Know More..

Category Food

What is the tradition of buttered bread, Ireland?

This is an old Irish custom of celebrating New Year’s Day, which was also known as the Day of the Buttered Bread. It is not popular among the people of Ireland today. According to food anthropologists, until the 20th Century, buttered bread was either placed on the doorstep for passers-by or thrown at the door and taken back to be consumed. Butter and bread were luxurious products during that period and this tradition was a symbol of banishing hunger and welcoming plenitude.

Usually sold in flattened rounds, it is often served toasted with butter along with a cup of tea in the afternoon. The dough is sweeter than sandwich bread, but not as rich as cake, and the sultanas and raisins add flavour and texture to the final product.

 

Picture Credit : Google

What is the tradition of Vasilopita, Greece?

Vasilopita is a cake cut in Greek households on New Year’s Eve to bring good luck for the year ahead. This sponge cake is made with flour, almonds, yeast, sugar and milk. A coin or a trinket is usually hidden within the cake and the person who gets the slice with it is believed to be blessed with good luck for the upcoming year.

This age old tradition commenced in the fourth century, when Saint Basil the Great, who was a bishop, wanted to distribute money to the poor in his Diocese. He wanted to preserve their dignity, so as not to look like charity, he commissioned some women to bake sweetened bread, in which he arranged to place gold coins. Thus the families in cutting the bread to nourish themselves, were pleasantly surprised to find the coins.

The Vasilopita is a beautiful tradition, and a custom which should not be neglected by Greek Orthodox Christians. It is such a wonderful way to begin each New Year.

 

Picture Credit : Google

What is the tradition of Glucksschwein in Germany?

Germany and its neighbour Austria’s Sylvesterabend (Saint Sylvester’s Day) celebrations coincide with New Year’s. Glucksschwein or marzipan pig is a popular traditional confection distributed among family and friends during the New Year’s Eve feast. This treat, made with sugar and almond paste, is a tradition meant for good fortune. Schwein gehabt is German for “having a pig”, an expression to state that someone is lucky. The tradition is believed to have its roots in the medieval period, when a farmer who bred a lot of pigs was considered fortunate.

Some Glücksschweinchen or good luck piggies come with a little clover on them. Legend has it; Eve took a four-leaf clover out of the Garden of Eden. So when you find one, you have found yourself a little piece of paradise.

 

Picture Credit : Google

What is the tradition of Cotechino con lenticchie, Italy?

Cotechino con lenticchie (sausage with lentil stew) is an inseparable part of Italian New Year celebrations. According to traditional beliefs, lentils represent money and good fortune, and pork (in the form of sausages) is a symbol of prosperity and richness and is believed to bring good luck.

You may be wondering why Lentils are used in this Traditional Italian dish? Lentils are seen as coin-shaped legumes which has a relation to wealth. It is therefore believed that Lentils are symbolic for this tradition and so it is always served with Cotechino or Zampone at Midnight New Years Eve to bring you prosperity & wealth in the New Year.

Lentils can be purchased from almost any Supermarket or Delicatessen and come in dry form or in tins depending on your preferred cooking style.

 

Picture Credit : Google

What is the tradition of pomegranate in Turkey?

Pomegranates represent fortune, fertility, abundance and good luck in Turkey. Though pomegranates are a vital part of their cuisine, on New Year’s Eve the fruit is usually smashed against the ground. This is mostly done at the doorstep. It is believed that the more the seeds that burst out, the more good fortune one will acquire. This practice is based on the legend that one fruit bears multiple seeds and has the ability to become many trees in the future. This tradition is also followed in the neighbouring country Armenia.

Each autumn, when pomegranates are at their best, you will see stalls spring up all over Turkey selling fresh juice in markets and on street corners. Pomegranates are grown throughout Turkey, especially in coastal regions around the Aegean and Mediterranean and tourist resorts like Dalyan and Side. Many properties in Turkey have pomegranate bushes in their gardens, the Turks believing the harvest will bring luck to their family home. Pomegranates are also incorporated in many Turkish dishes. The kernels are often found in salads, and a sweet and popular pomegranate molasses (syrup) is widely used by chefs to marinate meat or incorporated into sauces.

