Photo by Rebecca Blackwell. This recipe for Glorified Gingerbread was handed down from my great grandmother to my grandmother to my mother to me.
Hello friends! I was struck last week with the diversity of experience in this group and that led me straight to this week’s question: What foods do you associate with your culture?
I’m not looking for textbook answers here… I’m more interested in your subjective experience. Culture can mean many things and incorporate many aspects of our identity, both broad and narrow: national, regional, religious, local community, and family history. For most of us, our lives are a messy, beautiful mix of cultural influences, and all of it experienced through our subjective experience.
So, is there a food (or foods) that you associate with your cultural heritage?
I love the question! The first thing that came to mind actually surprised me. They are called 'petaritses' in Southern Greece - and it was a 'treat' that our grandmothers would make for us. They would make a thick batter from flour, egg, a pinch of baking powder, sugar and water. Then add a bit of cinnamon, or grated orange peel. They would ladle it onto the hot grill, and they would come out thicker than a pancake, like flat fried breads. They would pile them high on the platter, drizzled with plenty of honey and cinnamon. I suppose that what madeleines did to Proust, the petaritses just did to me...brought back memories, scents, sounds, and definitely a piece of cultural heritage that is lost among the younger generations...
Those sound absolutely sounds delicious! It's interesting how many cultures have a version of a pancake - something made with a quick batter and cooked on a griddle or in a pan. What petaritses do for you, my great grandmother's gingerbread does for me. If ever I'm in the mood for some nostalgia, all I have to do is bake gingerbread. :-)
Sigh, can't really take sweet pancakes these days, but still enjoy savoury ones - pajeon (with scallions and carrots) and kimchi-jeon, tortang talong (with eggplant), jianbing (with pork mince).
Scents are such a powerful trigger for memories. We saw a woman break down in tears at a bath shop because one of the soaps reminded her so strongly of the butterfly pea vines that used to grow wild all over her gran's garden.
isn't it amazing how perfect strangers can connect and 'tune into' someone's feelings in an instant...its very moving and its almost as if you share the experience...its wonderful...its what we all should be about. but this world is becoming very closed in and 'gray'...and I don't like to be pessimistic but we are changing as a society....
As an Indian, the dish that speaks to me the most is Dahl. Even if I’m travelling and having the best food I’ve ever tasted, after about 4 days I need Dahl and rice to feel like I’ve eaten and like I’m satisfied. I’ll forever associate Dahl with family, comfort and just being home.
I totally know what you mean about needing to eat something that feels like it grounds you and brings you back to yourself. My husband and I often feel the same way when we've been on vacation and eaten out at a lot of restaurants. I'll make something simple and familiar and it feels like a sigh of relief.
Do you have a dish that you almost always make in those times? For us having plain yellow Dahl and rice after reaching home, unpacking and shower is almost a ritual. A sign that we’re home now.
We live in an RV and spend our year traveling around the country. I almost always make these crispy corn tortilla quesadillas on days when we move from one location to the next. We get parked and I get the kitchen unpacked and make quesadillas. It's a very similar ritual to you and dahl. :-)
We make dahl every few days, usually masoor dal with lots of veggies tossed in, but you're so right, there's nothing more comforting than a simple dhuli moong dal.
I make 2 versions of sweet apple cheese noodle pudding; one which we crave all year made with 4 % milkfat cottage cheese, cream cheese and sour cream, the trifecta of warm, cheesy creaminess, along with eggs and butter that we make for celebrations. It’s so rich, we eat it for dessert, warming us as the Fall chill sets in. But, we can’t afford these indulgences frequently, so I also make a lightened up version, still apple-y and rich, with less sugar, yogurt, and ricotta. Either way, it’s a dish that always makes our hearts sing a little.
Hi, Betty. Yes! I am the queen of lokshen kugel...a version of my grandmother's (I was never drawn to potato versions, but I have a baked barley risotto which is essentially an updated Eastern European barley kugel in my Oct newsletter
Okay nice to meet you kugel queen! I have made and eaten many a kugel. Honestly my favorite is a savory one made by a friend. She puts caramelized onions in it (which are kind of sweet, now that I think about it).
YUM! As Betty mentioned, it does sound similar to kugel, something I've eaten but never made. I'm feeling inspired by your comment to try an apple version.
Oh gosh. British food doesn't have a great reputation does it. But there are many good things! Salty, vinegary chips with battered fish next to the seaside. A sunday roast piled high with yorkshire puddings and lots of gravy. Fresh crumpets slathered in butter and a smidge of marmite. And of course, british baking. For some reason this morning, biscuits are coming to mind. My favourite is a custard cream.
Haha vinegar and chips are such a brilliant combo - kudos to whoever first dreamt it up!
We have a friend who loves the smell of vinegar but not the actual taste, so she puts vinegar in a mister and sprays it around the table whenever she's having chips 😝
Yeah you'd think that if someone liked the smell of something, they'd like the taste too. But I'm the same way with beer - love the fruity, flowery aroma, but can't stand the taste. But then I don't put beer in a mister to spray the room with either 🤣
I'm trying to think if there is anything I am similar with. Maybe coffee? I love the smell of a strong espresso but can only ever drink milky and frothy!
