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Mexican Cuisine: Food Aesthetics

The traditional culture of each nation consists of the material and spiritual spheres, which, in turn, include a number of components that determine the worldview of the people. One of these components of the material culture of an ethnic group is food. Like other peoples, the Mexicans have developed their own set of food products, closely related to the natural environment and economic and economic activities. The variety of dishes and the way they are processed are also closely related to the ethnic traditions of the Mexicans. The purpose of the study is to identify the characteristic features of Mexican cuisine and the complex traditions associated with it, to show the specific features inherent in the food culture. The history of Mexican cuisine is deeply rooted, combining Spanish and Native American culinary traditions. The synthesis of the two culinary cultures began as early as the 16th century. The main ingredients of Mexican cuisine were: corn, beans, chili, spices, cactus, and tomatoes. The Indians, on the other hand, prepared from other products, and here the beloved chocolate played an important role, the daily diet of which was guided by it. The Spaniards added wheat, barley, rice, meat, olive oil, nuts, wine, and parsley. One of the innovations was cheese.

The presence of cattle and other domestic animals brought in by the Spaniards allowed for many different dishes to be added. This is how the hard cheese “Manchego”, consisting of sheep’s milk, appeared in Mexico. Mexican cuisine is considered the most popular in the world, namely, it is famous for its national cuisine. In modern public catering enterprises, two trends are distinguished: 1) the desire for the originality and sophistication of the chosen cuisine and culture; 2) many assortments of national dishes and drinks. Mexican cuisine is unique, it includes a rich assortment of meat and vegetable dishes, different sauces, and exotic fruits.

The peculiarity of Mexican dishes is the presence of a large number of different spices and the constant chili pepper, without which no Mexican dish can do. With regard to meat products, in most cases, Mexicans use pork, beef, veal, lamb, and poultry. One of the most important ingredients of Mexican cuisine is the spicy sauces “mole” and “salsa”, which complement the taste of the main dishes. Another characteristic of Mexican cuisine is the use of a variety of corn varieties as the main ingredient in various national Mexican dishes: corn is used in almost all dishes, from “hard beer” to tortilla. Traditional tortillas made from cornmeal are on the menu of every Mexican restaurant. Corn tortillas can also be used to make the popular tacos, which uses selected beef as the filling. It should be noted that dishes made from corn, chili, beans, and pumpkin have been cooked in Mexico for many years. It is also important to note the interesting fact of the use of prickly pear, vanilla, and agave cactus as an ingredient in Mexican cuisine. In addition, there is a wide variety of fish and seafood dishes in contemporary Mexican cuisine. Many people use not only the classic heating equipment for restaurants but also the use of ancient methods of cooking: clay vessels or leaves. Mexican cuisine is easy to prepare, so it is not only delicious but also healthy.

Guacamole remains one of the most popular Mexican dishes since ancient times, the recipe of which has survived through the centuries to the present day. It includes avocado pulp flavored with lime juice, chili, cilantro, and green onions. Served “guacamole” with tortillas. As a side dish for various fish and meat dishes, for the preparation of which a “cutter” (sausage) is used for meat, Mexicans use beans. Of course, all this is not complete without chili. As mentioned earlier, there are many different spices in Mexican cuisine, such as cilantro, cumin seeds, chaya, verbena, avocado leaves, Santa yerba herb. As for dessert dishes, pancakes with various fillings of exotic fruits and condensed milk occupy an important place here. Alcoholic drinks in Mexico, of course, are not limited only to tequila, but it is Tequila that is in great demand, both in the country itself and abroad. The homeland of tequila is the city of the same name in the state of Jalisco. Tequila has a rich assortment of various high-grade drink “mescal”. Mescal is a strong Mexican alcoholic drink, it is a pure distillate of agave mash, enriched with a variety of fruits, spices, and honey. The word “mezcal” in Mexico means everything that is made from agave juice. Typically, the drink is placed in a bottle, at the bottom of which a caterpillar or other species of insects that live in Mexico float. It is believed that if a caterpillar does not dissolve in mezcal, then it is of high quality. Thus, having considered the features of Mexican cuisine, we can say that Mexican cuisine is an integral part of the culture of the people. It is determined that the traditions of food, laid down in Mexican cuisine, have evolved over the centuries. The Mexican cuisine was significantly influenced by the influence of the religious factor, that is, the dominant religion in the country. Mexican traditional dishes are based on cornflour dishes, cacti, alcoholic beverages, and, of course, different types of sauces and spices, without which no dish is complete.

Each nation has its own, time-tested set of favorite products, from which skilled chefs create recipes for delicious dishes. In many ways, the national products of Mexico owe their origin to the geographical location of the country and the historical features of its development. It’s amazing that some of the popular foods that people around the world are used to come from Mexico.

Scientists have found that everyone’s favorite chocolate, beans, peanuts, coconuts, tomatoes, and vanilla are native to the land of the Aztecs and Mayans. They are included in many recipes of Mexican cuisine, giving them a national flavor.

The oldest product in the Mexican diet is corn, which is carefully cultivated by many civilizations. Many dishes are prepared on the basis of cornflour. Masa, like tortillas, is a Mexican stuffed flatbread, and tamales, a porridge with a sweet or savory flavor, is traditional food. Such cakes were stuffed with a variety of products, from meat and poultry to cheese and vegetables. There were many types of corn. The process of processing grains has been taking shape for centuries. For the people of Mexico, tortillas have the same meaning as bread for Europeans.

Beans in Mexican cuisine are another important product from which a variety of soups and cereals are prepared. Beans combined with vegetables, spices, and meats made wonderful traditional dishes.

It is impossible to imagine a menu in Mexican restaurants without chili peppers. This product is used fresh, dried, and smoked, and it adds flavor to every dish it contains.

The highly developed national cuisine of Mexico dates back to the culture of the Indians, which prevailed in the era before the Spanish colonization. The traditions of the Aztecs and Mayans, who lived in the highlands and were destroyed by the conquerors from Europe, were preserved by the Mexicans, as a tribute to the history of the country, and have survived to this day. Ancient peoples founded and perfectly developed agriculture, the main results of which were crops such as grain, legumes, peppers, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, avocados, and many others.

The national Mexican cuisine contains dishes, the composition of which was formed by the ancient inhabitants of the country. It is known that the Maya did not adhere to vegetarianism and ate turkey and meat from dogs specially raised for this purpose. The diet was based on corn, beans, and pumpkin crops, and the ancient peoples knew about pepper and honey from time immemorial. The Aztecs diversified their plant diet with shrimp, algae, and some insect species, ants and larvae.

It has been proven that insects provide the human body with an amount of protein that exceeds their content in meat, which is why in some parts of Mexico they are a delicacy even in our time. The source of meat for the Indians was hunting wild animals and birds such as wild boars, ducks, fallow deer.

Spanish colonization brought new features to the cuisine of the indigenous peoples of Mexico and to the characteristics of Mexican cuisine. Some food crops have been banned. Among them was amaranth, used by the Aztecs instead of wheat for baking bread, which led to the malnutrition of local residents.

The invasion of the conquistadors was accompanied by the emergence of new types of meat: beef, pork, lamb. Also, the conquerors from Europe brought with them wine, vinegar, and cheese, which have long been known to the inhabitants of their continent. The process of assimilation of Indian Mexican cuisine receives a new tender – it is enriched with products from Africa and South America.

The united food traditions of the countries of several continents have formed the unique features of modern Mexican cuisine, thanks to which it has gained popularity all over the world. The widespread use of vegetables makes the dishes healthy, enriched with vitamins and minerals, and the inclusion of sauces with various spices in the menu gives them a bright and rich taste.

Typical Mexican vegetables, such as avocados, are added to the carrots, spinach, beans, and cauliflower familiar to Europeans. They like to add it to first courses, sauces, salads, and desserts. Avocado guacamole is offered in many Mexican cafes as a mild sauce for the main course. Jerusalem artichoke tubers are very useful and typical food for Mexico. The vegetable chayote pear is used for making traditional salads and for baking.

Many wonderful fruits grow in Mexico, without which it is impossible to get a complete picture of the national cuisine. The most famous of these is the papaya, loved by most Europeans. Its fruits are used not only ripe but also unripe. Cherimoya, a sugar apple, tastes like a mango, and guava can be compared to the pear we are used to.

Mexican desserts are a special section of national recipes. Their peculiarity lies in the unusual combination of sweet and spicy foods, which always delights foreigners.

Local Kakheta Kemada sweets are genuine works of art. Sugar Skulls are traditional sweets made for the Day of the Dead national holiday. Sweets and condensed milk containing corn, once again prove the versatility of this ancient Mexican product.

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Dominican Cuisine: Food Aesthetics

Tourists, vacationing in hotels of the Dominican Republic on the All Inclusive system, are sometimes offered dishes of the Dominican cuisine. But real national food, as elsewhere, is served in local restaurants (Comederia), where Dominicans dine.

To choose the right Dominican restaurant, pay attention to how crowded it is. It tastes better where there are more local visitors!

But first, let’s find out: what and when do Dominicans eat?

DOMINICAN CUISINE

After tasting the real Dominican cuisine, you may notice that it is based on a combination of different types of meat with the obligatory addition of rice and legumes, as well as bananas and local vegetables. It is also flavored with local herbs, which add a unique flavor and aroma to each dish.

BREAKFAST

The day starts with a fairly hearty breakfast. Usually, it is scrambled eggs with slices of ham, and mangu – mashed vegetable bananas or boiled sweet potatoes, seasoned with herbs, onions, cheese, and pieces of meat. And the breakfast ends with coffee with a lot of sugar. Also for breakfast, Dominicans often eat pieces of cheese fried in butter, which literally melt in the mouth.

DINNER

For lunch, Dominicans usually eat chicken with rice, or Sancocho – a stew of meat with rice and stews.

In general, rice and meat are the most common foods on the Dominican dinner table. There are many ways to cook rice and many more ways to cook meat. Rice is always served with bean gravy and vegetable salads made from avocado, tayota, yucca, and other local exotic vegetables.

DINNER

Family Dominicans usually dine at home. Most often, they eat the same for dinner as for lunch, only smaller portions.

DOMINICAN CUISINE GUIDE

If you decide to try some authentic Dominican cuisine, be sure to read our small guide to local food. We will indicate the Spanish name and the main ingredients of each dish to make it easier for you to navigate the menu.

SOUPS

Sancocho

This extremely thick stew is made up mostly of meat, chicken, or fish. An essential ingredient in sancocho is a piece of young corn on the cob.

In fact, in such a soup they put almost everything edible that was found in the kitchen. That is, pork sausage and bacon, as well as lime, garlic, cassava, yams can be in sancocho. In some ways, this soup may resemble our hodgepodge.

Asopao de Mariscos

Seafood soup with rice. Fish lovers should definitely try this slightly strange but very tasty soup.

DISHES WITH VARIOUS MEAT AND Poultry

La Bandera

Translated into English, the name of this dish means “flag”. The dish is quite simple and consists of red beans, rice, and meat (the color of the Dominican flag) with the addition of fried bananas and vegetables. Dominicans eat it for lunch and dinner. Typically, La Bandera is served with salad or crispy fried bananas.

Mofongo

Another dish definitely worth trying for lovers of culinary tourism. A real mofongo consists of several layers interlaced with leaves. Each layer contains different ingredients. This is usually fried mashed banana, bacon, or other meats.

There is a simplified version of mofongo, where mashed banana is simply mixed with chunks of meat and vegetables, as well as garlic, olive oil, and Chicharones (fried pork or chicken rind). There is also a recipe for shrimp mofongo.

Outwardly, the mofongo looks like pyramids in children’s sandboxes. It looks strange, but if you see such a pyramid, be sure to try it.

Let’s list a few more famous dishes of Dominican cuisine:

  • Arepitas de Maiz – cornmeal pancakes;
  • Camarones al ajillo – shrimp with garlic;
  • Cangrejo con coco – crab in coconut sauce;
  • Chivo guisado – stewed goat meat;
  • Chivo a la Diabla – stewed goat meat garnished with yucca root vegetable;
  • Chuletas – smoked and then grilled pork chops;
  • Croquetas de Pollo – chicken meatballs;
  • Lechon asado – roast pork;
  • Mangu – banana puree sprinkled with fried onions. It can be served with scrambled eggs, salami, and grilled white cheese;
  • Moro – rice with black beans. Sometimes the beans are stewed in coconut milk beforehand;
  • Pica Pollo – breaded fried chicken;
  • Puerco asado – vegetable stew with meat;
  • Servisio – this delicious and unusual dish consists of meat and vegetables baked in banana leaves;
  • Queso frito – fried white cheese;
  • Chicharrones de Pollo – small pieces of fried chicken.

SEAFOOD

They are prepared to keep the appearance of the product as much as possible. Fish, crabs, lobsters, mussels are boiled or baked whole on the grill, or fried, sprinkled with coconut. The main feature of seafood food is the variety of sauces.

Pescado con Coco is a delicious fish dish cooked in coconut sauce.

SIDE DISHES

Almost all dishes in the Dominican Republic are served with boiled rice or Tostones – fried bananas. Beans and local vegetables are also often served as a side dish.

Platano bananas, from which tostones are made, are larger than regular bananas and are not sweet at all. They are cut into slices, about a centimeter thick, and fried in a pan with a little oil. The outside of the toston has a thin fried crust, but inside it is soft and tender.

