El lenguaje crítico sobre la narración artística

The regional variations in central European and FSU cuisine are minor. The exceptions are the foods of the southern CIS nations, such as Armenia. (See “The Cooking of Armenia” in this chapter.) The temperate climate of the region and proximity to the Arabs, Turks, and Greeks have resulted in a cui- sine similar to Middle Eastern fare (see Chapter 13, “People of the Balkans and the Middle East”). Ingredients in traditional central European and FSU dishes were dictated by what could be grown in the cold, often damp climate. Common ingre- dients are potatoes, beans, cabbage and members of the cabbage family, beets, eggs, dairy products, pork, beef, fish and seafood from the Baltic Sea, freshwater fish from local lakes and rivers, apples, rye, wheat, and barley (see Table 7.1 for the cultural food groups). Foods were often dried, pickled, or fermented for preservation—for example, cucum- ber pickles, sour cream, and sauerkraut.

Bread is a staple item, and there are more than one hundred varieties of bread. Because the cli- mate in central Europe and FSU makes wheat harder to grow, bread is often made with rye and other grains; thus it is darker in color than bread made from wheat flour. Common types are whole wheat, cracked wheat, white, black, rye, pumper- nickel, caraway, egg, and potato. Cornmeal breads are found in more southern nations such as Romania. Soft pretzels are a favorite in Germany and in Switzerland; they are sometimes sliced to make sandwiches. Noodles and dumplings abound and are often served as side dishes. Boiled dumplings (called knedliky in Czech, Knödel in German, and kletski in Russian), can be made with flour or potatoes and with or without yeast. Spätzle are tiny dumplings common in southern Germany. They are made by forcing the dough through a large spoon with small holes into the hot water. Stuffed dumplings, filled with meat, liver, bacon, potatoes, or fruit, are called Maultaschen (German), pierogi (Polish), pelmeni (Russian), or varenyky (Ukrainian). Related to the filled dumpling is stuffed pastry dough, which is baked or fried. It is customarily filled with meat or cabbage. Small individual pastries are called pirozhki in Russian, and a large oval pie is known as a pirog (also called a kulebi). One elaborate version, kulebiaka, usually includes a whole fish,

such as salmon, with mushroom and rice filling. In Lithuania, lamb-stuffed pockets served with sour cream are called kulduny. A specialty product of Russia is buckwheat (an Asian grain), which has a very distinctive, nutty flavor, especially when it is toasted. The groats (hulled and crushed grains) are prepared in ways similar to rice, especially as side dishes and stuffings.66_{Buckwheat meal is used}

to make baked goods.

Next to bread, meat is the most important ele- ment of the diet. Pork is the most popular. Schnitzel is a meat cutlet, often lightly breaded and then fried. Ham is served fresh or cured. Poland is famous for its smoked ham, and in Germany, Westphalian ham is lightly smoked, cured, and cut into paper-thin slices. Beef is also common. In Germany, Sauerbraten, a marinated beef roast, is the national dish. It is also rolled around vari- ous fillings, such as bacon, onions, and pickles, to make Rouladen. Veal is especially popular in Lithuania. Poultry is well liked. Germans often eat roast goose stuffed with onions, apples, and herbs on holidays. In Russia, chicken is stewed on special occasions, and breaded chicken cutlets called kotlety are common. A famous Russian dish is chicken Kiev—breaded, fried chicken breasts filled with herbed butter. Game meats are a favorite in many areas, especially deer, wild boar, and rabbit. A well-known German dish is Hasenpfeffer—hare cooked in red wine with black pepper. In Poland, bigos (“hunter’s stew”), made of venison, hare, and vegetables (some form of cabbage is always added), is traditional. Geese and duck are widely eaten, also.

