How does culture influence food choices? I am interested in studying the mutual influence of countries in food traditions, and if geographical context can influence the consumers attitude.
Can traditional foods be common / close to peoples of common ethnic origin? How food patterns develop
The food practices of Ukraine are characterized by such a specific product as lard. Only Ukrainians and peoples of the far North have developed enzymes that break down a large amount of animal fats. This is due to the location of Ukrainian territories on the border of the Great Steppe, which was usually controlled by nomads. They often plundered Ukrainian lands, killed and led animals away from local peasants. But the pig, the fat of which Ukrainians love so much, was not possible to drive over long distances. Therefore, in the traditions of nomadic peoples, it is, as a rule, considered an unclean animal. Therefore, it did not drive away and was killed less by nomads. And so it was bred and loved more by Ukrainian peasants. Therefore, Ukrainian lard is not only a beloved food product, but also a character in many folk stories and jokes.
Romanian polenta - ”mamaliga”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C4%83m%C4%83lig%C4%83
Rice is the main Bangladeshi food. Rice, fish curry, and lentil is the most common traditional Bangladeshi food for general people. Bangladesh is also famous for its desserts.
Chicken meat is the most consumed in Iraq and then the meat of sheep and beef as well as grain I am also interested in the mutual influence of neighboring countries in the nutritional patterns of peoples Of course, people are affected by each other in diets
There is a lot of literature about this topic (See for example, classical works by Igor de Garine about Cameroon). In fact, the “most representative food” depends a lot on points of view: which element makes the representativity of a food? The current level of consumption? Its identity value? Its identification by foreigners? Its degree of “endemism”? An example on which we worked a lot with Xavier Medina: paella. If a Spaniard asks a Spaniard in Spain which is the most representative dish of Spain, you will have a lot of different answers. If a Foreigner asks a Spaniard out of Spain the same question, “paella” will be a frequent answer.
Dear All,
I do agree with Frederic Duhart but I also have different views on this.
Firstly, being a food technologist I liked this question.
As far as India is concerned, to answer this question in terms of only one product is rather difficult when you consider the geographical, social and socio-economical diversity of this country which is quite wide and diverse.
Anyway, I will answer this question in my next post with respect to subject matter proper as the post could be quite lengthy otherwise.
Regards,
In fact, in Spain it is the so-called ""Mediterranean diet" consisting of fruit, vegetables, cereals, fish and olive oil. It is, generally, a healthy meal.
Maybe the question needed to be nuanced? What is the most representative food of a country you've visited?
Yes, the "Mediterranean diet" is a very healthy meal, but it has not reduced the spread of SARS CoV-2. Maybe a diet based on fish, rich in fat, omega-3 and vitamin D is better?
Dear Silvia,
Yes. I am aware of it. One thing you have missed and that is probably salted/fermented olives a real delicasy.
(In fact in last 4 years I had spent at least 1 month in Casteldefells, Barcelona, Spain on 2 occasions while I had to curtail my last trip and came back to India hurridely due to covid-19 menace, after spending hardly 10 days over there and that too when the lock down phase was started over there. I could manage to board a last flight from Barcelona to India)
Olive oil is to Spanish people as a variety of oils including mainly ground nut oil, coconut oil, mustard oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil and of late soybean oil and palm oil because of their lower price to Indian population.
Every region will have it's own choice, for example north Indians prefer mustard oil, south Indians prefer coconut oil while Maharastrians and people from Gujarat have their specific choice for ground nut/pea nut oil.
People from northern states of Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir also go for walnut oil as they grow variety of dry fruits locally including walnuts, almonds, chestnuts and many more.
Regards,
@Dear Dr. Silvius,
Nothing wrong with your original question and there is absolutely no need to modify it.
In fact the modified question (your post about an hour back) is a separate entity and would be treated accordingly.
Regards,
Dear all,
@ dear Dr. Silvius,
I would like to answer your original question.
I stay in Thane city which is having a common border with Mumbai(Bombay) and several foods can be cited as the representative food item.(There is not only one but a variety of them and all equally popular with the cosmopolitan culture of Mumbai city).
1) Vada-pav:
Actually it is a bread sandwich with vada(batate vada: a tasty preparation from mashed potato and subsequently deep fat fried with a coating of dough prepared from gram flour over it). The taste is enhanced by applying a sweet/savoury chatenies(sauce like preparation) consisting of garlic and red chilli powder with tamarind-jaggery sauce applied from inside of bread loaf.
Several joints and food counters can be seen all across the city catering people with this choicest of snacks.
2) Pav-bhaji:
The mixed vegetables and a mixture of hot spices with sumptuous use of butter ('Amul' butter from 'Anand Dairy Gujarat' is the preferred brand for it's quality and consistency of processed salted butter commonly used all across the country though few other brands are also available. While serving, the bread is also applied with a spicy mixture of assorted spices and red chilli powder along with butter. Finelly chopped fresh onion and lime/lemon adds further to the taste and flavor of the preparation.