DESSERTS

For desserts, try sweet bean cream, fruit-filled cake (usually pineapple), rice pudding, coconut cookies, and coconut ice cream.
But there are also a few Dominican goodies, for example:

“Dulches-con-Coco” – coconut flakes with molasses;
“Dulches-con-Leche” – a mixture of milk with molasses;
“Dulches-de-Naranja” – orange pulp jam with molasses;
“Coco-Nueve-Con-Leche” – coconut pulp jam with milk.

FRUITS

The best Dominican dessert is, of course, fruit. They are always ripe here because they ripen throughout the year. The most delicious fruits, but, unfortunately, not suitable for any long-term storage and transportation, can be bought from farmers or from roadside traders.

It is worth mentioning some of the local fruits, some of which you probably know.

Pineapples, which are called pignas in the Dominican Republic, are tasty and juicy here. They are recommended to everyone who wants to lose weight. To do this, they should be eaten on an empty stomach.

More than 40 varieties of mango grow in the Dominican Republic. However, if you want to taste different fruits, you have to come here from April to September.

There are many types of bananas here. There are the usual yellow ones, there are red ones, there are bananas for frying and many others. Dominicans add them to all dishes, even meat or chicken. It turns out delicious – if you know which banana to add where.

Avocado is also worth trying. The fruits here are large and melt in the mouth.

Papaya, or lechosa, locally, is a fruit that you can eat just like that, either grind it in a smoothie drink or add in pieces, say, to your morning oatmeal.

Pitahaya are large reddish fruits with edible flesh inside. The fruit is cut open and eaten with a spoon. They are especially recommended for people with a sick stomach or diabetes mellitus.

Chinola (passion fruit) is an incredibly healthy fruit that grows on a liana. It is quite acidic, so it is best to eat it by cutting off the top and adding a spoonful of honey. Chinola is added for flavor and aroma to the local ice cream, as well as juices.

Sapote is a large brown fruit with suede skin. Inside there is a large varnished bone and pulp that looks like orange cream. It tastes like both sweet pumpkin and boiled carrots.

Mamon. This fruit grows in the mountains, so it is quite rare and expensive. It is advised to use it, having previously held it in the freezer.

Granadilla is a sour pulp with seeds inside. Most often used for making juice.

Guanabana or creamy apple is a large and prickly green fruit. Inside – white pulp with seeds. It quenches thirst and helps with many diseases.

Jagua is used to extract the juice.

Nispero is a medlar. The whole fruit consists of pulp.

DRINKS

Food in the Dominican Republic is usually accompanied by a glass of ice water and ends with a cup of aromatic coffee.

Rum is popular among alcoholic beverages. In the Dominican Republic, many different types of rum are produced: dark, light, aged, with various additives. In its pure form, rum is drunk in small portions, but more often it is diluted or used in cocktails.

There are almost no own wines in the Dominican Republic, but good beer is brewed here. The main varieties are Presidente, Bohemia, Quiskeia, and Seniza.

Sometimes locals prefer the Malta Morena drink. Despite the similar ingredients to beer, it is a sweet non-alcoholic beverage. It can be mixed with condensed milk for a creamy flavor.

From soft drinks, Dominicans drink orange juice, coconut milk, fruit drinks. Sugar is often added to freshly squeezed juices.

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Traditional Ethiopian Cuisine: Food Aesthetics

First of all, Ethiopian cuisine, before you learn about the specifics of Ethiopian cuisine in more detail, it should be noted that traditional Ethiopian cuisine does not imply any cutlery on the table.

Then how do they eat, you ask? The thing is that the role of ordinary plates is played by a large tortilla made of teff flour, which is called “injera”. In appearance, the cake resembles a large pancake, and to taste – sour bread. During the meal, the cake is placed on the table, and dishes are placed on top. What about forks, spoons? And in this case, “injera” comes to the aid of local residents. Small pieces of tortillas are broken off the edges and used to eat the served dish.

Ethiopia is a tropical country. Its location has a significant impact on the formation of local cuisine. Located in the northeastern part of the African continent, it is customary to eat rather spicy food here. If not all, then almost every dish in Ethiopian cuisine is served with a hot sauce. The most popular condiments that are included in almost all dishes are – onion, garlic, red pepper, cloves, mustard, ginger, coriander …

On the Ethiopian table, red pepper should always be present, in case of insufficient hotness and homemade cottage cheese, in case of eliminating excessive burning.

Capsicum, which is egg-shaped, is no less popular in Ethiopian cuisine. Capsicum seeds are used as seasoning in cooking and as a pain reliever for toothaches in medicine.

In the mountains of Ethiopia, there are many unique plants that can be used both in medicine and in cooking. One of these useful trees is “mariandera”. The leaves of this tree are used as sage, but you can even bake delicious bread from the seeds of “bananier de bru”.

Surprisingly, not all Europeans are ready to appreciate the local Ethiopian cuisine. Yes, unfortunately, it is.

For example, would you like to try butter barley porridge made with only rancid butter (i.e. spoiled with a bitter taste)? I doubt it. Okay, but what about pancakes made from yeast dough, but not those that we fry, but boiled pancakes.

Guests in Ethiopia are treated to a dish called African eggs. And it looks like this: a ham is put on a piece of toasted bread, and a soft-boiled egg is placed on top.

Do not say, Ethiopian cuisine, but the composition of meat dishes in Ethiopia is quite original. The Christians of the Ethiopian Church, like the Muslims, do not eat pork. The reason for this is the fasts provided for by the Orthodox Church. This led to the fact that Ethiopian cuisine is more like a vegetarian.

However, meat dishes are not completely excluded from the cuisine of this culture. Most often, exotic meats are used for cooking meat dishes. As a rule, this is the meat of snakes, lizards, crocodiles.

Ethiopian cuisine is also characterized by the use of camel meat. Local residents are sure that camel milk and the oil made from it have a number of tonic properties. Ethiopians often cook lamb or poultry. They consume breadfruit, which tastes like gingerbread.

On the tables of the richer part of the population, you can see an abundance of fresh fruits, jellies, and mousses. Spiders and locusts fried in palm oil stand out among the national dishes.

Another distinctive feature of Ethiopian cuisine is the almost complete absence of vegetable dishes. Instead, millet cereals are common there.

Fish is a popular product in some coastal areas. There are different ways to prepare it.

The most common modern dish is wat, which is stewed onions with boiled eggs and seasoned with spices. Sometimes beans or meat are added there.

In general, we can say that Ethiopian cuisine does not differ in particular benefits and tastes. Often, they cook there so that all the vegetables are overcooked, the meat is stewed, and the fish is overcooked. Moreover, in Ethiopia, they used to fry yesterday’s half-eaten food in oil and serve it as a new dish the next day.

Interestingly, in the Muslim regions of Ethiopia, the leaves of the narcotic khat bush are consumed, and special ceremonies are observed.

Indeed, Ethiopian cuisine and Ethiopian cuisine drinks are a wonderful exception to the general culinary culture. The most popular are such drinks as “zhalla” – beer made from barley; various honey drinks; local juice called “spris” – thick, multi-layered, which is made from fresh fruits: papaya, banana or avocado; moonshine with honey and herbs – “Taj”; and of course coffee.

The ritual of drinking coffee in Ethiopia can be equated with the tea-drinking ceremony in China. You can see and take part in such a ceremony in any restaurant or cafe in a given country. Incense smoking is one of the obligatory attributes of the ceremony. As a rule, coffee is added with sugar, herbs, and special oil. The best Ethiopian coffees are considered “Harar” and “Jimma”.

The process of brewing coffee looks like this in Ethiopian cuisine: coffee beans are laid on a metal sheet, which is laid on a roasting pan. On this sheet, the grains are washed three times and only then fried. Coffee is brewed in an earthen jug, where the ground coffee beans are poured with water, after which the jug is placed directly on the burning coals.

To check the thickness and readiness of the coffee, a fragrant brown liquid is poured into a glass and then splashed onto the jug itself so that it does not burst from the high temperature. It is known that on average, each Ethiopian drinks up to 10 cups of coffee daily.

This is such an original and peculiar cuisine of the tropical country of Ethiopia. If you go there on a trip, do not forget to share your impressions.

As already stated, everyone who tries Ethiopian cuisine reports an instant development of addiction and addiction. Painfully, it is delicious, fragrant! Especially those who love spicy food will definitely be satisfied. The fertile soil of the country for tens of centuries has allowed the cultivation of teff, maize, hot peppers, moringa – what creates a special character of the local cuisine. If you try to describe the cuisine of Ethiopia in a nutshell, then these are numerous cereals plus the sharpness of sauces. And if we characterize the local dishes in terms of appearance, then everything here comes down to just one word – “injera”.

The second, after injera, the key element of Ethiopian gastronomy is considered berbere – a mixture of hot chili peppers, fried onions, and a small amount of some kind of spices, well, just magical, otherwise – why do not local chefs reveal the full recipe for berbere and other dishes? Berbere is used not only in main dishes but also in sweet desserts. A thick consistency, dark cherry color, and simply incredible aroma are the key features of Berbere, which will allow you to always recognize Ethiopian food in the future, wherever you are.

Moving on to the meat. Ethiopians eat meat, but not always. The fact is that the local confession – Ethiopian Christianity – relies on Old Testament prohibitions and permits. According to the denomination of the Ethiopian Christians, it is necessary to keep several major fasts every year, plus fast on Wednesdays and Fridays. These days, it is customary to eat exclusively vegetarian dishes, which, by the way, are abundant in Ethiopia’s cookbook. The locals do not eat pork either – both Christians living according to the canons of the Old Testament and Muslims. But they love and know how to cook beef, goat meat, lamb, and poultry.

And now a little about specific names that will help you navigate and make the right choice when you find yourself in front of an open restaurant menu. Tibs – the so-called elongated pieces of meat, usually beef or lamb, fried and served with spicy gravy. Doro-wot will appeal to poultry lovers, it is chicken cooked in onion sauce. Kitfo is one of the more popular dishes, which is fried pickled ground beef with hot peppers and niter kibbeh (ghee with spices and herbs). Kitfo is also prepared with cheese and herbs. Kitfo, like many other things, is served with injera cakes.

Everyone, of course, knows about Ethiopian coffee. In general, the word “coffee” comes from the name of the province of Ethiopia, Kaffa. It is in Ethiopia that some of the best Arabica varieties grow. And even if today the country is not the first in the supply of coffee beans, it is still worth paying tribute to the taste of this drink. It is impossible to imagine a friendly meeting of Ethiopians, which would take place, not over a cup of a fragrant drink. And any delicious meal or reception always ends with a serving of coffee. For alcohol, we recommend paying attention to honey wine and beer from local breweries.

Ethiopia also has its own amazing feast traditions. As we already said, instead of forks and spoons, pieces of a flat cake are used here. However, no one will express contempt in your address if you take food with your hands. On the contrary! So you will eat exactly like an Ethiopian. Perhaps at first, it will seem absurd, but you will get used to it very quickly, and then wonder why spoons are needed at all, when it is so convenient and, most importantly, delicious to eat with your hands? Ethiopians also hate to eat alone, so here in catering establishments, it is in the order of things to invite a lonely person to join at the next table.

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Ukrainian Cuisine: Food Aesthetics

The names of some Ukrainian dishes can mislead tourists who speak other Slavic languages. How not get confused about the menu and what to try from Ukrainian cuisine?

Features of Ukrainian Cuisine

Ukrainian cuisine is delicious, hearty, and varied. It is even difficult to imagine that simple peasant dishes from their basis: they are prepared quickly and simply, and the result is excellent. The warm climate and fertile land played a role here. Thanks to this, cereals grow well in Ukraine, therefore, there are a lot of cereals and flour products in the national cuisine. In summer and autumn, a rich harvest of vegetables and legumes is harvested here – cabbage, beets, potatoes, carrots, zucchini, pumpkins, peas, beans. In addition, since the 19th century, Ukrainians have been growing sunflowers from which oil is made. They are fried in sunflower oil and seasoned with salads. Before the emergence of sunflower, rapeseed oil was used in Ukraine, and even more often – lard (melted pork fat). They are fried on lard even now, but this is more typical for home cooking.

Meanwhile, there are very few fried dishes in Ukrainian cuisine. Since everything was cooked in the oven, the products were boiled, stewed, or baked.

Meat – mainly pork and beef – was not eaten so often, so they tried to keep it smoked or dried for a long time. Garlic, horseradish, and herbs were used as aromatic additives: even now, when any spices are available, odorous, but not hot spices are chosen for Ukrainian dishes. Moreover, Ukrainian cuisine has absorbed the culinary traditions of neighboring countries. Therefore, in the Lviv region, they cook Polish flaks, in Bukovina – Moldavian hominy, in Transcarpathia – Hungarian goulash, and in the east of Ukraine – Russian okroshka. The dishes of Jewish cuisine have also taken root: for example, the Ukrainians have rethought the recipe for stuffed fish and add a little lard to the minced fish – it turns out juicy and tasty.

National Dishes of Ukraine

Salo is the main national food in Ukraine. Pork lard is salted, boiled, smoked, lard is melted from it, greaves are made, and ground with garlic. Today’s nutritionists disagree about this product, but it is known that lard contains valuable fatty acids, and there are relatively few unhealthy saturated fats. According to an anecdote, bacon causes sclerosis: ate a sandwich with bacon – and forgot about hunger for a long time.

Borsch – beet soup with meat broth. In Ukraine, red borscht is cooked in different ways: in some regions, beans are necessarily put in a saucepan, in others – prunes, in others – mushrooms, in fourths borscht is seasoned with flour, and in fifths – with smoked meats. Very often, a lek is added to the finished dish – crushed bacon with garlic, pepper, and herbs. It is customary to eat borscht with sour cream, and instead of bread, lean on donuts – soft buns, the crust of which is greased with vegetable oil and garlic.

