Cuisine and Culture

How do organ meats, blood, etc. get incorporated into the cuisine of the region? Give concrete examples.

Polish kaszanka - mixture of buckwheat, blood and spices veres hurka - Hungarian blood sausage using pork, rice, and pig's blood Swedish Blodpudding Offal - fall off - internal organs The practice of offal can be found throughout the region. Some find it being a taboo while others find it delicious.

What is the flavor principle? What are the various theories given to explain why cultures tend to stick to a particular set of flavors. Give examples of the flavor principle as it applies to 3 cuisines of the region.

- A flavor principle is the distinctive seasoning combinations which characterize many cuisines. Flavor principles add a sense of familiarity to foods so people tend to stick to a specific set of flavor principles that they know and trust. - Societies may stick to a particular flavor for multiple reasons: attachment to flavors (from childhood), vitamins and minerals, antibacterial or other health effects/preservation effects, defining a cultural group, visual appeal (color), and aid to omnivores (eating what is familiar). In Bulgaria a sour yogurt called 'Kiselo mlyako' gives many dishes a familiar flavor principle.

What is involved in the process of braising or stewing? What are some of the cultural connotations of cooking in liquids? Give some examples of braised and stewed foods from the region.

- Dicing aromatic vegetables - Sauteing the vegetables in a fat - Browning pieces of meat and other ingredients - Putting everything in a pot, adding some liquid (like water, stock, wine, etc.), - Simmering the ingredients below the boiling point for a long time are all processes that are involved in braising/stewing. Some examples of braised and stewed foods from the region are goulash and borscht.

What are the five tastes? Are there any additional tastes that have been proposed as being basic? Given a particular dish [here you will be given a picture and/or recipe for 1-2 common dishes from the region], discuss how the various flavor components come together and balance each other.

- The five tastes are sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami (possibly fat). - Sweet: sugar, honey, candy, fruit. - Sour: vinegar, lemons, limes, yogurt, sauerkraut, pickles. - Salty: salt, pickles, sauerkraut, meat. - Bitter: coffee, bitter melons, chocolate; According to Harold McGee, bitter tastes are generally encountered only among vegetables and seeds, which contain alkaloids and other chemical defenses meant to discourage animals from eating them; other examples include lettuce, cucumbers, eggplants, cabbage, chicory, radicchio. - Umami: MSG, tomatoes, cheese, meat, mushrooms, seaweed, tomatoes, oranges. - Fat: pork, schmaltz, olive oil, butter.

What do the cuisines of Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, and Poland have in common? What historical facts and contemporary foods unite them? Discuss 2-3 different types of foods in your response.

- rye or wheat bread can be found as a staple during the entree portion of a meal. - Cabbage soup - Borscht:is a beet soup with meat (beef or pork), and other various vegetables depending on the country. Pork, potatoes, and cabbage are three main staples in many of these countries.

What is served in many Central and Eastern European Cultures as a way of welcoming a guest? Explain the significance of serving this/these foods.

Bread and Salt is a welcoming dish that is used widely in the Central and Eastern European Cultures. The act of serving this dish is called "khlebolsony" which means "hospitable". The significance of this dish is that you would offer the most expensive thing, at the time salt, to the awaited guests, because people used to get paid in salt because of its value. Salt also is necessary for life because of the nutritional benefits and its minerals. This welcoming dish expresses hospitality. In the Russian culture, the dish of Bread and Salt, bread symbolizing the most respected food and salt associating with longtime friendship, is a way to show guests that they are welcome.

What is bread made of? What are the differences between traditional bread making and modern bread making? What are some types of bread in Central and Eastern Europe?

Bread is made up of flour, yeast, water, and salt. Enriched breads are also made up of eggs, sugar, butter, and milk. Stone milling is one way to make bread where a power source such as a river or power mills are essential. Beating wheat is another traditional way of making breading but knocking the kernels off the shack of grain. A more modern way of making bread involves roller milling which is a more efficient way of producing white bread cheaper and faster. There are two types of fermentation: yeasted and sourdough. Yeasted: flour + water + yeast + salt; sourdough: flour, water, sourdough, salt; Importance of salt: strengthens the gluten, retards the activity of yeast, gives the bread flavor Types of bread: Borodinsky (Russia), Czech Bread (often has caraway), Pekarna Kabat (Czech Republic), Croatian Bread

What are some traditional foods that rely on fermentation? What type of cultures are found in these products? What are the benefits of fermented foods?

