Food Culture and Tradition

Blog

  • Austrian Food and Culture

    Food and Culture in Austria

    Small wonder that the Austrian is said to be preoccupied with the subject of food. For over 600 years the vast Austro-Hungarian Empire enveloped the languages, traditions, and food customs of more than a dozen nations. Even today, Vienna conjures up visions of opulent architecture, lilting waltzes, and mounds of whipped cream. And though 1918 saw the end of the empire and the opulence, the love of music and intense appreciation of an Austrian cuisine remains.

    With seemingly endless appetite, the Austrian feinschmecher (gourmet) enjoys pastas, veal dishes, and tomato sauces from Italy, potato dishes and sauerkraut from Germany, dumplings in great array from the Czech Republic, vegetables and rice dishes from the Balkans, sour-cream cookery and soups from Poland and Russia, coffee from Turkey. But from Hungary, Austrians will only willingly admit to the acquisition of paprika. Their beloved strudel and torten, crescents and rolls, and fine breads are, how-ever, of Austrian origin. When in Austria no one would dare argue otherwise.

    If this claim of absorption with food seems unjustified, one should consider that although Austria is a predominantly scenic and mountainous country, its manicured farms, pastures, vineyards, and orchards produce all the necessities of the diet and do so relatively inexpensively. From Austria’s granary in Lower Austria come wheat, barley, rye, and corn as well as grapes from the vineyards. From Styria, over 170 branches of the “Fresh Egg Service” supply eggs, while other areas produce fruits and berries, cattle and dairy products. And though Vienna is highly industrialized, the city is surrounded by areas engaged in mixed farming and animal husbandry. The smallest Alpine province, Vorarlberg, caters to the complete set of sweet teeth that every Austrian has, and produces famed chocolates and candies.

    Despite an immersion in food, wine, and music, the country’s history is not a happy one. As in most empires, those who were forcibly made a part of it resented their oppression. Torn between German and Hungarian affiliations, most immigrants solved the dilemma by referring to themselves not as Austrians but as Czechs, Slovaks, Slovenes, Croatians, Serbs, Magyars, Romanians, Ukrainians, Poles, Jews, Italians, or Macedonians. But in 1918, after Austria was established as a republic, almost 90 percent of her population was Roman Catholic and almost 99 percent were German-speaking.

    Though most Austrian immigrants to America speak German and are German in spirit, they have — with the exception of the groups mentioned above – melded into North American society, caring little for Austrian newspapers or Austrian organizations, yet their ties and justifiable pride in Austrian cuisine remain.

    Domestic Life

    The neat little Austrian kitchen has everything necessary to prepare fine foods lovingly, with everything in its special place. The kitchen may be the work-shop, but the dining room is the stage; fine linens, fresh flowers, and sparkling dishes have retained their importance here.

    Even with the presence of supermarkets and avail-ability of prepared foods and mixes, canned and frozen delicacies, the Austrian homemaker prefers to shop daily in her favorite small specialty shops where she feels certain the proprietor will give her the best. Fresh fruits and tender fresh vegetables are still favored and their seasonal succulence is treasured. Because of the routine of daily shopping, large refrigerators are really not a necessity, but cold pantries are still filled with a proud array of home pickles and preserves, prepared when time permits.

    Currently there is some deviation from this traditional pattern, as increasingly women are taking jobs and finding their cooking and shopping time limited. Supermarkets and the prepared-foods industry are expanding and even the long-established pattern of six meals a day is shrinking both in number and quantity of food consumed as people became more acutely aware of a healthier lifestyle.

  • Glossary of Foods and Food Terms in Australia

    GLOSSARY OF FOODS AND FOOD TERMS

    Anzac Crispies: crisp oatmeal cookies. Beetroot: common name for beets.

    Biscuits: common name for cookies, many of which are also known as Kiwi Crisps, Maori Kisses, Hokey Pokey Biscuits, Moomba Fingers, and so on.

    Brawn: a jelled mix of cooked cubed beef, veal, and pork.

    Capsicums: common name for red and green sweet peppers.

    Castor Sugar: finely granulated white sugar.

    Chiko Rolls: snack food similar to small Chinese egg rolls.