Dumplings, or pies, are one of the most famous national dishes of Ukraine.

Dumplings are made stuffed with mashed potatoes, stewed cabbage, mushrooms, or meat, then before serving they are flavored with fried onions or cracklings – pieces of bacon fried to a crunch.

The filling can be sweet: from cottage cheese, cherries, blueberries, grated apples – sour cream is served with such dumplings. In addition, lazy dumplings are made: steep curd dough is cut into rhombuses or rolled into balls and boiled until tender.

Dumplings differ from other products made from unleavened dough with filling in shape: they look like a crescent. Often they pinch the edge in a special way as if braiding a pigtail.

Dumplings are pieces of unleavened dough boiled in water. They are eaten as a separate dish, seasoned with butter or sour cream, and sometimes added to a soup. Less often, dumplings are made with meat, cottage cheese, or berry filling.

Cheese is an important part of Ukrainian cuisine. You can’t make a banosh without fragrant cheese from goat or sheep milk, and vurdu – whey cheese – can be eaten just like that or used as a filling for dumplings. Two more dishes, although not related to the national cuisine, have long become the national food of Ukraine.

This is a Kyiv cutlet – a chicken fillet roll with a piece of butter inside rolled in breadcrumbs and deep-fried, as well as “Kyiv cake” – two layers of nut meringue fastened with buttercream.

Chicken Kyiv is prepared in many restaurants, and it is easier to buy a cake in a supermarket or pastry shop.

Snacks

Snacks in traditional Ukrainian cuisine are mostly festive dishes. Cooking many meats was a way to preserve the product for a long time, and vegetable snacks, especially pickles, diversified the meal in winter or spring.

Saltison, or salceson, kovbik, kendyukh – boiled pork offal with garlic and spices, which are stuffed into the pork stomach and baked.

Gurka is a homemade sausage made from pork blood or offal. Rice, millet, or corn grits are also added to the minced meat.

Polyadvitsa – dried pork or beef tenderloin. This dish is traditionally prepared for Christmas.

Matsik is another type of jerky pork. The meat for it is coarsely cut, mixed with salt and spices, and then tightly placed in the pork stomach and dried for several months.

Wujenina – smoked meat.

Kryzhavki – cabbage pickled in vinegar. Usually it is pickled with beets, so the cabbage turns pink.

Mezhivo is a vegetable stew that can be prepared from zucchini, carrots, pumpkin, eggplant, and tomatoes. Cold mezhivo serves as an appetizer, hot – an independent dish or side dish.

Machanka is a cross between a thick soup and a sauce in which you can dip bread or pancakes. Machanka is made from finely chopped meat and onions, the broth is thickened with flour. Instead of meat, mushrooms are used, adding sour cream to the sauce.

Jellied meat, or dragal, is a cold snack made from boiled meat in a frozen concentrated broth. In Ukraine, pork jellied meat is often cooked, less often from beef or poultry. Serve it with horseradish or mustard.

Salads

The recipes for Ukrainian salads are ingenious but reasonable: everything that grows in the garden is used. And in the spring, when there are no fresh vegetables and stocks are running out, salads are made from boiled eggs, potatoes, and the first greens – for example, from wild garlic.

Mіzerіya is a salad of fresh cucumbers and herbs with sour cream, which is prepared in Western Ukraine and Poland.

Varya hutsulska is a healthy salad of boiled beets, beans and prunes, seasoned with vegetable oil.

Soups

In addition to borscht, other soups are brewed in Ukraine, as a rule, in meat broth. During Orthodox fasts, meatless soups are prepared.

Kapusnyak is a rich soup with fresh or sauerkraut. For density, it is seasoned with millet, mashed boiled potatoes, and sometimes flour.

Zeleniy borscht – soup with sorrel or other herbs (nettle, quinoa). Often, green borscht is boiled with the addition of beets.

Bograch – Transcarpathian interpretation of Hungarian goulash, thick beef soup.

Yushka – meat, fish, or mushroom broth, as well as liquid soup seasoned with vegetables or cereals. Yushka z lek is a soup with crushed bacon dressing.

Mushroom (mushroom) zupa, or mushroom yushka, is a popular porcini mushroom soup in the Carpathians.

Cold borscht – summer soup with beet broth, infusion, or kvass. Fresh cucumbers, boiled potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, finely chopped meat are poured with chilled broth.

Already at the table, the soup is seasoned with horseradish and sour cream, sprinkled with herbs, and sometimes finely chopped beet tops.

Yarinova zupa – vegetable soup.

For the soup, you can be offered knishi – round buns with unsweetened filling, or potaptsi – brown bread croutons.

Some common soups may be hidden behind unusual names. For example, in the Lviv region, the broth is called rosil, and green sorrel borscht is called kvask soup.

Meat Dishes

Unlike Russian cuisine, where meat is used little, Ukrainian cuisine has many recipes for meat dishes. The liver is a stew of meat with potatoes, beans, carrots, and onions. Sometimes cookies are cooked without potatoes, but then the popular tuber is served as a side dish. Chinakhi, or chanakhi, is a cookie-like dish common in Bukovina. Smazhenina – fried meat, usually pork, but in modern recipes and beef, lamb, chicken. Potatoes are sometimes fried along with meat. Sicheniki – cutlets from minced meat or fish. Grechaniki – cutlets, which include equally beef / minced pork and boiled buckwheat. Golubtsі – meat filling, wrapped in cabbage leaves. There are different recipes for stuffed cabbage: only minced meat, or meat with rice, or even thinly beaten pieces of meat can be wrapped in cabbage. Cabbage rolls are stewed with the addition of tomato paste and sour cream. Fried meat – fried meat, often ribs, with large beans, which is cooked in the western regions of Ukraine. Baked sponder – brisket (brisket) cooked in the oven or bacon, fatty meat with a lot of lard. The sponder is rubbed with salt, pepper, and herbs before baking. Platbands are thin pancakes in which different fillings are wrapped: minced meat from boiled meat or fish, stewed mushrooms, sweet cottage cheese, berries and fruits, jam. Krucheniki – delicious meat rolls. For their preparation, pork or beef tenderloin is cut into layers, beaten off and a filling is wrapped in each layer: mushroom minced meat, chopped egg with onions, rice, dried fruits. The finished rolls are fried and then stewed until tender.

Vegetables and Cereals

There are a lot of vegetable dishes in Ukraine. Vegetables, as a rule, are stewed or baked, but potatoes are fried, and boiled, and stewed, and baked, used to make the dough and as a filling. Deruni, or grated potatoes, kremzliki – grated potato pancakes. In the simplest version, potato pancakes are fried until golden brown and served with sour cream. In more complex recipes, potato pancakes are stuffed with minced meat, fried, and then baked in pots with mushrooms and sour cream. Kartoplyaniki, or lezhnі – zrazy from potato dough with meat, mushroom, or cabbage filling. Sticks, or sticks, are small oblong products made from potato dough. The sticks are boiled like dumplings or dumplings and poured with hot lard and fried onions. Cabbage is boiled – stewed cabbage baked with millet porridge. Often this dish is complemented with cracklings. Porridge has a place of honor in the national cuisine of Ukraine. But if buckwheat, wheat, or barley porridge is well known to everyone, then some cereal dishes can be tasted only in Ukraine.

Banosh, or banush, is a popular dish of the Ukrainian Carpathians, which is prepared from corn flour or cereals. During cooking, cream or sour cream is added to the porridge, and the finished banosh is sprinkled with cracklings and crumbled feta cheese. Kulesha and tokan dishes are similar to banosh.

Mamaliga is a steeply cooked corn porridge. Mamalyga can be crumbled and poured with hot milk, or it can be cut into layers, fried, and sprinkled with grated feta cheese. Mamalyga also serves as a classic side dish for fryptour – juicy stew (Bukovina also borrowed this recipe from Moldovan cuisine). And also hominy cakes can be used instead of bread. Kulish – millet porridge with bacon and fried onions. This porridge was cooked by Zaporozhye Cossacks, and now it is an integral part of Ukrainian cuisine. To make the porridge more satisfying, potatoes, carrots, mushrooms, and less often meat are added to it. Kutya is a special porridge made from whole wheat grains with poppy seeds, raisins, and nuts, which is prepared for Christmas. Buckwheat flour, like wheat and rye, was used to make lasanki – a type of pasta. Lasankas are given different shapes, sometimes they are just sheets of dough boiled in water.

Fish

The rivers of Ukraine are rich in fish, and therefore fish dishes are not uncommon in Ukrainian cuisine. Here you can taste something simple, like fried crucian carp, or complex dishes – stuffed pike, pike perch, or bream in sour cream sauce. Trout, or pstrug, is found in the Carpathian rivers. This valuable fish is boiled, fried, baked.

The Black Sea herring enters the waters of the Danube; in the Odessa region, it is called so – Danube. The Danube is salted like a common herring, or boiled with potatoes, seasoning the water for cooking with pepper and bay leaves.

And in Ukraine, crayfish are excellent cooked. They are boiled with herbs and roots and then served with garlic oil or sour cream sauce.

Desserts

Among the traditional dishes in Ukraine, there are many sweet pastries. Especially a lot of sweets are baked at Christmas and Easter. Pirіzhki – products made from yeast dough with a filling, not necessarily sweet. For the dessert table, they make pies with poppy seeds, rhubarb, cherries, blueberries, viburnum, apples, cottage cheese. The most unusual of the sweet fillings are beans with raisins. Perekreklyenets is a yeast dough pie in which poppy, fruit, berry, or nut filling is laid out in several layers, interspersed with the dough. Different fillings are often put in one pie. Plyatski is a popular name for pies in Western Ukraine, in which the cakes are sandwiched with cream and other fillings. Plyatski are baked in rectangular forms, and served on the table cut into individual cakes. If the menu includes a dance with a lucer, you can safely order it for your child: a lucer is just a fudge. Sirnik is a delicious Western Ukrainian curd dough pie. The taste of cheesecake is decorated with berries, candied fruits, raisins, chocolate, nuts. And the most airy pies are obtained when mashed potatoes are added to the curd. Verguni, or pletuni, are crispy cookies made from thinly rolled yeast dough, which are fried on lard and sprinkled with powdered sugar before serving. Pundikas are donuts fried in vegetable oil or lard. Now they are made sweet, and earlier donuts were flavored with fried onions. Птисі – eclairs. Zavivanets – a roll of yeast dough with sweet filling: poppy, nut, berry.

Drinks

What is cooked in the berry season, when the dumplings are stuck and the pies are baked? Of course, compotes and jelly. A cool sour drink made from red currants or cherries is what you need on a hot summer day. Butter is a product obtained by whipping butter from cream. The low-fat drink is rich in protein and is an excellent thirst quencher. Sour milk, sour milk, samokish – yogurt, which is obtained by fermentation with the help of lactic acid bacteria present in milk. Guslyanka is a thick drink made from fermented boiled milk, traditional for Carpathian cuisine. It can be called a drink conditionally, since the gargle is best eaten with a spoon. Varenets is a drink made from fermented baked milk. Tsibrey – kvass made from rye or oat flour, which is still prepared in the Carpathians. Uzvar – infusion or compote from dried apples, pears, plums. Traditionally, uzvar is made at Christmas, but it is also drunk in summer as a soft drink, and in winter it serves as a source of vitamins.

Of course, it is worth trying the healing mineral waters that are mined in Ukraine: “Truskavetska”, “Morshynska”, “Shayansku”. You can drink them constantly only as prescribed by a doctor, but if you buy them sometimes to quench your thirst, it will not hurt anyone. The most valuable water “Naftusya” is not bottled: it quickly loses its healing properties, and it is necessary to drink it right at the pump room in the resort of Truskavets.

Tips for Kids

When traveling around Ukraine with children, you don’t have to puzzle over how to provide baby food. Almost all the national food of Ukrainians is suitable for children and does not require adaptation. The list of dishes that should not be offered to a child is very short: smoked and jerky meat (wujenina, poladvitsya, matsik), pickled vegetables (kryzhavki), very fatty dishes (pork jellied meat, grease). We do not recommend ordering food with cracklings for younger children.

It is very easy to feed babies who are switching to adult food. In all restaurants, you can order light broth, vegetable soup, porridge, boiled potatoes, stewed vegetables.

Of course, not all Ukrainian dishes meet the principles of modern dietetics. But if you eat dumplings with potatoes or stewed potatoes with meat once or twice, you can hardly harm your health. And there are much more healthy dishes in the national cuisine. So that there are no problems with new food, offer your child fermented milk products every day – sour milk, guslian, varenets. You can buy the usual yogurt and kefir in supermarkets.

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Liberian Cuisine: Food Aesthetics

You can learn a lot about the history and culture of people through their literature, music, and food. This is especially true for Liberia. Once called the Pepper Coast, Liberia is located on Africa’s western coastline. It has the unique distinction of being the only African country to have been inhabited by freed blacks, former slaves from South America, North America, and the Caribbean. Declaring its independence on July 26, 1847, Liberia is also the oldest democratic republic in Africa. This unique story best reflects the traditional cuisine of Liberia.

Liberian cuisine can be described as a mixture of coastal West African cuisine with culinary traditions from the American South and the Caribbean.

Vegetable Food

Like most West African countries, Liberian food is built around rice and cassava. Rice is a staple food. Even today, especially in rural areas, many Liberians continue to grow their rice, cassava, and sugarcane. Cassava and potato leaves are boiled and eaten like spinach. The sugarcane is either peeled or the tough bark is cut open and the sweet juice is sucked straight from the cane.

