Romanian cuisine

It is as diverse, ancient and mysterious as the country itself. Perhaps this is due to the fact that it is closely intertwined with its history and culture. Judge for yourself: recipes of dishes that were treated to Count Dracula still live in it. True, now they are prepared specifically for tourists, using the same technology, by the way, and under the terrible stories from his life. And this is not its only advantage. But first things first.

History

Authentic Romanian cuisine has evolved over the centuries. Romania itself was the last “piece” of the great Roman Empire. During its existence, it has suffered from both the Turks and the French. But, the most interesting thing is that these peoples brought to the Romanian land not only hardships and hardships, but also parts of their culture, which were later absorbed by the Romanian cuisine.

And the heavens have always been supportive to her. After all, Romania is a collection of plains and plateaus, hills and mountains, lakes and the Black Sea coast. And what a unique Danube Delta is worth! All these factors, one way or another, influenced the development of Romanian cuisine. Simply because they gave it a fertile soil on which the locals grew and grow many vegetables, fruits and crops, opportunities for raising cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry, as well as opportunities for fishing.

In addition, the largest trade route “from the Varangians to the Greeks” was once laid through the lands of Romania, thanks to which Greek and Turkish dishes appeared in the local cuisine, as well as a product that became national – corn. This happened, judging by the references to corn fields, in the XNUMXth century.

In addition, the neighboring cuisines – Bulgarian, Yugoslavian, Moldavian – also had a great influence. Hence the similar names for similar dishes.

Features

Distinctive features of Romanian cuisine:

• simplicity and satiety of dishes;
• a huge variety of products. There are all kinds of vegetables and fruits, spices, dairy and meat products, cereals;
• regional features. The fact is that on the territory of modern Romania there are at least 6 historical provinces, in each of which the same dish is prepared in its own way;
• original methods of cooking – Romanians’ lamb carcass is cooked in the old-fashioned way in a freshly dug hole, borscht is acidified with vinegar or sauerkraut juice, and Easter cake is made with cheese and cream. But the most interesting thing is their traditions. Centuries-old, interesting, original …

Traditions

As in many other countries, in Romania, religious holidays are celebrated – Christmas, New Year and, accordingly, Easter. But they celebrate them in a special way. Until now, in the local villages on the 20th of December, before Christmas, rituals of slaughtering a pig are carried out, which often end with a “pig’s commemoration”. For them, the hostesses prepare all kinds of meat dishes, which are first of all tried by the participants in the slaughtering process. In the spring, on the eve of Easter, Romanians traditionally prepare dishes from lambs.

Basic cooking methods:

You can talk about real Romanian dishes forever. But true gourmets claim that the following involuntarily stand out among them, which have long become a kind of zest of this country:

Chorba is a thick soup. There are several recipes for its preparation – from simple to the most complex with the use of vegetables, lemon juice, herbs, sour cream, pork, spices, etc.

Mamalyga – in fact, it is a porridge made from corn flour, but there are a lot of recipes for its preparation. It is boiled, fried, baked here, dumplings are made from it, or simply used instead of bread. This tradition still exists in the villages. In this case, the hominy is cut with a thick thread. Recently, the dish has been included in the menu of many restaurants as a high quality food free of fat and cholesterol. It is interesting that the locals value hominy so highly that they even associate it with omens. I saw hominy in a dream – expect pleasant hobbies!

Chiftele is a big meatball.

Mititei – sausages or meatballs with pepper and garlic, fried on a grater for beer.

Kaltabosh is a sausage made from pig offal.

Stufat is a dish made from the ribs and spine of a ram.

Plachine din peste – vegetable stew with river fish.

Saramura is a fish in brine.

Tochitura – meat stewed in tomato sauce.

Wirsley – homemade sausage made from minced pork, goat or lamb.

Fraction is a fried meatloaf made from lamb offal.

Varza Kalita is a dish of pork ribs, duck or sausage with stewed cabbage.

Parjoale – meatballs.

Frigerui – barbecue.

Tokana – meat stewed in tomato sauce with onions.

Smoked goat meat.

Trout on needles.

A ram on a spit.

White cheese.

Slivovitsa is a plum vodka that has been stored in oak barrels for over 3 years.