Christmas Dishes From Different Countries Of The World

Christmas is one of the most important and beloved holidays in the world. It is associated with coziness, a bright Christmas tree, festive garlands and a delicious dinner with family and friends. Every country has its own traditions of preparing and celebrating Christmas . Someone prepares a dessert a month before Christmas Eve so that it is infused, someone begins to choose the perfect fish and turkey, and someone plans the time to visit a fast food restaurant. Despite all the differences in celebrating the holiday , Christmas gives people positive emotions and faith that the coming year will bring only joy and happiness. And delicious food and a special atmosphere help to get into the festive mood.

Great Britain - Christmas pudding

Christmas pudding or plum pudding is the main dessert at the holiday dinner in Great Britain, Ireland and other states of the Commonwealth of Nations. Despite the name, it is not made from plums (plum - from English plum). Raisins were called raisins in the Middle Ages. The composition of the pudding includes: raisins, bread crumbs, sugar, butter, spices (cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg). Sometimes, before serving, the dessert is poured with brandy, rum or other strong drink and set on fire. Another feature of plum pudding is that it is prepared a few weeks before the holiday , giving it time to "ripen".

Lithuania - Kuchyukai

Kuchyukai is a small Lithuanian cookie with poppy seeds. Usually, the dessert is served with poppy or cow's milk, so that the structure becomes softer, and the taste is rich. Cookies are usually served during the Christmas dinner , which in Lithuania is called Kūčios. This evening, it is customary to serve 12 dishes, which mainly consist of fruits, vegetables, mushrooms and fish. There is usually no meat on the table.

Israel - Latkes

Latkes are an important part of the Hanukkah holiday table in Israel. These are fritters made of grated potatoes, fried to a golden crust in a large amount of oil. It is customary to eat them with sour cream or applesauce. The dish is prepared as a reminder of the miracle when the oil burned in the temple lamps for 8 days instead of 1. The first versions of latkes, but made of cheese, were prepared in the Middle Ages.

Czech Republic - Christmas carp

Christmas carp is a mandatory dish on the festive table in the Czech Republic. The roots of this tradition go back to the Middle Ages, when carp scales were considered a symbol of wealth. Even now, some people believe that it should be carried in a purse for good luck, and not just placed under each plate during Christmas dinner . Cooking this fish for Christmas began in the 19th century. Usually carp is served in the form of fried pieces, baked whole or stuffed. As in Lithuania, you will not find meat on the Czech festive table . More and more often, Czechs buy 2 carp: one - to cook, the second - run in the bath, and then released into the wild (which is actually not very useful for the fish).

Germany - Stollen

Stollen is a pastry with candied fruit and raisins, which in shape and color resembles baby Jesus wrapped in diapers. There are also varieties of festive pastries with nuts, marzipan and poppy seeds. Stollen is prepared from a special yeast dough with a lot of flour and butter. After baking, it is smeared with melted butter and sprinkled with powdered sugar. Stollen is usually baked in advance and stored from 1 month to 3. The first mention of the festive dessert dates back to the 14th century.

Denmark - Fleskesteg

Fleskesteg is baked pork with a crispy crust, usually served with red cabbage stewed in duck fat with sugar, apples, onions, red wine and spices. The traditional Christmas dinner ends with sweet rice porridge served at midnight. 1 almond nut is added to the dish - if an unmarried girl comes across it, then in the coming year, according to beliefs, she will get married. For everyone else, the find brings happiness. By the way, anyone who happens to have an almond should hide it until they eat all the porridge.

Cuba - Fried bananas

In Cuba , Christmas Eve , as in many countries of Latin America, is an occasion to gather the whole family for a festive dinner . Usually, rice, black beans, rice pudding, rum cake are served to the table. The most striking side dish is fried bananas, which taste surprisingly well with fried pork and rice. They are cooked in ghee and traditionally eaten with sea salt, sometimes pepper is added for piquancy.