    Chooki: chicken.

    Cofa: solidified block of coconut oil used mainly in desserts.

    Cream Sponge: a light sponge cake, split and filled with whipped cream and fresh fruit.

    Cumquats: a variety of tiny oranges, sour in taste and used especially in sugary preserves.

    Damper: quick bread, mixed with a knife, and made with self-rising flour and milk or water. It may be baked in the oven or directly on coals (the outer crust would then be scraped off and discarded).

    Egg and Bacon Pie: a quick luncheon or supper dish prepared by lining a piecrust with bacon strips, then breaking in the desired number of eggs, and finally topping with an egg/milk-glazed pastry, and baking till set.

    Floater: a meat pie served floating in soup – usually pea soup.

    Goanna: large fatty lizard, often eaten grilled.

    Granny Smith: a variety of apple, bright green and crisp.

    Hogget (or Two-Tooth): name given to sheep from nine to twenty months old, having passed the lamb stage but not yet matured.

    Kabobs: meats that are sliced or cubed and threaded on skewers for barbecuing or broiling.

    Kromeskies: mixture of diced cooked meats and seasonings, wrapped in bacon then dipped in fritter batter and deep-fried. These are served as appetizers and eaten dipped into tomato sauce (ketchup).

    Kumera: sweet potatoes or yams.

    Lamington Cake: butter cake, usually frosted with chocolate icing and coated with shredded coconut.

    Mince: ground meat, usually beef. This term may also refer to any finely chopped mixture.

    Molehill: a dessert of almond-filled prunes coated and mounded with a light mixture of gelatin, whipped eggs, and whipped cream, then topped with grated chocolate.

    Muesli: dry breakfast cereal of Swiss origin made of toasted oats, nuts, and dried fruits and served dry or with milk. This mixture is also used in the preparation of many breads and biscuits.

    Mutton: lamb that is more than two years old that has dark red flesh with hard white fat. Young mutton is twenty months to two years old.

    Pavlova: a delicately baked meringue of egg whites and sugar topped with whipped cream and fresh seasonal fruits. Considered to be the Australian national dessert.

    Pikelets: a quickly made mix of eggs, milk, self-rising flour, and sugar, similar to pancakes. The mixture is dropped by spoonfuls on a hot griddle and browned on both sides. They are eaten as a cool dessert.

    Tomato Sauce: ketchup. Sago: tapioca.

    Spaetzli: small drops of soft dough either poached or fried before adding to soups.

    Sucker: a very young spring lamb, less than nine months old.

    Tohero: a shellfish with a distinctive green color.

    Trifle: dessert of English origin prepared by layering fingers of plain cake with custard sauce and fruit then garnishing with whipped cream, glaceed cherries, and nuts.

    Vegemite: a favorite Australian spread, brown in color and yeasty in taste. Said to be highly nutritious, it is as popular with Australians as peanut butter is with North Americans.

    Wholemeal: Australian term for wholegrain (whole-wheat) flour.

     

  • Australian Meals and Customs

    MEALS AND CUSTOMS

    There are no particular rituals associated with meals in Australia. The three-meals-a-day pattern is prevalent, with morning and afternoon breaks usually consisting of tea or beer with a small snack. The Australian woman taking her lunch at home will eat sparsely; the working person will have an inexpensive hot plate of mince, potato, and peas, or a meat pie with beer. Most children eat their lunches at school, buying it at the tuck shop or cafeteria, and have a choice of cold but satisfying foods such as meat pies, sausage rolls, buns, salads, sweets, drinks, and potato chips. The evening meal at home will usually consist of meat and vegetables, potatoes, or bread. Potatoes are expensive and not as widely available as in North America. Pastries or fruit or simple puddings will he the dessert.

    Avid outdoor people, Australians love any excuse for a picnic (the races, any races) or barbecue. Simple barbecued meats or fresh fish, vegetables, fruits, and perhaps biscuits and cakes, together with a good supply of beer spell good times and a festive occasion.

    Many people still working in the isolated out-back regions prefer to cook in bush ovens. A hole is dug in the ground and lined with hot coals. A special heavy, covered cooking pot is placed on the coals, covered with more coals, and finally heaped with earth. Although simple in principle, this method requires great skill, and for those who know how to do it, anything from meats and stews to cakes and breads can be cooked this way.