In the past, meat was often scarce and expen- sive; thus many traditional recipes stretched it as far as possible. Dishes common throughout the region consist of seasoned ground meat mixed with a binder such as bread crumbs, milk, or eggs, then formed into patties and fried. In Germany, ground beef (and sometimes pork or veal) is served raw on toast as steak tartare. Ground meat is also used to stuff vegetables (such as stuffed cabbage) or pastry, or is cooked as meatballs, such as Königsberger Klopse topped with capers and a white sauce. Cut-up meat is often served in soups, stews, or one-pot dishes. In Germany a slowly simmered one-pot dish of meat, vegetables, pota- toes, or dumplings is called Eintopf. Hungary is known for its gulyás, a paprika-spiced stew known as goulash in the United States. Sweet Hungarian paprika is ground, dried, red chile peppers to 182 CENTRAL EUROPEANS, PEOPLE OF THE FORMER SOVIET UNION, AND SCANDINAVIANS

Frankfurter means a sausage from the German city of Frankfurt; Weiner means one from Vienna. In the United States the name “hot dog”became popular in the late 1800s because of the sausage’s resemblance to a dachshund; stories about a cartoonist invent- ing the nickname are myth.

Chapter 7: Central Europeans, People of the Former Soviet Union, and Scandinavians 183

Table 7.1 Cultural Food Groups: Central European and Russian/FSU

Group Protein Foods Milk/milk products Meat/poultry/fish/ eggs/legumes Cereals/Grains Fruits/Vegetables Additional Foods Seasonings Nuts/seeds Beverages Fats/oils Sweeteners Comments

Dairy items, fresh or fermented, are fre- quently consumed.

Whipped cream is popular in some areas; sour cream popular in other regions. Meats are often extended by grinding and

stewing.

Russians tend to eat their meat very well done.

Bread or rolls are commonly served at all meals. Dumplings and kasha are also common.

Numerous cakes, cookies, and pastries are popular.

Rye flour is commonly used.

Potatoes are used extensively, as are all the cold-weather vegetables.

Cabbage is fermented to make sauerkraut.

Fruits and vegetables are often preserved by canning, drying, or pickling.

Fruit is often added to meat dishes.

Central Europeans tend to season their dishes with sour-tasting flavors, such as sour cream and vinegar.

Poppy seeds are often used in pastries; caraway seeds flavor cabbage and bread. Central Europeans drink coffee; Russians

drink tea.

Many varieties of beer are produced. Hungarians and Austrians tend to drink more

wine than other central European people.

Common Foods

Milk (cow, sheep) fresh and fermented (buttermilk, sour cream, yogurt), cheese, cream

Meat: beef, boar, hare, lamb, pork (bacon, ham, pig’s feet, head cheese), sausage, variety meats, veal, venison

Fish: carp, flounder, frog, haddock, halibut, herring, mackerel, perch, pike, salmon, sardines, shad, shark, smelts, sturgeon, trout

Shellfish: crab, crawfish, eel, lobster, oysters, scallops, shrimp, turtle

Poultry and small birds: chicken, Cornish hen, duck, goose, grouse, partridge, pheasant, quail, squab, turkey

Eggs: hens, fish (caviar)

Legumes: kidney beans, lentils, navy beans, split peas (green and yellow)

Barley, buckwheat, corn, millet, oats, potato starch, rice, rye, wheat

Fruits: apples, apricots, blackberries, blueberries, sour cherries, sweet cherries, cranberries, currants, dates, gooseberries, grapefruit, grapes, lemons, lingonber- ries, melons, oranges, peaches, pears, plums, prunes, quinces, raisins, raspberries, rhubarb, strawberries Vegetables: asparagus, beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts,

cabbage (red and green), carrots, cauliflower, celery, celery root, chard, cucumbers, eggplant, endive, green beans, kohlrabi, leeks, lettuce, mush- rooms (domestic and wild), olives, onions, parsnips, peas, green peppers, potatoes, radishes, sorrel, spinach, tomatoes, turnips

Allspice, anise, basil, bay leaves, borage, capers, car- away, cardamom, chervil, chives, cinnamon, cloves, curry powder, dill, garlic, ginger, horserad- ish, juniper, lemon, lovage, mace, marjoram, mint, mustard, paprika, parsley, pepper (black and white), poppy seeds, rosemary, rose water, saffron, sage, savory (summer and winter), tarragon, thyme, vanilla, vinegar, woodruff

Nuts: almonds (sweet and bitter), chestnuts, filberts, pecans, walnuts

Seeds: poppy seeds, sunflower seeds

Beer, hot chocolate, coffee, syrups and juices, fruit brandies, herbal teas, milk, tea, kvass, vodka, wine

Butter, bacon, chicken fat, flaxseed oil, goose fat, lard, olive oil, salt pork, suet, vegetable oil Honey, sugar (white and brown), molasses

Adaptations in the United States Milk products are still frequently consumed

or increased.

