Pantry guide
Best Smen for home cooking
What Smen is for, which kitchens use it, and where to find a jar worth cooking with.
Why cooks start here
Butter that was put away on purpose: salty, tangy, and the fat a couscous still wants when the pot is almost done.
A spoon into a finished couscous or a pot of lentils. Do not fry with a lot of it unless you like the whole house to smell like the jar. Fresh butter plus a pinch of salt is a weekday stand-in. It will not be the same.
If you buy a jar, smell it. It should be sharp and savory, not simply sour. A little goes on bread. A little more goes in the pot.
Authentic Moroccan Cuisine
Bring the full collection home—authentic recipes, cultural notes, and a beautiful book for your table or as a gift.
Related kitchens
The Moroccan pantry, pots, and table
The spices, mixes, and hearths that belong to Moroccan cooking — then the people around them, and the kitchens still joining the table.
Open the Moroccan pantry Open Moroccan cookware The Moroccan table Host a Moroccan night Join the community