3) Pani-puri(gol-gappe):
This is a typical food product again quite popular with young generation. It consists of small deep fat fried crunchy, puffed, thin patties and served with very spicy liquid flavoured with extracts of mint leaves, green chillies and fresh coriander along with rock salt, sea salt and crushed cumin seeds.
Originally introduced as food items to be served as tiffin or evening/high tea snacks, all these products are now preferred by many as meals substitute consumed and relished both during lunch and dinner.
Regards,
Food choice is based on surrounding climate and prevailing occasion. In India major food consumption is wheat and rice.
The food practices of Ukraine are characterized by such a specific product as lard. Only Ukrainians and peoples of the far North have developed enzymes that break down a large amount of animal fats. This is due to the location of Ukrainian territories on the border of the Great Steppe, which was usually controlled by nomads. They often plundered Ukrainian lands, killed and led animals away from local peasants. But the pig, the fat of which Ukrainians love so much, was not possible to drive over long distances. Therefore, in the traditions of nomadic peoples, it is, as a rule, considered an unclean animal. Therefore, it did not drive away and was killed less by nomads. And so it was bred and loved more by Ukrainian peasants. Therefore, Ukrainian lard is not only a beloved food product, but also a character in many folk stories and jokes.
Dear All,
Definitely as far as the staple food is concerned the rice, fish and other seafoods predominate in the coastal areas of India.
While the northern states depend on wheat, cereals, tubers like potato to a greater extent.
Casava/tapioca is more popular in southern states.
Sago processed from tapioca, sweet potato and certain starchy cereals are some of the important food commodities consumed almost through out India on fasting days which have special place in Hindu culture.
Regards,
Dear All,
Indians who restrict themselves on strictly vegetarian diets for one reason or other(the socio-cultural/religious reasons play major role) rely on milk and milk products as a source of protein in addition to variety of dhals and pulses also play a major role to provide better quality amino acid source in their diet.
Rest of the population rely mostly on egg, fish, meat/poultry and various seafoods for an excellent source of dietary proteins.
Regards,
Thank you, Olena Pavlova. Your answer is very interesting, I did not know about this food tradition in Ukraine.The Romanian population in the north of the country, close to the border with Ukraine, frequently consumes lard on bread, with tomatoes or onions. It is melted and kept in a jar.
I think it can be considered an example of interference in European eating habits. A map with areas of common influence would be interesting.
Dear Freeborn Odiboh,
Quite true. I have heard a lot about Garri and it's popularity in Nigeria and other African countries.
I came across a reference and they have explained about various ways to serve Garri in which they have mentioned about peanuts, milk along with ice cubes when it is served as cold rather than hot porridge.
But one thing I couldn't understand is this, that if it is tapioca/casava based staple food product then why there is a mention of a cereal instead of a tuber.
Regards,
Dear prof. Retter,
Thank you for your answer,
For me, representative food for Germany means sausage (especially from Frankfurt), cabbage and beer.
Dear Freeborn Odiboh,
What is Garri ? Is it this, from wiki?
Is it like our polenta...
Dear All,
I also do associate beer and sausages with Germany. At least that is my impression.
Bread, potato, pasta, meat and ham can be found abundantly in most of the European countries including Spain and Itali.
Of course bread and variety of bakery products are also available in many countries, bread as such (yeast leavened wheat dough product) was introduced to India only after foreign invasion, some 3 centuries back when Portugise, British and Douch came to India.
Now 'bread' has invaded every part of India from small village to town/city and Metros because of main features such as convenience and easy availability associated with bread as commodity for staple food application for all income groups of the population.
Regards,
Thank you, professor Leshchenko.
As drink I suppose there is no doubt for vodka for Russia.
In Odisha,India main food types:Rice, Wheat -,Chapati,Dal,Vegitable currier and fry also fish,chicen ,eggs etc.
Dear professor Das,
India is a wonderful mix of traditions, including food consumption. Last year I was invited to a conference in India, and the impression created on the street was a troubled mountain river, muddy, but full of life. Great development potential, a very intelligent population, with a great desire for learning, knowledge, progress. I believe that in the future India will be in the first positions in the world in terms of economic power.
Here is something unique (Ethiopia): It is called Injera ("እንጀራ" in Amharic). May have a detail look here https://g.co/kgs/6xXDJW
@Dear Endashaw,
Thank you for your post.
The Ethiopian flat bread 'Injera' is unique which is prepared from Teff.
The most significant fact with Teff is this that it is free from gluten and is a boon for those who cannot consume wheat and rye because of their gluten content which is a structural protein developed during kneading of dough (from gluteline and gliadin the original components of wheat proteins) and is so important for making of leavened bakery products mainly bread and cake.
An individual suffering from Celiac disease cannot consume bakery products which are invariably produced from wheat and rye.
Regards,
A very interesting study. For Croatia the drink will be slivovitza ( plum brandy) and food depends on the region: in coastal region maybe lamb on a spit and fish, and in conrinental part: sweetwater fish soup ( eastern part) and turkey with grinders (western part).
Dear prof. Mirna Leko-Šimić,
Thank you very much for your answer,
I attended an ESD conference in Zagreb in december, 2014, but I didn't know what I should eat, a food representative of Croatia. But of course I drank slivovitza. Very nice city Zagreb, and the coast of Adriatic Sea.
