ENTER A PRODUCT: Submission #31

General Info
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Product name: Borbara
Category:
Category: Dolci

Geographic area:
Geographic area: Jordan
Latitude: 30.585164
Longitude: 36.238414
Location: 30.585164,36.238414
Formatted Address: Giordania
Country: Giordania
Country Code: JO


Product description
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Product description:
Borbara, also known as Saleeqa, is a sweetened and flavoured pudding consisting of boiled wheat grains, raisins, walnuts, almonds with cinnamon, anise and honey or molasses that got replaced with sugar in recent history.

Gastronomic use:
This dessert is generally prepared for winter’s celebrations among Middle Eastern Christians in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Palestine, Turkey and Georgia, especially for Saint Barbara’s day (December 4 in the Gregorian calendar, December 17 in the Julian calendar), which is the start of winter celebrations for Christians. 

Relationship with the local ecosystem and processing:
The process of making Borbara begins by preparing the wheat grains through sifting them, to remove impurities such as gravel, then washing and soaking them with water in the cooking pot for three days. Borbara is made traditionally on wood fire. The pot is placed on the fire and the wheat is stirred until cooked. Ground cinnamon, fennel, anise and sugar are added to the mixture, before it is served in bowls decorated with raisins, walnuts and almonds. 

Culture and history:
The general belief among Levantine Christians is that Saint Barbara, a Christian Saint and Martyr, disguised herself in many different characters to elude the Romans and was miraculously saved from persecution while fleeing, running through freshly planted wheat fields, which grew instantly to cover her path. Therefore, this miracle is celebrated symbolically by planting wheat seeds (or chickpeas, barley grains, beans, lentils, etc.) in cotton wool on Saint Barbara’s feast day.
During the celebration, Middle East Christians adults and children traditionally wear disguises and go around houses in the village dancing and singing the story of Saint Barbara. In each house, they are offered food specially prepared for that feast, like Borbara.
It is not clear when people in the area started practicing this traditional religious celebration, but it could date back to the ancient religion of the Levant due to the sacred status of wheat in ancient civilisations.
Nowadays in Jordan Saint Barbara’s day is mostly celebrated only by making the Borbara, the last trace of this ancient and widespread celebration.

IS IT PRODUCED BY AN INDIGENOUS PEOPLE / COMMUNITY?: NO

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- Image: https://medsnailgeodatabase.famp.es/slowfood/sites/default/files/webform/segnala_un_prodotto_bk1/37/Borbara.jpg