    Aside from going to small casual restaurants and local bars to enjoy beer with friends, Australians are not generally keen about eating out. Tourists to Australia are often disappointed by what they consider to he mediocre hotel and restaurant standards. It is not that the Australians in any way lack hospitality, it is rather that they lack the ability to be servile. To the Australian, even his boss is his “mate,” tip-ping is disliked because of its servile connotation, and Australians take great personal pride in the fact that theirs is a “classless society.” It is most unfortunate that this pride of independence and love of equality is too often misconstrued as arrogance.

  • Domestic Life and Special Occasions in Australia

    DOMESTIC LIFE

    Australian kitchens are similar to those in North America, though smaller and probably boasting fewer appliances and gadgets. Electricity is favored over gas as a cooking fuel, but outdoor picnics and barbecues are frequent and preferred because of the pleasant climate. Home freezers are not yet common, so there are few frozen products available to the consumer. Ranges, refrigerators, and dishwashers are common, as are most of the small practical kitchen appliances familiar in North America. Most popular is the “hot water jug”: available in different sizes, this small appliance heats water quickly to the boiling point – practical in a land where frequent cups of tea are the daily rule.

    FOODS COMMONLY USED

    The staples of the Australian diet can be described as “steak and eggs”, and the preference for simple solid food shows up on the spice shelf too: salt and pepper and a few spices for baking. But inroads are being made in introducing “health foods” such as whole grains and yogurt, and the preparation of more vegetables and the use of skim milk powder is becoming more widespread. Price rises in fresh beef will also encourage the use of other meats and meat alternates. Women favor tea, men enjoy beer, and children drink milk at most meals.

    SPECIAL OCCASIONS

    Freedom of worship prevails in Australia. There are many Protestant and Roman Catholic groups, and about one-third of the population belongs to the Church of England. Since Christmas occurs in the Australian summer, a typical dinner of salads and cold meats, with an ice cream cake or pudding for dessert, is common. Special occasions such as Race Days, or local sports events, are celebrated with picnics, barbecues, and plentiful beer.

    Anzac Day, April 25, commemorates Australian soldiers who died in the First World War. The day is marked by a parade of “old diggers” (soldiers) and beer parties. Australia Day, on January 26, is marked by parties featuring barbecues of beef or lamb, salads, and the favorite dessert, pavlova: a whipped cream, meringue, and tropical-fruit confection.

  • Australian Food

    DAIRY PRODUCTS

    Fresh whole milk is used in quantity by most Australian families: children drink milk at most meals and adults enjoy milk in puddings, soups, custards, and tea. Skim milk, 2 percent (partially skimmed) milk, and cottage cheese are not widely accepted, nor is skim milk powder. Cheeses are not a usual part of the Australian food and dietary pattern and usually are only used in specialty dishes that call for cheese as an ingredient. There is a small but noticeable increase in the popularity of yogurt.

    FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

    Although there is a great variety of Australian food, the variety is mainly seasonal and local. There is even little importing of produce from one state to the other. Part of the reason may be storage and transportation facilities; frequently January floods affect supplies and cause price increases in Australian food.

    Fruits available include passion fruit, pineapples, pawpaws, many forms of coconut, fresh figs, guavas, melons, chokos, tamarillos, mangoes, mulberries, loganberries, lichees, cumquats (Australian spelling), kiwi fruit, feijoas (plums), and a range of citrus fruits. Exotic tropical fruits available are: persimmons, avocados, custard apples, monsteria delicio. Australia is also rightly famed for its fine-quality dried fruits; Australian raisins and currants are widely exported. Other popularly consumed dried fruits include peach-es, apricots, pears, figs, prunes, and apples. Australians prefer to eat fruits that require minimum preparation, and more dried fruits are commonly eaten as snacks and desserts than in North America. A favorite accompaniment to a barbecued dinner of steak or chops is a large mixed salad that combines fruits and vegetables.