Consumption of meat and poultry has increased; use of variety meats has decreased. Sausages and other processed meats are often

eaten.

More white bread, less rye and pumpernickel bread are eaten.

Breakfast cereals well accepted.

Tropical fruits may be eaten.

Greater variety of vegetables consumed; salads popular.

Saffron is a popular spice in Pennsylvania Dutch fare.

Soft drinks common.

Commercial salad dressings, non-dairy creamers added to diet.

which sugar has been added. As chile peppers are a New World food, it is thought the Hungarians used black pepper to season their food before the discovery of the Americas.

Ground meats are also made into sausages. In Germany there are four basic categories of sausage (Wurst). Rohwurst, similar to American-style liver- wurst, is cured and smoked by the butcher and can be eaten as is. Examples include Teewurst, a raw, spiced pork sausage that is spreadable like pâté, and Mettwurst, a mild, sliceable pork sausage. Bruhwurst (the frankfurter or Wienerwurst is one type) is smoked and scalded by the butcher; it may be eaten as is or heated by simmering. Kockwurst, which is like a cold cut, may be smoked and is fully cooked by the butcher. Leberwurst (liverwurst), Blutwurst (blood sausage), and Süize (head cheese) are examples. Bratwurst, similar to sausage links, is sold raw by the butcher and must be panfried or grilled before eating. The Polish are famous for kielbasa, a garlic-flavored pork sausage. In Austria some sausages are called Wieners. Two popular sausages with both the Czechs and Slovaks are jaternice, made from pork, and jelita, a blood sausage, which can be boiled or fried.

Fresh- and saltwater fish and seafood are often eaten fresh, smoked, or cured. Trout, carp, and eel are popular throughout much of the region. In Germany herring is commonly pickled and eaten as a snack or at the main meal, sometimes as Rollmops, wrapped around a bit of pickle or onion. In Russia smoked salmon and sturgeon are con- sidered delicacies, as is caviar, which is roe from sturgeon. Caviar is classified according to its quality and source. Beluga, the choicest caviar, is taken from the largest fish and has the largest eggs; its color varies from black to gray. Sevruga and osetra, taken from smaller sturgeon, have smaller eggs and are sometimes a lighter color. Sterlet, or impe- rial caviar, is from a rare sturgeon with golden roe. The finest caviar is sieved by hand to remove membranes and is lightly salted. Less choice roes are more heavily salted and pressed into bricks. Though some fish is consumed in Poland, it is not a popular food, and is in some cases associated with shortages endured during Soviet rule.31

Dairy products are eaten daily. Cheeses may be served at any meal, from the fresh, sweet varieties, such as Lithuanian farmer’s cheese, to the strongly flavored aged types like German Limburger. Fresh milk is drunk; butter is the preferred cooking fat. Buttermilk (a thick type called kefir is popular in

southern areas of the FSU), sour cream, and fresh cream are also common ingredients in sauces, soups, stews, and baked products. In Austria and Germany, whipped cream is part of the daily diet, served with coffee or pastries.19

Traditionally, cold weather fruits and vegeta- bles added variety to the diet. Red and green cab- bage is ubiquitous—found fried, boiled, fermented as sauerkraut, and added to stuffings, soups, and stews. Potatoes are equally popular. They are most often boiled, or roasted and sliced. One German specialty found in the northern area of the country is called Himmel und Erde (“heaven and earth”), a boiled dish of potatoes and sliced apples topped with fried bacon and onions. Other root crops such as beets and kohlrabi accompany many meals. Cucumbers are frequently pickled or served dressed with vinegar for a salad. Onions and mush- rooms flavor numerous dishes. Wild mushrooms are so popular in Poland that they are often used as a meat substitute on religious fast days.66_Temperate

vegetables, including tomatoes and eggplant, are found in the more southern nations of the FSU, and are now widely available throughout the region. Cauliflower and tomatoes are the favorite vegetables in Germany today.21_{Common fruits}

include apples, cherries, plums, and berries, though imported bananas are a favorite in Russia.15

