Taste of Romania Its Cookery and Glimpses of Its History Folklore Art Literature and Poetry
My mom tried to teach me how to cook when I was growing up, just I was not at all interested.
At least not until I spent some time living in Romania when I was 19.
As headstrong teens tend to be, I was only willing to listen and larn when my teacher was not my mother.
And in Romania, my teacher was an older woman named Marionela.
"Mario" not only helped me navigate the local post role and chaotic taxi situation, but also introduced me to traditional Romanian recipes.
In fact, she taught me my very offset beloved future family recipe, one for sugariness bread (cozonac) that I make every Christmas.
I learned that traditional Romanian cooking was —and is — in many respects a social activity and not only a chore.
My Romanaian friends weren't just cooking for me as a kindness, they were enthusiastically sharing their beautiful culture by giving me a literal sense of taste of Romania.
And nutrient, in many ways, shapes who we are and how we come across the world.
This web log post will prove that.
Go along reading to hear a story virtually food, and 1 country's dear of sour foam.
Psst! Don't forget to pin this for later!
Travel & Traditional Romanian Food
Romanian travel has so much to offer.
While in the state I explored the beautiful cities of Iasi, Bucharest, Brasov and the surrounding villages, consuming pop street foods like langosi, kebab and shawarma.
In that location were too traditional dishes, including sarmale, ciorba and mamaliga, and a diverseness of pickled foods with names I forgot to write down.
I was fortunate enough to take been invited to dine with native Romanaian families in their homes and experience the magic of muraturi, papanasi and mititei (only not at the aforementioned time!).
I drank far as well much suc de soc, an elderberry soft drink that I truly loathe, only was afraid to decline out of fear of being boorish.
Barely a solar day went past that I didn't stop by the bakery and selection upwards a freshly baked loaf of bread on my way to work.
What I quickly discovered is that Romanians are not merely some of the most generous and hospitable people yous'll ever encounter, but that they besides love sour cream. Smântâna . They put it on everything!
By the time I left Europe I still had yet to develop the patience and desire to cook for myself; but, a seed was planted that grew into a lifelong passion for experiencing civilization and history through food.
For some of us the idea of being a home chef sounds cracking; though the harsh reality is that we lack the skills necessary to do it.
In these instances, our kitchen adventures frequently stop in smoke and tears.
Had someone told me so that I would one day teach cookery classes and recreate historic recipes for fun I would have laughed out loud.
Who knew? When #traveling #Romania, one must-try food is sour cream. Here's why. Click To Tweet
To celebrate Romania's cultural attachment to smântâna — as well every bit my strange personal journey from anti-chef to nutrient historian— I'm going to share ii recipes that even the about inexperienced cook can brand at home with ease.
Plus, you'll be introduced to the delicious food of Romania.
If y'all are like I once was, it may be necessary to start pocket-sized and build your way up.
So rather than jump right in with a labor-intensive Christmas cozonac, let's outset with a couple easy dishes that yous already know how to make…
…but with a distinctly Romanaian twist!
But First, A Scrap Most Sour Foam
It is unclear when exactly sour cream came to be; but diverse sources hint that it was developed commercially in Eastern Europe sometime during the 19th century.
Sour foam existed for centuries before that, though not necessarily in the form we call back of today.
Before pasteurization and homogenization, raw milk could exist left out for a day or ii and the cream would naturally separate from the liquid and nevertheless be edible.
The cream would eventually become "soured" due to the presence of naturally-occurring bacteria.
At that place were really kitchen tools specifically designed to skim cream from milk.
With the development of pasteurization in the mid-19th century, the leaner was removed from the milk for mostly health and sanitation reasons.
This resulted in cream that wouldn't become sour by beingness left out, it would just go bad.
Later, mechanical homogenization was developed to terminate the milk from separating entirely so that in large scale dairies milk from different herds tin can be combined, hands filtered by fatty content and have an increased shelf life.
Homogenized milk volition not split up, so if y'all want milk foam you lot'll have to purchase it separately.
So how is the commercially packaged sour cream made?
In social club for pasteurized cream to become "sour," bacteria must be introduced to information technology artificially.
The lactic acid in the culture reacts with the poly peptide in the cream, which thickens it and adds a distinct sour flavor.
Depending on the desired flavor and texture/thickness, sour creams might include things similar milk solids, stabilizers, rennet, gelatin, salt, etc.
Milkfat content also varies depending on the type of milk or foam from which the sour cream is made.
