Mouneh: The art of preserving food

Preserving the season’s bounty

In Aleppo, food followed the rhythm of the seasons. Our meals were planned around what was in season, what looked fresh at the market, and what we had preserved in our mouneh.

Mouneh is the art of processing and preserving the season’s bounty through canning, fermenting, or drying, ensuring that these foods can be enjoyed later in the year when they are out of season. Okras were cleaned and eggplants were cored then strung on threads and left to dry in the summer sun. Grape leaves and olives were kept in big jars of brine to be preserved for the whole year. Fresh milk was transformed into cheese and preserved in salted water.

Preparing the mouneh was a family affair. Women would gather to make mouneh, turning the labor of preservation into a communal celebration. They sat together in kitchens or courtyards, peeling, chopping, and making jars of jam or pickles. Conversation filled the air as recipes and family stories were shared alongside tips for the perfect mouneh. The work was a social ritual, passing down traditions from one generation to the next.