Seasonal cooking
Drying and Sun-Preserving in the Moroccan Summer
In the Moroccan summer, the sun is not just something to shelter from — it is a tool. The same fierce heat that empties the streets at midday is put to work drying and preserving the season's abundance. On rooftops and racks and mats across the country, tomatoes, figs, apricots, peppers, herbs and strips of meat are laid out to shrivel and concentrate in the sun, storing the flavour of high summer against the leaner months to come. It is one of the oldest and thriftiest traditions in the Moroccan kitchen.
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- 7 min
- Season
- Seasonal cooking
- Updated
- 20 July 2026
At a glance
- The intense summer sun is used to dry and preserve seasonal abundance.
- Tomatoes, figs, apricots, peppers, herbs and meat are all sun-dried.
- Drying concentrates flavour and allows storage without refrigeration.
- Rooftops, mats and racks in full sun are the traditional drying spaces.
The sun as preserver
Long before refrigeration, drying was the primary way to preserve a glut. Morocco's dry, blazing summers are ideal for it: the low humidity and high heat pull moisture from food quickly, halting spoilage and concentrating sugars and flavour. When a crop comes in faster than it can be eaten fresh — a tree heavy with figs, a market glut of cheap tomatoes — the surplus goes up onto the roof to dry.
The technique is simple but skilled. Food is spread in a single layer on clean mats, trays or racks in full sun, turned regularly, and brought in at night to avoid the dew. Depending on the food and the heat, drying takes anywhere from a day to a couple of weeks.
What gets dried
The summer drying season covers fruit, vegetables, herbs and even meat, each stored for its own later use.
- Figs: split and sun-dried into sweet, chewy dried figs — a staple winter and Ramadan food.
- Apricots and grapes: dried into apricot leather and raisins (zebib) for the pantry.
- Tomatoes and peppers: halved and dried to concentrate their flavour for winter cooking.
- Herbs: mint, thyme, oregano and verbena dried for tea and seasoning through the year.
- Meat (kaddid): salted, spiced strips of meat sun-dried for preservation, kin to khliaa.
The dried harvest through the year
The point of all this drying is to carry summer's abundance forward. Dried figs and raisins sweeten winter tagines and appear on the Ramadan and Ashura tables; dried herbs flavour the tea and the cooking; dried tomatoes and peppers deepen the stews of the cold months; and dried meat becomes a store-cupboard flavouring. Nothing is wasted, and the flavour of the peak season is banked against the lean one.
Sun-drying sits alongside Morocco's other great preservation techniques. For the fat-preserved meat tradition, see khliaa preserved meat; for the salt-cured citrus, making preserved lemons; and for the raisin tradition, grape harvest and raisin-making.
Frequently asked questions
What foods are sun-dried in Morocco?
A wide range: figs, apricots and grapes (into dried figs, apricot leather and raisins); tomatoes and peppers (to concentrate their flavour for winter); herbs like mint, thyme and verbena (for tea and seasoning); and strips of salted, spiced meat (kaddid). The summer sun preserves all of them against the leaner seasons.
Why is the Moroccan summer good for drying food?
The summer combines intense heat with low humidity, which pulls moisture from food quickly and evenly — ideal for drying. This halts spoilage and concentrates the sugars and flavour of the food, allowing it to be stored for months without refrigeration. It is a natural, energy-free preservation method.
How is food dried in the traditional way?
Food is spread in a single layer on clean mats, trays or racks and placed in full sun — often on rooftops. It is turned regularly for even drying and brought in at night to avoid dew. Depending on the food and the heat, drying takes from a day (for herbs) to a couple of weeks (for some fruit and meat).
What is kaddid?
Kaddid (also gueddid) is meat that has been salted, rubbed with spices such as cumin, coriander and garlic, and sun-dried into firm strips for preservation. It keeps without refrigeration and is used as a savoury flavouring in tagines, beans and soups. It is closely related to khliaa, which adds a fat-preserving step.