Want some easy Romanian #recipes? We've got 2 for you! #Romania Click To Tweet
Romanaian smântâna is generally thicker than American sour cream and has a higher fat content similar créme fraiche.
Because of this, it doesn't curdle when cooked and is a little chip easier to piece of work with in sour foam recipes requiring high temperatures.
Cooking with American sour cream volition work if smantana isn't bachelor, but it must be done a bit more than delicately.
Two Piece of cake Romanian Nutrient Recipes
Ochiuri cu Smantana (Eggs with Sour Cream)
Recipe originally from A Sense of taste of Romania by Nicolae Klepper, 1999.
Ingredients
- two Tbsp. sour foam
- 1 pinch of flour
- 1 Tbsp. butter
- 2 eggs
- salt and pepper to taste
Directions
- Warm a plate. Nix says hospitality like a warm serving plate!
- Combine sour cream and flour and mix well. The flour is in that location to assist prevent the sour foam from curdling.
- Heat butter in a skillet over medium high heat. Crack the eggs into the skillet and season with salt and pepper.
- When eggs begin to solidify, advisedly spoon sour cream over them, cover and cook for a infinitesimal or so longer depending on personal preference. I flip the egg and cook both sides before I add the sour cream. Otherwise, the cream will slide right off the top.
- Transfer eggs to the warm plate and serve.
In society to brand Romanian-style scrambled eggs, only beat the eggs with the sour foam/flour mixture before pouring into the frying pan and cook as usual.
If you desire to take information technology ane step further, serve your eggs over Romanian-style polenta (mamaliga).
Salata Verde Cu Smantana (Greenish Salad with Sour cream)
Traditional Romanian food recipe from Card de Bucate (Cookery Book) by beloved Romanian chef Sanda Marin, 1936 Edition.
My translation:
Option and launder the green salad as above. [Set] mix aside, for a large salad, 2 tablespoons of sour cream, salt, pepper, and lemon or vinegar, if desired. Cascade over the salad and mix hands together.
Ingredients
- 1 caput of Romaine lettuce
- 2 Tbsp. sour cream
- 1Tbsp. lemon juice or vinegar
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Salata verde couldn't be an easier dish to make.
Simply wash and prepare your lettuce and set aside.
In a split up bowl, combine sour cream, vinegar/lemon juice and seasonings.
Toss lettuce in the dressing.
To stay true to Sandamarinul ("the Sanda Marin"), use the ingredients above.
Yet, if you feel the need to jazz it up without losing the Romanian-manner flavors, add a little bit of dill, paprika or garlic.
While these days Romanians tend to prefer green salads of the cheese and tomato variety, this recipe is a practiced example of how sour foam can be incorporated into a simple and familiar dish.
A more common traditional Romanian salad might be white cabbage dressed with vinegar, oil, salt and pepper.
And of course we can't forget the Salata de Beouf, a traditional holiday dish similar to white potato salad.
Simply as far as basic green salads go, this lovely pre-State of war recipe is still the one to utilize.
Once you have mastered these starter recipes and acquired a taste for sour cream you tin can move on to other delicious Romanian dishes like:
- Papanasi (fritters)
- Clatite cu Carne (meat pancakes)
- Conopida Ardeleneasca (Transylvanian Cauliflower)
- Sarmale (blimp cabbage rolls)
- and Musaca (Moussaka)
The options, whether yous're looking for a sour cream recipe or not, really are endless.
Pofta Buna!
What are your favorite Romanaian recipes? Have a story about food to share of your own? Please share in the comments below!
Sources:
Berkeley Wellness. Homogenized Milk Myths Busted. Berkeley Health: University of California, Published Feb thirteen, 2013.
Klepper, Nicolae. Sense of taste of Romania: Its Cookery and Glimpses of Its History, Folklore, Fine art, Literature, and Poetry. Hippocrene Books, 1999.
Marin, Sanda. Carte De Bucate. 1st ed., Editura "Cartea Romaneasca" Bucuresti, 1936.
"The California Dairy Press Room & Resource." Sour Foam | The California Dairy Press Room & Resources, Department of Food and Agriculture, State of California, 2018, www.californiadairypressroom.com/Products/Sour_Cream.
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Sarah is a freelance historian and owner of A Dollop of History. When she is non recreating historic recipes and education medieval cookery, she enjoys hiking and exploring the outdoors with her husband and son.
Source: https://epicureandculture.com/romanian-recipes-story-about-food/
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