In addition to rice and cassava, Liberia eats taro root, as well as vegetables and fruits: plantains, bananas, citrus fruits, papayas, mangoes, avocados, coconuts, okra, and sweet potatoes.

Meat and Fish

Fish is one of the key sources of animal protein in Liberia.

Also in the cuisine of Liberia, the meat of wild animals is used and is considered a delicacy, including elephants, pygmy hippopotamus, chimpanzees, leopards, dukers, and various types of monkeys.

Spice

The most popular spices in Liberian cuisine are habanero pepper and scotch bonnet chili, which are added to thick stews, and ground cayenne pepper is used as a flavoring and preservative.

Palm oil is added to almost all food in Liberia.

Bread

Rice Bread is a sweet rice bread commonly served as a dessert in Liberia.

Soups

Goat soup is a national soup served on important occasions and at special events.

Beef internal soup – made with beef, tripe, dried cod and other smoked fish caught from the nearby ocean.

Liberian Palm Butter Soup is a spicy meat soup (usually made with chicken and ham) that is cooked with chopped palm nuts, pepper, dried fish, okra, and spices. Traditional dish of the African tribe “Kru”, but widespread throughout Liberia.

Chicken Peanut Soup is a traditional Liberian lunch dish. It is a thick chicken broth soup with tomatoes, peanut butter, herbs, and spices.

Main Dishes

Jollof rice is a traditional red rice dish with vegetables popular throughout West Africa, including Liberia.

Fufu is a dense, thick porridge made from fermented dried cassava root. Fufu can also be made from rice, plantain, corn, or yam, but most Liberians use cassava. It is dried, ground into powder, boiled, and shaped into elongated balls about 5 cm in diameter. Fufu is usually eaten with spicy soup, pinching off a piece and immediately swallowing it without chewing.

Dumboy is a dish similar to fufu, with the only difference that it is prepared from fresh cassava root. It is first boiled and then crushed.

Palava sauce is one of the favorite dishes in Liberia, traditionally made from plateau leaves (okra), with the addition of palm oil and dried fish, chicken, or any other type of meat. Served with white rice.

Liberian Potato Greens is a traditional hot and sweet stew made from potato greens with meat or chicken. They are usually eaten with rice. Sweet potato leaves are also often replaced with cassava leaves.

Geebee / GB Soup – Despite the name, it is the main dish that is often served at parties and celebrations. It is a spicy thick meat gravy cooked with a lot of spices. Most often served with rice or fufu.

Salads and Snacks

Pepper Kala – Deep-fried crispy spicy dumplings served with a hot sauce.

Desserts

Rice bread and Sweet Potato Pone are served for dessert.

Drinks

Ginger beer is usually drunk with meals. Coffee is only served on special occasions.

Alcohol

Palm wine is a traditional wine made from fermented palm juice. It can be drunk as a beverage or used in food preparation, such as a yeast substitute in bread, or as vinegar after it has gone bad.

Gana is a local rum made from sugar cane, also called cane juice.

Serving and Etiquette

In Liberia, it is customary to place plates and glasses upside down and with a napkin on top on the table so that the guest can turn the clean dishes over for use. The host arranges all the food at once and stays at the table throughout the meal. All dishes also remain on the table until the end of the meal.

Most Liberians eat with their hands, although American customs have brought cutlery to the kitchens of many city dwellers.

A typical Liberian dinner is a dumba or fufu, served with palm oil and palava sauce, as well as meat stews, jollof rice, and beef giblets soup.

Liberians greet each other with a handshake. At the same time, shaking, they take the middle finger of another person’s right hand and flick it up and down. This tradition dates back to the days of slavery when a slave owner broke a slave’s finger to establish property. The handshake (or “click”) celebrates Liberia’s freedom from slavery.

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Russian Cuisine: Food Aesthetics

Ancient Russian cuisine, until about the XIV century, was based more on customs than on culinary art. It was simple and not varied. In the peasant diet, such a technique as frying is almost never used. Food was cooked in a Russian oven, widely used: cooking, languishing, and stewing. For blanks for future use, salting, fermentation, and urination were widely used. Since ancient times, the table has been very clearly divided into lean and modest. The abundance of vegetable, berry, and mushroom dishes in Russian cuisine is due precisely to the fasting for many days. On the one hand, such a strict division led to a simplification of the menu, but on the other, to the creation of many original dishes that have become the hallmark of Russian cuisine and have no analogs in any foreign cuisine. For example, sauerkraut, pickles, dried mushrooms. Again, during fasting, a lot of forbidden milk accumulated in the house. To prevent it from disappearing, they made cottage cheese, but not ordinary, it was squeezed tight and several times, pressed, then simmered in the oven until it became completely dry. But after such processing, the cottage cheese was stored for many months. From the same series – ghee, which retains its freshness and taste for a long time after a truly unique technology and processing.

The peculiarities of the national cuisine have been better preserved than, for example, the typical features of clothing or housing. Traditional Russian dishes are high in energy and contain a lot of fat. This is due to the harsh climate: it was always necessary to eat a lot. The dishes in Russian cuisine are simple, rational, and practical. People prepared main dishes from bread, flour, and everything that the forest gave – honey, berries, nuts, mushrooms (although the population of the southern part of Russia is wary of mushrooms, afraid to use them). The main part of the Russians’ food was various types of cereals and dairy products. The meat was considered a festive dish.
The Russians learned to preserve and preserve food – they smoked, dried, salted meat, fermented vegetables, and fruits, pickled, salted (cucumbers, garlic, grape leaves, wild garlic greens), made jams, dried fruits (prunes, dried apricots, raisins).

When there was not enough flour or cereals, people ate “second bread” – potatoes. They also often ate cabbage, from which soups are made, for example, cabbage soup (“cabbage soup and porridge – our food”), as well as carrots, beets, and buckwheat (buckwheat porridge).

Bread

Bread played and plays the most important role in everyday and festive food. Russians say: “bread is the head of everything”.
Russians revered bread very much: according to the old custom, dropped bread must be picked up, wiped off, kissed, and asked for forgiveness for negligence. People have never thrown away bread crumbs. From childhood, the child was taught to respect this product. The guests were greeted with the words “bread and salt”.
Bread is used for snacking food throughout the day (for soup, for the second course).
Russian rye bread is baked with various additives (spices, raisins – the most famous aromatic bread “Borodinsky” with coriander).
White bread or lavash is also sold (white bread from the south or from Central Asia in the form of a large flat cake).

Snacks

Russian cuisine is especially famous for the abundance of various snacks. These are salads, pickles (vegetables, mushrooms, fish), pies with different fillings (meat, fish, cabbage, potatoes, rice and eggs, apples, lemon, different types of jams), pancakes with different fillings (products made from batter, poured into a hot frying pan in a thin layer), smoked meat, fish, sausage, ham, caviar – black from sturgeon, which is appreciated more than red from salmon.

Soups

Russian soups are hearty and thick, or, as the Russians say, “dense”. They are cooked in water or kvass; sour cream or mayonnaise is often added to a bowl of soup. Be sure to eat bread with the soup.

  • Cabbage soup – cabbage soup, there are about 60 types of cabbage soup.
  • Borscht is a red soup made from cabbage, beets, carrots, meat.
  • Solyanka is a soup with pickled cucumbers.
  • Ukha is a Russian fish soup.
  • Okroshka, pickle, beetroot – cold soups.

Meat Dishes

There is no tradition in Russia to lightly fry meat. Very often, dishes are prepared from minced meat. Cutlets are prepared from minced meat, it serves as a filling for dumplings, pies, cabbage rolls (minced meat in cabbage leaves). Armenian kebab is popular – pieces of lamb. Russians often eat fish.

Sweet

Russians love sweets, shops offer a large and varied selection of chocolate, sweets (sold by weight), ice cream, cookies; crumpets are popular – baked mugs made of yeast dough with powdered sugar.

Milk Products

Fermented milk is made from sour milk, products from cottage cheese are common – curd mass (with dried apricots, prunes, raisins), sweet cheese.

Festive and Ceremonial Dishes

  • Christmas is soothing, kutia
  • Shrovetide – pancakes with butter
  • Easter – Easter cake, eggs, Easter, do not eat hot dishes
  • Funeral feast – pancakes, kutia, white jelly

Borrowed dishes

Over the centuries, Russian cuisine has been enriched with many dishes from neighboring peoples.

  • Shish kebab is a Caucasian dish by its origin, borscht and hodgepodge are Ukrainian soups.
  • Pelmeni is a Siberian dish in the form of boiled products made from unleavened dough stuffed with minced meat, as well as fish, potatoes, and cabbage.

In the early 90s. Russians fell under the influence of imported foods and fast foods. Especially loved fried – baked goods, french fries. Now they are again partly returning to domestic products and dishes. At the same time, especially in big cities, proper nutrition is gaining immense popularity; dietary, vegetarian, and exotic (mainly Japanese) cuisine is becoming fashionable.

Drinks

The traditional Russian drink is kvass – a dark, slightly alcoholic drink made from bread or honey.

Vodka is considered one of the symbols of Russia, although in recent years the amount of vodka consumption is inferior to the amount of beer consumption.
There are world-famous brands of Russian vodka: “Stolichnaya”, “Smirnovskaya”, there is also an old tradition of home-made vodka, the so-called moonshine.
Vodka is affordable both in price and because you can buy it everywhere if you want, and this is one of the reasons for alcoholism among Russians. Cases of poisoning with vodka or moonshine are not uncommon.
Vodka and beer should be eaten. There is an endless selection of different products. Dried squid, smelt (small dried fish), roach (dried fish that must be broken and eaten like chips), chips, peanuts, pistachios, croutons (small dried pieces of bread with different flavors) are sold with beer. Vodka should be eaten with bread, sausage, pickles, wild garlic, etc.

In the past, Russians usually ended the day with the rite of tea drinking, exchanged news at tea, talked about the events of the day, and the whole family gathered for tea.
Tea is brewed in a special teapot, allowed to settle, and then the tea leaves are poured into cups and topped up with boiling water, or tea is prepared in a samovar. Tea is served with sweets: jam (cherry jam is most appreciated), sweets, cakes, buns, biscuits.

Samovar
Samovar is a self-heating device for making tea. The samovar consists of a vase (there is a charcoal brazier with a pipe), handles, a teapot burner, a spout with a key.
In the past, in every home, the samovar occupied an important place in the interior of the living room or dining room. During tea drinking it was placed on the table or on a special table, the tea was poured out by the hostess or the eldest daughter. Gradually, samovars began to resemble not teapots, but decorative vases, became simpler and stricter, and finally became electric. In modern times in Russia, the samovar has ceased to be a basic necessity.

Feast

There is a big difference between everyday and holiday food, between the dishes offered in restaurants

Food throughout the day
Breakfast 
Breakfast is preferably hearty. During the day, there is often nowhere to eat, so Russians prefer warm food – porridge (oatmeal, rice, wheat, buckwheat, semolina), scrambled eggs, sausages, pancakes. They eat cottage cheese, cheese, drink tea or coffee.

Lunch 
Lunch usually consists of the first – soup, and the second – hot (meat or fish with a side dish). Russians are accustomed to eating during the working day in fast foods (there are establishments of this type offering Russian national dishes), in canteens and cafes. Unlike a rich Russian home meal, a foreigner may be surprised by the small portions in Russian restaurants. There are quite comfortable restaurants at the highest level, but a normal Russian cannot afford to have lunch or dinner there.
On the street, you can always buy something to eat – pies, pastries, pancakes, shawarma (kebab), fried potatoes with different fillings.

Dinner 
Dinner does not play a very important role in the diet. Usually, they eat what was for lunch, or what is found at home.

Home festive feast
In Russia, family holidays are usually celebrated at home, guests are also invited home and treated themselves. There is no custom to hold meetings in restaurants.
Russia has a tradition of a rich feast. For a long time, it has been so established that the guest must be received as best as possible and fed to the fullest.
The change of dishes (appetizers, the first is soup, the second is hot, the third is sweet) in the Russian feast is not very clear – as a rule, all sorts of snacks, pies, salads, meat dishes, and even desserts are on the table at the same time. At the same time, Russians attach great importance to the abundance on the table – there should always be a lot of food of all kinds and different (despite possible material difficulties).

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Chinese Cuisine: Food Aesthetics

Chinese cuisine has existed for more than three thousand years, as evidenced by the finds of archaeologists who have unearthed bronze plates, kitchen boards, pots and knives dating back to 770-221. BC. One and a half thousand years ago, the first Chinese cookbook was compiled; since antiquity, there have been many “restaurants” and tea houses in the Middle Kingdom. Cooking was considered an art in China, and cooking was always taken very seriously.

In the traditional requirements for chefs, there are points that food should be not only tasty, but also healthy, and even medicinal. Hence the spread of herbs in Chinese cuisine, which often has medicinal properties. In ancient Chinese cuisine, much attention was paid to the concepts of yin and yang. All foods and dishes were divided into those that give energy, and those that soothe. For example, meat is a pure yang product; water carries yin energy. To maintain health and longevity, you need to build your diet so that yin and yang are in harmony.

The Chinese love to eat together. A holiday, business negotiations, a family dinner, or just a meeting with friends are an excuse to enjoy delicious dishes. The theme of food is reflected in a large number of fixed expressions or sayings. For example, “eating vinegar” means feeling envy or jealousy, and “eating another’s tofu” means fooling, “eating ice cream with your eyes” means looking at a member of the opposite sex.

