Nuts ….an ancient profession in the old City of Damascus

Damascus was famous for making nuts and exporting them to various Arab and foreign countries, and some nut stores have existed for more than 250 years in their location in Medhat Pasha Market in the old city of Damascus.

When you walk through the market you smell the aroma of roasted nuts of various kinds from the shops specialized in making them and presented in a distinctive and colorful way.

The 70-year-old craftsman Issam Nizam, known as Abu Safwan, who has been practicing this profession for nearly 45 years, said that this profession is one of the ancient professions inherited by the Syrians and continues to this day.

“My brothers and I inherited this profession from our father who on his part inherited it from our grandfather who created this manual roasting machine in 1950,” said Abu Safwan.

He pointed out that all types of nuts follow one roasting method, and some of them need to add special colorings and flavors such as hot pepper, thyme, cheese, ketchup and some spices during roasting.

He explained that the mechanism of work begins when all kinds of nuts are washed with a special machine and sterilized, then salt is added with water and left for 24 hours to ferment, after which it is placed in a large copper vessel then the roasting process begins until the water evaporates and the salt remains mixed with it, which is an essential ingredient in the roasting process.

According to Abu Safwan, this profession requires paying great attention to hygiene in addition to the experience in knowing the percentages of added spices, the required temperature, and the duration of exposure of materials to heat according to each type.

Abu Safwan works with approximately 22 types of nuts, which he brings from several governorates in addition to Chinese and Japanese nuts.

He indicated that this profession depends currently on technological development that saves time and effort for workers, through the use of electric machines that stir materials during roasting, noting that he and his three workers continue to work in this profession despite all the difficulties they face as it is an ancient craft inherited from their ancestors.

RawaaGhanam