Celebrating the New Year is accompanied by cheerful hiss of champagne, parties and midnight kisses. However, few people realize that the New Year is meant for food.
As the new year begins to march across the planet, tables around the world are laden with long noodles, field peas, herring and pork, symbolizing long life, money, abundance and good fortune.
The details vary, but the goal is the same: to gather family and friends around the festive table to celebrate the coming year together.
We offer you to look into the cuisine of different countries to get acquainted with the traditions and find out what dishes are used to celebrate the New Year holidays around the world.
Jumping John, American South
The main traditional dishes in the southern states of the United States are "Jumping John" - a bean stew with pork, field peas or beans, symbolizing money, and rice with cabbage and other green vegetables and cornbread, symbols of good luck and money. The dish is believed to bring good luck in the new year.
The history of the appearance of this dish differs depending on the folklore, but the current version most likely originates in African and West Indian traditions and was brought by slaves to North America. Jumping John's recipe first appeared in 1847 in The Carolina Housewife by Sarah Rutledge and has been modified by professional chefs over the years.
Twelve grapes, Spain
While Americans watch the New Year's ball fall in Times Square, the Spaniards watch the broadcast from Madrid's Puerta del Sol, where revelers gather before the clock in the tower announces the start of the New Year.
Regardless of where the Spaniards meet the coming year - at home or in the square - they adhere to an old tradition: they eat one grape for each beat of the clock. Some prepare grapes in advance - peel them and remove seeds - to make it more pleasant to eat at midnight.
The custom emerged at the turn of the 20th century with grape growers in the southern part of the country at harvest time. Since then, the tradition has spread to many Spanish-speaking countries.
If you decide to celebrate the New Year in Madrid, then go to Puerta del Sol before midnight. The lively square, surrounded by bars, restaurants and shops, is a great place to celebrate.
Tamale, Mexico
Tamale, steamed minced meat covered with salted corn kernels and corn husks, is a traditional Mexican dish made for any special occasion. But on Christmas and New Years, it is the main dish on the table.
In many families, women come together to prepare hundreds of little tamales for friends, family and neighbors. It is often served on the New Year's table with menudo - a chowder that helps to cope with a hangover.
Residents of large Mexican cities will have no difficulty finding restaurants that sell tamales on New Year's Eve. But gourmets looking for authentic traditional tamales head to Mexico City, where the dish is sold day and night on street corners. They can also be found in renowned restaurants such as Pujol.
Dutch donuts Oliebollen, Netherlands
Oliebollen donuts are a traditional Dutch New Year dish sold at Christmas markets. They are made from puffed dough stuffed with raisins and currants and deep fried.
For donuts, look for small street trailers and Oliebollenkraams bakeries in Amsterdam.
Marzipan pigs, Austria and Germany
Austrian revelers on New Year's Eve - Sylvesterabend, or St. Sylvester's Eve - drink red punch with cardamom and spices, eat suckling pig for dinner and serve little pink marzipan pigs called marzipanschwein.
Good luck pigs, or Glücksschwein, made from all sorts of things, are also popular gifts in Germany and Austria.
Viennese bakeries on New Year's Eve offer a huge amount of sweets in the form of pigs. Head to Julius Meinlto for pig truffles, chocolate and marzipan in all colors, sizes and flavors.
Soba noodles, Japan
On New Year's Eve, Japanese families eat buckwheat soba noodles to say goodbye to the old year and welcome the new one. The tradition dates back to the 17th century, and long noodles symbolize longevity and prosperity.
According to another custom, motitsuki, friends and family spend the day before New Years making mochi, or rice cakes. The sweet glutinous rice is washed, soaked, steamed and ground into a homogeneous mass. Then small pieces are plucked from the dough, from which buns are made, which are served later for dessert.
If you are celebrating the New Year in Tokyo, visit the professional soba master Honmuru Anin in Roppongi.
Party Pie, or Pie of Kings, around the world
The tradition of making a New Year's cake spans countless cultures: the Greeks have basilopita, the French have galette de rua, the Mexicans have the bread of the three kings, and the Bulgarians have banitsa.
In most cases, cakes are eaten on New Year's Eve, although in some cultures they are only cut for Christmas or Epiphany. Figures or coins are usually hidden in pies, symbolizing luck and money for those who find them in their piece.
Cotekino, Italy
Italians celebrate the New Year with a traditional dish - kotekino, or lentils with pork sausages, which, according to legends, bring good luck, and in some households - with stuffed pork leg.
The dinner ends with chiacchiere - Italian brushwood - and Prosecco. The tradition originates in Modena, but over time has spread throughout the country.
Pickled herring, Poland and Scandinavia
Since Poland and the Scandinavian countries are famous for their herring, and because of its silvery color, it is considered a symbol of prosperity and wealth, many families serve pickled fish on the table on New Year's Eve. Some serve it with onions, others with a creamy sauce.
One of the popular New Year's pickled herring dishes - Sledzie Marynowane - is made from fish soaked in water for 24 hours, cut into pieces, tamped into a container in layers with onions, spices, sugar and white vinegar.
