International Holiday Foods Pt. 1

Laura

Nov 22, 2011 18:31

Shall we start now?

rumtscho

"It is forbidden to talk about holiday food for the next 37... 36... 35..."

@Mien it looks like it starts

Laura

I think now's as good a time as any

if people come late, they can just jump in

sooo....

Welcome to our international holiday food chat event!

rfusca

I'm interested in what traditional holiday foods are for you, @Mien

Laura

:)

Mien

So, I'm here :)

Laura

Nov 22, 2011 18:33

@Mien excellent. It looks like you're being nominated to share some holiday food traditions first :)

Mien

Well, to be honest, we don't really have 'traditional' holiday foods in Belgium

But when it's christmass, or new years eve, a common dish is turkey or 'wild'

you know what I mean with 'wild' ?

venison, etc

rumtscho

I do

Mien

animals killed by hunters

Laura

ah, gotcha

Mien

mostly accommodated with a warm apple with some cranberries in

rfusca

Nov 22, 2011 18:34

@Mien well, what do you do?

Mien

and croquettes? :p

rumtscho

Interesting about the cranberries. In German cuisine, nobody uses cranberries.

Laura

@Mien yum

@rumtscho is there any sort of berry/other fruit that's common in german christmas foods?

rumtscho

They are "American". You can find them in big cities in October and November in some supermarkets.

Mien

Well, for christmas eve this year, I'll make asparagus with dried ham as entree, broccoli cream soup, not sure about the main dish, and the link I gave yesterday as dessert (speculaas and cream with raspberries)

rumtscho

Nov 22, 2011 18:35

@Laura I don't think there are common fruits.

"Wild" is sometimes eaten with "Preiselbeeren" jam, which isn't exactly the same fruit as a cranberry.

rfusca

i don't think i know 'dried ham' actually

Laura

@Mien that sounds great! Actually, you bring up a good question...does the big, special meal occur usually on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, or both?

Mien

@rumtscho that is cowberry or lingonberry ;)

@Laura I'd say both

but that really depends from family to family

rumtscho

Yes, lingonberry. I remember now that this is the English word.

rfusca

for my family, the big meal is xmas day, but my wife's family is the eve

Laura

Nov 22, 2011 18:37

yeah, I was just about to say, that sounds similar to the US

my family's big meal is usually christmas day, too

Mien

@rfusca I meant Prosciutto

rumtscho

Actually, I don't know much about German holiday traditions. I never had a German family.

rfusca

@Mien ooh ok

Mien

But in Belgium we have a Belgian brand, so I hardly use the term Prosciutto

with how many people are you on xmas eve or on xmas?

rumtscho

I celebrated a year or two with my ex-bf's family when we were together, but his mother was half Italian half French and the food wasn't German-specific.

Mien

Nov 22, 2011 18:39

family? or also friends? or only friends?

rfusca

mostly just family for me for a meal - that doesn't mean we might not end up at a xmas party on the eve though

Mien

you already know what you're gonna make, @rfusca?

rumtscho

@Mien are your Christmas traditions of Catholic or Evangelic origin?

rfusca

@Mien for christmas? no

Mien

@rumtscho Mine? neither

rumtscho

Nov 22, 2011 18:40

And is there a difference between how Catholic and Evangelic families celebrate Chritsmas?

rfusca

did you hear, @Sobachatina makes like 10+ pies for thanksgiving

Laura

10+? that's crazy!

for how many people? (1 per person...? :P )

rfusca

i think it was about 1/2 pie per person

Mien

Yes indeed :D

@rumtscho I wouldn't know, I don't follow religion closely

rumtscho

I think that maybe the big similarities in North European and US Christmas traditions could be because they are Evangelic traditions.

Because I think a big bird (actually a goose, not a turkey) is very common in Germany and Denmark too.

Mien

Nov 22, 2011 18:42

ah, I think I know typical 'Belgian' (or European, I don't know)

Do you guys eat a 'kerststronk' on Xmas?

