Food Culture and Tradition

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  • Belarus Foods Glossary

    GLOSSARY OF FOODS AND FOOD TERMS

    Buraki: a simple beet soup made with a rich meat stock, sliced cooked beets, a splash of lemon juice, and garnished with sour cream and sprigs of fresh dill.

    Chiebny Kvas: A kind of cider drink prepared from dry rye bread. The dry bread is crumbled into a crock and boiling water is poured over. When it cools, dissolved yeast is added. The mixture is strained through a cloth, sugar and raisins are added and it is poured into bottles and tightly corked. After chilling for two days, the beverage is ready to drink. A little more sugar and some lemon juice is added to taste.

    Chleb: bread.

    Halubcy: cabbage rolls prepared with ground meat, beaten eggs, raw rice, and seasoning wrapped in steamed cabbage leaves. After frying the rolls in butter, diluted canned tomato sauce is poured over them and they are simmered for several hours over very low heat. These are usually served with cooked potatoes or fluffy boiled grains such as barley or kasha (buckwheat).

    Hurkovy Rosol: a soup made with a meat stock and potatoes then flavored with chopped dill pickles and cooked chopped potatoes. A simple roux of flour and butter may be used to thicken the soup.

    Kapusta: means cabbage but more often refers to sauerkraut.

    Sauerkraut is usually prepared in some way before serving as a side dish for a meal. Sauerkraut is often drained, blended with butter-fried onions and a sprinkle of sugar then simmered slowly before serving hot. Other sauerkraut dishes combine cooked beets and/or potatoes as well as browned onions. Sauerkraut that has been fermented with apples and cranberries is also a favorite dish served with sour cream.

    Kattlety: ground meat patties flavored with chopped onion and mushrooms, salt and pepper and bound with beaten raw egg. These are boiled or pan-fried or can be shaped then baked in the oven.

    Kisiel: this fruit dessert can be prepared from any cooked summer fruits or berries. The hot cooked fruit is pressed through a sieve then returned to the heat and thickened with cornstarch and sweetened with sugar. While still hot, it is spooned into serving dishes to cool then served with light cream.

    Kislaja Kapusta: soup made with pork stock and sauerkraut finished with sweet cream and slightly thickened with flour.

    Krupnik z Hrybami a Miasam: barley and mush-room soup, thick and satisfying, usually prepared with a beef stock and garnished with sour cream.

    Miadounik: a honey cake rich with sour cream, eggs, honey, and mixed spices such as cinnamon, cloves, and ginger. The top of the cooled cake may be frosted with chocolate icing.

    Nadziavanaja Bulba: stuffed baked potatoes pre-pared by peeling large baking potatoes and baking till tender. The centers are gently scooped out and mashed with finely chopped boiled meat (usually from meat stock), onions, seasonings, and beaten eggs. The mixture is then heaped back into the potato shells, basted with butter and baked till lightly browned. These are served as a main dish.

    Pirazki: little balls of unbaked yeast dough with fillings pressed into the center and the dough pulled over to seal. Left on a cloth to air-dry for about 20 minutes, they are deep-fried to a crispy brown, then served hot with sour cream as a main dish. Prepared smaller, they may be served in clear soup.

    Piroh iz Hreckich Krup iz Tvoraham: a main dish or a side dish prepared from cooked buckwheat mixed with cottage cheese, eggs, and sugar. This mixture is pressed into a buttered pan and topped with a custard mixture of beaten eggs, sugar, and cream. It is baked until the topping is set. Then melted butter is poured over as a finishing touch, and sour cream is added.

    Scaujo Chaladnik: a springtime soup made with fresh sorrel, chopped and boiled. The soup is seasoned with salt and pepper then served with chopped green onions, cubed cucumbers, hard-cooked egg slices, and sprigs of fresh dill.

    Zacirka: general name for egg barley, prepared by blending flour and a little salt into beaten eggs to form a thick mixture. This is then pressed through a coarse sieve or dropped in small bits from a spoon into boiling broth or water to form tiny dumplings. These can be served in soups, mixed with grains such as cooked barley or kasha (buckwheat), or served as a side dish to be topped with melted but-ter and sour cream.

    Zapianka z Jablykami: a baked rice pudding dessert with apples. After slow baking, a buttery brown rice crust is formed and the apples cook fragrant and tender. The dessert is cut into large squares and served with sweet cream or sour cream stirred with sugar. Such a dessert often makes a light meal when served after a bowl of soup.