 

Picture Credit : Google

What is the tradition of soba noodles in Japan?

In Japan, people eat soba noodles (thin noodles made with buckwheat) at midnight with their loved ones, as they bid farewell to the old year and welcome the next year. The noodles, thin and long, are believed to represent long life. The noodles are, therefore, slurped whole instead of being bitten. The Japanese also follow another tradition known as the mochitsuki, where families gather to pound mocha (Japanese rice cakes). The cakes are then eaten as a desert after the meal.

The most basic soba dish is mori soba in which boiled, cold soba noodles are eaten with a soya based dipping sauce (tsuyu). Many soba dishes are eaten throughout the year, while others are only available seasonally.

Like pasta, soba noodles are available in dried form in supermarkets, but they taste best if freshly made by hand from flour and water. Soba making has long been a popular hands-on activity for domestic and international travelers. The activity is offered by many craft villages and travel tour companies.

 

Picture Credit : Google

What is the tradition of Tteokguk in South Korea?

Known as the New Year soup, Tteokguk is a soup made with meat stock and rice cakes. The white tteok (rice cakes) used in the soup symbolizes purity and is seen as a symbol of a fresh start. Though the origin of the soup is unknown, one of the first mentions of the dish dates back to a 19th Century cookbook. Due to the high price of rice, the soup was reserved only for special occasions such as the New Year and birthdays. New Year is seen as an important event as Korean consider themselves a year older every New Year. The day, therefore, marks the “Korean birthday” for most of them.

The broth is generally made by simmering the main protein (beef, chicken, pork, pheasant, seafood) in a ganjang-seasoned stock. The stock is then strained to clarify the broth, and long cylinder-shaped garaetteok are thin-sliced diagonally and boiled in the clear broth. Garnish is added before serving; the garnish may vary by region and personal taste, but usual staples are pan-fried julienned egg yolks and whites, gim and spring onions.[4]A drizzle of sesame oil is common just prior to serving the teokguk.

 

Picture Credit : Google

What is the tradition of the 12 grapes in Spain?

In Spain, the locals welcome the New Year by eating 12 grapes, one by one, for every toll of the clock bell. It is considered a symbol of luck if all the 12 grapes are consumed on time. In order to finish all the grapes, some even peel and de-seed them for easier consumption. According to popular legend, the grapes represent the months of the year and sweet grapes indicate a happy month whereas a sour one indicates a rough month. This tradition is also adopted in several Spanish-speaking countries such as Mexico.

The twelve grapes date back from at least 1895 but became established in 1909. In December of that year, some alicantese vine growers popularized this custom to better sell huge numbers of grapes from an excellent harvest. According to the tradition, eating the twelve grapes leads to a year of good luck and prosperity. In some areas, it is believed that it wards away witches and general evil, although this “magic” is treated like an old heritage, and in modern days it’s viewed as a cultural tradition to welcome the new year.

 

Picture Credit : Google

What is the history of French toast?

Origin

One of the earliest versions of the French toast can be traced back to 5th Century A.D. Roman Empire. The first-known mention of a French toast-like dish was mentioned in “Apicius”, a 1st century AD collection of Roman recopies. The Romans dipped bread pieces in a milk-based mixture, before frying it in oil and butter.

Similar toasts were prepared in Europe and known by different names during the medieval period. For instance, suppe dorate in England, arme ritter in Germany and fattiga riddance in Sweden. Most of these toasts used a batter comprising milk and eggs, to make stale loaves of bread more palatable. In France, a toast made with bread, milk and eggs, known as tostees dorees, was mentioned in “Le Viandier de Taillevent”, a French recipe collection originally written around the year 1300.

