The Armenian kitchen is hundreds if not thousands of years in the making, combining fresh flavours and spices from its own fertile soil along with borrowed flavours retrieved by its expansive diaspora. If invited in for dinner, accept; it could very well be the best memory from your trip. Armenian cuisine combines elements of the foods of all its historic neighbours – Arabic, Russian, Greek and Persian – but remains distinctive. The quality of local produce is high, and the fruits and vegetables on offer are fresh and packed with flavour. This is because crops are often grown on a small scale in villages and backyards across the country without the use of greenhouses or pesticides. Meat isn’t factory farmed, as evidenced by highway cow and sheep traffic jams.

If there’s one word for dining, it’s khoravats (barbecued meat). Pork is the favourite, though lamb, beef and sometimes chicken are usually available too. Ishkhan khoravats is grilled trout from Lake Sevan. Siga is another good grilled-fish dish. Kebabs are also very common. The signature herb is dill – Armenians use it in innumerable dishes but especially in salads.

Broadly speaking, western Armenian cuisine has a Levantine influence, while eastern Armenian cuisine incorporates Russian and Georgian influences. Besides khoravats, staples include dolma (rice wrapped in vine leaves), spas (yogurt soup) and lavash fresh from the oven. Khash is a thick winter stew made from animal parts. Starters include cold salads, farmyard-smelling cheese and dips such as matsoon (sour yogurt) and jajik (yogurt with cucumbers and fennel). Cured meats include sujuk (dark, cured spicy sausage) and basturma (finely cured ham).

There are few strictly vegetarian restaurants in Armenia but many restaurants offer beet salads and veggie stews made with tomatoes, rice, eggplants (aubergines), zucchinis (courgettes) and a profusion of herbs and spices. Western Armenian cuisine features hummus, tabouleh, labneh, fatayer (cheese or spinach pastries) and other vegetarian dishes associated with Lebanese cuisine.

In Yerevan, you will find a booming restaurant scene with international cuisine available everywhere. Much Armenian cooking is based on lamb, either grilled and served as shashlik with flatbread, or prepared as soup or stew - often in combination with fruit or some form of nut.

Some local specialties:

Shampours - skewers with marinated meat and vegetables.

Ghapama - pumpkin stew with rice, raisins, apples, and cinnamon.

Khash - A broth made from ham-hocks and herbs with a tradition going back centuries.

Take a wine tasting tour:

Considering that Armenia has a 6 000-year-old history of making wine it's probably unsurprising that the region produces 500 unique and native varieties of grapes - virtually unknown to the world outside Armenia. If you are a wine lover, taking a wine tour is a must. Sadly most of the wineries were shut down during the Soviet era but over the last decade, Armenia has rediscovered its winemaking roots.