  • Foods Commonly Used in Belarus

    Belarus Commonly Used Foods

    Belorussian foods are almost identical to Russian and Polish preferences and dishes, but the names of the dishes may vary. Dairy products used liberally include sour cream, milk and sweet cream as ingredients and as additions to prepared foods. As in Russian cuisine, there are few dishes that are not improved with generous additions of melted butter and blobs of thick sour cream.

    Hardy vegetables such as onions, potatoes, beets, cabbage, pumpkin, and varieties of squash and mushrooms, especially wild mushrooms, are used almost daily, and fresh young vegetables such as tomatoes, green onions, cucumbers, sweet peas, radishes, spinach, and sorrel are enjoyed in season. Fermented sauerkraut and dill pickles are enjoyed year-round as side dishes to almost every meal. Herbs are used fresh in season and dried for winter use. Especially popular are dill and parsley. Wild and cultivated berries and fruits such as plums, peaches, cherries, apples, and pears are a special treat when fresh but are carefully preserved for winter use.

    Pork, beef, and chicken as well as some goose and duck are used for special occasions and use is made of every part including organs and offal. Very occasionally veal or lamb are used. If available, game is enjoyed. A wide variety of sausages and smoked meats add to the variety and even small amounts of meat, over-browned bones, and boiled soup meat is minced and used to flavor potato, cabbage, or grain dishes.

    Pork fat and chicken, goose and duck fat are carefully rendered and used to flavor other dishes and may be used as a spread for bread. Cracklings are often served with dark heavy rye bread and a bowl of hearty soup as a meal.

    A wide variety of breads including sourdough rye, pumper-nickel, wholegrain rolls and breads and many basic yeast dough pre-pared as filled buns or dumplings round out meals. Boiled or baked grains such as barley, buckwheat, and coarse wheat and rye whole-grains are generously served with melted butter and sour cream. Baked, boiled, or fried dumplings filled with cheese, meat, or chopped vegetables are ingeniously served as appetizers, main dishes in soups, or with sweet fruit fillings as desserts. Baked desserts rich with butter, cream, and eggs also round out otherwise simple soup meals.

    The Polish influence of adding sugar to heighten the taste of soups and salad dressings is also evident.

    Like all Slavic food, Belorussian dishes excel in heartiness and ample portions, and are always served with the Slavic tradition of warm and generous hospitality that no amount of hardship can erase. (See also Baltic Peoples, Jewish, Polish, and Russian.)

  • Belarus Food and Culture

    Food and Culture from Belarus

    Belarus is currently a nation of approximately ten and a half million people wedged into a tiny region between Russia and Poland. Formerly called Byelorussians or White Russians, the people of Belarus now call themselves Belorussian. They are members of the Eastern Slav nations which include Greater Russia and Ukraine.

    In the early 800s they made up a part of several independent feudal princedoms, but in

    1240, a Mongol invasion captured their territories and they became known as the Grand Duchy of Lithuania or Litva. The people we know today as Lithuanians were at that time called Samogitians. With the Treaty of Lublin, in 1569, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania merged with Poland until 300 years later when Poland herself was partitioned between Russia, Prussia, and Austria.

    The hapless Litvanians were subjected to forcible Russification: the historic name of Litva was changed to White Russia and its language, traditions, and customs were suppressed. Despite the ensuing hardships that continually saw their lands as the battleground for nations around them, a slowly emerging Litvanian middle class found expression in the nationalistic movement around 1800. This emergence climaxed in the Russian Revolution, only to be dashed once again by the Bolsheviks, who claimed the land as a Soviet Republic in January 1919.

    As if this were not enough, White Russia was again divided after the brief Polish-Russian War of 1919-1920. About 5 million Belorussians fell to Polish rule and 4 million to Russian rule. Following the Second World War, the entire country of about 10 million again ceded to total Russian domination.

    Belorussians who emigrated to North America before the Second World War were largely illiterates from the poorer villages (the czar encouraged a deliberate state of illiteracy); those who came later were mostly political exiles, professionals, and intellectuals who stimulated the growth of cultural organizations in North America aimed at preserving their heritage.

    For so long a part of Lithuania, Belorussia’s cuisine most resembles that of Lithuania but also has strong elements of Polish and Russian traditions. Festive occasions are marked by devout religious observance: the Greek Orthodox Church in the East, the Roman Catholic Church in the West, with approximately 10 percent of the population estimated to be Jewish.