Bread, yogurt, kefir, kvass, Romanian Bors (fermented wheat bran beverage), alcohol, sauerkraut, and pickles are examples of traditional foods that rely on fermentation. The types of live cultures found in fermented foods include lactobacilli and streptococci. One benefit of fermentation is transforming foods and beverages into a safer form of consumption as fermented foods provide healthy bacteria for the gut. In addition, fermenting foods can preserve foods for a longer period of time which is especially useful for places with a shorter growing season, provides healthy bacteria for the gut; - Kiselo mliako (literally sour milk from Bulgaria) - Russian okroshka - made with kefir - Lithuanian Saltibarsciai - Cold Borsch; Russian and Ukrainian Borscsh, Slovakia - Zincica, Kyrgyzstan - Kumis/Kurut; Ryaz; saukerkraut (cabbage, 2% salt by weight of cabbage); a lot of other examples in Fermented Foods lecture

Where are the Balkans? What historical facts and contemporary foods unite them? How can we generally characterize the similarities/differences among the various cuisines of the Balkans? Discuss 2-3 different types of foods in your response.

For the Balkans region, consisting of Bulgaria, Kosovo, Albania, Bosnia, Macedonia, Serbia, Romania, Montenegro, and Croatia, their cuisine shares similarities with the Middle East and the Mediterranean. Every country has a sort of tarator recipe. This is a yogurt based dressing, or soup, consisting typically of cucumbers, herbs, and lemon juice. Common items you will find in these countries include some sort of pita-like bread Ajvar, Kajmak, Imam Bayildi (eggplant stuffed with veggies)

What makes roasting special? How is it frequently differentiated in various cultures from cooking in pots? Give examples of roasted food and traditions from the region.

It is glorified as man's triumph over controlling an element - fire. There is the idea that man learned how to roast from the gods. Eating meat back then was a BIG deal, for it was expensive, and it would go bad quickly, so it was mostly eaten at feasts, which showcases its essential structure- as a community event. They kill the animal, roast it, and enjoy it as a whole village or community. There is the aspect of it being the most dangerous cooking technique, since it involves a volatile element. On the spectrum from wild to culture, the types of cooking are ordered like this: raw, roasted, boiled/braised. Eating meat is a big deal and there is a sense of community and comradery involved in roasting meat. Maillard reaction is a chemical reaction between amino acids and reducing sugars that gives browned food its distinctive flavor. Roasted foods from the region: Shashlyk (Russia) Shaverma (Russia) Spekacy (Czech Republic and Slovakia) Whole-roasted ox (Hungary): Romanian Sausage (called Mititei): Polish sausage Lamb Roast (Croatia, also common throughout Balkans) Cevapi (Bosnia, croatia, Serbia) Kyopolou (Bulgaria): roasted/pureed eggplant Ajvar (the Balkans)

What types of grains are frequently consumed in the region (which grains and where)? How are they prepared?

Millet, barley, wheat, rye, and buckwheat prepared in a stone mill or a roller mill.

What do the cuisines of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia (Slavonia Region), Romania (partially), Slovenia (partially) have in common? What historical facts and contemporary foods unite them? Discuss 2-3 different types of foods in your response.

On most Sundays, it was typical to have some sort of soup or stew, especially soups with a cream base. one soup shared by each country is Goulash, typically made with beef or pork seasoned with paprika. another common dish is pork sausage, including blood sausage, liver sausage, and other parts of the pig. Mushrooms are a staple ingredient throughout the region.

Discuss 3 foods that came from the New World. How recently did they arrive/begin being used in the cuisines? Give specific cuisines and dishes that these foods are used in.

Potato 1750 , corn/maize, tomatoes, sweet potato, peppers 1530 Dolma- Stuffed peppers, pasticada- peasant stew served with a tomato base and often with potato gnocchi (Croatia), mamaliga- polenta made out of corn flour and is very popular throughout eastern europe; olivier salad and rassolnik. Classical Mesoamerican food complex: accompanied by domestication of cacao, vanilla, beans, taro and turkey; Ukrainian food complex: squash, beans, and corn Squash was cultivated in Ottoman empire; chili: spread the fastest and most widely among even poorest peasants of Ibera, people also used black pepper and there was little resistance to chili as compared to potatoes and tomatoes; sunflowers: are the national Russian snack - roasted sunflower seeds, potatoes - including pirogi (vareniki - dumplings with potato fill) and potato cakes; Belarussians have the nickname potato eaters - Bulgarian peppers- two capsicum L. varieties spread most quickly; tomato -

Discuss briefly some of the ways that food and identity are related. What levels of identity does food typically connect to? How does the plot of Good Bye Lenin! relate to food and identity?

Proustian moments: certain dishes can remind them of their culture and family EX: a dish common to Eastern Europe/ Russia is goulash. There are different ways to prepare these depending on which country you are from/ discussing. Example using the movie "Good Bye Lenin" where the son must repackage the food for his mom so she will still think that the Berlin Wall never came down, and that East Germany still remains. This is the life she remembers and seeing gherkins in a certain packaging reminds her, and makes her believe that her country still stands. Incorporation principles: Because we are omnivores, incorporation is an act with meaning; because of the principles of incorporation, identification is a key element; man has invented cuisine; popular wisdom often takes it for granted that absorption of a particular food tends to transfer certain characteristics of the food analogically to the eater ; group cohesiveness: absorption of food incorporates the eater into a culinary system and therefore into the group which practices it, a given human group generally shares these classifications and the associated practices and representations; Religious food taboos - the food should implicitly be classified as food because if the forbidden food were not edible, there would be no point in forbidding it

How was salt procured in the past? Why is salt important? What food processes is salt essential for?

