Food habits and traditional food consumption in the Northern Badia of Jordan

Abstract EN

In this study, the information on food habits and traditional foods were collected from the community of Northern Badia in Jordan, through field visits to five different locations in the area.

Data included: main meals, pastries, drinks, herbs, wild plants and foods offered in special occasions.

Information were also obtained from a selected sample of 560 young women on food consumption patterns regarding the main daily meals, food frequency, women and children diets and weaning and breast-feeding practices.

Results demonstrated a special food-occasion link in this area.

There was a marked emphasis on the use of certain foods or dishes in various religious, social and cultural occasions such as feasts, Ramadan fasting, wedding parties and death ceremonies.

There was also a focus on some traditional meals and foods during pregnancy and lactation and after childbirth and infant weaning.

Breast-feeding was usually practiced for 9-12 months with emphasis on certain foods for infants.

Data obtained from interviewing the young women showed that chamomile, thyme, mallow, scorzonera were at the top of the list of wild and local herbs consumed.

Foods most commonly included in breakfast of these women were bread, cheese, eggs and thyme with some variation between married women and single girls.

On lunch, however, bread, cooked chicken, lentils, rice and vegetables, salads, tea, carbonated beverages, and sweets were traditionally served.

In supper, which is the main meal eaten by the majority of the study sample, bread, cooked vegetables, salads, tea, were the most frequently consumed foods, and to a lesser extent milk, fruits, lentils and chicken were served.

An apparent seasonal variation in the consumption of these foods was noticed.

It is concluded that people of the Northern Badia of Jordan, like any other Jordanian subcommunity, have their own traditional foods, food habits, and dietary practices.

These practices are generally similar to those of the Jordanian community at large with some special practices, which are dictated by the nature of their rural or nomadic environment.

Many of the current practices are inherited with noticeable modifications probably due to changes in the lifestyle and the influence of media and transportation facilities, which characterize modern life.