  • Baltic Foods Glossary and Food Terms

    GLOSSARY OF FOODS AND FOOD TERMS

    Berries: the finest and sweetest berries are said to be from Estonia. Here are some of the varieties:

    Karusmari: gooseberries.

    Klukva: large juicy cranberries. A favorite Estonian drink is vodka and cranberry juice called “The Rolling Estonian.”

    Murakad: cloudberries.

    Pohlad: l i ngo nberries.

    Punane Sostar: red currants.

    Bliinid: Estonian version of Russian Blini.

    Estonian Fruit Salad: a combination of dried and fresh fruits (or just one type) cooked, then layered in jars and preserved with a syrup of water, sugar, and wine vinegar.

    Halva: Estonian confection of a peanut-flavored flaky sweet. (Mediterranean halva is made from sesame seeds.)

    Kama: a special flour that is made from a mixture of grains and legumes, dried, roasted then ground. This flour is then mixed with sour milk or cream and lightly flavored with salt or sugar to form a soup consistency. This cool soup is used throughout the summer in Estonia as a refreshing snack or beverage.

    Kapsad: cabbage.

    Kartuli-Tangpudru: a mixture of barley and potatoes, slowly baked in a casserole. Sometimes onions and ham are added. This often accompanies soup to make a filling meal. An Estonian favorite.

    Koksimine: the Estonian “egg game“ played at Easter time. The decorated hard-cooked eggs are knocked against an adversary’s eggs, the object being to see how many eggs you can crack before yours is broken. Many jokes are played as part of this game, including decorating eggs that are not hard-cooked; even painted rocks have been known to become winning eggs.

    Koogel-Moogel: an Estonian treat made of egg yolks, thickly beaten with sugar; eaten as a pudding.

    Korbid: slightly sweetened cheesecake baked in a round shape.

    Kugelis: baked Lithuanian potato pudding, often with eggs and onions.

    Lekakh: Jewish Lithuanian honey cake. Also popular in Poland.

    Lietiniai: Lithuanian soup accompaniment, made from tiny pancakes filled with the ground, seasoned soup meat. The tiny “parcels” are crisply fried then served with clear broth. Crumbled bacon garnishes the soup.

    Ligzdinas: large juicy Latvian meatballs filled with mushrooms or a whole hard-cooked egg.

    Mulgi Kapsad: Estonian casserole of sauerkraut, potatoes, and pork hocks or pork tails (or any pork cut), seasoned with salt, pepper, and bay leaf. So popular, it is almost a staple dish.

    Pannkoogid: huge Estonian pancakes, which are almost a meal in themselves, eaten plain or with berries and sour cream.

    Pirukas: Russian in origin, this Estonian soup accompaniment is made of plain yeast dough, filled with meat, vegetables, or grains, shaped into half-moons and deep-fried or baked.

    Pudru: Estonian name for any porridge made from grains.

    Pulmasupp: Estonian country-wedding soup, a rich soup of butter-browned meat, with dumplings and added vegetables. Traditionally eaten from wooden spoons and bowls for the wedding supper. Accompanied by beer in wooden steins.

    Rassolnye or Rossolye: Estonian mixed salad of beets and potatoes, herring and meat, blended with sour cream dressing.

    Solianka: Latvian fish soup. Supp: soup.

    Suris: white Lithuanian cheese resembling pot cheese, or the Italian ricotta.

    Sult: Estonian specialty of sliced veal molded in its own aspic.

    Tule-Homme Taas: literally, “Come back tomorrow,” a satisfying Estonian pancake dish: huge pancakes wrapped around a filling. The filling may be cream cheese, spinach, carrots, or apples with sugar.

    Vinegretas: Lithuanian version of Rossolye. An appetizer salad of beets, potatoes, herring and cubed meats, blended with a dressing of seasoned sour cream.

    Virtiniai: Lithuanian soup dumplings made of filled noodle pastry. For Christmas Eve these are filled with mushrooms and served in a clear meatless beet stock.

    Zalbarsciai: light Lithuanian soup made from grated beets and buttermilk. In the spring, the shredded beet greens are added.

    Zrazy: rolled-up filled slices of beef or veal, made in individual servings or as a large roast to be sliced. A favorite throughout the Baltic.

  • Baltic Special Occasions

    Special Occasions in Baltic

    Religion has a profound influence on the lives of the Baltic peoples. Most Lithuanians are members of the Roman Catholic Church, while both Latvians and Estonians are members of the Lutheran Church. Nazi extermination of the Jews during the Second World War erased their population in the Baltic lands.