(I don't find a translation)

rumtscho

What is this?

Mien

It's a biscuit, shaped in the trunk of a tree

with creme au beurre or creme fraiche

rumtscho

Oh, yes, "Baumkuchen" is popular in Germany.

Mien

flavoured mokka, chocolate, vanilla....

rumtscho

But usually cut into wedges, each covered in chocolate.

Mien

Nov 22, 2011 18:44

tree biscuit? :p

rumtscho

No creme.

rfusca

@Mien interesting

rumtscho

I think that the Germans have much stronger baking traditions for Christmas than cooking traditions.

There is, of course, Stollen.

Mien

Baumkuchen looks totally different from what I mean :)

I know Stollen :)

rumtscho

And small short-pastry cookies.

"Plätzchen".

Usually shaped as a half moon and covered in vanilla-flavored powdered sugar.

rfusca

Nov 22, 2011 18:46

I'll be making some panettone this year

Mien

Why aren't the Americans talking? :)

ah

Laura

@Mien We do something similar in the US...a "yule log" cake. Which is apparently of French origin, and usually made with chocolate cake

joyofbaking.com/YuleLog.html

rumtscho

I wonder why it is turkey in some places (Belgium, US) and goose in others (Germany, Denmark).

Mien

@rfusca Ooh, I like panettone with chocolate chips :D

rfusca

@rumtscho hmm goose is wicked expensive here

Mien

Nov 22, 2011 18:47

Yule? How pagan of you! :)

rumtscho

But really, there doesn't seem to be much tradition about the meal here.

Mien

@rumtscho Also some other birds, but I'll google the names :) just a moment

rumtscho

@rfusca Here probably too, I never see it.

Laura

@Mien I know, it's kind of funny...the family I know who makes this type of cake most often is devoutly Catholic, but they still call it a yule log cake ;)

Mien

Oh wow

@rumtscho Guineafowl

:D

rfusca

Nov 22, 2011 18:48

@Laura i doubt they know anything about yule

rumtscho

Hmm, exactly the bird @Sobachatina has in his new yard.

Mien

@Laura Ah, as long as it tastes good, who cares what it's called ;)

Ah really?

rumtscho

But really, you have no more traditions about the meal beside eating it?

Mien

I thought he had chickens and perhaps in the future a turkey

rfusca

@rumtscho talking to who?

Mien

Nov 22, 2011 18:49

@rumtscho What can you do with a meal besides eating it?

rumtscho

@Mien He has chickens, but I think he mentioned guineafowl too.

@rfusca Anybody who's listening ;)

Mien

Could be, I didn't know the word till now :)

rumtscho

In Bulgaria, there is much more about it.

rfusca

were trying to start a tradition for our family this year of sponsoring another family's thanksgiving - somebody in need and just provide the whole meal for them

Mien

@rfusca That's sweet! :)

also cooking the meal or just paying for it? :p

rumtscho

Nov 22, 2011 18:51

First, there is one big meal on the evening of the 24. December, and another big meal on the 25. December during the day

Laura

@rumtscho my family has traditions around baking at Christmas...when I was a kid, my mom always hosted a cookie exchange with the neighbors...my sisters and I would help my mom make a ton of cookies, package them up in small bundles, then we had a party where everyone brought cookies and took home some of everyone elses

rumtscho

And they are very different

Because the 24. December is still lenten time

rfusca

@Mien bringing them a fully cooked meal - a lot of the poor don't have the ability or means to cook a full meal

Mien

@rfusca I almost wished I was poor ;)

rumtscho

meat is forbidden from the autumnal day of the dead until Christmas, including the 24. December.

Laura

Nov 22, 2011 18:52

@rfusca are these people you already know, or whose name you got through church or some sort of nonprofit?

