Amlou

What it is

Amlou is a spread made from three ingredients: roasted sweet almonds, argan oil and honey.¹ The national portal maroc.ma describes it as a traditional Amazigh paste, simple in its ingredients and rich in cultural meaning.² In the Encyclopédie berbère the dish appears under the name amalu.³

Where it comes from

Amlou comes from the Souss and is one of Morocco’s most sought-after regional products.⁴ The argan tree, from whose kernels the oil is pressed, grows in the south-west of the country, above all in the western Anti-Atlas, where it climbs to altitudes of 1,500 to 1,700 metres.⁵ In the cuisine of the Chleuh, the Amazigh of the south-west, argan oil plays the role that olive oil has among the Berbers of the Tell, and goes into many dishes and pastries.⁶

The practices and know-how concerning the argan tree have been on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage since 2014.⁷ This knowledge is carried above all by rural women, who obtain the oil in many stages, from harvesting and drying to grinding in the hand mill, and pass it on to their daughters.⁸ The oil is used in cooking, given as a wedding gift and added to festive dishes.⁹

History

In the Encyclopédie berbère of 1986, Lagdim Soussi counts amalu among the long-keeping provisions of the Berbers of southern Morocco.¹⁰ For it, almonds are roasted, crushed and mixed with argan oil and wild honey; travellers and shepherds take the mixture with them as food for the road.¹¹

What it is made of

In the two traditional recipes that a 2024 study used for comparison, almonds make up around 76 to 80 per cent, argan oil 16 to 20 per cent and honey 4 per cent.¹² Modified versions are also on the market, for example with peanuts instead of almonds or with sunflower or soya oil instead of argan oil.¹³

How it is made

Khadija Oubla, head of the women’s cooperative “Fermes Vertes”, describes the preparation as follows: the almonds are sorted and cleaned, roasted golden brown over a low heat and, once cooled, ground into a smooth paste in traditional or modern mills.¹⁴ Argan oil is added little by little, with constant stirring, until the paste is creamy, and finally honey to taste.¹⁵

When

In the Souss, amlou is on the table in many families when the fast is broken during Ramadan, often straight after the dates.¹⁶ It is eaten with breads such as tafarnout, msemen or baghrir; amlou is also used as a filling for pastries and is served to guests with tea on Ramadan evenings.¹⁷ In many villages and homes it is offered to visitors as a sign of welcome.¹⁸ According to the English Wikipedia, it is usually eaten at breakfast or with afternoon tea.¹⁹