Kransekake, Denmark and Norway
Kransekake is a pyramid cake made from several circles with the addition of sweets and other sweets, and prepared for various holidays and special events in Norway and Denmark.
The cake is made from marzipan, and often a bottle of wine or Aquavita is placed in the center with flag decorations and crackers.
Those who can't get to Copenhagen for a pyramid cake can visit Larsen's Danish bakery in the Ballard district of Seattle. They have been delivering orders all over the world for a long time and are ready to pack each layer of the cake separately so that the cake can be easily assembled right before the holiday.
What will be on your festive table?
This article will focus on national dishes on the New Year and Christmas festive table. But first, a little introduction about whether in all countries of the world it is customary to celebrate the New Year.
January 1 - Gregorian New Year begins. But on the world map there are countries in which the New Year comes at a completely different time. Or, this date is not assigned the status of a holiday and a day off. Which countries do not celebrate the New Year?
For example, Muslim countries do not celebrate the New Year, since the celebration of the change of dates is alien to Islam in principle. Muslims can go to a restaurant or a home dinner on this day at the invitation of friends, but rather out of respect.
Some of the countries living according to the Persian calendar celebrate the New Year - Navruz - on March 22. For example, Iran, Afghanistan. And on this occasion, specific national dishes are prepared.
In some countries with Persian cultural heritage, both holidays are celebrated (January 1 and March 22), but they are given different meanings. For example, in Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Albania and Macedonia.
In Israel, the New Year - Rosh Hashanah - is celebrated according to the Jewish calendar and it happens in the fall. And on January 1, only immigrants from the former USSR celebrate the new year.
In Asian countries, rich in their national holidays and rituals, there is an even attitude towards January 1. For example, in South Korea, January 1 is a day off, but you should not expect magnificent celebrations, they will occur later - on the day of the Korean New Year - Seollal, which is set according to the lunar calendar.
A similar story is in China. There are no noisy festivals and folk festivals on January 1. And the Chinese New Year (Chunjie), which falls on the period from January 21 to February 21, is already celebrated on a grand scale, with fireworks, processions and a traditional family dinner.
It is no secret that in the Catholic part of Europe and America, greater importance is attached to Christmas, which is celebrated on December 25, and all the main efforts and holiday preparations are directed towards this holiday. The New Year is celebrated more modestly and in the format of parties with friends.
And in countries located on the territory of the post-Soviet space and professing Orthodoxy, the New Year is celebrated before Orthodox Christmas (January 7), and, as a rule, on New Year's Eve, from December 31 to January 1, more magnificent feasts are organized. This has happened since the times of the Soviet Union, when the authorities prohibited religious holidays and people began to celebrate the New Year on a large scale.
It is a wonderful tradition to gather at the festive table for the whole family! New Year's festive table - as one of the symbols of the holiday. Some countries have developed their own superstitions about what should be put on the table in order to attract happiness, prosperity, good luck in the coming year, and which dishes are best avoided. Some traditional recipes have not changed for centuries!
Let's go with you on a gastronomic trip around the countries and see what dishes are present on the Christmas and New Year tables in the countries celebrating these holidays!
What do they eat for New Year and Christmas in different countries?
Italy
Christmas is the most important and anticipated holiday of the year in the Catholic part of Europe! But, probably, the strongest emotions and adherence to traditions are in Italy, where almost the entire population professes the Catholic faith. In addition, it is on the territory of Italy that the Vatican is located, where the Pope of Rome celebrates Mass.
Snack stars After Christmas Mass, Italians gather at home for.
In each region and family, there is a certain established order. Someone cooks a Lenten Eve Dinner, and the next day has a sumptuous gala dinner. For some, one smoothly flows into the second. As a rule, they cook on a lean table (eel or cod), with spaghetti. For the gala dinner, the hostesses offer and, or cold cuts, sausages, tortellini (Italian dumplings) in broth.
For dessert - Italian pies: panettone (cake with dried fruits, reminiscent of Easter cake) and pandoro ("golden bread"), e, as well as dried fruits and nuts.
Traditional Italian biscuits - Biscotti But it is not customary to treat apples, as they symbolize original sin.
Christmas festivities smoothly flow into New Year's. Italy is a country of fun, so the New Year is celebrated here noisily and cheerfully.
The same Italian dishes are present on the New Year's table. Traditional fish and seafood. It is believed that fish caviar eaten on New Year's Eve will bring wealth.
Pork dishes are obligatory: pork legs and sausage - which symbolize forward movement. But chicken dishes are avoided.
Also, they put nuts, lentils and - as a symbol of health and longevity on the table.
There is also a place for traditional holiday baked goods on the New Year's table.
A glass for the New Year is raised not with champagne, but with Italian wine!
England
For the British, Christmas is a family holiday with many traditions and customs. It is believed that as you celebrate Christmas, you will spend the next year, so everyone is trying to have fun from the heart and set a rich table.
As a side dish - baked vegetables or potatoes. Favorite sauces - and sauce from.