In the 15th Century, a toast known as pain perdu rose n popularity in France. Pain perdu is seen as the modern variant of French toast prepared today. In fact, pain perdu is how French toast is referred to in France. By the 16th and 17th centuries, pain perdu began to be prepared in Britain and a few other European cities. As the dish spread to regions outside France, it came to be popularly called French toast. According to reports, 1660 is the year the word “French toast” first made an appearance in the Oxford dictionary. Within the next few years, the toast’s recipe spread across the British colonies.

Evolution

As the toast began to be prepared in several regions across the globe, they also came to be known by different names such as Spanish toast, German toast, nun’s toast, eggy bread, torriga and poor knights of Windsor, among others.

As the French toast became a global hit, most places adapted the pain perdu recipe according to their taste preferences. For instance, Bombay toast has a sweet and savoury variants, where the sweet is prepared using bread slices, eggs, milk and sugar or honey and the savoury consists of bread, milk, eggs, ginger, garlic, onion, salt and coriander leaves.

Unlike the Europeans toasts that are served with cream and chopped fruits, in the U.S., the toast is topped with powdered sugar, maple syrup and butter.

In Scotland, the toasts are eaten as a sandwich with a filling made of sausages. In Italy, they are served with cheese and ketchup. In Hong Kong, the batter includes peanut butter or fruit jam along with eggs and milk. Australians eat the toasts with fried bacon.

Wide varieties

There are several unique varieties such as waffle, peanut butter and jelly-stuffed, smores, cereal-coated, red velvet, cheesecake, cinnamon roll, hot chocolate, corn flakes, basil and cherry tomato, muffin, rosemary and cheese casserole French toast prepared today.

French toast has become such a popular breakfast within the U.S. that each year on November 28 is celebrated as National French Toast Day.

 

Picture Credit : Google

What is the history of plum cake?

Though cookies, hot chocolate, eggnog and gingerbread are iconic Christmas treats, the festive season would be incomplete without indulging in some rich plum pudding or cake.

Origin and evolution

Fruit cakes date back to Roman times, where the people prepared a dessert called satura, which comprised barley, dried raisins, pine nuts, pomegranate seeds and mead (wine made with honey). According to reports, the English began making a different version of satura during the Victorian period. This became a popular and an integral part of holiday feasts. They came to be known as plum cakes or plum puddings in England. Some food experts suggest that a version of plum cake has been consumed in England since the medieval period. During this period, there was a popular tradition of observing a period of fast before Christmas. Right before indulging in heavy treats and meals during Christmas, most people consumed a rich porridge that “prepared the stomach for feasting”. This porridge was made of oats, dried fruits, spices, honey and meat. Ingredients such as oats and meat were excluded from the recipe eventually. New ingredients such as flour, eggs and butter replaced meat and oats, paving way for the birth of the famous plum cakes, which are also known as plum puddings or fruit cakes.

Journey across the globe

Plum cakes moved out of England primarily due to colonization. English men working in colonies such as Australia, and the Americas, Canada and India received Christmas gifts and hampers from their families in England. Plum cakes were sent along with these hampers. The locals eventually began making these cakes in their households during the holiday season.

Do plum cakes really contain plum?

Plum cakes and puddings do not contain plum in them, though the name suggests the same. In medieval England, dried fruits such as raisins were generally referred to as plums. This is believed to have given rise to the term “plum cakes”, as dried fruits are an integral part of this dessert.

Plum cakes for all

Plum cakes are prepared and served in different ways across the world. In most western countries, plum puddings and cakes are baked in semi-spherical moulds and are gently set on flame with a spirit while being served. In India, boiled plum cakes are made in households that do not own an oven. In this case, the batter is bound in a muslin cloth before being boiled. These cakes are more dense and fudgy than the baked cakes.

One of the most famous Indian varieties is the Kerala plum cake.

Plum cakes can also be prepared according to one’s dietary requirements such as keto, gluten-free, vegan or dairy-free. There are a wide range of plum cake flavours, including spiced, pumpkin, orange, toffee and ginger.

 

Picture Credit : Google