{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,11]],"date-time":"2026-09-11T13:23:02Z","timestamp":1789132982236,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":51,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"19","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,9,30]],"date-time":"2024-09-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1727654400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia","award":["PNURSP2024R675"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["PNURSP2024R675"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Plants"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Women are the \u201cguardians of the kitchen\u201d and central to household food security, yet their role has never been studied across the Hindukush region or Pamiri Knot. This study explores the women\u2019s knowledge (specifically from the Khowar (Kho) and Wakhi linguistic groups) of local food systems and determines their role in ensuring household food security and sustainability in the mountain regions of northern Pakistan. Based on in-depth semi-structured interviews with female informants in the Rech and Broghil valleys of upper Chitral, 91 different types of food products were recorded, including wild and cultivated species. Eremurus stenophyllus and Allium barsczewskii were the commonly utilized plant species, though distinct preferences between the Kho and Wakhi groups were noted. Prominent differences were perceived in using certain cultivated plants among the two ethnic groups. For instance, Kho preferred plants like Beta vulgaris, Zea mays, and Brassica napus as indicated by the use reports, while Wakhi concentrated on Thymus serpyllum, Zygophyllum obliquum and Papaver involucratum. Both groups had shared dairy practices, but cottage cheese and curd were highly cited among Kho, while double-fermented curd and Qurut for Wakhi. The study recorded some new food uses for specific plants, such as Atriplex\u00a0hortensis, Carthamus tinctorius, Hylotelephium spp., and Saxifraga sibirica. Cross-culture analyses revealed a mosaic pattern of homogenous and heterogenous trends based on reported food species of plants\/animals and their use reports. Our findings emphasize the significant role of women in sustaining local food diversity, food sustainability, and the preservation and security of the local food systems, cultural legacy, and household food management. Therefore, inclusive research addressing their social, economic, and environmental issues must be conducted. Furthermore, policies must incorporate women\u2019s traditional knowledge to build resilient food systems.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/plants13192747","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,9,30]],"date-time":"2024-09-30T11:32:05Z","timestamp":1727695925000},"page":"2747","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Women\u2019s Knowledge of Local Plants and Their Gastronomic Heritage in Chitral, NW Pakistan"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Arfaa","family":"Sabbah","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Environmental Sciences, COMSATS University Islamabad, Abbottabad Campus, Abbottabad 22060, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9978-3866","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Arshad Mehmood","family":"Abbasi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Environmental Sciences, COMSATS University Islamabad, Abbottabad Campus, Abbottabad 22060, Pakistan"},{"name":"University of Gastronomic Sciences of Pollenzo, Piazza V. Emanuele II, 12042 Bra\/Pollenzo, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5926-771X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Muhammad Abdul","family":"Aziz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics, Ca\u2019 Foscari University of Venice, Via Torino 155, 30172 Venezia, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Fahdah Falah","family":"Benhasher","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Geography and Environmental Sustainability, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Princess Nourh bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2302-6380","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Andrea","family":"Pieroni","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University of Gastronomic Sciences of Pollenzo, Piazza V. Emanuele II, 12042 Bra\/Pollenzo, Italy"},{"name":"Department of Medical Analysis, Tishk International University, Erbil 4001, Iraq"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9553-1829","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ali Abdullah","family":"Aldosari","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Geography Department, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2456, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0101-1014","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mansour K.","family":"Gatasheh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biochemistry, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Muhammad","family":"Amin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Environmental Sciences, COMSATS University Islamabad, Abbottabad Campus, Abbottabad 22060, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,9,30]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"238","DOI":"10.5539\/jfr.v1n1p238","article-title":"The value of women\u2019s indigenous knowledge in food processing and preservation for achieving household food security in rural Sudan","volume":"1","author":"Ibnouf","year":"2012","journal-title":"J. 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