For dessert you will be served Plum pudding. This is a traditional holiday dessert in the UK and Ireland. For its preparation, use bread crumbs, prunes, raisins, almonds, honey. Pudding is considered a family tradition and the recipe can be inherited. It is usually prepared in advance - 2-4 weeks before the holidays. During serving, flambé - sprinkle with cognac or rum and set on fire.
Traditional ones with dried fruits and nuts are also prepared in advance.
The sweet table is quite diverse, on it you will find and, shortbread and macaroons, shortbread and sweet rolls. Of the spirits, the British prefer -, punch and English spicy ale, the cup with which is traditionally raised for health and well-being!
New Year is celebrated with cheerful companies in pubs or at home, but without a lavish feast, with alcoholic drinks and light snacks.
New Zealand, Australia and other countries that were English colonies have adopted the traditions of celebrating Christmas, including culinary ones.
America
And on New Year's, they get by with snacks and drinks, indulging in fun. They prefer strong alcoholic drinks and.
There are many versions of the origin of the world's first cocktail, including the most romantic ones. But all of them are somehow connected with the "cock tail". It is confirmed in writing that the cocktail was first mentioned in 1806 in New York, in the Balance and Columbian Repository, where the cocktail was defined as “Stimulating liquor, consisting of any alcoholic drink with added sugar, water and bitters. from herbs ".
Among New Year's cocktails among Americans are popular:
Red Currant Champagne - cocktail of champagne and red currant or cranberry puree;
Ginger Sparkler - Champagne, ginger wedges and sugar
Champagne Punch and Sangria - punches and sangria with different berries and fruits;
Cranberry Sparkler is a non-alcoholic cocktail made from cranberry puree, orange juice and soda water.
In the cuisine of the southern states, the influence of Latin American cuisine is felt. On the Christmas table, tamal may be present - a dish of meat and corn cooked in corn leaves.
Canada
In the English-speaking part of Canada, Christmas dinners are similar to English and American dinners.
The main dish of the table is turkey. It is served with potatoes or mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce.
For dessert - pudding. Bake traditional.
Obviously, the French-speaking part of the country is dominated by the traditions of France.
France
In France, the main holiday of the year is Christmas.
The whole family gathers for reveillon - dinner on Christmas night - December 24th and indulges in the feast almost until the morning. refined and varied, replete with a large number of dishes from vegetables, cheeses, which are famous all over the world, high-quality wines,.
Needless to say, Christmas dinner turns into an exquisite feast.
The French are gourmets, the festive table must include delicacies: foie gras (goose liver), oysters, king prawns, and others, as well as French cheeses and fried chestnuts.
A number of dishes have a ritual past and symbolize this or that action.
A traditional dish on the French table is poultry, goose or duck, cooked with a special delicacy, stuffed, for example, with mushrooms, goose liver or truffles, marinated with various spices and baked.
Another traditional dish is the festive rooster, kaplan, which is bred and fed in a special way for its larger size and more delicate taste.
Another tribute to tradition is the Christmas log - Buche de Noel. There was an ancient custom of burning a Christmas log, dating back to paganism, when the arrival of the winter solstice was celebrated by burning a log. Now no one burns the log, but the tribute to tradition has remained, and the log appears on Christmas night in the form of a sweet roll on French tables. The French also have territorial gastronomic features of the Christmas table.
Le pain calendeau - Christmas bread, traditional for the south of France, part of which is usually given to the poor.
In Provence, it is customary to serve 13 desserts (according to the number of 12 Apostles and Christ), which include all kinds of sweets and dried fruits.
And, of course, they wash down all this variety with French wine and champagne. And what, even in the homeland of the drink?
Belgium
European countries bordering on each other and having common historical roots have similar cultural and culinary traditions.
Belgian cuisine has absorbed a lot of French, Austrian and German.
On the festive table in Belgium, there are meat dishes, a special role is given to pork (it is considered the most fertile animal).
Among the sweets, in many ways similar to all European ones, one can note the Christmas wreath - ceremonial cookies with almond filling, sprinkled with almonds and candied fruits, in the shape of a ring. , which the Belgians consider to be their national product, can be found here all year round, even on the New Year's table.
Germany
Christmas in Germany is the most anticipated holiday of the year. They start preparing for it in advance. Christmas markets have started to work in cities since November. On them you will find all the attributes of Christmas, decorations, souvenirs, try traditional spicy mulled wine, and other national treats.
A few weeks before Christmas, the Germans prepare (Stollen), a traditional Christmas cupcake. To prepare it, raisins and dried fruits are soaked in cognac or rum in advance, and after baking, the stollen is abundantly sprinkled with powdered sugar and sent for storage - to ripen until Christmas night.
On Christmas Eve itself, or Holy Night (Weihnachten), German families gather around a richly set festive table.
As in many other European countries, the main dish on the festive table is fried goose. It can be cooked with apples and prunes, or with dumplings, and each family has its own signature recipe.
Potatoes and vegetables are served as a side dish. In addition to the goose, stewed cabbage (Sauerkraut) and fried sausage or pork shank (Eisbein) must be served.
Also on the Christmas table is a must.
