Alternative names | Kisel, kiisseli (Finnish) Kisiel (pl. kisiele) (Polish) |
---|---|
Type | jelly |
Course | dessert or drink |
Region or state | Central and Eastern Europe, Russia and Finland |
Main ingredients | 1) fruit juice (or puree) or milk thickened with cornstarch or potato starch; 2) grain or oat flakes |
Kissel or kisel [a] is a simple dish with the consistency of a thick gel, and made of sweet fruit, berry, grains (oatmeal, rye, wheat), peas, or from milk. [1] It belongs to the group of cold-solidified desserts, [2] although it can be served warm.
"Kissel" is derived from a Slavic word meaning 'sour', after a similar old Slavic dish—a leavened flour porridge (or weak sourdough) which was made from grain, most commonly oats, but any grain, including legumes like peas or lentils could be used. Bean kissels were typically not leavened, and lacked the sweetness of the modern variants.[ citation needed ]
Grain-based kissels were known 9000 years ago in ancient Anatolia and Mesopotamia, they are mentioned in Sumerian and Akkadian texts. [1] In ancient times, oatmeal kissel was prepared by fermentation of oat milk. [1]
In Russia, oatmeal, rye or wheat kissel was an everyday dish, but also a ritual one, eaten at funeral feasts. [1] Hot oatmeal kissel was usually eaten with linseed or hemp oil. [1] When cooled and solidified, it was cut and served with milk, jam or with fried onions. [1]
Oat-based kissel soup is one of the characteristic national dishes of Poland (żurek) and Belarus. [1]
In old Polish cuisine, the name kisiel or kisielica was used for thick soups (slush, Polish : breja, plural breje) made of fish gelatin. [3] In French cuisine there was a similar dish known, called gelée – a berry-fruit jelly-kissel made with addition of gelatin based on fish waste. [1] Contemporary fruit kissels are solidified with starch and the preparation prosess doesn't require fermentation, therefore they are easier to make. [1] In the former Russian Empire, fruit kissels appeared in late 19th [1] century or at the beginning of 20th, when affordable potato starch became easily available. [4] In Western European languages, fruit and berry sweet kissels based on starch do not have a common name and are attributed to "fruit cereals", "gravy", "sautés", "fruit sauces" etc. [1]
Among other dishes closely related to starch-solidified kissels are: rice pudding, flummery (British cuisine), Haferschleim (German), Lokum (Turkish), polenta (Italian) or mamalyga (Eastern-Roman). [1]
Fruit kissel is a viscous dish, popular as a dessert and as a drink in Northern, Central, and Eastern Europe. [5] [6] It consists of the sweetened juice (or puree [7] ) of berries. Sometimes red wine, fresh, or dried fruits are added as well. [6] It is similar to mors, but usually thickened with cornstarch or potato starch; arrowroot [8] may be used as a substitute as well. The thickness varies depending on how much starch is used and on temperature. Thin kissel is most easily consumed by drinking, while thicker versions are almost like jelly and eaten with a spoon. Kissel can be served either hot or cold. Can be paired with sweetened quark or cream, can also be served on pancakes or with ice cream.
It is similar to the Danish rødgrød and German Rote Grütze . [5] Swedish blåbärssoppa is a similarly prepared bilberry dessert.
Today, most Polish households prepare fruit kissel from instant mixes instead of the traditional way. The most popular flavours are strawberry, gooseberry, and raspberry [ citation needed ]. In Russia, the most popular flavours are cranberry, cherry, and redcurrant [ citation needed ].
In Lithuania, cranberry kissel (Lithuanian : spanguolių kisielius [9] ) is a traditional meal on Kūčios (Christmas Eve supper).
In Finland, kissel is often made of bilberries (since they can often be found growing wild in forests, and are thus both easy to gather and free) as well as from prunes, apricots, strawberries, etc. Rhubarb can also be used (see #Vegetable kissel), but is often combined with strawberries to produce a sweeter flavour. Kuningatarkiisseli ('Queen's kissel') is made with mixed berries and berry juices, generally bilberries and raspberries. Prune kissel (luumukiisseli) is traditionally eaten with rice pudding at Christmas.
Less common, vegetable kisiel is made from boiled or baked vegetables such as rhubarb, [10] pumpkins, or beetroot.
(Polish : budyń or kisiel mleczny; Finnish : maitokiisseli) is a creamy pudding, similar to semolina pudding or budino. It is made from milk and potato starch (Poland [11] ) or corn starch (Finland [12] ) and flavoured with sugar and vanillin (or vanilla) or cocoa powder. It can also be enriched with the addition of butter and yolks. [11]
It may be eaten as a dessert, alone, or garnished with fruit syrups, sauces, jams, fresh or dried fruit, or with cookies and biscuits.
It may also be used as an ingredient in cake creams (i.e. for karpatka or napoleonka). Most Polish households prepare milk kissel from instant mixes instead of the traditional way.
