traditional French dishes, rustic and quite generous." She continues, "My mother was not terribly interested in cooking, but I don't see that as a handicap, since it gave me a chance to improvise a lot of dishes, sometimes good, sometimes bizarre, like the chocolate omelette I'll always remember!" "My French grandmother let me follow the development of the recipe and responded in detail to my questions," she recounts. "On the other hand, I had trouble extracting the special cooking tips from my Tunisian mother-in-law," she says, smiling. "So if I got the ingredients right, she was vague about the measurements. Finally, with both of them, I learned by watching."

It is not just the women who learn the art of preparing food by watching their mothers or wives. In the Maghreb, male cooks are a growing breed. Many are often forced by circumstance into preparing food. Men often make their first efforts in the kitchen when they become students. Tired of eating sandwiches on the go, they sometimes ask their mothers for advice about recipes or improvise simple but increasingly elaborate dishes with a few ingredients. Other men learn to improvise when their wives are unable to cook because of work or other obligations. What starts as a task can become a genuine interest. Hanane's husband developed a passion for cooking. He learned one step at a time from watching, not from a cookbook. Because he now knows his way around a kitchen, the entire family is able to try cuisines from different influences and appreciate distinctive flavours.

Haykel is another of these new male culinary adventurers. "As a child, he often had the chance, while waiting for dinner, to watch his mother get the food ready, and it was only natural that he would copy her later on. His cooking is different from mine, it’s more rough-and-ready, simpler and more spicy," his wife Chiraz says. "I like to let him take over sometimes. But I have to be careful, as he's not very fond of criticism," Chiraz tells Magharebia with a smile.

A young bride who does not already know how to cook finds herself learning from her husband's mother, but it happens in a more discreet fashion. Young women say they find it difficult to ask for clarification and put themselves in the position of a student. "When I got married, I didn't even know how to boil an egg, but I was afraid to appear ignorant in front of my mother-in-law, who was a great cook," Saida tells Magharebia. "I observed a lot, virtually spying on her every trick, in order to replicate it all later at my own home," she says. "There have been many failures, of course, but little by little, I found my footing."

[sania]

I am a self learner and experimentor.
What I cook cannot be classified into known dishes.
But they taste good, simple and healthy.