And this is no coincidence, since fish is an ancient symbol of Christianity.
In general, everything that is served on the table on Christmas evening is symbolic. There is a tradition of serving seven or nine courses for the "holy supper". Mainly cereals, seeds, and other products that personify new life - wheat, peas, beans, nuts, poppy seeds, caviar, eggs. And wheat porridge, seasoned with butter and honey, is attributed to magical properties. solid and solid, like everything German. Many recipes have survived unchanged since the Middle Ages.
In pre-Christian times, the Germanic peoples celebrated the winter solstice at about the same time. Therefore, many dishes have retained their recipe, but acquired a new meaning and became a Christmas one.
Originally traditional German pastries were gifts to pagan gods, who were placated with gingerbread, marzipan, and fruit pies.
And now baked goods are always present on the tables in the form of stollen, gingerbread and gingerbread houses.
It is popular in eastern Germany, which can be traced to the influence of the national gastronomic culture of its eastern neighbors.
Austria, Hungary
Alternatively, the Viennese schnitzel, which has found worldwide popularity, can be served.
And, of course, the pastries for which Austrian cuisine is famous. It can be classic, Linz tart, Sachertorte and others.
In Hungary, it is customary to serve traditional bagels for the festive table - poppy seeds and nut rolls.
Norway, Sweden, Finland
Let's take a look in the north of Europe, in the Scandinavian countries, and see how Christmas is celebrated in Finland, Norway and Sweden.
Christmas is also the main holiday of the year for them. Each of these countries has its own characteristics of the celebration of this event.
Finland is the place where the tale of Santa Claus comes true. After all, it is here, in Lapland, that the residence of Santa Claus (in Finnish - Yolupukki).
Christmas Eve goes on in much the same way as in other European countries: a church service, meeting with relatives, a festive table.
The main Christmas dish in Finland is pork ham. For garnish - baked vegetables: potatoes, carrots, rutabagas. The Finns prefer cold snacks - beet salad (analogue of ours).
Milk rice porridge with almonds is always present on the table. According to belief, the one who gets it will be lucky and good health next year.
Many pastries are prepared, including traditional gingerbread cookies and plum jam puffs.
The traditional drink of the winter holidays is spicy gleg, which is very similar to mulled wine.
Norway also has a respectful attitude towards Christmas and touching traditions.
While preparing festive dishes, do not forget to leave a plate with treats for the Norwegian Santa Claus - Yuleniss, as well as feed the birds. The holiday is quiet and family-like.
Fish is a must on the festive table: a cod dish called lutefix and herring.
Pork ribs, roll and sausages. Garnish with mashed potatoes.
And for dessert - rice cream with a nut and 7 types of cookies.
In Sweden, there are now tendencies not to highlight the religious component of the holiday, Christmas for Swedes is a period of “seasonal congratulations”, an occasion to gather relatives and friends, exchange wishes and gifts.
As in all Scandinavian countries, fish dominates. For the Swedes, this is a fish casserole - "Jansson's Temptation". The filling of the Christmas table is traditional for the Scandinavian peoples - pork (ribs, ham, jellied meat); pickled herring and cod; sweet rice porridge, gingerbread cookies and saffron buns, which are baked here from the feast of Saint Lucia (December 13).
Russia
Russia occupies a vast area from the Baltic in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east, and from the White Sea in the north to the Black Sea in the south. Needless to say, how diverse are the traditions and cuisine of the peoples inhabiting the country?
For example, in the cuisine of northerners there are a lot of sea fish, rye pies, mushrooms. It is similar to Scandinavian cuisine. On the Don, they cook game, eat a lot of vegetables and fruits, much of the cooking was taken over from the Turks. And in Siberia and the Urals - among the Tatars and Udmurts. phenomenally diverse!
Culinary traditions have undergone significant changes in the course of historical events. These are also Peter's reforms, when elements of Western European culture, everyday life, and culinary traditions were borrowed. Under Peter I - from Holland and Germany. And under Catherine II and Alexander I - France.
The Soviet era also shaped certain tastes and laid the culinary traditions of entire generations of the people.
And despite the fact that under Peter I the transition to the Gregorian calendar took place and a decree was issued to celebrate the New Year on January 1 and decorate the house with Christmas trees, it was in Soviet times that this holiday acquired a dominant role, supplanting Christmas.
Calendar New Year comes before Orthodox Christmas (January 7), so larger celebrations fall to its share.
New Year's table to match the scope of the holiday and the breadth of the Russian soul. The abundance of cold - from pickles (
For garnish - mashed potatoes or baked potatoes, vegetables. If it comes to dessert, then it could be!
Tangerines and champagne are another symbol of the New Year!
Now imagine that this whole set can still be complemented by regional and family-style traditional food and drinks!
For people who are fasting at Christmas, “resisting” is a serious challenge.
But the more joyful is the meeting of Christmas and the Christmas meal!
A traditional Christmas dish is kutia, a wheat dish with honey, poppy seeds, raisins and nuts.
Since the days of Russia, pork dishes have always been served on the Christmas table: sausages, jellied meat and even a fried pig. In addition, other meat dishes were prepared: a goose with apples, a hare in sour cream, lamb.