    As with fruits, Australians prefer their vegetables with a minimum of “fixing”; not for them mysterious mixtures of creamed or sauced vegetables. Some Australian food and vegetables are called by names different than those used in North America: beets are commonly called beetroots; capsicums refer to green or red peppers. Australian “pumpkin” is unlike the pumpkin found in North America, as it is a dark green vegetable with the shape and appearance of the familiar American pumpkin but a flavor and texture resembling that of carrots.

    MEATS AND ALTERNATES

    Beef in the form of steaks and roasts heads the popularity list on the Australian food. Next come other cuts of beef, lamb, veal, and offal. Pork and poultry are not used with any regularity. Roasting, quick-frying, or barbecuing are the usual methods of meat cookery. Other meats used only occasionally include duck, goose, turkey, wild duck, crocodile, camel, marinated kangaroo meat, partridge, pheasant, venison, and wild pork. A famed dish is carpetbaggers steak: a thick steak that is split, stuffed with raw oysters, and broiled or barbecued.

    There is no shortage of fish and seafood and there is wide variety: oysters, scallops, mussels, tohero (a shellfish with a distinctively green color), trout, salmon, red snapper, mulloway, hapuka, whitebait, tarahiki, gurnard, flounder, and bream. Following the Australian’s preference for simple Australian food, fish is served fresh and prepared in a simple way by poaching, baking, frying, or grilling.

    Legumes are used only in specialty dishes, but a growing vegetarian community is using legumes and soybean products extensively.

    Finally, it must he noted that steak and eggs really are a classic favorite and considered the perfect breakfast, lunch, or supper and even — for heartier Aussies – a snack.

    BREADS AND GRAINS

    In home baking there is a definite preference for the use of self-raising flour, that is, flour containing a proportionate amount of salt and leavening agent. Fresh breads are usually purchased daily for meals and for teatime. Wheat flour is the staple but cornstarch is used in thickening desserts and sauces. Wholegrain wheat flour is called wholemeal. More recently, the Swiss breakfast favorite muesli, a blend of toasted oats, dried fruits, and nuts eaten with milk, has gained some popularity. Australians do not favor pancakes or waffles and seldom use sweetened breakfast cereals, although pikelets similar to pancakes are considered a dessert in the Australian food.

    FATS

    Margarine is the most widely used fat, and although generally priced the same as butter, many seem to prefer its flavor. Cofa is a solidified coconut oil used in making desserts.

    SWEETS AND SNACKS

    Dried fruits are popular snacks and Health Food Bars, made from nuts, sesame seeds, dried fruits, and honey are enjoyed by all ages. Fresh fruit is eaten as a snack in season.

    SEASONINGS

    Not for the Australian any complex form of seasoning. Cookery, service, and seasonings are all simple and basic. Salt and pepper and onions are the staples, for Australians have a strong preference for Australian food that “taste natural.” Chutneys, pickles, and piquant sauces are often served with meals.

    BEVERAGES

    Australian wine is inexpensive, of excellent quality, and widely used. Local quality beer is the preferred beverage for most men and Foster’s is the brand everyone knows; women enjoy frequent cups of tea daily; children prefer fresh whole milk but often have tea or coffee. Fruit cordials are popular, especially in hot weather. Strong spirits, cola drinks, and coffee are not as popular.

  • Australian Food and Culture

    Food and Culture in Australia

    On the largest island and the smallest continent in the world more than 18 million people make their home among unusual flora and fauna and some of the most unique animals in the world: the kangaroo, the dingo (a howling, doglike night hunter), the koala bear, and the platypus. One of the driest and most sparsely populated continents, Australia is mostly tropical in the north (Queensland) and temperate in the south (Victoria, New South Wales). More than half of the population live in cities and these are located in the irrigated and fertile coastal regions of the east, south-east, and southwest. For the most part, the vast interior of plateaus and eroded mountains – the out-back – is all but uninhabited, with many areas remaining untouched and primitive.

    Who are the Australians? It is believed that Australian Aborigines were the first settlers, arriving more than 40,000 years ago from Southeast Asia and evolving their culture in comparative isolation. By the early 1600s, seafaring Europeans arrived. Because of the gradual decline in Aboriginal population due to disease, loss of land, and faltering fertility, the colonials assumed they would soon disappear. On the contrary, the descendants of the early Aborigines are very much a vital, though small, part of the present Australian population.