The Chinese eat slowly, little by little, enjoying the taste. Eating quickly speaks of disrespect for the owner and for the food itself. As a sign of respect and special care, it is customary to put a treat with your chopsticks in the guest’s bowl. In China, there is no concept of “having a bite” – it is believed that food is sent to people from heaven, so every meal is an event. There should be balance in the dishes on the table, but with a predominance of liquid and soft media, which are considered the most useful and easily digestible. For large holiday dinners, up to 40 dishes are served. Green tea is usually drunk before dinner, then cold snacks are served: fish, meat, liver, or vegetables. Then each guest receives a bowl of rice, common dishes and sauces are placed in the center of the table. Warmed wine or matan is served with food. After the meal, the broth is served and again green tea. This order of dishes is very good for digestion, guests get up from the table with ease, they are cheerful and happy.

A very important element of the Chinese table is its appearance, the order of the dishes, and their color combinations. Table setting is usually kept in white and blue tones, bright colors or contrasting combinations are undesirable. Dishes are decorated with herbs, vegetables, fruits or some of their parts are skillfully cut in the form of chrysanthemum flowers, spikelets of wheat or bizarre animals.

Wok – Chinese cuisine, cooking Chinese cuisine is primarily the art of a chef. The variety of dishes and their special flavors are achieved through various methods of processing food and mixing them. There are several basic principles that Chinese chefs have followed for centuries. First and foremost, the components of the dish must be crushed. They break, tear or cut. The tradition of grinding all raw components allows not only to preserve the maximum amount of nutrients, but also to save fuel by reducing the cooking time. China was densely populated for a long time, the tree was highly valued, and the peasants had to save fuel. It is precisely because of the need to save firewood that a convex wok pan appeared, in which food, chopped into small pieces, heats up very quickly. By placing several bamboo baskets in the wok, you can steam several dishes at the same time.

By the way, the custom of finely chopping the ingredients to save fuel explains why in China people eat not with forks, but with chopsticks. But the food was cut into small pieces and chopsticks were also used at the court of the emperor, when there was no need for economy. In this case, this way of serving dishes was explained by the fact that it is not good to force the emperor and his guests to make efforts by cutting meat or vegetables. The pieces were just one bite in size.

Chopping and frying foods correctly is another principle of Chinese cooking. The product is cut into small equal cubes and fried in oil over a high flame for just a couple of minutes. Previously, ginger and allspice are fried in this oil, the aromas of which give the dish a special flavor. Often fish, meat and other foods are fried in batter, which keeps them juicy. Sometimes, although quite rarely, the fish is cooked whole, keeping its shape and removing the bones. The fish, cooked entirely with head and tail, symbolizes the integrity of the world or the completion of the business.

Chinese food Most Chinese food is very multi-component. Each dish uses a large number of parts, each of which is prepared separately, and only in the final everything is mixed together. A huge number of seemingly incompatible aromas and tastes of different products are organically mixed in Chinese cuisine into a single whole. For example, such combinations as “fish-flavored pork”, “fruit flavored beef”, sweet and sour cucumbers. The purpose of the art of cooking, as understood by the Chinese, is to hide the true aroma of the original product so that the guest does not guess what ingredients the dish consists of. The decoration and appearance of the finished dish serves the same purpose.

Chinese cuisine is impossible without spices: red, black, white pepper, ginger, garlic, star anise, cinnamon, bay leaf, nutmeg, wild garlic, herbs – basil, parsley, celery, cilantro, peppermint, dill and all types of onions. Soy sauce is very popular in China, with which rice is seasoned, as well as sesame oil, wine vinegar and maotai rice vodka. Another “seasoning” that Chinese chefs love to use is monosodium glutamate, an additive commonly found in packaged foods. It is absolutely harmless and acts primarily on the taste buds of the tongue. As they expand, they perceive more taste. It is important to note that the bad taste from MSG will also increase. This substance neutralizes unpleasant odors such as fish.

Mifeen noodles, Chinese cuisine Since ancient times, rice, wheat and soybeans have been cultivated in China. Rice is the main everyday food in China. Everything is eaten with rice, or rather everything is eaten with rice. This cereal is very rich in starch, that is, carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, minerals and fiber, which makes it very useful. Rice contains B vitamins, vitamin E and PP, as well as minerals: copper, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, potassium, manganese, selenium and zinc. 100 g of raw cereals contains 4.1 g of protein. A mixture of rice, other cereals, honey and water was eaten by the ancient Olympians before the competition. Rice is easy to digest and can be stored for a long time.

Rice as an agricultural crop appeared about 10 thousand years ago due to the fact that melting glaciers left swampy lands in the area of ​​what is now India, Thailand and China. It was rice that grew best on silty soils. Excavations in the village of Hemudu, Zhejiang province in eastern China, indicate that rice cultivation in China began seven thousand years ago. The first written mention of rice dates back to 771 BC. (Book of Changes). Today rice is the food of three quarters of all inhabitants of the planet. In Asia, rice is a symbol of fertility and prosperity. There are about a thousand varieties of rice in China. Basically it is the so-called “short rice”, while in other Asian countries and India – long grain or “long rice”. In modern cuisine, rice is used as a side dish; rice flour is used to make mifen noodles, sweet cakes and some desserts, as well as vinegar, vodka, and yellow rice wine.

Chinese cuisine, mung beansNo less than rice, soy is used in Chinese cuisine. In general, different beans are used in Chinese cooking, these are mung, azuki beans, horse beans, peas and others. But soy is the main plant among legumes. It is distinguished from its counterparts by the low content of carbohydrates and the high content of proteins, oils, and calcium, which are much more in soy than in meat or milk. Soybeans began to be grown three thousand years ago and by now they have learned to use all the resources in this wonderful bean. Soy is used to make a sauce that is very often used in a wide variety of dishes and, above all, with rice, soy milk, flour, cottage cheese, and other products. Soy contains unique proteins that are superior in some respects to animal proteins. The oil contained in soybeans has components similar to fish lipids, vitamins C, B, and E, trace elements, lecithin, and choline. Soy is free of cholesterol and lactose. Daily consumption of soy sauce provides the body with riboflavin, vitamin B6, magnesium, copper, protein, iron, phosphorus, manganese, and niacin. Soy sauce is very salty, so it can be used in place of salt or with unsalted dishes. Tofu or doufu is bean curd, which is obtained by adding salt to soy milk.

The Chinese prefer pork from meat. This choice is not due to the taste of the meat, but rather to utilitarian and moral reasons. Pigs are easy to raise and feed with what is left after lunch; pigs are not used for work, so it is not a pity to use them for meat. Almost every Chinese family kept pigs in the last century. Even the hieroglyph “house” consists of the parts “pig” and “roof”. In the western regions of China, where the influence of Islam is strong, beef is preferred. Poultry meat is popular in all parts of the Middle Kingdom.

Contrary to popular belief, only a small proportion of Chinese people are vegetarians. Those who adhere to the Buddhist teachings to reduce the suffering of all living things mimic the taste and texture of meat using soy proteins and gluten obtained from wheat. There are even technologies for imitating seafood using plant substances. Chinese vegetarians, contrary to stereotypes, do not eat a lot of tofu, but get their nutrients from mushrooms, corn, beans, and a variety of vegetables.

Tea plays an important role in Chinese cuisine. Tea is good for digestion as it helps to digest fatty foods; it quenches thirst and perfectly complements the vitamin diet. Tea contains up to 500 different vitamins and minerals. However, speaking about tea in China, first of all we are talking about green tea and all kinds of its varieties. The Chinese also drink black tea, but they call it red. Red or, according to the European classification, black teas are rarely drunk in China, since there are fewer useful substances in such teas. Basically, Chinese red tea is prepared for export. What the Chinese consider black tea – pu-erh – has a very dark infusion and is prepared using a complex technology.

Chinese white and yellow teas are considered especially valuable. These are most often tips or the top leaf with a bud. This tea is harvested in the spring – in March-April, when the tea bushes start to sprout. Tea varieties differ in different provinces and parts of the country. So, in the southwest, in the Yunnan province, coarser tea is grown, it is used to prepare pu-erh tea, various varieties of red tea and pressed green teas. A little to the east, in Guangdong, oolongs are grown, a little to the north, in Fujian – the most famous oolong tea in China – Te Guanin or Iron Bodhisattva Guanin. This tea belongs to a special group of teas called oolong or oolong. These are medium fermented teas used in traditional Chinese tea ceremony. Tea – Chinese cuisineDried tea leaves are strongly twisted into balls or spirals, when brewed, they open and withstand up to 15-20 infusions. The aroma of such tea, especially if it is of good quality and fresh, changes from infusion to infusion, the floral notes in the aroma are replaced by spicy and tart, the infusion becomes darker with each subsequent infusion. Such high-grade tea is able to “pass” about three liters of hot water through ten grams of dry brew! However, the price of such tea can be one hundred or more dollars per hundred grams. Of course, this tea is drunk without sugar and sweets.

In the central part of China – in Sichuan, Hunnan, and Anhui – mainly green tea is grown. There are a lot of varieties of green tea and most of them appear due to special methods of drying or processing the leaves. From the northern part of China, tea is practically not grown but pressed tea is very popular in these places, especially on the border with Mongolia, in the steppe regions, where meat and fatty foods prevail. In these places, tea is prepared with milk, salt, and fat. There is a version that a similar method emerged from the need to “wash the dishes”. Indeed, after cooking a meat dish in a boiler, the fat is very difficult to peel off, and there is very little water. Thus, everyday necessity has shaped the tea preferences of the whole region.

Chinese cuisine has spawned a large number of small and large Chinese restaurants around the world. Naturally, scammers also took a closer look at this popularity. The characteristic features of improper preparation of traditional Chinese dishes in some supposedly “Chinese” restaurants are too fatty or too bland dishes. Otherwise, Chinese food is delicious and healthy. However, some dishes may be too spicy for the European stomach, so some adaptation period is required before traveling to China. In a Chinese restaurant, it will not be superfluous to clarify the composition of unfamiliar dishes. It is not worth eating at once and eating unfamiliar dishes a lot, even if you like their taste. Mindful of Chinese traditions, eat slowly, enjoying the skill of the chef and unique flavor combinations.

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French Cuisine: Food Aesthetics

French Cuisine: Food Aesthetics : France is a real gastronomic paradise, everyone knows about it. No other country in the world has shown such attention to food as here. Traditional French cuisine is distinguished by a variety of tastes, exquisite combinations of ingredients, and special cooking technologies. Whether it’s breakfast, lunch, or dinner, it will always be a gastronomic extravaganza. Along with Chinese and Georgian, French cuisine is called the most diverse, vibrant, and original on the planet.
The French regard cooking as an art and famous chefs are called a kind of poets. They believe that ready-made recipes serve only as a basis for cooking, using which each housewife can bring something of her own and thereby make her dishes special and different from the dishes of the same name served in restaurants or in other families.

French Cuisine: Food AestheticsFrench cuisine is conventionally divided into three parts:
cuisine regionale – regional cuisine;
cuisine bourgeoise – widespread French cuisine and haute cuisine – extremely refined cuisine, an example of which was at one time the court cuisine of the French kings.
Simple and homemade cuisine in France is appreciated as much as dinner in a restaurant.
The concept of “haute cuisine” – that is, exquisite, based on complex preparation, unusual products, and a special presentation, appeared right here. The most famous and respected restaurant rating – “Michelin Red Guide”, also has a French origin.

Regional French Cuisine of the Southern Provinces

(Provence, Languedoc, Basque region, Gascony) is sharply distinguished by the pungency of food, great use in its preparation of wines and spices, especially garlic and onions. The regional cuisine is traditional. If in Provence more fragrant herbs are added to the meat, then in Burgundy they will cook it with wine. Alsatian cuisine also has its own characteristic features, characterized by satiety, more significant use of pork and cabbage. Residents of coastal areas use more seafood in their cuisine – fish, crabs, lobsters, lobsters, shrimps.
Compared to other European countries, French cuisine uses fewer dairy products. The exception is the cheeses that are famous all over the world. A platter of cheeses and a green salad must be served before dessert.
Another feature of French cuisine is the wide variety of sauces. The British even joke about this: if in England there are three kinds of sauces and three hundred and sixty kinds of religion, then in France there are three kinds of religion and three hundred and sixty recipes for sauces. In fact, it is believed that there are more than 3000 sauces in French cuisine.

French housewives use sauces to give dishes a certain taste and aroma and, with the same composition of the main products, diversify their food, and if the hostess has a pre-cooked broth in the refrigerator, making the sauce does not take much time.
The arsenal of spices of the French hostess is somewhat different from ours, namely, the widespread use of leeks, tarragon, and rosemary. The use of these aromatic herbs is desirable because they give food a special taste and smell.
Despite the absence of valuable sturgeon fish in France, the hostesses skillfully prepare delicious dishes from inexpensive fish using a wide range of various gravies and sauces. A characteristic feature of French cuisine is also the wide use, especially inside dishes for main courses, of vegetables such as artichokes, asparagus, lettuce.

Typical for the French table are omelets and cheese soufflés, which are prepared with various spices and fillings: ham, mushrooms, herbs.
Cooking a good omelet, according to the French, requires special attention. For omelets, choose heavy pans with a very flat bottom. Some experts from the French Academy of Gastronomy recommend: 1) do not cook anything else in the pan that is used to make omelets; 2) never wash this pan. It is enough to wipe the pan while still hot with clean paper with a little coarse salt and lightly oil to prevent rust.

