Fun And Interesting Facts About Middle Eastern Food

Fun And Interesting Facts About Middle Eastern Food

Here at the Kabab House, a middle eastern restaurant near Disney World, we specialize in more than just kabobs. In fact, we offer a range of authentic choices with inspiration from Morocco, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East. Of particular note are our kabobs, gyros, and shawarma, in part because we prepare their ingredients fresh daily. Despite the fact that all our menu choices are reasonably priced we are still able to offer all of our meals using fresh ingredients.

Kabob Delivery

At the Kabob House of Orlando, you can order online with a flat-delivery rate of just $4.99 (which is less expensive than most pizza chain rates, we’d like to point out). We often have specials and select discounts, so be sure to ask us about them when you call us!

Make A Reservation

You can also make a reservation to dine-in with us. Of particular note for folks searching online for “kid-friendly restaurants near me” or perhaps “family-friendly restaurants in Orlando,” is that kids eat half-off with parents! That’s right, come see us any day of the week from 11 am to 1 am (every day) at 3293 Oxford Dr, Kissimmee, FL 34746, and you can get a delicious, healthy, and affordable meal from the Kabob House. That “affordability” component is only magnified by those kiddos, with their insatiable, ridiculous appetites, being able to eat for 50 percent off!

However, we must digress about the virtues of our own kebab shop (some people spell it “kabob” while others “kebab” - we don’t discriminate, so we’ll use both). We have a promised blog topic to get to, so let’s get at it! Keep reading if you are interested in some fun and *ideally* interesting facts about middle eastern food!

Middle Eastern Cuisine Fun Factoids

Disclaimer: we will be discussing foods that won’t be found on our menu in addition to some that are. For example, Turkish delight, will not strictly being a “Middle Eastern” food is still fair game despite the fact that we do not offer Turkish delight. Our blog, our rules!

  • Since we are already talking about Turkish delight, the semi-gelatinous treat which originated from Istanbul in the 18th-century, saw its popularity skyrocket after the Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe made its cinematic debut in 2005. And while we are fans of the treat, we can’t help but wonder if many a child to try it for the first time was somewhat disappointed when it came to expectations vs. reality. The movie described the treat as a near-supernatural, addictive sweet. In retrospect, that probably has something to do with the fact that there was a witch involved and she likely made the candy extra-delicious.
  • What is the essence of Middle Eastern food? We aren’t an official authority on the matter, we can tell you a few of the most important and commonly used ingredients. Lentils, beans, vegetables, chickpeas, olives are significant, as are lamb, beef, and chicken. Other protein-rich sources include yogurt, cheeses, and legumes.
  • Popular spices include cumin, nutmeg, turmeric, parsley, mint, caraway, and more.
  • When it comes to bread, pitas and flatbreads are popular choices whether you are dealing in Moroccan, Middle Eastern, or Mediterranean cuisine. They are served across multiple countries and have made their way into other cultures’ cuisines. You can even find them at Subway for crying out loud.
  • Let’s a misconception about hummus; people in the Middle East do not eat it with every single meal, despite what you may have heard. Still, it’s an incredible side dish, but it remains exactly that - it is not a main dish. If, however, you have found your way to this blog in search of one thing and one thing only, we can provide a remedy at the Kabob House of Orlando. Our Hummus dish, a blend of chickpeas pureed and flavored with garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil, is just $4.99. Our Hummus with Shawarma dish is comprised of a neat bed of hummus with diced or sliced marinated meat. If you’ve never had the latter’s combination before, we strongly recommend you give it a go!
Kids Eat 1/2 off with parents. Call Now
  • While we are tackling misconceptions and stereotypes, Middle Eastern food is not the same as Mediterranean food, and neither is it the same as Greek food. Mediterranean food refers to food from Morocco, France, Turkey, Spain, and even Greece. And while there might be some crossover (or, more likely, confusion) between the two, some Americans would do well to realize that many Middle Eastern countries are nowhere near the sea. This impacts cuisine as in a significant way.
  • Wheat and rice are the underlying staples which most Middle Eastern food adheres to, although barley is also a predominant resource as well. Barley is more often used in cheaper bread and is also used to make gruel and porridge in certain regions. Westerners will find it interesting to learn that corn, or maize, is not commonly used, save for the select region of the Black Sea coast of Turkey and in specific regions of Egypt. But there’s no buttered and salty corn on the cob consumed here - they turn it into a kind of cake which is eaten as bread.
  • The USAID, the United States Agency for International Development, has spent the last four decades partnering with people from the Middle East in order to promote local economies, provide employment, and convert agri-business into a globally competitive industry. Practically speaking, this means the USAID has been working with farmers in the West Bank, Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, and beyond to support these farmers and their work. Crops harvested include dates, eggplants, zaatar, grapes, honey, olives, and strawberries. For more information about this initiative, check out this handy PDF.
  • Speaking of dates and Egypt, did you know that Egypt produces the most dates out of any country in the world? We did.
  • Did you know that McDonald’s restaurants in many Middle Eastern countries offer the “McArabia”? You can get this pita dish with grilled kofta or chicken. We’d be remiss if we failed to point out that you can get a superior dish here at the Kabob House - plus you don’t have to travel to the Middle East to visit a McDonald’s!
  • Eggplants are commonly known as the “potato of Iran” in some circles.
  • Have you ever woken up one morning and asked yourself, “where, when, and how was the world’s largest hummus plate accomplished?” No? That’s okay, we’ll answer the question anyway. It was made in 2010 in Beirut, Lebanon. It weighed some 10,668kg. In our opinion, quality always wins over quantity.

Visit Us Today

We are open late, we offer great Halal food choices, we aren’t expensive, kids eat half-off, we deliver...must we go on? What are you waiting for? You can order online and get your local Mediterranean food delivered, in case you are feeling like a couch-eggplant, as they say in Iran. Quite honestly, we aren’t exactly sure how you’ve made it to the end of this post without coming to see us and ordering our delicious Middle Eastern food.

But like we said, we aren’t here to discriminate - only offer delicious, savory kebabs, gyros, shawarmas, hummus plates, falafel, and more. Come see us soon, and don’t forget that we cater, too!