Armenian food in the USA
The Armenian woman is expected to catch pride in her kitchen, and get ahead of this skill on to her daughters. Nutritionally, the Armenian diet is rich in dairy, oils, and red meats. It emphasizes subtlety of flavors and textures, with many herbs and spices.
Given that so much time and effort is needed for marinating, stuffing, stewing, U.S. Armenian restaurants lean toward the expensive multi-course evening fare, not fast food or take-out. Traditional Armenian foods drop into two categories: the shared and the distinctive.
The shared part of the Armenian diet is the Mediterranean foods widely familiar among Arabs, Turks, Greeks. This includes:
Appetizers, for example:
- humus
- tabouleh
- baba ganoush
- madzoon.
Next, main courses like:
- pilaf (rice)
- imam bayildi (eggplant casserole)
- foule (beans)
- felafel (vegetable fritters)
- meat cut into cubes called kebabs for barbecue ( shish kebab)
- boiling ( tass kebab )
- ground into kufta (meatballs)
Thirty bakery and desserts like:
- pita bread,
- baklawa, -bourma,
-halawi,
-halvah,
-mamoul,
-lokhoom; and beverages like espresso or oghi (raisin brandy).
The distinctive part of the Armenian diet is unlikely to be found outside an Armenian home or restaurant. This includes: Appetizers like:
- Armenian string cheese,
- manti (dumpling soup),
- tourshou (pickled vegetables),
- tahnabour (yogurt soup),
- jajik (spicy yogurt),
- basterma (spicy dried beef),
- lahmajun (ground meat pizza),
- midia (mussels);
Main courses like:
- bulghur (wheat),
- harisse (lamb pottage),
- boeregs (flaky pastry stuffed with meat, cheese, or vegetables),
- soujuk (sausage),
- tourlu (vegetable stew),
- sarma (meat/grain fillings wrapped by grape or cabbage leaves),
- dolma (meat/grain fillings stuffed into squash or tomatoes),
- khash (boiled hooves);
Bakery and desserts like:
- lavash (thin flat bread),
- katah (butter/egg pastry),
- choereg (egg/anise pastry),
- katayif (sweets),
- gatnabour (rice pudding),
- kourabia (sugar cookies),
- kaymak (whipped cream); and beverages like tahn (a tart yogurt drink).
Traditional recipes go back 1,000 years or more. Though demanding, their preparation has become almost a symbol of national survival for Armenians. A vivid example of this occurs each September in the Republic of Armenia. Armenians gather by the thousands at the outdoor grounds of Musa Ler to share harrise porridge for two days. This celebrates the survival of a village nearly exterminated in the Turkish genocide in 1918 (as described in Franz Werfel's novel, Forty Days of Musa Dagh ).
Armenian cuisine is not so much a static set of recipes, as a way of food preparation and a Middle Eastern, Mediterranean pantry. Armenian cuisine is not so much a static set of traditional recipes as it is an attitude and approach to food and to cooking. Partly, this has to do with the fact that a standard mixture of seasonings - known as chaimen- flavors most prepared dishes.
Besides the chaimen, garlic, onions, peppers, lemons, cinnamon, oregano, mint, tahine (tahini, a sesame seed paste), mahleb (ground cherry pits, available in Middle Eastern specialty stores) and olive oil round out the rest of the Armenian seasoning storeroom.
While vegetables, fruits and grains tend to take center stage in a meal, lamb is also a basic ingredient, with its unique flavor forming the basis for hearty soups and stews (abours), as well as a wide variety of other dishes.
And then there is yogurt - not the mild or heavily sugared concoctions known in America, but rich and pungent custard made from scratch.

One sample of best and very popular in USA, Armenian food is Hye Quality Bakery. This is America’s Source for the Best in Authentic Armenian Cracker Bread Products. Since 1957, Hye Quality Bakery has been regarded as bakers of America’s finest authentic Armenian Cracker Bread.
The popular cracker bread is still made the traditional way using the finest all-natural ingredients from a time-tested family recipe.
Hye Quality Bakery developed America’s first soft cracker bread in 1980. These Hye Rollers are shipped across the country daily, and are perfect for all appetizer recipes that require a quality soft flatbread.
The Hye Rollers have been a favorite of chefs throughout the country since they introduced them over thirty years ago.
Chefs insist on the baked to order freshness available in several flavors to complement, not dominate creations and delicious rollup sandwiches.
Customers from all over the U.S. are using their online store to purchase their tasty Armenian cracker bread products.