An indispensable dish for Christmas, as well as for all holidays, was pies: open and closed, kulebyaki, pies, kurniki, saiki, shangi, as well. We washed it down with mead and sbitn.
All kinds of gingerbread, candy, cookies, brushwood relied on the sweet table.
Many of these dishes are still being prepared today, perhaps not on such a grand scale ...
The common history of Russia with the peoples of Ukraine, Belarus and Eastern European countries professing Orthodoxy makes the traditions of celebrating Christmas and New Years, including culinary ones, similar.
Our gastronomic journey is coming to an end, although the list of countries and the study of their traditions is endless!
The history and traditions of the countries of the world, despite the regional characteristics, have a lot in common! New Year and Christmas are warm family holidays. The main thing is not what you put on the festive table, but who will gather at it to wish each other happiness, health and prosperity next year!
Christina Belko
Hello! My name is Kristina. When I was a little girl, I loved to look at my mother's cookbooks and sculpted dishes from plasticine for my dolls. Now I myself am a mother of two kids and I really like to pamper them with various goodies. Finding interesting recipes and sharing culinary tricks has become an exciting hobby for me. I draw inspiration from my family, books and walks around the beautiful city of St. Petersburg. I choose tasty and healthy food for my family. When cooking, I use simple and affordable ingredients, often resorting to the help of a double boiler. I love Russian cuisine, I think that this is a part of our history and culture. Also, our menu often includes dishes of national cuisines that have proven themselves all over the world. The recipes that I offer you are loved by my family and friends. I hope that you will like them too and to the table! I am happy to answer your questions, accept comments and suggestions! Leave your comments on the site or email me [email protected] and @kristinabelko on Instagram.
The British are putting Christmas plumpudding on the table. It is prepared from lard, bread crumbs, flour, raisins, eggs and various spices. Before serving, the pudding is poured over with rum, set on fire and flaming is placed on the table.
In addition to pudding, turkey is served with gooseberry sauce. In general, for any holiday in England, a stuffed turkey with a vegetable side dish is served.
America
But on holiday tables Austria, Hungary, Yugoslavia there is never a Christmas goose, duck, chicken, turkey - they think that you shouldn’t eat a bird that evening - happiness will fly away.Cheese pies. Often a coin is put in a pie or pies, it is believed that wealth (or a broken tooth) awaits the finder of it.
Vietnam
Germany
In Germany, on New Year's Eve, there must be herring on the table, it brings happiness in the coming year. They also prepare New Year's cake, pork with stewed cabbage.
Also at Christmas, brightly colored dishes with apples, nuts, raisins and all the pies that were baked that week are definitely served. The symbolism here is special: the apple remained from the apple tree of the knowledge of good and evil in paradise, nuts with a hard shell and tasty cores mean the secrets and difficulties of life, as the embodiment of the proverb: "God gave a nut, but man must crack it." Even in Denmark, they eat duck or goose stuffed with fruits (usually apples), rice pudding sprinkled with cinnamon, sweet rice porridge with cinnamon and raisins (according to custom, a pot of porridge is left open all Christmas night so that the gnomes can enjoy Christmas food and did not harm the owners of the house throughout the next year).In contrast to Protestant Lutheran Denmark, where fasting is not observed, Catholics Lithuania on the eve of Christmas, only lean food is eaten. Their Christmas table consists of a slice (kutya), salads, fish dishes and other lean meals that do not contain meat. Only the next day, on Christmas itself, after a family visit to the church, is it allowed to taste a roast goose.
Christmas is celebrated on a grand scale. As many different dishes as possible are prepared. Popular sweets include wine dough pies, almond cakes, and caraway cookies. Even in Spain, they eat fried lamb, shellfish, turkey, suckling pig.Israel
V Portugal- dried salted cod, very sweet port. 2-meter colored columns of rice are being prepared, after symbolic rituals of sacrifice to the gods, they are taken away to their homes.Italy
Consumes blood sausage, apples, local sparkling wine.Netherlands
The Dutch present on the New Year's table such a delicacy as deep-fried donuts. Fried chestnuts, pies. They also eat oysters, foie gras, champagne and cheeses.Poland
Be sure to fish - it, especially carp, in many countries is considered a symbol of family happiness and well-being; mushroom soup or borscht; barley porridge with prunes; dumplings with butter; for sweet chocolate cake. V Romania, Australia, Bulgaria New Year's pies are baked, and not simple ones, but with surprises: whoever gets a coin, a nut, a pepper pod baked in the filling, he will have a family next year, he will be lucky.Scotland
Today in Scotland, a large round shortbread cake is baked for the New Year's table, topped with sugar-boiled almonds, nuts, sweets, sugar and marzipan figurines. They are usually decorated with national emblems: heather, Scottish cross, arms crossed over the sea, mountains and others.
Sweden
"Lutefix" - a fish dish made from dried cod, pork.