Very beautiful Zagreb, and the Adriatic coast.
Dear Göncü,
Thank you for your answer. Cevabınız için teşekkür ederim. Baklava demeni umuyordum.
I was hoping you would say baklava
Very good tarhana.
In Romania we have the boza (in Romanian braga tradition) in the Dobrogea area, although there are fewer and fewer producers. We are making it by using cornflour, but old traditional recipe was millet (or wheat).
Silvius
Thank you for your posts.
Pelmeni is one more famous Moldavian dish. Small balls from minced meat are wrapped into dough made of flour and eggs and then boiled in salted water usually with bay leaves. Pelmeni can be served with sour-cream, table vinegar or horseradish. The filling can be made of any sort of meat – pork, beef, lamb or chicken. But the best pelmeni contain a mixed minced meat, for example, pork and beef, or pork, beef and lamb. A vegetarian analogue of pelmeni is vareniki, which is more popular in Ukraine. Fillings for vareniki can be made of cottage cheese, mashed potatoes, mushrooms, berries and so on.
Cok az, hocam. Birkaç kelime. ,Türkiye'de çok arkadaşım var.
Her yıl Manisa Üniversitesi ISRC Kongresi'nin konuk başkanı olarak gidiyorum.
Iyi akşamlar/ya da iyi geceler.
@Dear Dr. Silvius and Dr. Ali,
Your latest posts are all Greek to me. Please provide English translation for the same.
Regards,
I attended Euroaliment, my first studies and my first doctorate are in food engineering, and the second in economics
The common daily food of people outside their homes is kebabs,
@Dear Kocher Jamal Ibrahim,
It's true. I will give you an example. The story goes back in the period of 80s.
We while graduating from UDCT(now ICT) Matunga, Mumbai used to visit the excellent restaurant by name 'Yazdiar'. The restaurant located in the calm and quiet place of Parsi colony near Dadar Railway station and was owned by Parsi family private management. It was extremely popular with white collar people. The typical Parsi preparation of 'Dhansakh' was famous food item and they also used to serve lagered beer.
Those who used to relish non-vegetarian kababs were made available to them by procuring the same from nearby road side joints close to the restaurant.
We, the hostelites used to visit this restaurant especially on weekends and many a time also used to find some of our Professors along with their guests enjoying the choicest of Parsi food preparations including Dhansakh.
Regards,
Thank you, Professor Padhye.
You have a lot of experience and countries visited, and your comments are very interesting.
@Dear Dr. Silvius,
It is indeed not true that I have visited many countries and also it is the exaggeration when you say I have a lot of experience.
Of course l am happy to know that you like my comments.
Thank you so much for the kind words.
Regards,
ADPadhye.
In Brazil, rice and beans are considered the staple food and most accessible to the population. This combination makes it possible to provide a complete amino acid profile to the population's nutrition. However, especially due to the territorial extension, we have a variability and volume of all types of fruits and vegetables, which are even wasted. High meat production is also present (beef, pork, poultry and fish). Consumption varies according to financial conditions and geographic location.
Dear Silvius Stanciu Colombia, there is a variety of food and preparations. There is no national dish. I recommend the following research that I have done about it
Book Lo que no se narra se olvida
,https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318249073_Turistas_Comensales_Patrimonio_gastronomico_y_turismo_alimentario_en_Necomon_y_Ubate
In Portugal bacalhau, or salt cod (Gadus morhua), is nicknamed “faithful friend”. This reflects its importance and unique status in Portuguese culture, being both a very common food and a symbol of Portuguese national identity. This status was acquired over centuries, as bacalhau changed from an ingredient associated with abstinence and poverty to an expensive and sophisticated food product now commonly used in fine dining restaurants in Portugal.
Abundant in the North Atlantic waters, a long journey was required to bring cod to Southern Europe where it was consumed mainly by the Portuguese, the largest cod consumers in the world (eating approximately 20% of all cod caught worldwide). Salting was used to preserve the cod so it could withstand the long journey without deteriorating. During the salting process, still used today, cod is placed between layers of salt. As it loses water and salt gets in, the fish becomes dry and salty. This process is further reinforced by a final drying production step.
This process contributes for conservation but the fish also acquires a different and pleasant flavour very much appreciated by the portuguese.
The consumption of fish, in Portugal as in other European societies, is associated with religion. Christianity imposed fasting and abstinence from meat and animal fats for much of the year. Coastal areas had access to fresh fish, but this did not reach inland areas, except among elites. Bacalhau (80% protein) was one option to enrich the extremely poor diet of the people, and maybe this is the origin of its popularity. Since the beginning of the 19th century, bacalhau, with potatoes and cabbage, has been the central element in the traditional Portuguese Christmas dinner. The origins for this are again religious. Christmas Eve was a time of abstinence, and therefore the consumption of fish was required.
Onions, garlic, olive oil and potatoes are the main ingredients associated with bacalhau, which is used “from nose to tail”. The Portuguese say that they know 1000 ways of cooking bacalhau; this saying first appeared in a flyer from the late 18th century. Early in this same century, recipes with bacalhau started appearing in Portuguese cookbooks. Over time they assumed an increasing presence and some cookbooks are exclusively dedicated to bacalhau.
