The Romanian traditional foods and drinks

Made by Jinga Dragos

IntroductionRomania is a beautiful little country in Eastern Europe in

the Balkan region. While living and working there over the years, I have eaten and enjoyed many delicious meals. Meal time in Romania is a very special time. Family and friends come together and may linger long after a meal is over in deep conversation.

The food of Romania is diverse. Food choices and cooking styles are influenced by Balkan traditions as well as German, Hungarian, Turkish, Russian and those of the Near East which includes Israel, Palestine, Jordon, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq.

At Christmas Before, on December 20 (Ignat's

Day or Ignatul in Romanian),a pig is traditionally slaughtered by every rural family.A variety of foods for Christmas prepared from the slaughtered pig consist of the following:

cârnaţi/cărnaţi — spicy sausages caltaboşi/cartaboşi — sausages

made with livee offal tobă and piftie — dishes using pig's

feet, head and ears suspended in aspic

tocătură/tochitură — pan-fried pork served with mămăligă and wine ("so that the pork can swim").

The Christmas meal is sweetened with the traditional cozonac (sweet bread with nuts) or rahat (Turkish delight) for dessert.

A traditional drink enjoyed with appetizers is "tuica" (a potent plum brandy) which varies in strength, dryness and bouquet according to the production area.

At EasterAt Easter, lamb is served:

the main dishes are roast lamb and drob de miel – a Romanian lamb haggis made of minced organs (heart, liver, lungs) wrapped and roasted in a caul. The traditional Easter cake is pască, a pie made of yeast dough with a sweet cottage cheese filling at the center.

The most important dishes Some of the most known traditional dishes in the Romanian cuisine are: "sarmale" (stuffed cabbage rolls), "mamaliga" (approximately polenta) and "mititei" (approximately grilled small sausages).

Desserts are usually crepes filled with fruits or cherry strudel. Other desserts in Romania include baclava, which is sweet layered pastry; sponge cake known as pandispan; rice pudding or orez cu lapte; and gingerbread or turta dulce.

DrinksThe national drink is the double-distilled tuica, usually made with plums, but also with apples and pears. An even stronger variant is called palinca. Both are homemade, as are the visinata, made with cherries, and the afinata, made with blueberries. Beer is popular and there is a large variety of lagers (bere blonda) and brown ales (bere neagra), usually sold in bottles.Romanian wines are very good. Commercial vineyards have existed since the 17th century and are found all over the country.Romania is full of mineral water springs, and there are many bottled water brands, such as Poiana Negri, Dorna, Borsec, Izvorul Minunilor and Amfiteatru. Many people also go to public springs and fill their own bottles.

Conclusion

Traditional Romanian cuisine might be a strong point of the Romanian rural tourism. Traditional customs represent a way of preserving national identity. Romania is known to the world for the traditional folk dances and special handicrafts, such as Easter egg painting. Besides the beautiful landscapes of the countryside, rural tourism is offering a wide range of traditional food and cuisine of Romania.

Romanian traditional foods are complex, nuanced, and delicious. Stuffed meats and vegetables, as well as cabbage rolls, are integral to Romanian cuisine. Regional specialties are also wonderful, warming choices on certain Romanian menus. Because of various regional influences, Romanian food may seem to be a conglomeration of many different gastronomic traditions -which it is - but Romania has national dishes that will make your mouth water and will readily satisfy your hunger.