    The Christian festivals of Christmas and Easter highlight the festive calendar, but occasions for festivities also include celebrations of seasonal flowers and foods, saint’s days, harvesting and sowing, and family events such as births, weddings, and funerals. For example, the Estonian celebrations of Leaf Month (May), Juice Month (April), and Candles (February) indicate the deep ties of religion and nature. Thus the bounty of crops and orchards, religious and family events all intertwine in a heartfelt thanksgiving expressed in humble devotion and happy gatherings.

    Traditional customs for Christmas in Lithuania include a meatless menu for Christmas Eve (called kudos), with twelve special dishes prepared from grains, fruits, vegetables, and fish to symbolize the twelve apostles. One of the oldest traditional dishes for kudos is a fermented poppy seed soup, aguono pienas, served with dumplings. Church services, visiting friends, and a buffet menu of ham baked in a sourdough crust, roast goose stuffed with apples and prunes, varieties of homemade sausages, and special winter salads completed with a display of special cookies and pastries (especially the poppy seed roll called aguonines) are part of the festive observances.

    In the country areas of all the Baltic lands, the slaughtering of a pig for Christmas is followed by the many traditional activities involved in making sausages and blood puddings, curing and smoking hams and bacons, and rendering fat for lard. Again, roasted geese stuffed with apples and prunes share the table with salads of chopped herring and beets, potato dishes of many kinds, tart and salted pickles contrasted with sweet fruit preserves and all washed down with homemade beers and wines and even homemade vodka, faintly redolent of caraway. And while others favor richly sweet desserts to complete festive occasions, the Baltic pastries and yeast doughs owe their fragrance to roasted crushed nuts and poppy seeds and pot cheese: filling and delicious.

    Concern and a special love for animals is exemplified by the Christmas Eve tradition of feeding small amounts of bread and barley to the farm animals before the family’s evening meal. This is similar to traditions in Slavic countries.

    Easter is celebrated with church services, and the menu reflects the joy of the spring season. Decorated eggs as well as fruits and berries are hidden for the children to find, and the game of hohsimine (Estonian mischievous cracking of hard, and sometimes soft, eggs) is enjoyed by everyone. Communal buffet tables featuring family specialties are set up and prepared well ahead of time: a buffet of salads, meats, and fish and an array of good breads will be enhanced by the presence of the pasha: a Russian-inspired delicate cheese and whipped cream mold.

    Weddings are often the excuse for the wearing of regional costumes and the presentation of distinct regional specialties in food, music, and dance. An Estonian country specialty is the serving of soup (pulmasupp) and farina and milk in wooden bowls traditionally eaten with wooden spoons. This wed-ding supper is accompanied by specially made beer drunk from wooden steins.

    Similarly, traditional funeral practices often follow local or regional as well as religious customs. In some country areas of Estonia, the path for the funeral pro-cession may be laid out with spruce boughs, a spruce wreath marking the house of mourning. Following the burial, a large meal prepared by friends and neighbors may include roasted pig, sausages, blood puddings, headcheese, winter salads, or fruit compotes and breads. Homemade vodka will be drunk in toasts to the departed one.

  • Domestic Life, Meals and Customs

    Domestic life, meals and customs of the Baltic

    Domestic Life

    Since the majority of people of these lands live a rural lifestyle it is this tradition that is considered here. While Latvia makes use of her peat bogs to supply fuel, Estonia and Lithuania depend more on the wood resources of their forests. Electricity is costly and electrical appliances are not common except in the affluent homes of city dwellers. Wood or peat-burning stoves with built-in ovens are used to cook the family meals and in many cases also form the primary heat source for smaller homes. Heavy cast-iron cookware is favored for top-of-the-stove cooking; earthenware containers are used for oven baking and also for mixing bowls. The availability of wood makes it the ideal material for many kitchen utensils such as bowls, rolling pins, spoons, chopping boards, work-tables.

    Fresh seasonal foods are preferred and in many areas marketing is done daily. Any foods requiring storage are simply placed in a cool area of the house or in an icebox. Extra provisions for the long winters are frequently prepared in the home by drying, salting, pickling, smoking. Preserves and jams are also prepared for winter use.