    Many of the great seafaring nations were probably aware of this great land mass in the South Seas, but it remained for Captain Arthur Philip, of the Royal British Navy, to unfurl the British flag at Sydney Cove on January 26, 1788. To this day, this is celebrated as Australia Day. By the 1800s, almost 5,000 white male prisoners and their guards formed a colony at Sydney, joining the first 700 convicts who had been unloaded from Captain Philip’s ship on that fateful day. They may have been the first “citizens” of the “land down under,” but it is estimated that more than 35,000 years ago, the ancestors of the present Melanesians and Australian Aborigines had already been living there in their own neo–Stone Age society. In the ensuing years, with allegiance to Britain, Australia’s own parliament attempted to unite the population, but it took the First World War to weld the fiercely individual and independent population into a nation.

    Unification finally occurred because of the strong link to Great Britain but also because the pressures of war caused shortages of essential goods. Self-sufficiency became an urgent necessity. Improvements in agriculture, mining production, and the development of new industries not only helped on the home front but set up Australia as an exporter to world markets. Iron ore, coal, and wool, as well as meats, wheat, and sugar became vital economic commodities.

    Since the First World War increasingly diversified ethnic immigration add vitality to Australian lifestyles and generated heated debate in the country over the future of its preponderantly Caucasian population. Pride in “Aboriginality” enhanced growth in the indigenous population, Asian-born Australians increased their presence, and refugees and displaced persons from many lands all added to the population by the late 1980s.

    Up to the Second World War, Australia’s population was more than 99 percent of British origin. Following the war, many of the displaced and war-weary of Europe migrated to Australia. These people included Italians, Dutch, Poles, Germans, Yugoslavians, Greeks, Ukrainians, and Latvians. These, then, are the Australians. Given this diversity, it is not surprising to find that one of the largest Australian cookbooks, Australian and New Zealand Complete Book of Cookery, should turn out to be a study of international cookery. Many writers then claimed that Australia lacked a distinctive cuisine, regional cooking styles, or even any great national dishes. Nonetheless, the combination of a wealth of seafood, good inexpensive lamb, delicious fruits, and the inspiration and ingenuity of immigrants long immersed in their own traditional cuisines, has now been recognized as a distinctive evolving Australian cuisine.

    In fact, a current report on Australian food customs states: “Australians have thrown off the British yoke of pub grub and have embraced the great bounty from their own seas along with home-grown fruit and vegetables and the spices of Asia.” The nostril-tweaking scents of Asian spices, the hot delight of chilies, the surprising pleasure of finger foods and dipping sauces are to be found not just in restaurants but on Australian tables everywhere. The palate-tantalizing flavors of Indonesia, Malaysia, India, and Vietnam, brought to Australia by travelers and immigrants, have found a new home and are creating a new tradition of fusion cuisine that is startlingly original, memorable and delicious.

    Australian wines have long been making their presence appreciated in world markets, but more recently, visitors to the land down under are bringing back delicious accounts of bush tucker. The basic wilderness foods of the Aboriginals are gaining in popularity and sophisticated preparation. These include herbs like mountain pepper, watercress oil, and wattleseed (with a “coffee-hazelnut flavor”) as well as rabbit, kangaroo, wallaby, crocodile, emu, and bunya nuts. Many fruits and vegetables unknown to most of the world await discovery. Examples of these include: greens called warrigal, lemon aspin that looks like a little pumpkin and tastes like citrus fruit, munthari berries with their apple-like taste, and tiny kakadu plums, their size belying their prodigious vitamin C content.

  • Domestic Life and Special Occasions in Armenia

    DOMESTIC LIFE IN ARMENIA

    The traditional lifestyle of Armenians can still be seen in the rural and mountain villages. The village is a family, with such an intertwining of caring and sharing that it is difficult to distinguish relatives from friends. Children are loved and respected as much as the oldest grandmother, and each person takes a share in work and activities. While modern electrical appliances and utensils are costly though available in urban centers, domestic life in rural areas still revolves around the traditionally simple but practical kitchen where woodenware and earthenware predominate. Heavy earthenware jugs and jars are used to store food in cold pantries and cellars over the winter months; garlic and onions, dried fruits and vegetables hang from walls and rafters; women share communal ovens.