China
Even on New Year's Eve, most Chinese people eat fondue. A pot with meat broth is placed in the middle of the table, and a fire is made under the pot. Meat (beef, lamb), fish, squid, shrimp, and other seafood are cut into slices as thin as paper, laid out on plates and placed around the pot. The guests sit around the table and prepare their own food. When the water boils, each person takes a slice of meat, fish, or other favorite food and immerses it in the boiling broth. When the slice is cooked, it is dipped in soy sauce and consumed with pleasure.Finland
In the Philippine Islands, people prepare a wide variety of foods on New Year's Eve, the more food, the better, since a rich New Year's table is considered the foundation of an equally rich edible coming year. V Tibet housewives bake mountains of pies with a wide variety of fillings to present to all acquaintances and strangers: the more you distribute, the richer you will be.Japan
In the temples of Japan on New Year's Eve, at exactly 00:00, the most ordinary noodles are put on the table. The noodles must necessarily be not chopped, because the longer the noodles, the longer our life.In general, housewives in Japan prepare food for the New Year from products that, as they believe, bring happiness: seaweed gives joy, fried chestnuts - success in business, peas and beans - health, boiled fish - calmness, good spirits, herring caviar - happy family, many children. Japanese families are eating, sitting on their knees around a low table, decorously without noisy conversations and drinking songs - nothing should distract from thoughts about the future, about what awaits in the coming year.
Well Russia · Ukraine · Belarus…
Until almost the middle of the 19th century, the Russian New Year's menu did not exist, but what is now considered an invariable part of the New Year's table - all these suckling pigs with buckwheat porridge and geese with sauerkraut or apples - actually came from the Christmas table. At the beginning of the 19th century, the cuisine was not complicated. Even in the homes of the nobility, pickles and mushrooms, radish salad could well be on the New Year's table. And they also served a piglet, veal fricassee, fried bullets, boiled trout in wine, ruff body. And, by the way, apricots, oranges, grapes and pears - greenhouses were in vogue, fruits were grown in the middle of winter in St. Petersburg and in Moscow.The second coming of the Olivier salad has come - with doctor's sausage instead of hazel grouses. It was cooked in a large basin and generously seasoned with mayonnaise. A pig, goose, or duck were welcome but not required. It was imperative to open a bottle of "Soviet Champagne" to the chimes.
And for the older generation, with the advent of televisions, the table finally won.In the New Year, they always try, there is something that the animal in whose honor the year is named likes. Once a traditional dish on the table was considered "Goose in apples."
We wish you abundant New Year's table!
Sources: newyear.redday.ru, kulinarochki.ru
Photos are from the Internet.
The rapid and intense rhythm of life of a modern person in an incomprehensible way affects the already fleeting time, accelerating it. It would seem that as soon as the series of New Year's holidays has died down, it’s time to start the autumn preparations for the upcoming winter celebrations.
Modern cuisine from different countries is characterized by widespread eclecticism and interpenetration. As a result, the cuisines of the peoples of the world are enriched with seemingly unusual traditions, becoming more interesting and refined.
In turn, the modern New Year's table is completely different from the festive table of our childhood, organized by our parents as a result of the battle for scarcity. Today, previously unthinkable products are available to us, of which it is simply a sin for a good housewife not to prepare an original New Year's table for her friends and relatives using amazing traditional New Year's dishes from different countries that have been tested both by time and by people.
For example, the British use dried wheat bread, various varieties of raisins, cherries, apples, almonds and candied fruits to prepare Christmas plum pudding. Lemons, oranges, ginger, cinnamon, cloves and star anise are added to it. It is remarkable that this prim people created a whole New Year's ritual out of serving food - a ready-made pudding is poured with a mixture of rum and liqueur, set on fire and effectively marching to the table while burning.
American conservatives do not betray their own traditions, but families gather around stuffed turkey, and our neighbors, Bulgarians, cannot imagine their New Year's table without moussaka, consisting of meat, mainly lamb and various vegetables: eggplants, tomatoes, zucchini, cabbage, potatoes and others. The great thing is that all the ingredients are put into the moussaka at the same time, leaving the hostess time for other pre-holiday chores. Of course, like any other Balkan dish, moussaka is decorated with a fragrant bouquet of herbs and spices. Bulgarians - gourmets add sour cream to the finished dish.
The Dutch serve a New Year's rabbit stewed in wine, to which they add onions, bacon, sour cream and herbs, and the Danes stuff duck with apples, prunes and raisins for the New Year, adding festive notes in the form of brandy and cranberry jelly.
India, famous for its unique culinary traditions, greets the New Year with raita - okroshka prepared according to the national recipe and biryani - pilaf with lamb, vegetables, fruits, nuts and famous Indian spices. A light dessert is whipped cream with ginger.
Reckless gluttony Italians for the New Year especially take their souls at the table. In particular, the festive table is not complete without the very special Kotekino sausage, which is prepared exclusively for the New Year and served in a loaf. The special piquancy of the dish is given by the fact that in addition to fatty pork sausage, pears, shallots and juniper berries are wrapped in the dough. This entire Mediterranean blend is generously supplied with Italian herbs, brown sugar, vanilla and red wine vinegar.