The first known representation of a bacalhau appears in a painting by a Portuguese woman, Josefa de Óbidos, in the second half of the 17th century.
Due to religious, economic and political factors, combined with a long socialization and incorporation, bacalhau is nowadays consumed all over Portugal, by all social groups, and also in some of the Portuguese speaking countries. Portuguese fisherman started catching cod in the North Atlantic in the 15th century, but nowadays Portugal imports from Norway and Iceland more than 96% of the cod consumed, having however the largest facilities in the world for salted cod fish production.
No other food is in the same way part of the culture of the Portuguese, and bacalhau is associated with some families’ surname, street names, popular cultural manifestations and many popular sayings, and colloquially a handshake is even referred to as a bacalhau.
@Dear Dr. Paulina,
Very elaborate "bacalhau" story.
'1000 ways to cook bacalhau' the boasting statement by Portuguese people is interesting.
Bacalhau as a single food commodity, truly represent Portugal as can be seen from your vivid description and it is very difficult to find another such example (a country representing and associated with single food stuff as far as the diet, culture and the way of living across all economic strata of the community of the entire nation is concerned).
Regards,
Bulgaria is famous for its fermented milk (e.g. feta cheese, kashkaval, yogourt, brynza, butter) and meat products (e.g. cold fermented salami-type meats with paprika, or black pepper and cumin).
Lutenitza, overwhelmingly a sweet red pepper-based vegetable spread is a must in the cold months. It serves as an intestinal cleaner.
Our pickles are also excellent (e.g. pickled BBQ'ed red peppers, gherkins, sauerkraut).
The rest of our cuisine, especially in my family, is primarily veggie-, pulse- and grain-based (minus meats BBQ'ed overnight on big celebrations).
Due to our proximity to Greece with which we share some common history, we also consume a lot of olive oil and olives.
From Jewish settlers, coming to us through Greece, we have developed a taste for Easter bread (the equivalent of challah bread), gevretsi (a type of large bagel), pastrami-like meats, and dates.
Courtesy of Persia, we have rosa damascena, which grows very well in our climate. It serves us different purposes - from food ingredient to perfume.
Sea fish-wise we are poor, but have sweet, cold mountain water trout (like Germany does).
In terms of drinks, we are a big exporter of red wine (although, personally, I do not partake). :)
@Dear Dr. Valeria,
You have mentioned about various fermented dairy products, pickles, 'lutenitza', rosa damascena, olives and olive oil, speciality breads, water trout and the excellent quality red wine for which your country Bulgaria is known for.
Excellent post but I am surprised to know that you are not able to enjoy your own Bulgarian speciality of red wine.
Regards,
Arun Padhye ,
Something more, I am coming from a long line of wine makers from my mother's side. Yet...
Wine acidifies the body, gives one indigestion and frightful headaches, introduces yeast bacteria in the gut (more so then beer, if I am not mistaken).
I am also considering hydration and the health of my brain tissue. ;)
Cameroon, my country has a diverse cuisine practice that can be partition into four grand groups.
I. The grand North, where meat, porridge realized from cereals (maize, rice, sorghum and millet), roots and tubers (Cassava, yam and taro) flours are consumed with sauces, constituted of green leafy vegetables
II. The West (West and North West) where porridge from maize is consumed with green vegetables in which meat or chicken (poultry) is the main source of protein and Taro (pounded to "Achu") is consumed with "yellow soup" in which is found well-cooked cow skin.
III. The coastal area bordering the sea (Littoral and South West region) where palm oil, yam cassava, fish and the bush leafy vegetables Gnetum and Irvingia gabonensis are highly consumed,
IV. The grand south (Center, east and south regions) where, cassava, plantain, cassava leaves known as "Nkwem" with bush meat, groundnut are consumed excessively.
In Russia, everything is simple - we eat a lot of bread. There is even a joke that we can eat bread with bread. But our bread is quite different from European - a significant share is the so-called "black bread" (rye). In addition, in Russia we eat a lot of soups - lunch without soup is not considered as full. When I was in the USA, I noticed that we eating quite a lot of fish (river and lake, not just sea). When my colleagues and I came to the grocery store, the saleswoman everytime ran to the fish department (usually empty) with a cry: "Fish-eaters have come!".
For me personally, it was a shock that dill, which we consider one of the main table herbs, is not liked in Italy ...
@Dear Dr. Barbara,
You have provided a spice/herbs wise break up in Poland.
I suppose there is a commonality of this break up in many countries of the world.
Little differences found could be attributed to various reasons for example:
1) easy availability of a particular spice product in a specific country.
2) cost of a particular spice may play a major role. You can take example of the costliest spice viz. Saffron. It's main use and application is restricted to their country of production. Spain, Iran and Kashmir from India are major producers and hence it is widely used in those countries.
