Tunis — Tunisia’s spicy sauce harissa was added on Thursday to the intangible cultural heritage list of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
The item “Harissa, knowledge, skills and culinary and social practices” passed the examination at the 17th session of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage ongoing in the Moroccan capital Rabat.
Harissa is made by drying chili peppers in the sun before splitting them, removing their stalks and deseeding. The chili peppers are then washed, ground and seasoned with salt, garlic and coriander using a pestle and mortar or a manual meat mincer.
Harissa is used regularly in the country and is a culinary tradition, according to UNESCO.
The Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage was adopted at the 32nd General Assembly of UNESCO on Oct. 17, 2003, to protect the world’s intangible cultural heritage.
This year’s session, which ends on Dec. 3, evaluates over 50 nominations submitted by States Parties for inscription on the Lists of the Convention.
Xinhua