Oysters (Huître)

France is extremely famous for its oysters. From September to April is the oyster season and in every cafe and restaurant, you will see people enjoying this delicacy. Oysters are usually eaten alive, sprinkled with a little lemon juice. Some prefer a natural flavor, while others use a variety of sauces and condiments with them. The most popular oysters are Belon and Maren-Oleron. Wild oysters are also highly valued and are caught at ebb and flow or near river estuaries. According to existing signs, they can be eaten at any time, except in summer, because at this time they multiply and their meat becomes tough. But the French have developed a new breed of oyster that is eaten in the summer months.

Before eating an oyster, you must first open the shell that contains this delicacy. To do this, you will be given a special knife, with which you can easily cope with this seemingly difficult problem. To prevent the mollusk from slipping, take it in a napkin, turn the sharp end towards you, and with a light movement insert the tip of the knife between the narrow slit of the shutters, gently push them apart and remove the surface protective film, cutting it in a circle, then pour the mussel with lemon juice and use it inside, citrus aroma will perfectly complement its piquant taste. By the way, you can understand that you can see fresh seafood when you shrink it, which is a characteristic reaction when an acidic environment is exposed to a living organism.

Snails

Snails are no less famous French food. They are eaten in two types: burgundy and smaller dark ones. Seasoned with onions, garlic, parsley, and other herbs, Burgundy snails are usually served in their own shells with garlic oil and herbs. Sauces and stews are made from the second type of shellfish. But you still need to be able to cook dishes from them. Also in France, grape snails (escargot) and mussels (moule) are highly prized.
Snails are served ready-made on hot iron utensils and eaten whole, just like raw oysters. You can take them with the help of special metal tongs, which are always applicable to the dish. Armed with them in your left hand (if you are right-handed) and a special oyster fork (usually with one prong) in the right, holding the cornea of ​​the snail with the first device, pull out its contents with the second. In this case, garlic oil will become an excellent component that gives the snails a harmoniously finished taste.

Foie gras

Foie gras is a fatty goose or duck liver, one of the favorite French delicacies. The delicate taste of foie gras can be appreciated in both cold and hot dishes. It is also very popular pickled. Foie gras is currently banned in many countries of the world, since the method of its production is considered rather cruel, but France is not yet ready to deprive itself of such a gustatory joy. This food, one might say new, is only about two hundred years old. However, during this time, the fame of him managed to visit all corners of the globe. Spices, pepper, and salt are added to the bird’s liver, then poured with cognac and left to spend the night on the ice. The next morning, truffles and Madeira mushrooms are mixed into it, and everything is ground into a uniform mass. In a water bath, the dish is kept for about one hour in the oven. Watering the goose with fat, the product is served cold. There are other foie gras recipes. To do this, the liver of geese is artificially enlarged.

Frog legs (cuisses de grenouille)

Frog legs are a famous French delicacy that is now served in a rare restaurant. This is due to the difficulties in cooking and many prohibitions designed to protect frogs from complete destruction. Boneless meaty frog legs are served stewed or fried with various sauces and seasonings. Frog legs taste like chicken meat.
They are usually eaten with their hands, grabbing a limb with their fingers and tearing off a small amount of meat with their teeth, but if the legs are large in size, it is customary to separate the pulp from the bone with a knife, and only then bring the slices of the delicacy to your mouth using a fork.

As the story goes, this exotic dish was not considered a delicacy at all during the Middle Ages and was the food of poor peasants. Due to the famine that reigned then and, accordingly, a meager diet, this food first took root among the common people, and only then, having already acquired a certain national cult, was it introduced into the culinary pantheon of France.
A characteristic feature of the French diet is the abundance of vegetables on the dinner table. Potatoes, various varieties of onions, green beans, spinach, cabbage of different varieties, tomatoes, eggplants, celery, salads are not a complete list of vegetables from which salads, snacks, side dishes are prepared.

First dishes – soups from leeks with potatoes, onion soup, seasoned with cheese, clear beef broth soups, filling soup, kasha, Provencal fish soup, fish soup.

Onion soup (soupe à l’oignon gratinée)

The famous French broth onion soup with cheese and croutons was once considered a soup for the poor because of its simple and inexpensive ingredients, it is now one of the most beloved in Europe. In fact, onion soup is a wonderful dish in every respect: tasty, aromatic, satisfying, warming, and empowering. According to Hemingway, this is a wonderful breakfast for those who have not slept. A plate of hot onion soup is instantly sobering after a long stormy evening and gives strength for a new workday. This property of onion soup was often used by the movers and traders of the Parisian markets, who started their work in the dark. Not for nothing, since time immemorial, when onions were the main ingredient in soup for Roman soldiers, the low cost and excellent bactericidal properties of this vegetable made it indispensable for a great army. In addition, it was then believed that raw onions caused headaches, and the stew was the main way of eating onions.
For centuries, onion soup has been a common dish on the table of the European poor. And only in the xviii century, it became a royal delicacy. According to legend, the inventor of the modern version of the onion soup was Louis XV. Finding himself on the hunt without supper, he made a soup of onions, butter, and champagne himself.

The recipe was extremely simple: fry a lot of onions in oil, pour champagne, bring to a boil and eat, however, his recipe was very far from what is called French onion soup today.
Another interesting property of French onion soup is that it is an excellent aphrodisiac. It does not have the harsh taste and smell of fresh onions, but most of its beneficial properties are retained. Onions contain vitamins A, C, B6, many minerals: from calcium to rare selenium. Onions even contain protein. And in combination with other ingredients of French onion soup: broth, cheese, croutons, and sometimes with cream and wine, you get a complete tasty dish that inspires romantic feats. And given the very low-calorie content of onions, we can say that this dish is ideal for both ardent men and graceful women.
In fact, the extraordinary taste and aroma of the soup are achieved thanks to a special recipe for caramelizing onions with the addition of wine, cognac, vermouth, or sherry.
When cooking many dishes, the French put a small bunch of herbs in the pan, the so-called composite bouquet, bouquet garni, – a small bunch of parsley, dill, bay leaves. Before serving, the bouquet is removed from the food.

Bouillabaisse

Bouillabaisse is also known as Marseille fish soup or Marseille fish soup. This is a true legend and pride of Provence. Bouillabaisse is an invention of the Marseilles fishermen, having sold their daily catch, in the evening they cooked soup from the remnants of this catch. And there were fish, and squid, and shrimp – everything that got into the net during the day. In addition to seafood, vegetables and herbs that were at hand were added to the soup.
The fame of the delicious soup spread throughout Europe, and it became a culinary attraction in Marseille. According to the cooking technology, it can be called an ordinary Russian triple ear: first, all small things are cooked that even a cat will not eat, then larger fish is cooked in the resulting broth, and so on. The difference between bouillabaisse and triple fish soup is in serving, that is, in its sequence – along with mustard-colored broth, pieces of baguette, thick garlic sauce, and grated cheese are served.

Pour broth into a plate (a pan of broth is served on the table), smear a piece of baguette with garlic rui sauce, sprinkle with cheese, and put in a plate with broth. So, drinking white wine, we do it until we cover the entire surface of the broth on the plate with these sandwiches. The baguette is dry, like a toast. He absorbs the broth. As soon as the plate is filled – without hesitation, we take a spoon and taste the croutons soaked in soup, because now they will bring a dish of fish that was last cooked in this soup.

Among the many recipes for bouillabaisse, two dominate: Norman and Marseille. The main difference between them is that potatoes are put in the Norman bouillabaisse, and the Marseille bouillabaisse is a rich soup made only from seafood. In restaurants that are located far from Marseille, such fish are delivered by plane specifically for the preparation of this soup.

The main types of fish used to prepare bouillabaisse in restaurants are sea rooster, sunflower, sea scorpion. They give the soup a true Marseilles flavor and aroma. Other fish are added to them – only about 7-10 species. Of course, the more different types of fish and other marine life are put into the soup, the richer and tastier it becomes. This is how various recipes for the famous bouillabaisse soup appeared, and it is not surprising that there simply cannot be a single “most correct” bouillabaisse.
In regional varieties, they add calvados, walnuts (Normandy) to bouillabaisse, acidify with vinegar (Brittany), use a bouquet of garni as spices, add potatoes to Toulon bouillabaisse.

Quiche

Traditional French open pie quiche made from chopped (puff) dough with various fillings is used in France as breakfast, lunch, dinner, or in addition to them. The most famous quiche – Lauren – with smoked brisket and Gruyere cheese. Anything can be used as a filling: vegetables, fish, meat, but always in combination with eggs, cream, and any kind of cheese. Quiche is eaten cold or hot.

Main dishes beef steak with deep-fried potatoes and steak with blood with a slightly toasted crust and almost raw inside. These two dishes are the epitome of French cuisine. The French love that the meat is not overcooked; pink juice should be preserved in it.
Widespread white meat stew with white sauce. Second courses include sea and freshwater fish (cod, flounder, halibut, mackerel, pike, carp), seafood shrimps, lobsters, scallops. After the second course, cheese is served on the table, with several varieties at once. You can drink cheese only with white or red wine, and in no case with juice or tea.

Cock in wine (Coq au vin)

Rooster in wine is a classic French dish. In France, fresh or frozen game is used to prepare this dish. Dishes are also prepared from seasoned game. The game is kept in the air (at home outside the window) for several days. The traditional Burgundy recipe uses a whole year-old rooster and red Burgundy wine, and it is very important to drink the same wine while eating the dish that was used in the preparation. The name of the dish can change depending on the name of the wine in which the chicken was stewed, it can turn out: coq au Chambertin, coq au Romanee-Conti or any other coq au. Of course, each wine-growing region has its own recipe for rooster in wine.

Croissants

Croissant, along with a baguette, is the most popular type of baked goods in France. It is baked from puff or yeast dough and can be with all kinds of sweet and savory fillings. In fact, Croissants is not a French “invention” at all, and we must give credit to the French, they do not deny this. There are many legends about the origin and shape of this unusual bun. In 1863, the Ottoman army laid siege to Vienna, and then, during the retreat, the Turks left a large number of sacks of coffee. A Viennese pastry chef found these bags and decided to serve fresh, fragrant crescent-shaped buns (a symbol of victory over the Turks) with oriental coffee in his bakery.
In the 19th century, the French radically changed the baking recipe, they began to bake it from puff yeast dough with butter, which changed the taste of baking beyond recognition. So it turns out that Viennese and French croissants are similar only in shape, and the recipe for a modern croissant belongs to the French. Its success became so incredible that soon the croissant was called a French bun.

The traditional French breakfast is coffee and croissants, most often of natural flavor, so that you can cut it in half, spread with Norman butter and homemade jam. Croissants with chocolate are also very popular.
If you have tried French sweets and desserts, then you will forever remain connoisseurs of French cuisine, and the desire to enjoy French desserts will arise again and again. Like everything in France, desserts have their own unique history. We all know that dessert is something sweet, tasty, and unusual, but in France, dessert is a broader concept.
After all, the word dessert itself comes from the Old French word “desservir”, which meant “to clear the table”. Thus, a dessert is a dish that is served after the main one, and it can be sweet, and nuts, and fruits, and berries, and juices, baked goods.

Mille Feuille

A famous French pastry or cake, consisting of three layers of puff pastry, greased with cream. The fact that in Russia, the countries of Eastern Europe and Scandinavia is proudly called “Napoleon”, in France it is poetically called “millefeuille” (mille-feuille in translation “yarrow”) – a divine dessert made of almond cream with berries and fruits between layers of puff pastry …
An important component of Mille Feuille is puff pastry. It, like a setting for a good diamond, should not interfere with the enjoyment of the dessert but is intended to slightly complement the unique taste of the filling.
The origin of puff pastry has its own mysterious history. The Assyrians invented it. Apparently, it was not easy without a refrigerator: to make the dough, it had to be rolled out thinly, greased with butter, sprinkled with flour, folded into an envelope, put in the cold – and so several times!

When baking, the oiled layers are separated from each other, and a puff pastry is obtained. The country of Assyria has long disappeared from the world map, and the dough invented by its inhabitants still forms the basis of many famous oriental sweets. So, the famous baklava is the same Mille Feuille! Real baklava for the sultan should have at least 40 layers – according to the number of beloved wives from the harem. Each wife had to roll out the dough once, put a filling of nuts and spices on it, and the sultan could already try all this and choose: whose layer is tastier, that is the beloved wife.
Now there are various variations of the Mille Feuille recipe: sometimes seasonal fruits or jam, whipped cream, chocolate, powdered sugar, and more are added to it. Traditionally, Mille Feuille is a dessert, but now it is found in a savory form.

Macaron

One of the most famous French delicacies is a delicate but crunchy pastry. Traditionally, two round cookies are baked, between which cream is placed, but there are also variations with jam or jam. French pasta comes in a variety of flavors, and you can usually guess by its color. The most common are vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, and pistachio. Born in Italy, macaroni (macaroon) quickly gained fame in the French court. Marie Antoinette, for example, adored macarons since childhood and even named her cat after them. At culinary sites, macarons are made like macaroons, but this recipe is somewhat “outdated”: this is how macarons were made in the 18th century.

Now the recipe for this cake is based on egg whites, almond powder, sugar, sweet ice, and salt … but there is a little trick in its preparation: before baking, the baking sheet is left in the air for about half an hour or an hour, depending on the humidity of the air – then it forms on macaroons a film that protects them from cracking, and a characteristic “skirt” around the edges – croûtage, as the French say.
Each French confectionery has its own trademark: for example, the famous Laduree every year invents a new aroma and color of macarons for true gourmets. Multicolored crispy round pieces, fastened with a delicate cream, are happy to give for Valentine’s Day and Christmas, lovingly wrapping them in holiday wrappers with ribbon bows.