    Foods Commonly Used

    The Baltic are noted for their grain crops of rye, wheat, oats, and barley, their high potato production, and their dairy farms. It is not surprising, therefore, that grains, potatoes, and dairy products form the staple foods of the Baltic diet, and are supplemented with smaller proportions of fish, pork products, and poultry. Because of the historical periods of influence, German, Scandinavian (See Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian) and Slavic (See Polish and Russian) cuisines have all made contributions to Baltic cuisines. German ethos prevails in the Lithuanian personality but it is the Slavic influence that prevails in the Lithuanian kitchen, although many so-called typical Lithuanian dishes are a part of German food traditions. Scandinavian influence, not surprisingly in view of history, predominates in Estonian cuisine, while Latvian cookery clearly shows threads of all three influences. The food of the Baltic peoples differs more in nomenclature than in substance; regional differences and specialties do exist, but many similarities are to he found as well.

    Meals and Customs

    Although there is increasing mobility from rural to urban settings, more than half the Baltic population shares a common agricultural heritage that is reflected in a deep respect for land and nature and a humble religious devotion. Their thankfulness for the gifts of land and nature is shown in their preference for simple satisfying foods unadorned by sauces or excessive seasoning. Breads and soups form the main-stays of many meals. Lithuanians always begin a meal with a prayer of thankfulness, and Estonian children seldom leave the table without the words “Thank you, my Lord, my stomach has been filled.” And though Latvian country homes are often isolated from each other, Slavic hospitality prevails in a flow of food and drink shared by all.

    Together with individual pride in the family name, care is taken to hand down homemaking skills to the daughters and agricultural skills to the sons. Great respect is shown the father of the household: not only is his opinion consulted in all matters, he is also the first to be served at meals. Party foods are always presented buffet-style, while daily meals are commonly served family-style, with everyone helping themselves.

    Based on the type of work done, heavier meals are usually served in the country, while lighter, more sophisticated meals are favored in the cities. A simple breakfast of porridge, bread, and beverage and a similar simple evening meal is balanced with the heavier meal taken at noon that consists of a hearty meat and vegetable or grain soup with bread and beverage and concluded with fresh or stewed fruits.

    Many coffee and pastry shops provide snacks for city workers, while soup is often a refreshing snack for country people. Evening guests or quiet family gatherings enjoy tea with home-baked cakes, kuchens, or other sweets.

  • Foods from the Baltic

    DAIRY PRODUCTS

    Soured milk, buttermilk. and sour cream are staples, while cottage cheese and pot cheese (Lithuanian: surfs) are widely used for many dishes. A consider-able amount of cheese is also consumed: fresh, aged, and with or without the beloved caraway seeds. Cheeses are prepared from the milk of cows or goats. Most families consider it very important that their children consume both milk and milk products. Milk is also used in many varieties of milk soups, and vegetables are often cooked in milk as well.

    FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

    Fruits are plentiful and enjoyed in season, fresh or stewed with sugar as fruit compotes, or served as fruit soups. Many jams, jellies, and preserves are pre-pared for winter use. Korvits is an Estonian sweet preserved relish made from chunks of pumpkin and traditionally served with meat. Estonian “fruit salad,” traditionally served in winter, is a specialty of mixed preserved fruits. Berries are especially plentiful, both wild and cultivated, and Estonia’s berries are noted for their quality and sweetness. The combination of fresh, dried, or preserved fruits, served or cooked with meats and fowl, is also much enjoyed.

    Potatoes and cabbage are the staple vegetables and store well for winter use. A favored form of cabbage, especially in winter, is sauerkraut.

    The common root vegetables – carrots, turnips, and beets, as well as the fresh seasonal favorites of cucumbers, radishes, tomatoes, and onions – are enjoyed fresh in salads and served with sour cream or a vinaigrette dressing. Wild mushrooms of many varieties are eagerly collected in season and many are hung and dried to add flavor to dishes year-round.

    MEATS AND ALTERNATES

    Pork, pork products, and poultry are the staples but are not used in great quantity. Domestic and wild fowl and game are enjoyed as available. Jellied pig’s feet are a Lithuanian favorite and suckling pig is often prepared for festive occasions. Herring, sprats, and eels are the widely enjoyed harvest from the sea. Egg consumption is limited but steadily increasing due to increased supply and lower prices. Some dried legumes are used for soups, and Estonian children like to chew dried peas and beans as a snack. Kama is an Estonian soup served cold in summer and eaten as a refreshment any time of the day: it is prepared from a flour made from dried, ground, and roasted grains and legumes blended with sour milk and flavored lightly with salt or sugar.