3) individual liking for a particular spice/herbs in a particular section of population, in a particular country. For example, use of curry leaves, fresh coriander leaves and not the related herb such as parsley is very much popular through out India.
lndia being a large country having diverse geographic variation across the country and also having wide cultural/food practices followed by different sections of population, the use of particular spice such as black pepper is more in certain parts (southern states such as Tamilnadu, Karnataka and Kerala) of south India as compared to North Indian states.
Further, nutmeg and related spice mace find more application in sweet food products in addition to saffron and cardamom in particular.
In fact I was bit surprised to see that you haven't made any mention of "cardamom" in Polish cuisine.
In India we consider cardamom as very important and valuable spice.
In fact there are two types a "large cardamom" and a "small cardamom" which originates from two different plants. The large one is used in savory flavoured foods (such as biryani) and small finds application in sweetmeats and all types of sweet food products.
In fact in India there are total of 52 spice and herb products which come under the purview of "Spices Board of India" an autonomous body of Central Government to look after the export and popularization of Spices in the country.
lndia has been a pioneer and even leading producer of certain spices and main exporter of spices, herbs, oleoresins and other spice products such as condiments to many countries across the world.
Regards,
@Dear Prof. Sylvius,
Thank you for this question and day by day it is becoming more interesting as more researchers are contributing with their country specific food specialities.
The details from Cameroon by Erasmus N. Tang and those from Russia by Vadim S. Gorshkov are quite interesting.
Regards,
Vadim S. Gorshkov ,
You are too modest. Russia has given to Asia through the pelmeni - the dumplings/ gyoza, through pirozhki - the meat pies.
What about reindeer meat? Or grains?
Italians prefer fennel to dill. It tastes something in between dill, lemon and black pepper. Very refreshing taste.
Arun Padhye ,
Cardamom is used in Denmark, Sweden and Finland to make cardamom buns (an accompaniment to coffee). Delicious stuff. :)
You forgot to mention what traditional fermented milk products do people in India prepare from buffalo milk.
Valeria Tananska
I did not want to write about pelmeni (it is sacred, like olivier (also known as Russian Salad - insalata russa) )... As with any beautiful thing, there are too many contenders for these. Khinkali (ხინკალი), Manti (مانتي), buuz, posy, baozi (包子), even ravioli (I'm not talking about vareniki - this topic is generally forbidden). All lovers of these dishes (certainly delicious and worthy, but ... others) are trying to prove that pelmeni are secondary, that this is a simplified version of their favorites. Paying tribute to their patriotism, I strongly disagree. Pelmeni has Finno-Ugric origin and borrowed by Russians from the Udmurts and Komi. The only ones I would like to listen to are Hungarians, but I did not come across any analogues in their cookery.
Even in Russia there are three versions (Siberian, Ural and Moscow). Nothing to say about the last - burdock and garbage. I belong to the sect of "witnesses of the Ural pelmeni" (my grandmother was from Usolye (north of Perm region), where these are found). And in the family, it is I who owns the secret of making real Ural pelmeni. I'm going to arrange a master class for my children ...
I haven’t written about our pies yet ...
But I can’t write it anymore - I need to eat something!
@Dear Dr. Djffar Zemali,
Just now I searched for 'couscous' on Google.
It is a typical north African, Morrocan in particular food preparation based on 'sujji', a coarser milled product from hard wheat.
But then in India also we prepare almost identical product though not same.
It is prepared as both sweet preparations and savoury. The latter version is most popular and is called as 'Upama'/'Tikhat Sanja' and is an important breakfast food preparations like 'Pohe' the other equally popular breakfast food item in India which is prepared from pounded rice.
Both 'Pohe' and 'Upama' are added with spices such as onions, turmeric, curry leaves, fresh coriander and cooked with oil. Depending on the region the type of oil used could vary and typically include following: peanut oil, sunflower oil, mustard oil, safflower oil, soybean oil and sometimes even palm oil.
The sweet version is variouly termed as 'Sheera'/'Sanja'/'Halwa'/'Rawa' and the oil is replaced with pure ghee (a dairy fat) or even hydrogenated vegetable oil (fat) in it's preparation. Sweetening agent of choice is generally cane sugar or even jaggery. Cardamom is the spice used and very rarely Saffron also. Many a times fruit such as banana or pineapple is also added to make it more palatable and nutritious.
Regards,
@Dear Dr. Valeria,
You mentioned about the Indian fermented dairy products.
Well there is a range of it and the quality of it you get, greatly differs depending on whether it is a buffalo milk or cow milk.
These are mainly two types of milk that are consumed in India. Apart from this few communities particularly the herdsmen who keep sheeps and goats also consume goat milk which is supposed to be more nutritious with great medicinal values associated with it.
I will write more details on fermented dairy products from India in my next post to avoid posting a lengthy one at one stretch.
Regards,
Indian food, with its hodgepodge of ingredients and intoxicating aromas, is coveted around the world. The labor-intensive cuisine and its mix of spices is more often than not a revelation for those who sit down to eat it for the first time. Heavy doses of cardamom, cayenne, tamarind, and other flavors can overwhelm an unfamiliar palate. Together, they help form the pillars of what tastes so good to so many people.
The list of Indian foods is too many. Let us show you one by one by photos.