After having a snack, the inhabitants of the Apennines begin their main course - Giampone, which is a baked pork leg stuffed with meat, as well as baked seafood. Even on a holiday, not a single self-respecting Italian can do without pasta, which has become a national idea.
On this day, Mexicans prefer to skip burritos and treat themselves to a roasted suckling pig garnished with rice, bell peppers and black beans, as well as a variety of vegetables and cheese. Unchanged tequila is served from alcoholic drinks. For dessert, the inhabitants of Latin America are happy to gobble up simple cakes made from their usual corn flour.
Germans are also not averse to having a tasty meal at the festive New Year's table. On this day, on the tables of real burghers, you will find salmon with cream, along with spinach and lemon zest, baked in a ruddy dough with spicy pink pepper, aromatic mustard potatoes and fried carp. For dessert in Germany, they prefer nut pie and marzipan cake with cream or meringue.
Of course, it is impossible to imagine the Norwegians' New Year's table without fish dishes. On this day, the inhabitants of Scandinavia serve on the table a unique salmon soup with vegetables, cream, herbs and croutons. But their New Year's menu is not limited to fish - it traditionally includes stewed meat ribs with various fantastic sauces and cozy, homemade mashed potatoes.
In Portugal and Spain, grapes play a special role on New Year's Eve, making 12 cherished wishes before consuming another berry.
Leisurely Finns are also eager to have a hearty snack to keep warm on a frosty winter holiday. On the New Year's table, they traditionally have chicken legs marinated in fruit vinegar with garlic, spices and mustard. It is remarkable that such chicken legs are cooked on skewers, involuntarily recalling the transience of time and the inevitable arrival of summer with its kebabs. A compulsory cold snack in Finland is the national dish of many peoples of the north of Sugdai - fresh pickled fish of fatty varieties.
Connoisseurs of culinary arts, who gave the world their great cuisine, the French are staggering the imagination with exquisite delicacies prepared for the New Year's table. The menu of the holiday must include snails, goose pâtés, excellent cheeses, the famous spicy French soups and a specially prepared turkey. Traditionally, pre-marinated turkey is baked in white wine for several hours in the oven with vegetables and aromatic herbs.
The Swedes spare no time in preparing the traditional national New Year's food called Kropkakor. To do this, a kind of dough is prepared from a mixture of boiled potatoes, ham and bacon, from which balls are subsequently rolled and boiled in salted water.
It is not surprising that New Year's meals in Japan have their own sacred meaning. On this holiday, it has been customary for the inhabitants of the Land of the Rising Sun for centuries to wish other people long years of life in the first place. On the menu, longevity is symbolized by long buckwheat noodles - soba.
So that the guests at the table in the coming year are not exposed to any ailments, a dessert made from black soybeans, which symbolizes health, is served on the table. For the same, so that everyone who gathered in the New Year was accompanied by happiness and good luck, it is customary to include mashed chestnuts and sweet potatoes in the traditional New Year's Japanese menu.
Modern world cuisine offers many recipes and traditions, having familiarized yourself with which you will diversify your own celebrations and acquire new traditions and rituals that are inherent in your large and friendly family.
Each dish on the New Year's and Christmas table is endowed in different countries, among different peoples with its own special meaning and meaning. Let's take a short walk according to the traditions of the New Year's table.
New Year's table in France
In France, a holiday is not a holiday if there is no traditional roast turkey at the New Year's table.
What is remarkable about the New Year's table in Austria, Hungary and Yugoslavia
But on the festive tables of Austria, Hungary and Yugoslavia there is never a bird - geese, ducks, chickens, turkeys. In these countries, they believe that you cannot eat a bird this evening, happiness will fly away.
New Year's pies in Romania, Australia, Bulgaria
In Romania, Australia, Bulgaria, New Year's pies are baked, and not simple ones, but with surprises: whoever gets it will be lucky.
New Year's table in Poland
In Poland, there are exactly twelve dishes on the New Year's table. And not a single meat! Mushroom soup or borscht, barley porridge with prunes, dumplings with butter, chocolate cake for sweet. An obligatory dish is fish. In many countries, she is considered a symbol of family happiness and well-being.
New Year's table in the Czech Republic and Slovakia
A similar set of dishes is present on New Year's tables for housewives in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. True, they prefer pearl barley porridge, and strudel is required - a puff roll with apples, the pride of every good housewife.
New Year's table in Germany
In Germany, on New Year's, a brightly colored dish with apples, nuts, raisins and pies is always served. The symbolism here is as follows: an apple is the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, nuts with their hard shell and tasty core symbolize the secrets and difficulties of life. In Germany they say: "God gave a nut, and man must crack it."
New Year's table in Spain, Portugal, Cuba
In many countries, in Spain, Portugal, Cuba, the vine is considered a symbol of abundance and a happy family hearth since ancient times. Therefore, the inhabitants of these countries with the striking of the clock at midnight eat twelve grapes - according to the number of strikes of the clock. A wish is made with each grape - twelve cherished wishes for every month of the year.