    BREADS AND GRAINS

    Grains form one of the most important, satisfying, and economical staples of the Baltics. Bread is on the table at every meal and although this is usually a dark, sour rye bread, other breads made of wheat or combinations of flours may be served. Soups are often thickened with coarse flours or may even be made from grains; porridges and hot gruels are frequently served and may constitute a warming meal. Baked barley is a favorite side dish for meats and soups and barley flour is used for breads.

    FATS

    Oils are seldom used except occasionally for salads. Lard or bacon fat predominates in cookery while butter is used for baking, as a spread, and as a seasoning for foods. Fats are also consumed in the form of creams (sour cream, cream, and whipped cream), sour milk, and in many cheeses.

    SWEETS AND SNACKS

    The Baltic countries imported French pastry chefs, who opened their own little shops. The tradition of fine pastries, richly and elaborately prepared – by French chefs – is still maintained. Home baking includes satisfying buns, rolls and kuchens based on sweet yeast dough or firm cakes based on eggs. Sugared dried fruits are a favored snack to be nib-bled anytime. Plain chocolate, either milk chocolate or bittersweet, is considered a special treat. A common snack in Latvia is paper cones filled with sauerkraut, eaten the way ice cream is elsewhere.

    SEASONINGS

    Caraway seeds head the list of favorites, and are also believed to be an aid for digestion. Poppy seeds, dill, parsley, and bay leaves add their touch to many dish-es as well. Ginger, many varieties of honey, and allspice are used in baking. In general, Baltic foods are not highly seasoned; salty and sour flavors predominate. Most baked goods are rich simply with the aroma and taste of fresh eggs, butter, and cream.

    BEVERAGES

    Tea is taken frequently and sour milk is an anytime beverage. Coffee is also used but is considered a luxury in some areas, where a type of coffee may be prepared from ground, roasted cereals such as rye, and sometimes chicory. Beer, wine, and schnapps are enjoyed and vodka flavored with caraway is a favorite.

  • French Food and Culture

    FRENCH FOOD AND CULTURE

    Impossible. Impossible to think of France without at once being pleasantly assaulted with a sensuous vision of velvety wines and tempting French foods. Is this reputation a carefully nurtured legend or does it indeed have some basis in fact?

    A great cuisine can only be developed where there are suitable and abundant natural resources, diligent and imaginative cooks, and enough sensitively appreciative palates to taste and enjoy the results. It would seem that France can give a nod to each point.

    Watered by numerous rivers, blessed with a temperate climate and fertile soil, the rolling plains and valleys of France are dotted with orchards and vineyards, yield grains and varieties of delicate vegetables, and nurture cattle, sheep, and fowl in such abundance that, under normal conditions, France is actually self-sufficient in foodstuffs. Farmers, fishermen, and sheepherders have learned from centuries of diligent care and lessons handed down from one generation to the next how to coax the finest quality from their produce, be it grapes or chickens. And in a nation that can honor a chef with the Legion d’Honneur it is not surprising that the taste for fine wines begins with the very young at the family table, and the arts of the kitchen begin near maman.

    Few nations boast culinary food histories, gastronomic maps, and qualities of foods and wines that set world standards. Such is the case for France. Any library of cookbooks, while acknowledging most world cuisines, will have the weightiest shelves of books on French cookery and cuisines. Not surprising when one glances at such tomes as Curnonsky’s Cuisine et Vins de France, Brillat-Savarin’s La Physiologie du Gout, the epic 2,984-recipe collection of Auguste Escoffier, or the meticulous cataloging of French food, techniques, and recipes by Antonin Careme. And it is indisputable that France’s brandies and wines have set world standards and her cheeses defy imitation.

    But it was not always so.

    It was Auguste Escoffier who said: “When we examine the story of a nation’s eating habits … then we find an outline of the nation’s history”. French food history might begin with the meats boiled in huge pots together with fish and vegetables, or with whole wild boars spit-roasted and served with an assorted garnish of game and fowl. It was the comparatively civilized Romans who introduced their own spices, wine, and wheat to the Gauls. And in those early days before the Common Era, not only new foods but table manners also proved to be a novelty. The Romans taught the Gauls to drink from cups instead of from human skulls and to seat themselves at rough tables instead of squatting on the ground. But there was an exchange too. The Romans enjoyed milk-fed snails, oysters, and foie gras made from the artificially enlarged livers of geese, and they in turn introduced these new luxuries “back home.” But it was many years before both Romans and Gauls learned to eat with anything but their fingers, their teeth, and possibly a sword.