Dear All,
@ Dr. Valeria,
The basic difference between buffalo milk and cow milk is the fat content. Much higher to the extent of 6 to 7 percent in buffalo milk and almost half of it and ranging anywhere from 3 to 3.5 percent in cow milk.
Another difference is the carotenoide content in cow milk which provides yellow coloration to all products processed from cow milk including buttermilk, curds, butter and ghee(a dairy fat). Ghee from cow milk has very attractive yellow coloration as compared to similar product from buffalo milk as the carotenoides get more concentrated in fat due to their more solubility in fat phase.
As a whitener of choice for tea/ coffee, Indians always prefer buffalo milk and sole reason for it, is the richness and creamy nature of milk which augments the palatability of the hot/cold beverages such as tea/coffee/cocoa.
Another probable reason could be an unacceptable flavor which is sometimes associated with cow milk.
The goat milk is also having more pronounced flavor which originates from variety of grasses, weeds that these cattle and herds consume.
In rainy season these flavours or rather off flavors are on the higher side when these animals graze in the open grounds and especially in the hilly turrains(in case of goats and sheeps).
However my personal opinion is this that cow milk provides best quality buttermilk when compared to buffalo milk despite the higher fat content in the latter. Probably the composition of cow milk better suits as a fermentation medium for the mixed lactic acid bacterial (LAB) culture that we use in India for curds making by transferring a small aliquot of curds from previous batch to warm milk so as to get a fresh batch of curds after 6 to 7 hours of incubation at ambient temperature.
Coming back to your original query on fermented dairy products the main preparations are:
1) curds/yoghurts and 2) buttermilk.
When fresh, there is little of lactic acid formed in these products. Also the acetyl content is in higher amount to make these products more tasty, palatable.
In certain places people go for more acidic buttermilk as they have natural taste and liking for it.
They may store it in open (at ambient temperature and not in refrigerator) even for 3 to 4 days before highly acidic product is consumed by adding salt and sometimes with a mixture of spices added to it. (the spice mixture in powder form typically includes coriander seeds, cumin, black pepper, asafotida and rock salt along with fresh herbs such as coriander, ginger, curry leaves and green chillies. Sugar is also added to balance the taste and flavor. Occasionally mint leaves could also be added. When the product is served as cold beverage it is called 'Mattha'). The Hindi word for plain buttermilk is 'Chhas'. The thick sweetened preparation with lot of sugar added to curds and churned properly is very popular through out India but more so in Punjab and other Northern states of India. It is known as 'Lassi'.
When it is used as hot soup like preparation called 'Kadhi', a thickening agent/stabiliser such as gram floor is added to prevent separation of whey and curd portion of the buttermilk.
Turmeric powder is also added which contributes both to color and flavor and additionally few spices such as cassia or cinnamon, cloves are also added.
By churning process when curds are converted into buttermilk the fat portion gets separated in the form of butter. Butter is further processed in to ghee (a dairy fat) a specialised and typical Indian product which is the last product in the flowsheet diagram of milk processing.
The quality of Indian butter is similar to Italian butter which I have tested it at Stresa islands, Itali and also at very famous Kardini restaurant in the same locality. However I don't know the exact way the Italians process their butter.
Regards,
I did not mention the culture of tea drinking in Russia (a lot has been written about this). It is significantly different from the British and especially the original Chinese or Japanese (when traveling, especially in Europe, we always take tea from home, since in many countries it is impossible to find normal tea). This is reflected in many pictures, stories, songs. I will give only two famous paintings that I really like (Konstantin Korovin and Boris Kustodiev).
Cooked meat floated with broth with bread and rice , is the traditional meal in rural areas in Iraq.
@Dear Vadim Gorshkov,
Excellent paintings indeed.
I agree with you in toto about what you have said about tea.
I would further say that same also holds good for coffee also.
I am talking about filter coffee and not instant coffee marketed by MNCs such as Nestle, Brookbond or similar.
For me the word coffee is synonymsous to filtered coffee and that too obtained from a proper blend of properly roasted combination of 'Robusta' and 'Arabica'.
Instant coffee is far inferior product in terms of aroma, flavour, color and other coffee brue attributes including the body. (This is irrespective of whether chicory is added to coffee or not).
Whether it is tea or coffee it is the decoction quality that plays very important role.
Best quality tea generally depends upon the proper blending of 20 to 30 different types of tea leaves. Again when the unspecified word tea is uttered it refers to 'black tea' and not any other varieties such as green tea or oolong tea (generally CTC processed product is considered best provided the the tea leaves used in processing contains higher proportion of tips( bud and two leaves) which provides maximum flavour, colour, extractives including polyphenols and other soluble constituents of tea plant).
Tea decoction can be prepared in open vessel while same is not true in case of coffee. For best quality brue you have to go for a specially designed coffee decoction pot where coffee powder is sort of steam distilled to get maximum flavourful extract with minimum bitterness as well as caffeine getting extracted into the decoction.
In addition to this the amount of sugar added, whitener such as milk added also play important role in getting best cup of final beverage.
