Frisian cuisine consists of the traditional recipes and cooking methods of the historic region of Frisia, which is in present-day Germany and the Netherlands. Frisian cuisine is diverse, drawing from both land and sea. Most dishes, excluding desserts, are made of fish or potatoes, though there are several dishes based on other ingredients. Especially in West Frisia, the food resembles that of the Dutch Cuisine, [1] though East Frisia and North Frisia present dishes that are very much unique to the region.
Snirtjebraten is a roasted pork shoulder or -neck, traditionally marinated with cloves, allspice, bay leaves and juniper berries. The dish regularly served with a gravy sauce and red cabbages. Snirtjebraten is a popular Frisian national dish. [2]
Updrögt bohnen (Frisian: "Dried beans") is an East Frisian stew made primarily out of dry beans that were cooked in salt water. Potatoes, pieces of bacon and mettwurst sausages are in the dish as well, and the stew is served with some more sausages. [3]
Labskaus is a dish common in North Frisia and Scandinavia. A portion of Labskaus is a purée composed of corned beef, mashed potatoes, beetroot and onions with gerkins, fried eggs, as well as herring as a garnish. For a long time, it was highly appreciated with seafarers because of its high nutrition. It has spread through all of Northern Europe. [4]
Essentially a specific way to prepare a plaice, Finkenwerder Speckscholle is a popular dish in North- and East Frisia. There are of course several recipes to prepare a Speckscholle, varying from one region to another. But the most popular one by far is the Finkenwerder recipe, named after the district Finkenwerder in Hamburg. The Finkenwerder recipe uses onions, crabs and a bacon sauce as a garnish. [5] Due to overfishing in the North Sea, many cooks have begun using other types of fish to prepare the Speckscholle. [5]
Snert is a West Frisian pea soup. It has a thick consistency and is mostly served with a Frisian type of bread and pork or bacon. It was spread throughout the whole world by the Dutch Navy and is today an established and popular dish of the Dutch Cuisine. [6]
The Ostfriesentorte (German: East Frisian's Cake) is a traditional East Frisian Cake, which can be baked in many colors. The cake can be found in many cafés in East- and North Frisia. It is extraordinarily big, as it can have very many layers. The cake is essentially made of alternating layers of whipped cream and raisins soaked in brandy. It is often decorated with more cream and chocolate shavings or sprinkles. [7]
An East Frisian Desert, Puffert un Peer are dumplings made of milk, yeast and sugar, which are mixed with butter and flour. The dumplings are steamed and traditionally served with diced and cooked pears and vanilla sauce. The dish is comparable to the Bavarian Dampfnudel. [5]
The Speckendicken is an East Frisian dish mostly consumed in the Christmas Season. It is a local take on pancakes in the region, and traditionally families make a lot of Speckendickens shortly before Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve. It is made with flour, milk, eggs, and butter along with salt and sugar. Some added cardamom, treacle and anise to create a unique flavour. Speckendickens are traditionally eaten with bacon or sausage. [8]
There is a very strong tea culture in West and East Frisia. Black tea is very popular, typically with a small amount of milk and some sugar in it. This tea culture goes back to the ages of the Dutch Empire, when the Netherlands were the country with the biggest spice trade and a very large tea import of primarily black tea (see: Dutch East India Company). [9] It is customary when drinking tea in East Frisia and Friesland to watch the white "Wulkje" (Low German: small cloud) caused by the cream in the tea, rather than stirring the tea with a spoon. [10]
A large part of the Frisian Cuisine goes back to the time when the Frisians were dependent on all their available resources, before the ascent of the Netherlands to a Colonial Power. These resources were mostly seafood, some plantable ingredients and a small amount of meat. It is the Colonial Import, which began in the 17th century, that led to the other parts of this cuisine, for example the tea culture [11] and the occasional use of spices. The recipes of the Frisian Cuisine have barely changed since then, but with the development of new kitchen utensils and the introduction of mass production, many of the old ways of preparing the food have been, as in every Cuisine that existed at the time, modernised. [12]
The cuisine of the American Midwest draws its culinary roots most significantly from the cuisines of Central, Northern and Eastern Europe, and Indigenous cuisine of the Americas, and is influenced by regionally and locally grown foodstuffs and cultural diversity.
Hungarian or Magyar cuisine is the cuisine characteristic of the nation of Hungary, and its primary ethnic group, the Magyars. Hungarian cuisine has been described as being the spiciest cuisine in Europe. This can largely be attributed to the use of their piquant native spice, Hungarian paprika, in many of their dishes. A mild version of the spice, Hungarian sweet paprika, is commonly used as an alternative. Traditional Hungarian dishes are primarily based on meats, seasonal vegetables, fruits, bread, and dairy products.
Polish cuisine is a style of food preparation originating in and widely popular in Poland. Due to Poland's history, Polish cuisine has evolved over the centuries to be very eclectic, and shares many similarities with other national cuisines. Polish cooking in other cultures is often referred to as à la polonaise.
Danish cuisine originated from the peasant population's own local produce and was enhanced by cooking techniques developed in the late 19th century and the wider availability of goods during and after the Industrial Revolution. Open sandwiches, known as smørrebrød, which in their basic form are the usual fare for lunch, can be considered a national speciality when prepared and garnished with a variety of ingredients. Hot meals are typically prepared with meat or fish. Substantial meat and fish dishes includes flæskesteg and kogt torsk with mustard sauce and trimmings. Ground meats became widespread during the industrial revolution and traditional dishes that are still popular include frikadeller, karbonader and medisterpølse. Denmark is known for its Carlsberg and Tuborg beers and for its akvavit and bitters, but amongst the Danes themselves imported wine has gained steadily in popularity since the 1960s.