Cheese (Fromage) –  occupy the main place in the cuisine of France.
Several decades ago, French President Charles de Gaulle exclaimed: “How to govern a country that produces 325 types of cheese?” In our time, these data are very outdated: the number of varieties of French cheeses has long exceeded five hundred. What are the reasons for this wealth and diversity? Of course, this is a variety of landscapes, from lush and rich pastures near the sea coast to the multi glass mountain meadows of Auvergne, Jura, and the Vosges, where cows of various breeds graze. These are the fertile valleys of the Loire and Rhone, where goats find their food at the edge of the vineyards, and the karst highlands of Provence, Languedoc, and the Pyrenees, where the only sheep can successfully survive.

But first of all, these are the people themselves, many generations of cheesemakers, who carefully, diligently, and skillfully learned to extract the best from the milk of their animals. And, finally, these are all the French in general: they know how to appreciate the individual taste of their “cheese platter”, consider this wealth as part of the famous ability to live (savoir vivre), and enjoy it.
There are a huge number of types of cheeses here: salty, sweet, soft, hard, spicy, homemade, moldy, in wine, in a salad, on a piece of bread, in a soup, and in thousands of different ways.
In France, more than 500 types of cheese are produced from cow, goat, sheep, and even buffalo milk, different in hardness and all kinds of fat content. Blue cheeses are very popular in France, some of the most famous: Roquefort and Brie. Camembert, Reblochon, Banon, Mimolet, Pont-l’Eveque, Temple and others are also produced here. Cheese can be served as an appetizer, dessert, or fondue.

Wine (vin)

France is a country of wine-growing regions, each of which grows its own grape varieties and, accordingly, produces its own wine. Cabernet, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Muscat are the most famous varieties of wine based on grapes growing in France. Real champagne is one of the favorite women’s wines, produced only in the French Champagne region. True wine aficionados often prefer fine French wines.
There is no hard and fast rule about when to use white and when to use red. Red wine, however, is more commonly used for cooking dishes from domestic and wild animals, and white wine for fish dishes. In the home kitchen, housewives often do the opposite and experiment. However, some dishes, such as edible shells – moule mariniere or fish and white meat dishes, are prepared only with white wine, because red wine gives them an unpleasant blue tint.

In French cuisine, only dry and semi-dry (unfortified) grape wines are used. White wine should not be very sour. In many of the now classic French recipes, some non-French wines such as port or sherry are recommended. But the French themselves often replace these wines with their own sweet wines such as Muscat. In Normandy, cider, which is widespread in this area, is actively used for the preparation of fish dishes. Cognac in the north of France is often replaced by calvados (apple vodka), and in Gascony – by Armagnac. Our cognacs can be successfully used instead of French ones as additives to wines or for burning directly on food, for example, on meat. To do this, before serving, the finished hot dish is poured with brandy and set on fire. This gives the food a specific flavor and flavor.
An important role in Haute French cuisine is played by the compatibility of drinks and dishes. For this, a special science has been created. Wine, chosen correctly and a little bit of luck, emphasizes the taste of the created dish. Poor choice of them only kills the experience of food. Many people know that red wine does not go well with white fish, but not everyone realizes that any wine does not match nuts, boiled eggs, chocolate, mayonnaise.
You can’t drink wine after coffee. Apples enhance their taste, cheese emphasizes their disadvantages and advantages. All this comes with experience and the study of special rules. The French recommend drinking white before red wine, young before old, and dry before sweet. And there are many such rules.

In France, the housewife’s ability to cook well is a matter of pride for herself and her family members. The French always talk about this with pleasure, and there is a special expression that characterizes a woman who knows how to cook food well – cordon bleu (blue ribbon).
We have had the French word “gourmet” for a long time. According to our dictionaries, he is a lover and connoisseur of delicious dishes.
The French have two words that differently characterize people who love delicious food. One of them is the same word gourmet, which is used to refer to people who love to be satiated with delicious food. Another word is gourmet. A gourmet is a person who understands the intricacies of gourmet food. This is a connoisseur in cooking. A Frenchman is pleased when he is considered a gourmet.

The French meal plan provides for two breakfasts.
The first breakfast – fruit and vegetable juices, eggs, cheese, butter, omelets (with jam, ham, cheese, mushrooms, herbs, stuffed tomatoes, and other side dishes).
Second breakfast – cold seafood and fish snacks, poultry meat, stuffed or stewed vegetables, hot dishes of simple preparation.
Lunch – any snacks of European cuisine, soups, main courses.

No more than one snack a day (and not an hour before meals). Clarifications are needed to understand this rule. French children, like their parents, always eat at the same time. Although children in France do not have snacks between meals, this does not mean that they are starving.
In France, parents don’t worry if kids get hungry between meals. They think it’s best to wait, but eat a normal healthy lunch at the right time. The French have a saying that perfectly reflects their attitude towards hunger: “bon repas doit commencer par la faim”, literally translated – “A good dinner begins with hunger,” or something like: “Hunger is the best seasoning.”

Etiquette is generally a separate chapter when it comes to the French nation, and even more so if during a meal.
The meal must be accompanied by an interesting conversation. The French at the table prefers to talk about culture, art, and French cuisine – the national pride of every Frenchman. It is not customary for the French to make lengthy toasts at the table. It is not accepted to clink glasses.

France is an amazing country, famous not only for fashion shows, but also for a variety of “delicious” holidays. Fans of tasting new dishes should definitely visit this country in October when the Week of Taste takes place. It ends with a grand festival of chestnuts, which has long been considered national.
The holiday dedicated to chestnuts is never forgotten either in big cities or in small settlements. These days, France can be called a gastronomic paradise, there are so many different kinds of food here. The only condition that must be met is the presence of chestnuts in every dish. For this, special varieties of this plant are grown. French restaurants offer visitors to try soups, cakes, mousses, liqueurs, and other chestnut dishes and drinks.

For those who, for various reasons, cannot visit a cafe or restaurant to enjoy something tasty, fried chestnuts in special bags are sold on the streets.
Not only people are not indifferent to the holiday of chestnuts, but the weather also loves it. The proof of this is the warm and sunny days that delight everyone throughout the holiday. These days, in addition to tasting all kinds of chestnut dishes, sports competitions, various contests for readers and theatrical performances are held annually, thanks to which you can find out how the chestnut got to France.
The smell of roasted chestnuts that is in the air for a whole week, delicious and original dishes, interesting and gambling contests simply will not allow anyone not to get into the festive spirit.

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Food

Nigerian Cuisine: Food Aesthetics

Nigeria is considered a country where you can not only relax and unwind but also taste unusual, very tasty dishes.

What is the Cuisine of Nigeria?

Nigerian cuisine, however, like West African cuisine in general, is known for its richness and enormous variety. Typical foods include beef, poultry, fish, vegetables, rice, and potatoes. The country’s cuisine uses many different herbs, spices, and seasonings.

Dishes of local cuisine The main dish of local cuisine is considered to be a side dish. He plays the main role. As a side dish, usually boiled rice or yams, fried with vegetables, or two varieties of potatoes (a little sweet and sweet) are served. Richly seasoned fish or meat dishes are served on a separate plate.

Moya-moya is a traditional Nigerian dish. This is a ripe bean casserole with egg and smoked fish, baked in palm leaves.

Suya – Very thin strips of beef that are well sautéed over an open fire with nut butter and sprinkled with cayenne pepper. Fresh Nigerian pineapple and fried bananas are also worth trying. They taste different from those that are familiar to us.

Local residents do not eat salty food and fruits. Nigeria’s cuisine is quite high in calories, however, this should not prevent travelers from enjoying its great taste.

The cuisine of Nigeria is the national cuisine of the state of Nigeria, located in West Africa. Nigerian cuisine is very similar to other West African cuisines. It consists of dishes or foods from the hundreds of ethnic groups that inhabit Nigeria.

Typical Foods

Vegetable Food

There are a lot of dishes in Nigerian cuisine based on rice, beans, yams, and cassava.

Meat and Fish

Meat in Nigeria is used in the preparation of most dishes.

Dairy

Wara is a soft country cheese made from cow’s milk.

Spice

Today, Nigerian cuisine, like most West African cuisines, uses many spices, herbs, combined with different types of oils to create deep-flavored sauces and soups, which are often spiced with chili peppers.

Traditional Dishes

Bread

Akara – Deep-fried pea flour cakes.

Alkubus is steamed bread made with wheat, flour, yeast, and water. Served with Miyan Taushe. Typical of the Hausa and Fulani Nigerian peoples.

Soups

Miyan Kuka is a thick Nigerian soup made with crushed baobab leaves and dried okra. Very common in Hausa cuisine.

Gbegiri is a thick bean soup popular in northwestern Nigeria.

Okro soup is a thick soup made from okra, spinach, crayfish or shrimp, meat, and pumpkin seeds. Served hot with ugali or fufu.

Egusi soup is a popular leafy vegetable soup thickened with ground pumpkin seeds (egusi), which is popular in Nigerian cuisine.

Banga soup is a popular palm nut soup in southern and mid-western Nigeria.

Edikaikong is a nutritious vegetable soup typical of the Ibibio and Efik people of southeastern Nigeria. It is prepared from beef, game, dried fish, crayfish, beef offal, pumpkin leaves, onions, palm oil. Because the soup contains expensive ingredients, it is considered a delicacy and is served on special occasions or to wealthy families in Nigeria.

Afang is another nutritious vegetable soup that originated among the Efik, Ibibio, and Ananng peoples of southeastern Nigeria. It is served at home and also sometimes at ceremonies such as weddings, funerals, festivals.

Pepper soup is light meat and fish soup with herbs and spices. This is one of the few soups in Nigerian cuisine that can be eaten on its own, rather than as a sauce for fufu or crushed yam. Pepper soup is often an appetizer at formal events and is also consumed in the evening at pubs and social gatherings.

Omi ukpoka is a corn soup made from chopped dry corn mixed with smoked fish.

Draw soup is the name for thick, viscous soups from southeastern and southwestern Nigeria. They are boiled with okra, ogono seeds, and jute leaves. This soup is usually eaten by dipping pieces of fufu into it.

Main Dishes

Fufu is a thick, dense porridge made from cassava and green plantains. It is the basis of many African cuisines, including Nigerian cuisine.

Coconut rice – rice cooked in coconut milk.

Jollof rice is a traditional African rice dish with tomatoes and peppers.

Pate – pate made from ground dry corn, rice, or achi (millet). Mainly served with spinach, tomatoes, onions, peppers, eggs, beans, peanuts, sugar seeds, and minced meat. Especially popular in northwest Nigeria.

Maafe is a stew made with peanuts, tomatoes, onions, and other ingredients.

Tuwo masara is a cornmeal dish eaten in northern Nigeria.

Tuwo shinkafa is a thick rice pudding commonly eaten with miyan kuk soup, goat stew, or miyan taushe. Tuvo shinkafa is most common in the northern part of the country.

Miyan taushe is a stew of pumpkin leaves with peanuts, often also spinach, meat (usually goat or lamb), and smoked fish.

Moin-Moin / Moimoi is a traditional protein-rich Nigerian pudding steamed in banana leaves. The pudding is made from a mixture of black-eyed peas with onions and freshly ground pepper (usually a combination of bell pepper and chili or Scotch Bonnet).

Ekuru is a traditional food of the Nigerian Yoruba people living in southwestern Nigeria. This is another bean pudding similar to moin moin. Ekuru is also made with black-eyed peas, but no pepper is added. Served with roasted peppers.

Suya – meat with chili powder, peanut powder, and other local spices, grilled on skewers. It is one of the most famous Nigerian cuisine and can be found easily throughout the country.

Tsire is a meat generously topped with a mixture of ground peanuts and chili. Prepare with or without skewers.

Kilishi – Meat cut into very thin slices is dried, brushed on both sides with a paste of chili, spices and local herbs, and then quickly grilled.

Balangu – meat (beef, goat or lamb) cooked on coals without spices so as not to spoil the taste of the meat. Salt and spices can be added later to taste.

Nkwobi – Cow’s legs stewed in a spicy thick sauce, a traditional dish of southeastern Nigeria.

Ofe akwu – palm nut stew served with rice.

Ayamase is a stew made from green or red Scotch Bonet peppers.

Gbegiri is a bean stew typical of the people of southwestern Nigeria.

Ofada stew is a palm oil-based stew widely known in western Nigeria. It is made from palm oil with unripe peppers, tomatoes, beef and nere seeds.

Iyan – yam puree.

Asaro, a thick yam porridge, is a popular Nigerian dish common in the western region. Asaro is made by boiling and lightly mashed yams in a tomato, chili, and chili sauce with palm or vegetable oil. It can be garnished with fish, meat, or crayfish as desired.

Salads and Snacks

Ewa Agoyin / Ewa Aganyin is a popular street food in Nigeria and is commonly eaten in Lagos and other southern states of Nigeria. It is a soft bean puree. It is usually eaten with crushed pepper and a hot tomato sauce. The local name for the dish is “Ewa G”. Additional ingredients may include palm oil, onions, and crayfish. It is usually served with bread.

Ogi / Eko is a fermented grain pudding from Nigeria, usually made with corn, sorghum, or millet. Traditionally, the grains are crushed and soaked in water for fermentation for three days until they become sour. Then this mass is boiled until the consistency of a creamy pudding. Usually served with moin moin or akara.

Dodo is a garnish of ripe bananas fried in vegetable or palm oil.