Kissel is mentioned in the Primary Chronicle , where there is a story of how it saved the city of Belgorod in Kievan Rus', besieged by nomadic Pechenegs in 997. When the food in the city became scarce, the population followed the advice of an old man, who told them to make kissel from the remnants of grain, and a sweet drink from the last mead they could find. They filled a wooden container with the kissel, and another one with the mead drink, and put those containers into the holes in the ground, and built two fake wells over them. When the Pechenegian ambassadors came into the town, they saw how the inhabitants took the food from those "wells", and the Pechenegs even were allowed to taste the kissel and mead beverage. Impressed by that show and degustation, Pechenegs decided to lift the siege and to go away, having concluded that the Ruthenians were mysteriously fed from the earth itself. [13]
In Russian fairy tales, the land of marvels (similar to Cockaigne) is described as the land of "milk rivers and kissel banks". This expression became an idiom in Russian for prosperous life or "paradise on earth". [14]
Another phrase common in Russia and Poland, "the seventh water after kissel" (Polish : siódma woda po kisielu, Russian : седьмая вода на киселе), is used to describe a distant relative. [15]
Swedish cuisine is the traditional food of Sweden. Due to Sweden's large north-to-south expanse, there are regional differences between the cuisine of North and South Sweden.
Porridge is a food made by heating or boiling ground, crushed or chopped starchy plants, typically grain, in milk or water. It is often cooked or served with added flavourings such as sugar, honey, fruit, or syrup to make a sweet cereal, or it can be mixed with spices, meat, or vegetables to make a savoury dish. It is usually served hot in a bowl, depending on its consistency. Oat porridge, or oatmeal, is one of the most common types of porridge. Gruel is a thinner version of porridge and congee is a savoury variation of porridge of Asian origin.
Pudding is a type of food. It can be either a dessert, served after the main meal, or a savoury dish, served as part of the main meal.
Oatmeal is a preparation of oats that have been de-husked, steamed, and flattened, or a coarse flour of hulled oat grains (groats) that have either been milled (ground), rolled, or steel-cut. Ground oats are also called white oats. Steel-cut oats are known as coarse oatmeal, Irish oatmeal, or pinhead oats. Rolled oats were traditionally thick old-fashioned oats, but they can be made thinner or smaller and may be categorized as quick oatmeal or instant oatmeal depending on the cooking time required, which is determined by the size of the oats and the amount of precooking.
A pancake, also known as hotcake, griddlecake, or flapjack, is a flat cake, often thin and round, prepared from a starch-based batter that may contain eggs, milk, and butter, and then cooked on a hot surface such as a griddle or frying pan. It is a type of batter bread. Archaeological evidence suggests that pancakes were probably eaten in prehistoric societies.
Finnish cuisine is notable for generally combining traditional country fare and haute cuisine with contemporary continental-style cooking. Fish and meat play a prominent role in traditional Finnish dishes in some parts of the country, while the dishes elsewhere have traditionally included various vegetables and mushrooms. Evacuees from Karelia contributed to foods in other parts of Finland in the aftermath of the Continuation War.
Semolina is the name given to coarsely milled durum wheat mainly used in making pasta and sweet puddings. The term semolina is also used to designate coarse millings of other varieties of wheat, and sometimes other grains as well.
Russian cuisine is a collection of the different dishes and cooking traditions of the Russian people as well as a list of culinary products popular in Russia, with most names being known since pre-Soviet times, coming from all kinds of social circles.
Rice pudding is a dish made from rice mixed with water or milk and commonly other ingredients such as sweeteners, spices, flavourings and sometimes eggs.
Lithuanian cuisine features products suited to the cool and moist northern climate of Lithuania: barley, potatoes, rye, beets, greens, berries, and mushrooms are locally grown, and dairy products are one of its specialties. Various ways of pickling were used to preserve food for winter. Soups are extremely popular, and are widely regarded as the key to good health. Since it shares its climate and agricultural practices with Northern Europe, Lithuanian cuisine has much in common with its Baltic neighbors and, in general, northern countries.
Fruit soup is a soup prepared using fruit as a primary ingredient, and may be served warm or cold depending on the recipe. Some fruit soups use several varieties of fruit, and alcoholic beverages such as rum, sherry and kirsch may be used. Fruit soup is sometimes served as a dessert.
Blåbärssoppa is a Nordic fruit soup made from bilberries, which can be served cold or hot. It is sweet and contains starch, which gives it a fairly thick consistency. It is served either as soup, often together with porridge, or as a drink.
Rødgrød, rote Grütze, or rode Grütt, meaning "red groats", is a sweet fruit dish from Denmark and Northern Germany. The name of the dish in Danish features many of the elements that make Danish pronunciation difficult for non-native speakers, so, literally "red porridge with cream", has been a commonly used shibboleth since the early 1900s.
Vispipuuro, russedessert (Norwegian), vispgröt/klappgröt/klappkräm, debesmanna, or mannavaht is a sweet, wheat semolina (manna) cold porridge made with berries, usually lingonberries.
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