    Charlemagne is credited with being the first French gourmet in the history of French cuisine, ruling his feudal empire while dining on four-course meals and savoring the smoothness of Brie cheese, which he had “discovered” in a little abbey near Paris. He is also credited with helping establish France’s wine industry, planting many orchards, and even developing fish ponds teeming with eels, carp, and pike. He left his intellectual mark as well, founding numerous schools and becoming a patron of scholars and artists as well as a devout Christian. In the late 700s C.E., Charlemagne struck a very early blow to male chauvinism when he allowed women to share his dinner table – a previously unheard-of circumstance.

    The Dark Ages echo the plight of peoples all over Europe: gluttony and luxury for the upper-class few and almost unparalleled misery, poverty, and near starvation for the masses. Wars, diseases, and meager crops that failed resulted in the people scrounging for food from roots, barks, and even mixing earth with flour to make bread, and as a last resort the eating of human flesh.

    France’s “sense of mission” was perhaps born in the eleventh century with the Crusades. The First Crusade was made up totally of French knights inspired to annihilate all of Christendom’s enemies, and as they marched under the theme “God wills it”, they massacred populations, destroyed towns, and even plundered Jerusalem. They did, however, also find time to enjoy dishes made with rice, and brought back to France not only rice but many oriental spices: cinnamon, cloves, thyme, aniseed, and bay leaves. At the same time, the feudal system was disintegrating, and while some peasants retained small plots of land, many others moved toward the towns. While small markets sprang up, storage, transportation, and food preservation were hardly adequate. The arrival and the use of spices greatly enhanced the palatability of available and inexpensive food such as whale meat.

    The Middle Ages were characterized by gargantuan feasts and gross table manners: eating with hands, belching, and tossing scraps on the floor were all commonplace. However, many ate simply and bread and soup was a common meal. Joan of Arc is said to have enjoyed soups so much that she was known to eat five different soups at one meal and nothing else. Perhaps as a further influence from the Middle East, candied fruits, sugared nuts, and other sweetmeats became popular and Auvergne gained fame for its fine-quality dragees (sugared almonds). About the same time, a growing interest in French food and its preparation was indicated by the publication of the first cookery books in French: Menagier de Paris, and Taillevent’s Viandier.

  • Finnish foods glossary and foods terms

    GLOSSARY OF FOODS AND FOOD TERMS IN FINLAND

    Aamiainen: breakfast.

    Besimarja: brambleberry liqueur.

    Easter Mammi: a very old traditional Easter dish that is a baked pudding or a beverage depending on where it is served. Made from water and rye flour, molasses, orange peel, and raisins. The pudding version is traditionally baked and served in baskets.

    Jaloviina: Finn brandy.

    Kaalilaatikko: a supper casserole of shredded veal, cabbage, and whortleberries baked in layers.

    Kalakukko: a dish of Karelian origin consisting of meat and fish (usually pork and herring or Muikko) baked inside a bread-dough crust for several hours. The resulting brown mixture is so well cooked that even the fish bones are indiscernible.

    Kalja: mild non-alcoholic brew drunk like beer and prepared frequently in Finn homes.

    Karjalan Piirakat: Karelian version of the filled noodle pastries or small filled yeast pastries known in Russia as Piroshki. The Finn version is filled with rice, potato, cheese, or meat, and the crust is made from rye flour.

    Keitetty Muna: boiled egg.

    Kesakeitto: a vegetable soup made with young sweet spring vegetables cooked together and finished with the addition of milk. A Finn spring favorite.

    Lakka: Finn cloudberry liqueur.

    Lanttulaatikko: a baked turnip casserole.

    Lipeakala: Finn name for the Swedish Lutefisk, the dried salt cod given special preparation for Christmas Eve dinner. The cod is soaked in water for several days before being given a one day soaking in a lye-and-ashes solution. This is followed by seven more days of soaking in fresh water before the fish is finally poached and served with a white sauce.

    Lounas: lunch.

    Maksalaatikko: a slow-baked casserole of liver and rice.

    Muikko: tiny freshwater fish that are eaten whole.

    Mustaa Kahvia: black coffee.

    Pahkinakakku: nut cake.

    Paistetut Sienet: a dish of fried wild mushrooms.

    Paivallinen: supper.

    Pannukakku: the baked Finn pancake made from eggs, milk, and flour similar to the batter and puffed crisp appearance of the English Yorkshire pudding.