Desserts

Funkaso – millet pancakes.

Mosa – fermented corn, ground into a thick paste, toasted and dusted with sugar. There is also a variant of moza made from a very soft plantain, which is ground into a paste, mixed with dried black pepper, fried, and sprinkled with sugar.

Chin Chin – fried biscuits made from flour, eggs, and butter.

Puff Puff – fried balls of sweet dough.

Alkaki – deep-fried sugar dough products.

Drinks

Kunu is a popular drink made from millet, sorghum, or corn in Nigeria.

Fura da nono is a popular drink, especially in northern Nigeria, made from boiled millet or sorghum, ground with a little cow’s milk.

Zobo is a drink made from rosella juice.

Soy milk is a drink made from soaked, crushed, and strained soybeans.

Alcohol

Palm wine is popular in African cuisines, including Nigeria, a palm tree sap drink that can be distilled in ogogoro.

Ogogoro is a strong alcoholic beverage made from the raffia palm tree. The alcohol content in ogogoro usually ranges between 30 and 60 degrees. Ogogoro has a large social component – it is an integral part of numerous religious and social ceremonies.

Burukutu is an alcoholic beverage made from sorghum and millet.

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Food

Japanese Cuisine: Food Aesthetics

There are not so many cuisines of the world classified as the World Intangible Cultural Heritage of UNESCO. The highlight of this collection is Japanese cuisine. Small plates of various shapes on the table, small pieces of food that are convenient to grab with chopsticks and send into your mouth, a clear appearance of the ingredients that make up the meal – this expresses the Japanese desire for elegance and aesthetics. Japanese attention to detail can be traced in their attitude to food: young people are served larger portions than older people due to different metabolism, food recipes in the winter season are different from summer, the design of dishes turns into real art.

Simplicity, ease of preparation, the freshness of products are the foundations of Japanese cuisine. A regular corner grocery store or a high-end restaurant in the city center will offer their customers equally fresh food. In Japan, prepackaged and offered food has a shelf life of no more than a day. It is hard to believe that the ubiquitous and well-known Japanese cuisine was once closed to the world due to the policy of national seclusion that was pursued until 1868.

History of Japanese Cuisine

The earliest evidence of Japanese cuisine dates back to the Mesolithic and Neolithic times when the main diet of the Japanese of that time was fish, various types of millet, and shellfish. Even then, the Japanese used pots in which all kinds of stews were cooked. The famous Japanese dish shabu-shabu, which is also called “a dish from one pot”, dates from just that period. Archaeologists who carried out excavations in Japan noted that even then people used natural refrigerators in the form of deep pits and preserved food with salt.

The main product of the cuisine – rice – began to be cultivated in Japan in the 3rd century BC. BC and rice was not only a food product but also a monetary unit, a measure of remuneration for samurai until the end of the 19th century. Rice stocks spoke about the material wealth of the family. In the 6th century, China influenced Japanese cuisine, and the foundations of the tea ceremony were laid.

During the same period, Buddhism penetrated the country, and therefore, already in 675, a law appeared prohibiting the use of meat. Violation of the ban was punishable by death. True, the ban itself did not apply to all types of meat. For example, the meat of wild pigs and deer could continue to be eaten with impunity. Fishing was also banned in 752. The fishermen were left without a job and a source of food. But to prevent the fishermen from starving to death, the imperial house dated them with a certain amount of rice annually. Chopsticks are not a Japanese invention. The Japanese borrowed them from the Chinese, just like the recipe for soy sauce and udon noodles.

“Rice was not only a food product but also a currency”

With the beginning of the aristocratic era, which began in 710 after the founding of the permanent capital in Nara, Japanese cuisine takes on its inherent features. The dishes at the imperial court are elegant and understated, the finesse and external aesthetics of the dishes are appreciated, not their abundance. Everything on the plates acquires a certain symbolism, the color of the dishes is determined by the season and the events taking place.

Until the arrival of the first Portuguese in Japan in 1543, sweets, as such, were absent from the diet of the population. Although sugar was discovered by the Japanese in the 8th century, it was considered a cure for lung disease and was not eaten. Most often, fruits, chestnuts, honey were sweet for tea. Everything changed with the arrival of Europeans in Japan. Sweet candies, caramel, cookies, and lollipops – “sweets of the southern barbarians”, which tried to persuade the Japanese to Christianity. Japan closes itself off from the world again in 1639 and opens to the West only after 1868. Bakeries, steak houses, breweries, ice cream, and chocolate shops, coffee shops, and liquor stalls have all come to Japan and have become cosmically popular among young foodies and intellectuals. Cheeses, milk, and butter did not emerge from the popularity of the cheesecake dessert until the 1970s.

But American hamburgers were not destined to flood the market. Back in 1958, Ando Momofuku invented the revolutionary instant noodles in plastic cups that the whole of Japan fell in love with, and not only it. Japanese food traditions are losing their relevance in their own country, but suddenly the Japanese discover that it is their cuisine that inspires the entire modern world. People from all over the world flocked to an internship with Japanese chefs. After all, the line in your resume that you were trained by a Japanese chef increases your competitiveness.

Japanese Food

Eating outside the home gained its popularity in the Edo period in the early 18th century, when the city (which will be renamed Tokyo in the future) was twice the population of the then Paris and the bulk of the inhabitants were unmarried men and visiting provincials. Many of them huddled in small rooms and there was simply nowhere to cook. This gave a powerful boost to the fast-food industry. In 1751, the world’s first restaurant opened in Edo. The ability to understand the quality of food has become a matter of honor. Edo, Osaka, and Kyoto began printing the first restaurant appraisal booklets.

In modern Japan, the main feature of catering that distinguishes it from the rest of the world is the tradition of displaying display cases at the entrance with dummies of main dishes and their prices. Green tea will be served with food, and a tip will be considered an insult – it is not customary to leave it here. You can often see a picture of a Japanese waiter catching up on the street to a European in order to tip him, which he left out of habit.

“You can often see a picture of a Japanese waiter catching up on the street to a European in order to give him a tip, which he left out of habit.”

All active life in big cities takes place around metro stations and train stations, so most cafes and restaurants are concentrated there. Food prices can be either quite reasonable or obscenely high. It all depends on the level of the restaurant, the range of dishes and the quality of service.

An inexpensive and tasty option for a tourist to have a snack will be sushi establishments, organized on the principle of a conveyor belt, where small plates pass you and you can take whatever you like right from the belt. The cost of meals is determined by the color of the plate. After the end of the meal, the waiter counts the number and color of the plates, fixes them in the check, which you pay at the checkout when you leave the establishment. The order is usually made using an electronic display installed near each table.

It happens that a cafe offers only options for complex meals and it is impossible to change anything in the stated combinations. For example, if you want a bowl of soup with meat and vegetables, but without a bowl of rice, do not even hope that they will understand you and fulfill your wish or adjust the price. There is a menu and that’s it, no other items are provided.

Superstitions & Habits

There are a number of rules associated with chopsticks in Japan. For example, women can only eat food with chopsticks, while it is acceptable for men to eat some food with their hands. Sticks should not be inserted vertically into food, especially rice, this is done only at funerals. Chopsticks do not move plates, do not point, do not clamp them in a fist, and do not place them across the bowl. The chopsticks should be placed on the table before asking for additional rice.

Before a meal, always say “Bon appetit” and a damp warm, and sometimes hot oshibori towel to rub your hands before eating. Getting up from the table with half-eaten rice in a bowl is impolite, they eat rice to the last grain.

Dishes

Japanese cuisine can be roughly divided into three groups: rice dishes, noodle dishes, and fish and meat dishes. The degree of heat treatment varies from completely raw meat and fish to products fried in batter over high heat.

There are three types of Japanese noodles: ramen, udon, and soba.

Ramen was brought to Japan from China. Basically, they are noodles in the broth. Most often, in chicken, but also in pork or seafood broth. Vegetarian ramen is also gaining popularity in recent years. Ramen noodles are made from wheat flour and eggs.

Udon noodles are made from wheat flour but without the addition of eggs. Due to its composition, it takes a little longer to cook than ramen noodles, but it is also more nutritious. Unlike ramen, udon noodles are consumed both as an independent dish with soy sauce and as part of a soup.

Soba is made from buckwheat flour, sometimes with the addition of wheat. It is a famous dish since the Nara era when it was served at tea ceremonies. Soba is usually eaten cold with seasonings and soy sauce but sometimes added to the hot broth.

Eating noodles of any kind, it is customary in Japan to smack their lips, thus showing that the dish is delicious.

Tempura – Shrimp, fish, and seasonal vegetables fried in batter. It is consumed with soy sauce broth. This crispy dish was brought to Japan by Christian missionaries.

Sukiyaki – “dish from the cauldron”, like shabu-shabu, is cooked in a saucepan right on the table. Thin slices of beef, noodles, tofu, and vegetables. Nothing complicated, but the taste is very exquisite.

Syabu-shabu – the principle of cooking is close to sukiyaki, although here a thin piece of meat is dipped into a pot of boiling water, due to which excess fat is removed from the meat and the calorie content of the dish is reduced. The broth with meat is traditionally seasoned with onions, cabbage, and vegetables.

Sushi, known and loved by everyone, initially looked quite different. Previously, rice and fish were carefully marinated and left for at least a year, and more often for three, before eating. The modern look of sushi was given by samurai who appreciated the taste of raw fresh fish. It was thanks to their taste preferences that sushi became a bun of rice and a piece of fish. As a rule, sushi is dipped in soy sauce and seasoned with “Japanese horseradish” wasabi. We are used to seeing wasabi on the table in a separate bowl, but in Japan, wasabi is put right inside the sushi. It is believed that different types of sushi should be eaten with pickled ginger in order to fully experience different tastes.

Sashimi is a sliced ​​fillet of raw fish of various types, which is eaten dipped in soy sauce. Often sashimi is served with daikon – a Japanese radish that helps to fully reveal the taste of fish.

Japanese curry is the only rice dish eaten with spoons. The dish came to Japan from India and was positioned as English (at that time India was a British colony). Later, the Japanese transformed the curry sauce to suit their taste, and now this dish cannot be called a fusion version of the Indian, the taste of the sauce is completely different.

Yakitori is Japan’s favorite alcoholic snack. Chicken meat, vegetables and mushrooms on bamboo skewers, grilled with coals. Mini barbecues are offered at numerous izakaya pubs.

Tonkatsu is a super popular dish in Japanese cafes. Just like tempura, it is deep-fried, but it is a pork chop and is served not with soy, but with another, slightly sweetish in taste, sauce.

It is impossible to ignore the delicacy – pufferfish, which is considered food for extreme lovers. After all, only a drop of poison, contained mainly in the liver of a fish, can lead a gourmet to complete paralysis and death. All the chefs who prepare pufferfish have a special license to prepare it. According to the Japanese tradition, the chef who has poisoned the client is obliged to make himself hara-kiri, however, is this still relevant today? That is the question.

The second famous Japanese delicacy is marbled meat. The meat of the bulls turns out to be especially tender and soft due to the fact that they are almost never let out of the stall and are generously watered with beer.

And of course, wagashi – all kinds of Japanese desserts based on rice, legumes, agar-agar. It is difficult to call them sweet in the usual sense, but having got used to and have discovered the taste of wagashi for yourself, it is already difficult to refuse them.

Alcohol

The technology of making the most famous alcoholic drink – sake – is similar to brewing beer, but the amount of alcohol in Japanese vodka sake is three times higher than the “degree” of beer. Sake is also called rice wine because of the rice and water in it. Sake is drunk warm – to achieve a quick intoxication, or chilled, which is more familiar to Europeans. Sake is considered a drink for the smart, as research by Tokyo scientists suggests that the IQ of those who drink it daily is higher than that of those who abstain from it.

No less popular alcohol in Japan is beer, which is usually adorned with pretty, smiling Japanese women in short skirts. The whiskey that came from outside also won favor. Low alcohol fruit drinks are popular with young people. Fruit and berry wines, which we contemptuously call “ink”, are made in Japan from plums – unlike ours, they have their own sophisticated interesting taste.

Fast Food

The most popular Japanese snack is bought onigiri. This is a triangular-shaped rice cake with a filling (salmon, chicken, caviar, egg, vegetables, and so on). Once peasants took onigiri with them to the field, but now children take them with them to school and for a walk.

Okonomiyaki – “Japanese pizza”. Only her base is not made from dough, but from chopped cabbage, fastened with raw eggs. In the form of a filling, noodles, seafood, vegetables are used. Fast and economical meal, complemented by the sweet sauce and sprinkled with dried fish.

Takoyaki is small balls of flour with pieces of octopus meat inside. The sauce and dried fish are the same as in okonomiyaki. Usually, takoyaki is sold in 6 or 9 pieces. It seems that this snack can only “freeze the worm”, but despite its size, takoyaki is a very satisfying meal.

Bento is a variant of a camping lunch. It is a box divided into sections, each of which contains different ingredients. Bento was originally sold at train station stations for travelers with a long journey ahead of them. The basis of bento is rice and various mini-dishes (meat, fish, vegetables). Previously, caring wives and mothers were engaged in their preparation, now they can be bought in any supermarket. However, it will not work to take out a wooden bento box from Japan as a souvenir. They are considered national treasures and are prohibited for export.

In addition, Japanese street food includes fried squid, popcorn, crepe-type pancakes, fried chestnuts, steamed buns with nikuman meat filling, chicken on a stick kushiyaki, kebabs made from various meats, and quirky forms of tofu. You definitely won’t stay hungry in Japan!

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