Regards,
@Dear Dr. Azzawi,
Is "Named Habeet" the name of the food preparations shown in the image?
The bread as you have mentioned is like 'Roti' (Tandoor roti) we serve here in meals of both types vegetarian and non-vegetarian Indian diets.
Of course I am sustaining myself on vegetarian diet, so don't know much about meat, poultry and fish.(though I have studied these topics from technology and chemistry point of view in my graduation studies during 80s. Also have some processing experience from the commercial, export oriented units.
Regards,
Arun Padhye
The fact is that the Russian tea tradition is absolutely independent from others. In the 18th-19th centuries (from about 1730), only Russia and England received tea directly from China (there were no Indian or Ceylon tea in those days. I’ll tell you a secret that Indian tea is not considered to be any expert in Russia - with the exception of mountain Assamese and especially Darjeeling, which are not easy to find here). But Russia traded tea through the north of China (the border town of Kyakhta arose and grew on this trade), and England through the south. This is where the differences begin. The northern route, several thousand kilometers, was overcome on a sled in the winter (in summer the roads were generally impassable ...), i.e. in low humidity conditions. The British transpotated tea by sea, through the tropics, which adversely affected the quality of tea. Of course, we distinguished different types: from floral (flowery), etc., to a low-grade (pressed), which took root among nomadic peoples of Eurasia. In Russia, mainly consumed black, red, sometimes yellow tea, and green and “white” are already a modern vogue. Interestingly, high-quality varieties were selled by Chinese only as exchange of furs (and not for opium, as in the south ...). The original name of this drink (茶) entered the Russian language in the northern vowel - cha - chai, and not in the southern - te - tea. I will not say how the British brew it ...
Dear Vadim,
Nice information on tea trade of earlier time.
It is also true whether tea or coffee, their volatile flavor components are highly susceptible to loss at higher storage temperature. The problems were compounded in earlier days when poor quality packaging could be attributed to quality loss of processed tea when the packaging material was not impervious to moisture and other gaseous exchange.
Tea trade in India also was dependant on bulk packaging earlier. Now the situation is changed. At the tea plantation site itself individual packaging starting with as small size as 50g or even smaller to 1kg or bigger is carried out in multiply packaging pouches on continuous 'form, fill, seal' machines which are the primary packaging units (totally impervious to weather conditions from outside) which are further provided with secondary and tertiary level packaging and thereby ensuring that the consumer even from the remotest part of the country gets his tea without further handling by any one through out the supply chain including all modes of transportations involved.
Further there is a tremendous improvement in the supply chain, logistics and transportation these days as compared to 4 to 5 decades back. This has reduced the supply time which was of the order of months earlier to couple of days even for the smallest village across the country.
Regards,
The common food in my country are rice bread and yam. From these, different products are made.
One of the most characteristic dishes of Colombia are the ajiaco and the tray paisa ... however, there is a wide variety of preparations and dishes
With a lot of different cultures in Kenya, it's not easy to come up with one answer, it depends with the region one comes from.
Dear Dr. Fabian Andres Llano,
Thanks for your post. I explored it further with Google search and Wiki to know more about a unique food preparation 'ajiaco'.
I have also gone through a couple of videos describing it's preparation with details of receipe.
What I found interesting is 3 types of potatoes that goes in its preparation and also come across something new.
It is about the spice herb which is almost mandatory for the typical flavourful Colombian ajiaco which is a National dish for people of Colombia.
I will write in more detail about this spice herb in my own question (which was posted some time back on RG) on the spices and herbs.
Regards,
Dear Eugenia,
No issue.
You provide multiple answers trying to cover all regions one by one and enlighten us on food diversity and culture from Kenya.
Regards,
Dear Arun Padhye I send you a book where some preparations and recipes from the Cundiboyacense region appear.
Book Lo que no se narra se olvida
Dear Fabian,
Thanks a lot. I will go through this book little later.
I will definitely revert to you after that.
Regards,
That is an interesting question. Brazil is a continental sized country with diverse regional culinary traditions. Traditional foods vary depending on the region. We have more than 7000 kilometers of coastline and a vast internal territory. Therefore, I believe that it is possible to apply your question considering only the Brazilian territory.
I can highlight some traditional foods: in the Bahia State, we have Moqueca, cooked with palm oil, made with fish, shrimp, and even plantains. In the north, Pato no Tucupi stands out, which is a duck cooked with yellow juice extracted from the root of manioc. In the midwest, many things are cooked with Pequi, local fruit from the Brazilian Cerrado. In the south, we have the famous barbecue. These are just a few examples.
The list of traditional food in Brazil is endless.
@ Dear João Paulo Sena-Souza,
Same is true here.
In India we do have truly vast coastline.
The country measures 3,214 km from north to south and 2,933 from east to west. It has a land frontier of 15, 200 km and coastline of 7,516.6 km.
Obviously traditional foods vary depending on the region and emphasis is on rice and fish as a staple food for most of the population in all regions which are closer to the coastline. Generally parboiled rice is preferred though the population from main land may not have a particular liking for this type of rice though it is much more nutritious as compared to one which is not subjected to par-boiling treatment before paddy is converted in to rice.