    Piimaa: buttermilk.

    Poronkieli: reindeer tongue.

    Poronliha: smoked reindeer meat.

    Pulla: such a favorite, that there is seldom a Finn home without it. Scented with cardamom, this moist yeast dough is shaped into a braid and then thickly sliced after baking. Served with breakfast coffee or as part of a “coffee table.” Leftover slices are oven-dried and eaten as rusks, dipped into coffee. These latter may be called Korppua. Sometimes sweetened with raisins.

    Punajuuri Salaattia: cooked beet salad.

    Puuroa: a bowl of cooked cereal such as rice, farina, or oats, served with milk. Finn favorite for lunch or dessert.

    Rapuja or Rapu: the small freshwater crayfish served through the summer in Finland.

    Sillisalaatti: herring salad, often including potatoes and hard-cooked eggs.

    Sima: fermented lemon drink that is traditional for May Day.

    Tallimestarin Kiisseli: a special dessert, literally “the stablemaster’s fruit compote,” it is a mixture of slightly sweetened stewed raspberries and red currants, served over toasted pound cake and garnished with whipped cream and jelly.

    Tippaleipa: curlicues of thinly poured cruller batter, crisply fried and traditionally served with Sima for May Day

    Viili Piima: clabbered milk.

  • Finnish Daily Meals and Sauna Ritual

    Daily Meals and Sauna Ritual in Finland

    THE SAUNA RITUAL All Finn women follow housekeeping routines with almost religious fervor, but the bustle of Saturday’s activities is rewarded and soothed with the relaxation of the Saturday night sauna. The ritual of the sauna occupies such a central place in the lives of Finns that often, as in pioneer times, it is either the first building built or the first item Finns seek out when they emigrate.

    The sauna is a small house built of wood inside and out and often located near a lake or a backyard pool. One enters into a small dressing room and from there into the main room where the bathers rest or sit on sturdy wooden shelves. Heat is supplied by a small stove with hot rocks. From time to time water is splashed on the heated rocks to add steamy moisture to the air, and the bathers beat themselves (and others) lightly with a bunch of twigs called vihta. Bathers also douse themselves with cool water as a refresher. A soap-and-water scrub is followed by a shower or a leap into a lake or pool. Some hardy Finns have been known to run outdoors and roll in the snow.

    But the sauna is more than a bathhouse. Because of its scrupulous cleanliness, the sauna has often been the scene of a birth. Because of its relaxed atmosphere, it has also been the scene of many business discussions and even sauna parties. Also sauna-cured and smoked meats are common. A snack always follows the sauna ritual: sausages are grilled over an open fire or snacks of salty fish with rye bread and butter may be washed down with homemade Kalja.

    THE DAILY MEALS

    The daily menus differ slightly between rural and urban dwellers. Commonly, rural Finns awaken early to coffee and pulla. This is followed between 10:00 and 11:00 a.m. with a substantial breakfast of potatoes, meat, and gravy (or fish) then rye bread and butter and a dessert of porridge. A rest period after this meal is followed by a “coffee table” and then all return to their work. In the country, the evening meal is served in the late afternoon (usually after the cows are milked) and is similar in content to breakfast. Later in the evening the rural Finn relaxes and completes the day with yet another “coffee table.” Generally, the rural meal pattern consists of two hearty meals interspersed with coffee and plain yeast breads and cookies.

    Just as rural meal pattern follows the routine of daily labor, so too the urban meal pattern adapts itself to working hours. It is not practical for city people to consume only two meals and to eat them at the odd hours popular in the country. Although breakfast for most is still little more than coffee and pulla, men often have one or two open-face sandwiches of sliced cheeses and meats or fish. The city lunch depends on whether it is being eaten at home or in a restaurant. A home lunch will be little more than a bowl of puuroa (cooked cereal) and milk or buttermilk; while lunch eaten out will almost surely be the voileipapoyta: an array of fish and sliced meats, small hot dishes and then fruits and cheeses, all served with sliced dark breads. Often milk is the noon beverage, but men may take mild beers or Kalja.

    The city dinner will be eaten when the men come home from work so that the family can dine together. If this is to be a late meal, the family may enjoy a late afternoon “coffee table” to appease hunger. Dinner will likely be a slow-baked casserole with potatoes and served with pickles, followed by a porridge or fruit dish for dessert. Coffee and breads will be enjoyed still later in the evening as a snack before bed.