    SPECIAL OCCASIONS

    Armenian Christianity, recognized as one of the earliest branches of the Christian faith, dates from the work of Saint Gregory the Illuminator (third century). Armenians today are divided between the Uniate Church, which is similar to the Roman Catholic but uses an Armenian rite, and the Gregorian Church. A few Armenians are of the Protestant faith and some are Jewish. In America, the Armenian Apostolic Church is most closely identified with the Greek Orthodox Church.

    It is the combination of the Armenians’ warm family feelings and deep bonds to their faith as well as their inherent delight with parties that make family and religious events occasions for feasting, drinking, and merriment. Usually such a special occasion calls forth a vast array of all the tradition-al dishes, sweets and pastries, and all the brandy and wine the family can afford (and probably more than anyone can consume). Often a variety of spit-roasted game birds highlight many special occasions, but a specialty of weddings is a huge saffron pilaf made with rice, saffron, and flavored with rosewater.

  • Foods Glossary of Armenia

    GLOSSARY OF FOODS AND FOOD TERMS IN ARMENIA

    Abour: soup.

    Anoush: jams, or sweet preserves of fruits or vegetables.

    Asma-Yaprak Dolma: a chilled dish of grape leaves stuffed with seasoned rice, cooked and flavored with olive oil, browned onions, and allspice.

    Baklava or Paklava: many-layered with tissue-thin sheets of phyllo dough, this pastry is filled with nuts and sugar and finished with a dousing of hot spiced syrup.

    Baluck Plaid: fish that is baked with a sauce of garlic, olive oil, tomatoes, and lemon.

    Bami: okra.

    Basterma: an Armenian favorite of salted dried beef, flavored with fenugreek then brined and dried again. Used all year but especially in winter dishes, or as an appetizer.

    Bulgur or Burgul: wholegrain wheat cereal that has been boiled, dried, and cracked, and may be purchased as fine, medium, or wholegrain particle sizes.

    Choerek: small, sweet rolls of yeast dough, sprinkled with sesame seeds.

    Dolmas: generally refers to stuffed rolled grape leaves, but term may be used to refer to any stuffed baked vegetables.

    Echmiadzinskaya Dolma: a dish of mixed stuffed vegetables, e.g., green and yellow pepper, tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant.

    Feta: firm crumbly cheese made from sheep’s or goat’s milk, packed in brine, somewhat strong and tart in flavor. A favored cheese of Mediterranean as well as Armenian peoples.

    Hariseh: traditional dish of broth-cooked Bulgur combined with shreds of chicken and beaten to an almost-smooth consistency.

    Havabour: festive soup or chicken broth and rice flavored with beaten eggs and lemon juice, similar to Greek Avgolemono.

    Iksir: homemade cherry brandy, often served with cheese.

    Kchuch: Armenian vegetable stew like the Turkish/Bulgarian Ghouvetch.

    Kebab: cooked meat. (Shish Kebab: on a skewer; Tas Kebab: in a pot).

    Keshkegh: pilaf of bulgur and minced lamb or chicken flavored with butter, cinnamon, and pep-per, all simmered in rich broth or chicken stock. National Armenian dish.

    Keyma Koufta: meatballs made from well-seasoned, finely ground raw beef and fine bulgur.

    Kharpout Koufta: cooked meatballs made with ground seasoned beef or lamb, bulgur, onions, and tomato sauce.

    Kimionlou Shish Kebab: cubed meat (beef or lamb) marinated in olive oil and cumin seed, then grilled over an open fire on skewers and served on Pideh.

    Koufta or Kufta: meatballs.

    Lavash: thin, bubbled Armenian bread made from unleavened thin sheets of wheat flour dough, sprinkled with sesame seeds.

    Leban: soured or cultured milk. Matsun: yogurt.

    Mezaa: appetizers, or those nibbles of food taken with drinks.

    Nohond Basti: puree of well-cooked chickpeas flavored with small amounts of meat, stock, and onions.