But when it comes to traditional foods there is such a big list, even if you consider only one state such as Maharashtra and there are as many as 28 different states and 8 union territories in this vast country.
Regards,
Food is an intrinsic part of the culture in India. The food consumption varies with the seasons and there is focus on cooking and eating fresh. Frozen foods is not in the DNA of Indians. Cooking two-three times fresh meals is the norm. The cuisine is vast and specialties are prepared for festivals. The link of food with customs and traditions is strong.The geography, climate and belief influences choice of foods.
@Dear Prof. Timira,
Yes.
You have rightly pointed out.
We Indians, in general don't like much of processed foods may be tinned, frozen and even dehydrated. Focus is always on freshly cooked meals.
It is due to industrialization and when husband and wife, both are working in the nuclear family structure of the new Indian society, especially in the cities and metroes that people started taking instant foods and processed foods but that is not because out of liking and as a first choice but only because there is no other option that is left out to choose from.
Regards,
@Dear Aijaz Panhwar,
Biryani is quite popular in India also and the way it is cooked and garnished in Hyderabad is quite unique. It is also popular in certain parts of North Indian states.
Both versions veg and non-vegetarian particularly mutton biryani is quite popular.
Same is true with "karahi". In fact Karahi is a type of vessel and food preparations such as 'karahi chicken' or 'Karahi mutton' are very popular throughout India. Sometimes it is also prepared in earthen pot and it is known as "Handi" in that case and both veg and non-vegetarian versions are available. The vegetable preparation with added "paneer" (the Indian cottage cheese) along with mixed vegetables is quite popular in the form of handi.
Regards,
@Dear Dipak Khadka,
True.
With most Asian countries it is the case.
By the way which variety of paddy is generally grown over there in Nepal.
I suppose it is a bold rice variety and in 70s the bold rice that was distributed on PDS outlets in India was imported from Nepal if I remember it well.
Even I have encountered a similar variety called 'arose largo' in Spain. It is also used in paella a traditional Spanish dish.
Similarly the parboiled rice produced in India is also based on some bold type.
In fact, I found that all these varieties of bold rice are much more tasty as compared to thin and slender rice grain varieties such as 'Basmati' from Punjab or 'Jasmine' from Thailand or other fine, long varieties which are mostly preferred for making of Biryani and Chinese veg-fried rice.
Regards,
For Malaysian culture we prefer white rice. I am buddhist Malaysian.
Dear Arun Padhye
I see.
In this context, I believe white rice and beans together are the most representative food in Brazil, regardless of the region.
Regards,
@Dear Dr. Joao Paulo and Chuthamar Suwanmani,
True indeed.
White rice or plain rice as it is called here is the part of main course in Maharastrian diet also. The rice used and the preferred variety is generally a flavored type such as "Kolam", Basmati or Jasmine equivalent.
To start with any meals for Maharastrians (when it comes to true Marathi (food) culture having it's stronghold in Pune the second largest city of Maharashtra) the typical components are as follows.
Steam hot white rice along with cooked arhar dahl("Varan" is a specific term for the same which is also added with little turmeric for color and fragrance and sometimes a dash of asafoteda in order to enhance the flavor) is accompanied with fresh lemon(cut into pieces so that you can squeeze it on your rice and dahl combination before mixing it with hand and not fork and spoon etc.) and ghee (purified butter/dairy fat).
This would be accompanied by some(atleast two different types and one out of two could be green leafy vegetables such as amaranth, collocasia, spinach, fenugreek etc. the other could be cabbage, cauliflower or potato) vegetables, salad items (not plain salad but it is generally added with roasted groundnut powder and curds and sometimes the preparation is termed as "Raita" (the word is from Punjab) and may include finely chopped beetroot/cucumber, the later is most common. The preparation is added with fresh coriander, green chillies and is also variously termed as "Pachadi", "Koshimbeer" etc. and the very spicy preparation called "Chatani" which is prepared in various ways but chillies mainly fresh but sometimes red also is the main component along with fresh coriander, fresh grated coconut, curry leaves, and rock salt, asafoteda/fresh ginger/garlic etc. The acidulant of chatani could be fresh green mango, lemon/lime, tamarind, kokam fruit depending on the seasonal availability of it. Sugar is also added for flavour and balanced taste of this spicy/tasty preparation. The Maharashtrians would not prefer tomato sauce/ketchup and the freshly prepared "Chatani" is in fact one of the essential components of their diet.
Lastly curry is also one of the components in the Maharastrian a (typical Marathi food culture of Pune having it's origin from 'Peshvas' since last 3 centuries). Buttermilk is again an essential component of meals.
Some sweet preparation such as "Sheera/Halwa" or "Shreekhand" will be there to top it up.
So you will find this 'square meals' would provide every thing that is required for balanced diet and all nutritional requirement of body including protein, carbohydrate, fat, vitamines and minerals both macro and micro.
Regards,
Rice is our staple food and indeed it is our culture to make products like porridge of maize, buckwheat, wheat locally called as dhindo. Food choice is definitely affected by geography and it is related to tradition as well. Consumer attitude definitely varies with geography.
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