Mien

But it's very noble of you :)

rfusca

@Laura baking-wise around christmas, we bake a bunch of cookies and drive around to all the places that have to work on christmas eve and bring them cookies. Hotels, gas stations, fire stations, police station, etc

Laura

@rumtscho what sort of food do you have for dinner on Christmas Eve? (i.e., what's your vegetarian entree?)

rumtscho

So on the evening of the 24., we only eat food without meat in it.

Mien

Does the advent count as a tradition towards christmas? Lit a candle every sunday etcetera?

@rumtscho, could you eat fish?

rumtscho

Nov 22, 2011 18:53

@Laura There aren't things like "entrees" etc, Bulgarian cuisine is much simpler than that.

rfusca

@Laura we got several names this year from schools, our church, etc - but we're only able to do one this year

rumtscho

@Mien I don't think so.

At least nobody does it.

Laura

@rfusca We do that, too...started because we make waaaay too many cookies, but it's a sweet thing to do and always makes people happy :)

rfusca

@Laura definitely

rumtscho

So, there have to be vegetarian dishes only, but because it is a celebration, there has to be plenty of them.

rfusca

Nov 22, 2011 18:54

for Lent, catholics can eat fish

rumtscho

And for some reason I forgot, there has to be an odd number of dishes.

Laura

@rumtscho are there any dishes that you always make? or that most bulgarians make?

rumtscho

@rfusca I think the Orthodox church is more restrictive.

rfusca

interesting

rumtscho

One of the most time-consuming dishes is the bread.

It has to be a round bread.

rfusca

Nov 22, 2011 18:55

I think @tastefive (whom hasn't been around lately) did the "feast of the seven fishes" last year

Mien

@rfusca You mean the whole period? In Belgium (as far as I know, that's not very far), we only don't eat meat on ash wednesday and on good friday

rumtscho

It must be the oldest woman in the family who bakes the Christmas eve bread.

rfusca

Feast of the Seven Fishes

The Feast of the Seven Fishes (festa dei sette pesci), celebrated on Christmas Eve, also known as The Vigil (La Vigilia), is believed to have originated in Southern Italy and is not a known tradition in many parts of Italy. Today, it is a feast that typically consists of seven different seafood dishes. Some Italian American families have been known to celebrate with 9, 11 or 13 different seafood dishes. This celebration is a commemoration of the wait, Vigilia di Natale, for the midnight birth of the baby Jesus. Tradition and symbolism The long tradition of eating seafood on Christmas Eve ...

rumtscho

She may have help, but she must be the main baker.

She has to decorate the bread, too.

rfusca

@rumtscho interesting

Laura

Nov 22, 2011 18:56

that's really interesting

rumtscho

Everything important the household has has to be pictured on the bread.

Mien

@rumtscho Do you know why?

Wow, seems like a lot of work

rfusca

'pictured'?

Laura

@rumtscho what's it decorated with? frosting/icing? sticking actual household items into the bread?

Mien

Unless you don't have much important things ;)

rfusca

Nov 22, 2011 18:56

symbolically, or lifelike?

rumtscho

So, if the household does winemaking, the wine plantation has to be representated.

Mien

@Laura you get a star for Christmas!

rumtscho

It is decorated by putting pieces of dough on the surface of the bread before it is baked.

It is often symbolic.

Laura

ok, cool

rfusca

interesting

rumtscho

Nov 22, 2011 18:57

For example, an ovoid for a sheep.

rfusca

ya, very symbolic

Mien

Never heard of such a thing :)

rfusca

do you have a lot of sheep farmers there?

rumtscho

But sometimes, people make it prettier, like picturing a bunch of grapes from spheres.

@rfusca Historically, we did.

rfusca

@rumtscho ic

rumtscho

Nov 22, 2011 18:59

In the generation of my grandparents, most people who live in the country do have a sheep or two, or goats.

Mien

@rfusca or @Laura are there American traditions we don't know about?

rumtscho

Younger people seldom have their own sheep.

rfusca

hmmmm

rumtscho

So, these things are all put on the bread before it is baked.

But before that, a coin is put in the bread.

The Frying Pan

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