Traditional food and cuisine of Belarus

(/kwɪˈziːn/ национальная ку́хня)

According to Russian historian William Pochlyobkin, who wrote more then 50 books on history of culinary arts of different parts of Soviet Union, Belarusian cuisine came into existence only at the end of 19th century. Before 19th century there were a variety of cuisines and the difference was profound. Food of peasants, similar to other Slavic cuisines (such as Russian and Ukrainian) which roots went as far as 9th century had nothing in common with food of the ruling class which took after Polish and to some extent German cuisines. By the end of 19th century Belarusian cuisine was born by blending those two together.

Belarusians always were very serious about their eating habits and traditions. Younger children were not allowed to come to the table before adults. There was no conversation during meals: Belarusians even have a saying "When I eat, I am deaf and mute".

Soups play an important role in Belarusian cuisine. There are two types of soups: hot and cold. All soups have sour tastes and are often prepared with whey (сыворотка) as one of ingredients. Meat is very popular, especially pork and pork fat. Pork fat is cured (солится) and then eaten by thin slices with a piece of garlic. The second place in meat choice belongs to lamb and beef takes the third. Sausages are made from liver and blood. The most favorite poultry /ˈpəʊltrɪ/. (дома́шняя пти́ца) is goose which is prepared for the festive occasions. The most preferable method of cooking meat is braising (/breɪz/ туши́ть) in the oven with some (not much) spices for a long time, sometimes overnight. Spices in Belarusian cuisine are used sparingly (умеренно) and include marjoram (/ˈmɑːdʒərəm/ n. майора́н), garlic, and coriander.

The main ingredient of Belarusian food is definitely potatoes. Only Belarusian cooks know how to prepare dozens of dishes from potatoes and all those dishes have different taste and texture. Belarusian have three different ways of starting their potato dishes: grated (тёртый) raw potatoes with the juices, drained grated raw potatoes, and mashed boiled potatoes which are further used to prepare other dishes. The most well known potato dishes are: draniki, galki and gulbishnik.

Draniki are similar to latkes (potato pancakes). They are made from grated potatoes with the juices, flour, eggs, soda and salt. All ingredients are mixed together, pancakes are formed from the batter and then fried.

Galki remind what Ukrainian people call "pierogi" (dough /dəʊ/ те́сто ) filled with different fillings and then baked) but dough is made from grated potatoes which were drained, flour and salt. Besides, galki are boiled in water instead of being baked.

Gulbishnik is made from mashed potatoes which are mixed with hot milk and eggs and is baked in the oven.

Other vegetables used in cooking are cabbage, carrots, rutabaga (брюква), peas, and black radish. Wild mushrooms are added to many dishes for flavoring and taste.

Sweets are not very popular in Belarusian cuisine. Instead of cooked sweets Belarusians eat a lot of berries and fruit in their natural form, the only exception are baked apples. Belarusians also drink sweet juices from birch and maple trees. From those juices Belarusians make kvass which is juice which was allowed to ferment a little. Those juices and kvasses are national beverages (/ˈbevərɪdʒ/. напи́ток.) of Belarus.

Even now Belarusian cooks often use clay pots since they keep food warm longer and also provide unique cooking environment.

Date: 2015-01-29; view: 1713