Austrian cuisine consists of many different local or regional cuisines. In addition to Viennese cuisine, which is predominantly based on the cooking traditions of the Habsburg Empire, there are independent regional traditions in all the states of Austria.
Dutch cuisine is formed from the cooking traditions and practices of the Netherlands. The country's cuisine is shaped by its location on the fertile Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta at the North Sea, giving rise to fishing, farming, and overseas trade. Due to the availability of water and flat grassland, the Dutch diet contains many dairy products such as butter and cheese. The court of the Burgundian Netherlands enriched the cuisine of the elite in the Low Countries in the 15th and 16th century, so did in the 17th and 18th century colonial trade, when the Dutch ruled the spice trade, played a pivotal role in the global spread of coffee, and started the modern era of chocolate, by developing the Dutch process chocolate.
Ukrainian cuisine is the collection of the various cooking traditions of the people of Ukraine, one of the largest and most populous European countries. It is heavily influenced by the rich dark soil from which its ingredients come, and often involves many components. Traditional Ukrainian dishes often experience a complex heating process – "at first they are fried or boiled, and then stewed or baked. This is the most distinctive feature of Ukrainian cuisine".
Boxty is a traditional Irish potato pancake. The dish is mostly associated with the north midlands, north Connacht and southern Ulster, in particular the counties of Leitrim, Mayo, Sligo, Fermanagh, Longford, and Cavan. There are many recipes but all contain finely grated, raw potatoes and all are served fried.
South African cuisine reflects the diverse range of culinary traditions embodied by the various communities that inhabit the country. Among the indigenous peoples of South Africa, the Khoisan foraged over 300 species of edible food plants, such as the rooibos shrub legume, whose culinary value continues to exert a salient influence on South African cuisine. Subsequent encounters with Bantu pastoralists facilitated the emergence of cultivated crops and domestic cattle, which supplemented traditional Khoisan techniques of meat preservation. In addition, Bantu-speaking communities forged an extensive repertoire of culinary ingredients and dishes, many of which are still consumed today in traditional settlements and urban entrepôts alike.
Czech cuisine has both influenced and been influenced by the cuisines of surrounding countries and nations. Many of the cakes and pastries that are popular in Central Europe originated within the Czech lands. Contemporary Czech cuisine is more meat-based than in previous periods; the current abundance of farmable meat has enriched its presence in regional cuisine. Traditionally, meat has been reserved for once-weekly consumption, typically on weekends.
Lower Saxon cuisine covers a range of regional, North German culinary traditions from the region correspondingly broadly to the state of Lower Saxony, which in many cases are very similar to one another, for example cuisine from the areas of Oldenburg, Brunswick, or East Frisia.
Hessian cuisine is based on centuries-old recipes, and forms a major part of the Hesse identity. Reflecting Hesse's central location within Germany, Hessian cuisine fuses north German and south German cuisine, with heavy influence from Bavarian cuisine and Rhenish Hesse. Sour tastes dominate the cuisine, with wines and ciders, sauerkraut and handkäse with onions and vinegar popular.
The cuisine of Schleswig-Holstein forms part of the German cuisine in which the different influences of the regions Niedersachsen and Friesland and of Denmark are perceptible. The proximity to the sea and the harsh climate play a great role and determine which ingredients are available.
Due to its centuries-old history as a major port town the cuisine of Hamburg is very diversified and sapid as ingredients' supply was safe. Until the 20th century, the cuisine of Hamburg was predominantly characterized by the extensive choice of different kinds of fish from the river Elbe and the nearby Baltic Sea. The region of Vierlande supplied Hamburg with fresh vegetables. Fruit came from the area Altes Land and until industrialization the neighbourhood of Wilhelmsburg was considered the ‘milk isle’ of Hamburg. International trade in the Port of Hamburg made spices and exotic nutrition items from India and South America available since the 16th century, which were soon incorporated into civic kitchens. On this basis, the cuisine of Hamburg developed which regrettably lost some of its characteristics nowadays due to the supraregional harmonization of the North German cuisine. But due to its high economic importance, Hamburg does feature many internationally recognized gourmet restaurants from which 11 were repeatedly awarded with a Michelin star in 2010.
Swabian cuisine is native to Swabia, a region in southwestern Germany comprising great parts of Württemberg and the Bavarian part of Swabia. Swabian cuisine has a reputation for being rustic, but rich and hearty. Fresh egg pastas, soups, and sausages are among Swabia's best-known types of dishes, and Swabian cuisine tends to require broths or sauces; dishes are rarely "dry".
Pea soup or split pea soup is soup made typically from dried peas, such as the split pea. It is, with variations, a part of the cuisine of many cultures. It is most often greyish-green or yellow in color depending on the regional variety of peas used; all are cultivars of Pisum sativum.
Indo cuisine is a fusion cooking and cuisine tradition, mainly existing in Indonesia and the Netherlands, as well as Belgium, South Africa and Suriname. This cuisine characterized of fusion cuisine that consists of original Indonesian cuisine with Eurasian-influences—mainly Dutch, also Portuguese, Spanish, French and British—and vice versa. Nowaday, not only Indo people consume Indo cuisine, but also Indonesians and Dutch people.
Breakfast, the first meal of the day eaten after waking from the night's sleep, varies in composition and tradition across the world.