    Pacha Terbiehli: slow-simmered stew of beef or lamb cooked in their own juices, flavored with garlic, vinegar, and hot peppers.

    Patlijan Moussaka: a casserole baked in the oven or on stove top, made of layers of fried eggplant, ground beef or lamb, and tomatoes.

    Pideh or Peda: crispy-crusted white-wheat-flour bread leavened with yeast, shaped in rounds or long loaves, finished with a sprinkle of sesame seeds.

    Prassa Basdi: a dish of sliced leeks cooked with beef or lamb, garnished with an egg-lemon sauce (Avgolemono).

    Printz Abour: bland soup made with rice and flavored with salt, pepper, and lemon juice.

    Raki: clear, anise-flavored brandy, taken as an aperitif.

    Saffron Pilaf: pilaf of rice flavored with rosewater and saffron, a specialty at weddings.

    Simit: a dessert cookie of twisted spirals of sweet dough sprinkled with sesame seeds.

    Soorj: unsweetened coffee.

    Sumpoog Letzvadz: eggplant stuffed with ground beef or lamb, bread crumbs, oil, garlic, and beaten eggs. This baked dish may be served hot or cold.

    Tchorba: soup, usually refers to broths.

    Tell Khadayif: a sweet dessert of finely shredded crisp wheat sprinkled with nuts and coated with syrup.

    Tureli Ghuvedge: slow-simmered stew of mixed vegetables and meats flavored with tomatoes, salt, pepper, and mint.

    Tushi: pickled vegetables.

    Vousp Abour: thick soup of lentils, flavored with lemon.

    Yaz Salata: a combination of chopped raw vegetables, sometimes including nuts and olives, all tossed with olive oil and lemon juice or vinegar.

  • Foods Commonly Used in Armenia

    FOODS COMMONLY USED

    The highly sophisticated and varied cuisine of Armenia encompasses a wide and well-balanced combination of foods. Lamb and chicken are the favored meats, fresh chopped vegetables are often eaten as sal-ads, and vegetables are an important part of many one-dish meals. Soured or cultured milk and many types of fresh and aged cheeses are plentiful and eaten almost anytime with breads, fruits, nuts, or by themselves. Rice forms the basis of many pilafs and the filling of stuffed vegetables, while wheat is favored for breads of all kinds and cracked wheat (bulgur) is also used in many dishes. Refreshing yogurt and soured milk are consumed as beverages or snacks, wine often accompanies meals, especially parties, and brandy is taken for any reason.

    MEALS AND CUSTOMS

    Hospitality is a way of life and nothing is more enjoyed than inviting guests or wayfarers to partake of whatever food the family may have on hand. Whether the variety is wide or limited, somehow there is always enough to share. The women take great pride in preparing and serving the meals and usually hover in the background while the men feast and drink and merrily toast each other, the weather, the crops, the country, the world. Table service and manners are of secondary importance. Shared enjoyment is everything. Even when times are bad, and people have to survive only on bread and beans, these will be prepared in a variety of ways and served with the same joy as the most sumptuous meal.

    The general pattern of three meals a day prevails. Breakfast is a simple spread of cheese, olives, and bread with coffee. The noon meal is usually a hot vegetable or vegetable and meat casserole, while the largest meal, dinner, usually takes place in the evening between seven and eight o’clock. This meal customarily begins with the potent Raki and more recently with vodka, to be followed by nibbles of cheeses, various types of olives (black, green spiced, salted, etc.), or sometimes a chopped green salad or gently simmered soup. The meal continues with roasted meat, fish, or fowl, together with more vegetables (often served cooked and cold), rice or bulgur pilaf, a choice of wines or leban or yogurt, to be finished with a dessert of fresh or dried fruits, nuts, and cheeses. Occasionally coffee may conclude a special dinner. Snacks throughout the day will be nuts or toasted seeds to crunch and munch almost continually, sometimes a break of pastries and coffee or wine, if there are guests, or just a humble refreshment of leban and fruit.