Italy - Panettone

Christmas dinner is different in different regions of Italy . Somewhere they prepare 7 different fish dishes, somewhere they serve dried cod and squid, and somewhere they eat roast lamb or poultry. The only dish that unites the whole country is the festive panettone cake. It is made from sweet yeast dough with the addition of candied fruit, chocolate chips, raisins and nuts. Every hostess has her own recipe for this dessert.

Japan - Fried chicken

Japan is a specific country with unique traditions, so it is not surprising that there is a rather unusual tradition for celebrating Christmas . Since 1970, Japanese people have flocked to fast food restaurant Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), which is famous for its fried chicken in a special breading with a secret recipe. Also, osechi-riori is served to the festive table - a set of seafood, which includes fish, shrimp, oysters, caviar, lobsters and seaweed. Composition may change. The dish is served in special varnished boxes. Each element of osechi-riori has its own symbolic meaning.

New Zealand - Pavlova

Pavlova meringue cake is the star of the Christmas table in New Zealand (and often in Australia). It was created especially for the legendary prima ballerina Anna Pavlova and named in her honor. The top of the dessert is decorated with strawberries, passion fruit and raspberries, as well as whipped cream. About 700 recipes of these light and airy sweets are known.

Jamaica - Sorrel

The only drink that made it to the list of Christmas dishes is sorrel. It is prepared on the basis of hibiscus flowers, from which karkade tea is brewed. Add ginger, orange peel, cinnamon, and sugar. And, of course, Jamaica cannot do without rum, which complements the flavor composition of sorrel. They serve a drink with ice.

Argentina - Parillada

Parillada is a national Argentinian dish and the main treat at Christmas dinner . Its base is beef, which is usually grilled. The preparation is done by specially trained cooks - asador and perillero. They know how to develop and roast different parts of the carcass. Sometimes parillada is prepared with intestines, blood sausage and goiter. Restaurants of the same name specializing in parillada are common in Argentina.

Greece - Melomakarona

Melomakarona - sweet cookies, in the form of oval cakes. This dish is a mandatory element of the Greek Christmas table . After baking, Melomacaron is generously soaked in sugar-honey syrup with citrus, which makes the cookies soft and fragrant. Sprinkle chopped walnuts on top. During the winter holidays , this dessert can be found in almost any store or bakery.

USA - Roast turkey

The diet of Christmas dinner in America is very similar to the Thanksgiving feast - the main treat is a roast turkey. The bird is marinated for about a day and baked in the oven for 3-7 hours. Sometimes the turkey is stuffed with breadcrumbs, potatoes, vegetables, herbs, and mushrooms. Mashed potatoes are prepared as a side dish. Sauces - cranberry and gravy (gravy) - play an equally important role than turkey.

France - Christmas log

The French cannot imagine celebrating Christmas without a special dessert on the table. This is a roll in the form of a log, which is made from biscuit dough with chocolate cream. On top of the cake, on the cream layer, the structure of the bark of a tree is imitated, and berries, powdered sugar, sweet snowflakes, marzipan cones, mushrooms, etc. are used as decorations. Everything depends on the confectioner's imagination. The idea of ​​this roll is connected with the medieval tradition, when it was customary to burn a festive log.

Ireland - Smoked salmon

A favorite dish of the Irish on the Christmas table is smoked salmon with shrimp cocktail, which is laid out on fresh green salad leaves. Salmon can be served simply with sauce or vegetables. During the winter holidays , such smoked fish is considered a great gift for colleagues, friends and relatives.

Spain - Turron

Turron is a dish without which it is difficult to imagine Christmas in Spain. The dessert is made from honey, almonds, egg whites and sugar. In principle, this is a type of nougat. Turron can be hard - from a caramelized mass with a lot of nuts. Also, this dessert can be soft - due to the addition of oil or butter. This type of turron is called blando or Gijón. More and more often, instead of traditional almonds, hazelnuts and peanuts are added to turron, as well as fruits, marzipan, chocolate, coconut and other additives.