In much of central Europe sweets are enjoyed daily. They are eaten at coffeehouses in the morn- ing or afternoon, or bought at the local bakery and served as dessert. There are numerous types, such as cheesecakes, coffee cakes, doughnuts, and nut- or fruit-filled individual pastries. Apple, cherry, raspberry, chocolate, almond, and poppyseed are favorite flavors. Austria is reputed to be the home of apple strudel, made from paper-thin sheets of dough rolled around cinnamon-spiced apple pieces. They are also known for Sachertorte, a chocolate sponge cake with apricot or cream filling. Germany is famous for Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte (Black Forest cake), a rich chocolate cake layered with cher- ries, whipped cream, and Kirsch (cherry liqueur). “Branch” cake, gale˛ziak, which looks similar to a gnarled log, is a popular pastry from Lithuania that is also found in Poland, where is it is known as se˛kacz or “pyramid” cake. Dobosch torte, a multi- layered sponge cake with chocolate filling and caramel topping, is a favorite in Hungary. Though fresh fruits are eaten infrequently, cooked fruits, such as the berry pudding called kisel in Russia, are common desserts throughout the region. 184 CENTRAL EUROPEANS, PEOPLE OF THE FORMER SOVIET UNION, AND SCANDINAVIANS

After diners eat smoked eel on pumpernickel bread in some restaurants of north- ern Germany, the waiter pours inexpensive Schnapps over their hands to rid them of a fishy odor.

The national dish of Switzerland is cheese fondue (chunks of bread dipped into melted cheese). The Swiss are known for their zesty cheeses with holes, such as Emmenthal (the original Swiss cheese) and Gruyère.

Green vegetables as a group are called wloszczyzna in Polish, meaning “Italian commodities,”since so many were originally imported from the southern nation.8

Sachertorte was the subject of a famous Viennese court battle regarding who had the rights to claim the orig- inal recipe—it was known as the “Sweet Seven Years War”due to the length of the case.63

In central Europe the most common hot bev- erage is coffee. In Russia, strong tea diluted with hot water from a samovar is consumed instead. A samovar is a brass urn, which may be very ornate, heated by charcoal inserted in a vertical tube running through the urn’s center. Although southwestern Germany, Austria, and Hungary produce excellent white wine, the most popular alcoholic drink in the region is beer. The Czechs are known for pilsner beer, which is bitter tasting but light in color and body. German beers can be sweet, bitter, weak, or strong and are typically bottom-fermented (meaning the yeast sinks during brewing). Lager, a bottom-fermented beer that is aged for about six weeks, is the most common type. Bock beer is the strongest flavored, has a higher than average alcohol content, and is sometimes called “liquid bread.” Märzenbier, a beer midway between a pilsner and a bock beer, is served at Oktoberfest (see section on “Special Occasions”) in Munich. Weissbier is a light, top-fermented beer brewed from wheat, and often mixed with a

lemon or raspberry fruit syrup for a refreshing summer beverage. In Russia and other FSU nations a sour beer fermented from rye bread or beets, called kvass, is popular. It is slightly sweet and fizzy and sometimes flavored with black cur- rant leaves, caraway, mint, or lemon. Mead, a beer- like product fermented from honey, is a Polish specialty. Schnapps, a fruit brandy made from fermented fruit, such as cherries, is popular in Germany. Vodka, which is commonly drunk in Poland and Russia, is a distilled spirit made from potatoes. It is served ice cold and often flavored with seasonings, such as lemon or black pepper. In Poland the vodka goldwasser contains flakes of pure gold.

Meal Composition and Cycle

Daily Patterns

Central Europe. In the past, people of this

region ate five or six large meals a day, if they could afford it. The poor, and usually the people who worked the land, had fewer meals, which were

Chapter 7: Central Europeans, People of the Former Soviet Union, and Scandinavians 185