Salt miners carried blocks of salt out, whose popularity boomed in the middle ages, "underground springs provided brine that could be boiled into salt crystals" Kurlansky. Salt is important for various reasons. It is made of sodium and chloride. Chloride is needed for breathing and digestion, while sodium transports nutrients and oxygen, moving muscles, and nerve impulses. Salt is also used as a food preserver. it preserves food (meat, vegetables, and grains); importance for bread: strengthens gluten, retards activity of yeast, gives bread flavor Also used for agreements, seal contracts, rituals

Discuss how foods have been preserved in Central and Eastern European Cuisine. Specifically discuss preservation methods for meat, fish, dairy, and vegetables.

Smoke helps dry out meat, contains antibacterial properties (supposedly), lowers pH of foods (makes it more acidic) i.e. prague ham, kabanosy, smoked cheese, smoked baltic herring Cured meats- cultured salami- ground meat, seasonings, salt, curing salts (Sodium Nitrate and Nitrite)

What are the differences between modern bread production and older forms of bread making? Please discuss in terms of raw ingredients and technique.

Stone milling: a power source such as a river or power mills are essential. Beating wheat: traditional way of making breading but knocking the kernels off the shack of grain. Roller milling: A more modern way of making bread. Involves which is a more efficient way of producing white bread cheaper and faster. Modern bread making involves non nutritional ingredients to save production time and includes high carbs and white flour whereas traditional bread making had higher nutritional value

What are the Caucasus? What kinds of foods does one find in the Caucasus? How can we generally characterize the similarities/differences among the various cuisines of the Caucasus? Discuss 2-3 different types of foods in your response.

The Caucasus consists of Georgia, Armenia, Compared to the other cuisine Caucasus use a lot more herbs (usually fresh) and nuts Khachapuri, khinkali (dumpling) Lobio

What are some key components of food writing? How does food writing engage with the senses? What is meant by a food writer's voice?

The senses involved in eating are sight, smell, touch, hearing, and taste. Other critical aspects of good food writing are evoking memories, evocative descriptions, passion ("show, don't tell"), voice (what makes you authentic? Conveys your personality, flair, and originality). When choosing a topic, you should follow your instincts about the things that you love (according to Judith Jones).

What is the difference between thermophilic and mesophilic cultures? What foods of the region rely on these types of cultures?

Thermophilic culture: fermenting foods at warmer temperatures. EX: yogurt loves to be fermented around 110-120 degrees Fahrenheit as thermo- literally means 'warm' and -phillic 'loving.' Mesophilic culture: fermenting foods at moderate temperatures. EX: kefir, a fermented milk drink that originated in Russia, as well as vegetable cultures such as sauerkraut, prefer to be fermented around temperatures ranging between 60-75 degrees Fahrenheit.

Some of your friends return from a Russian restaurant utterly disgusted by the thin slices of pork fat on black bread served to them as an appetizer. What is this food that they ate? They go on to declare that Russian food must be really unhealthy. Is there an alternative perspective you can give them?

This appetizer is a traditional snack/ appetizer in Russia, national dish in Ukraine "A high fat diet was a sign of wealth" Kurlansky. Pork back fat, salo, is actually very nutrient dense, and it also provides a large amount of energy. It lasts for long periods of time, which essential for cold, harsh environments. Like salt, it helps preserve. It is actually made up of the good fat because it is mostly monounsaturated.

Explain the differences between traditionally fermented vegetables and modern methods of pickling.

We ferment foods to transform food/beverages into a safer form for consumption, preserves food for a longer period of time (especially useful when there is a short growing season, provides reliable and healthy good during times of lower availability). Types of cultures: thermophilic - yogurt, prefers warmer temperatures Mesophilic: kefir, as well as vegetables like sauerkraut, prefer moderate temperatures Two types of pickles: - Cucumbers + boiling vinegar, salt, sugar + herbs/spices = store pickles - Cucumbers + salt brine (Salt, H2O) + herbs/spices = fermented pickles

What is mămăligă? Who eats/ate this food and what did they most frequently eat it with? How and why did consumption of this food change? What are the ramifications for such a major change in the core/staple food of a society in terms of identity?

a porridge made out of yellow maize flour, traditional in Romania, Moldova, Chechnya, Ossetia, Georgia and in Eastern Galicia. it is often used as a substitute for bread. the consumption changed when bread became more readily available; bread also indicates status and has a more flavorful taste. Changing a staple can alter every dish in a national cuisine, however, cuisine has been modified over centuries so it is not new that a "traditional" meal would be changed.

What is kvas? Where is it drunk and how is it made?

popular in Russia, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. (Slavic and Baltic) made by fermenting old bread (usually rye, black, or dark breads) in water with sugar and yeast in a sealed container.