  • Foods of Armenia

    DAIRY PRODUCTS

    These products are plentiful and form an important part of the Armenian diet. Milk from sheep, goats, and cows is not used fresh but is cultured or soured as buttermilk or yogurt and used, sometimes diluted with water, as a drink or as a snack and often as part of other dishes. Fresh, hard, soft, and aged cheeses, some flavored with mountain herbs, are prepared all the time and used generously as appetizers, toppings, and as ingredients for many dishes.

    FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

    Citrus fruits, stone fruits such as plums, apricots, and peaches, grapes and melons, quince and apples are all abundantly enjoyed in season and mostly eaten fresh. Some of these fruits may be dried to preserve them for winter use.

    Fresh and often wild herbs may be plucked from fields or paths and munched out of hand, minced and used generously in salads, or hung to dry for later use. Garlic and onions are used liberally in dishes and are often enjoyed raw. Leeks, green beans, squashes, okra, eggplant, salad greens, cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes, zucchini, pumpkin, and cabbages also may be plucked to eat out of hand, chopped into salads or soups, or eaten cooked in casseroles.

    MEATS AND ALTERNATES

    Lamb and chicken are the most favored meats, but beef and goat are also used. A variety of game birds also find their way to the table: pigeon, duck, quail, goose, plover, and partridge, teal, woodcock, and pheasant. Fish may be served boiled, steamed, baked, fried, or split and grilled on skewers. Some seafood is used where available fresh, such as oysters and mussels.

    Eggs are widely used in cooking and baking, as a custard-like topping for vegetable casseroles and for the egg-lemon sauce (avgolemono) so popular in soups, meat, fish, and vegetable dishes. Many varieties of beans are used but chickpeas are the favorite.

    The plentiful and nutritious nuts are used in sauces, where they are crushed or chopped some-times with garlic and sometimes with spice and sugar. Nut filling for baked goods and nuts nibbled as a snack seem to be always at hand: pistachios, almonds, walnuts, chestnuts, pine nuts, and filberts. In fact, it is said that whenever two Armenians are talking there is probably a dish of pistachios between them.

    BREADS AND GRAINS

    The staple bread is the flat unleavened pideh or lavash made from wheat flour. Bulgur, coarse, dried whole wheat, is used in soups, as a side dish for meats, or mixed with chopped vegetables in a salad; it is also a frequent ingredient mixed with ground meats (See also Lebanese) and as fillings for vegetable dishes. Rice is also used in many dishes.

    FATS

    Every home has a supply of olive oil which is used in all cooking, as a basting for meats and fish, and as a base to dress salads. Clarified butter is used less frequently, sometimes for vegetables but mostly for special occasions that warrant pastries.

    SWEETS AND SNACKS

    Besides ignoring the negative effects of overindulging in alcohol, tobacco, and food, Armenians also seem to destroy the commonly held notion that sweets may be detrimental to health. Armenians consume more sweets and pastries than other peoples of the Caucasus, and yet their indulgence in these foods doesn’t seem to have a negative effect on their longevity. The usual dessert consumed is fruit and cheeses, but sugared and candied nuts appear to be widely available as snacks and desserts. The traditional syrupy-sweet desserts of thin, crisp pastries layered with nuts, spices, and sugar, so beloved around the Mediterranean, are just as welcomed by Armenians of any age. The availability of other sweet cakes as well as rolls filled with nuts and sweetened soft cheese fillings and brushed with egg and sugar toppings might even form the excuse for a party.

    SEASONINGS

    Garlic and onions head the list of seasonings, closely followed by a wide selection of cultivated and fresh and dried herbs. Nuts and seeds (sesame) add crunch and taste, vinegar and pepper add sharp hotness, while cloves, saffron, and cinnamon evoke the exotic. Greece’s famed avgolemono (egg and lemon juice) sauce adds its tangy touch to many meals. A dribble of clarified butter and splash of homemade wine or fresh cream may also be a part of the cook’s flourish.

    BEVERAGES

    Raki (brandy) is commonly taken as an aperitif, just in case any Armenian may he troubled with a lagging appetite, and if so, perhaps two Raids would be better than just one. Homemade red and white wines usually accompany meals and are enjoyed by all ages. Yogurt and soured milk (leban) is usually more a part of lunch or a between-meal refreshment. Soorj (unsweetened coffee) is the common breakfast beverage.