New Year's table in Italy
In Italy, it is also customary to serve grapes, nuts, lentils to the New Year's table as a symbol and guarantee of longevity, health and well-being.
New Year's table in England
In England, traditional Christmas food is pudding and stuffed turkey with a vegetable side dish. Pudding is made from bread crumbs, flour, bacon, raisins, eggs and various spices. Before serving, the pudding is poured over with rum, set on fire and placed on the table blazing.
New Year's table in America
Stuffed turkey is also considered a traditional dish in America. The turkey is stuffed with everything that is lying around in the refrigerator: bread, cheese, prunes, garlic, beans, mushrooms, apples, cabbage.
New Year's table in Holland
In Holland, salty beans are one of the main national New Year's dishes. This is a very heavy food for the stomach, which cannot be relieved by either vodka or red wine.
New Year's table in Cambodia
In Cambodia, a New Year's table is placed near the window and the sweets most loved in the family are served.
New Year's custom of Tibet
The people of Tibet have a nice New Year's custom. The hostesses bake mountains of pies with a wide variety of fillings and present them to all acquaintances and strangers. The more you distribute, the richer you will be!
New Year's table in Japan
In Japan, on New Year's Eve, dishes are prepared from products that, according to legend, bring happiness. Seaweed gives joy, fried chestnuts - success in business, peas and beans - health, boiled fish - calmness and good spirits, herring caviar - a happy family and many children. New Year's meal in Japanese families is quiet and decorous, without noisy conversations and drinking songs. Nothing should distract from thoughts about what awaits everyone in the coming year.
New Year's table in China
In China. In the end, it was the Chinese who gave us all these rabbits, dragons and boars, which we are trying to "appease" on the night of December 31 to January 1. Many of the traditional Chinese New Year foods are vegetarian and well seasoned. However, this does not mean at all that the Chinese deny themselves meat on New Year's - they eat and how. But they prepare it in their own way. For example, chicken is baked or fried only whole, that is, with its head, legs and tail. In China, they believe that this way you can strengthen your family. The same applies to fish: it is also cooked entirely to keep the family strong and happy.
History of Russian New Year traditions
At first, under Peter the Great, who ordered to celebrate the New Year from December 31 to January 1, the main thing at the holiday was not the table, but the balls. Following the famous line from the song for lunch, dinner and breakfast, our ancestors had ... dancing and drinks to quench their thirst. Until almost the middle of the 19th century, the Russian New Year's menu did not exist, but what is now considered an invariable part of the New Year's table - all these suckling pigs with buckwheat porridge and geese with sauerkraut or apples - actually came from the Christmas table. At the beginning of the 19th century, the cuisine was not complicated. Even in the homes of the nobility, pickles and mushrooms, radish salad could well be on the New Year's table. And they also served a piglet, veal fricassee, fried bullets, boiled trout in wine, ruff body. And, by the way, apricots, oranges, grapes and pears - greenhouses were in vogue, fruits were grown in the middle of winter in St. Petersburg and in Moscow. The New Year's menu in the second half of the 19th century already contains salmon, caviar, smelt and vendace, cheeses - along with the same radish and pickles. For some reason, they have cooled down to mushrooms, but labardan (cod) and watermelons have come into fashion. The game competed with the pig roasted with buckwheat porridge.
Festive roast pigs
It's time for soft drinks, ice cream and cognacs. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, French, Spanish fortified, Italian and German wines were drunk. And in imitation of champagne Don sparkling wines were already made. Of course, they drank vodka, liqueurs and liqueurs, Russian homemade and German beer. By the beginning of the twentieth century, anchovies, lobsters, sardines began to appear on the New Year's table. Apples could not do without the notorious pig and goose, but hazel grouses and turkeys were already competing with them. During the Christmas days of 1912, 250 thousand piglets, 75 thousand turkeys, 110 thousand geese, 260 thousand chickens and ducks were sold in St. Petersburg. After the revolution, the celebration of the New Year was canceled. But he was still greeted. True, the dances were possible only quietly, so as not to wake up the neighbors. It was then, presumably, that the habit of sitting at the table arose. The food was meager. They tried, of course, to hang nuts in gold and silver foil, apples on the tree banned by the revolution. Rehabilitated the New Year tree in 1936, along with night dances. The Soviet New Year's table did not become exquisite - even a sausage cut into circles could decorate it. However, in the former shops of Eliseev, they still sold hazel grouses and caviar. In the forties, the New Year was celebrated with vodka, boiled potatoes and herring, decorated with onion rings. Life became more fun in the fifties. Celebrating the new year was no longer considered reprehensible. And it became possible to gather not only in a narrow circle, but also in a large company. On the tables appeared: jelly, herring under a fur coat, Baltic sprats. The second coming of the Olivier salad has come - with doctor's sausage instead of hazel grouses. It was cooked in a large basin and generously seasoned with mayonnaise.
A pig, goose, or duck were welcome but not required. It was imperative to open a bottle of "Soviet Champagne" to the chimes. In cramped apartments, the table took up the whole place, so you had to choose: dancing or eating. With the advent of televisions, the table finally won out.