Haha, mum loved strong coffee. Every day she'd down 2-3 pots of "Hainan style" roast that was so thick, you could have stood a spoon up in it!
These roasts became popular in Asia after Hainanese immigrants set up neighbourhood coffee shops in their adopted lands. Customers usually ordered big hearty cups along with a "Nanyang breakfast" consisting of soft-boiled eggs and thick slabs of charcoal-grilled toast slathered in butter and kaya.
marmite aside...(I tried it once and couldn't be sold on it)...you make everything here sound very tempting. Custard cream always gets my attention, too.
It's such a cliche but the first thing that popped into my head was 'chopped liver' because, Jewish. Even my vegetarian sister will eat my mum's, and I won't because the livers she usually buys are lacking in any welfare standards.
There's ofton a proud battle between people of the 'my mum's liver is better than your mum's' variety. Many overcook the livers because of the kosher rule about blood. This results in chopped leather, not liver. Or they'll compensate by adding too much oil or chicken fat. It's not a good look. My mother used to use a jar of chicken flavoured vegetable fat for hers. She'd never use chicken fat because she's been told it's unhealthy. I'll use it if I've got it, usually 50:50 with oil because it makes it very rich, and I use organic chicken livers which don't cost a fortune. Obviously my chopped liver is better than yours. 🙂
Hehe not so long ago in China (only a few centuries), prospective daughters-in-law were judged on their ability to render pork fat into perfect lard, which had to be silky, fragrant and snow-white.
Piping hot rice was often served with just a few drops of soy sauce and 雪花豬油 (snowflake lard), so the fat couldn't be "tainted" in any way.
Oh overcooked liver is so sad. We make a triple-liqueur chicken liver pate as a Xmas hamper gift, and one year, we got interrupted while we were cooking the liver... Had to make a whole new batch 😣
Great question, Rebecca! Well, my adopted food culture is Italian and it's what I cook 90% of the time so... pasta, risotto, coffee in the moka, slow food in general. But if I think about my American food culture, it's down to 2 foods: 1) MUFFINS! and 2) PEANUT BUTTER! Although the origin story of muffins is European, muffins as we know them today are American. In Italy, my Italian boyfriend pronounces them "muh-fy" which I find hilarious. Blueberry muffins were one of the first things I was ever passionate about baking when I was a teenager. Peanut butter is weird, because I didn't think much of it when I lived in the US, but now that I live in Italy, I'm decently obsessed. That stuff is delicious.
This is such a great answer! I also love muffins and peanut butter... do they not have peanut butter in Italy? I've never thought about it being an American thing.
I was born in Germany but have been abroad for almost 25 years now. But the one thing I always look forward to going home are German bread and Teilchen (aka pastries). Every time I step foot in a German bakery I am overwhelmed by the sheer variety of different kinds of bread - from light white sandwich breads to the hearty grain-studded pan loaves often made with rye flour we have come to associate more with the Nordics today. And then the Teilchen - clearly not as sophisticated or refined as French patisserie but I am nonetheless counting down the days until I can sink my teeth into another Pudding Teilchen (a custard filled danish with a custard so thick the pastry doesn't need a bottom layer), Streuseltaler - buttery pastries the size of a small dinner plate covered all over with buttery crumble and a sweet icing, Mohn- or Nussstrudel - our version of what elsewhere might be referred to as a babka, with typically a poppy seed or nut filling.
Oh my goodness, all of this sounds so good but especially "a custard filled danish with a custard so thick the pastry doesn't need a bottom layer" 😋!!!
Haha, it was the source of endless fascination as a kid. And the first time I baked my own German style custard danishes I was on tenterhooks as the pastries cooled down because I wasn't sure I would achieve the same level of sorcery in my own kitchen! (And yes, I did)
I had no idea! Have lived in Belgium for 10 years and never even seen one! But not surprised - Brussels doesn’t always seem to be the most representative place when it comes to Belgian food!
I love that every German bakery sells a range of beautiful breads. If I'm not making my own and I want a decent rye bread I won't find it on the high street. And I'm wishing for those custard danish to be available here. It used to be fairly easy to find a good danish pastry, now they've mostly vanished in favour of more Instagram worthy frankenstein-cake creations.
I know what you mean. However, sadly, in many German cities the old school bakeries are also being replaced with more and more chains with an increasing focus on white sandwich breads and oversized sugary pastries developed more for their Instagram worthiness than anything else. But fortunately the trend is much slower than elsewhere and there are still plenty of great bakeries to be found.
Oh it's been decades, but I still remember an Aprikosen Pudding Teilchen we had during a brief layover in Frankfurt. The custard was incredible - so rich and silky!
Plug away. This is not like those FB groups where you are not allowed to self promote. I want the FSL community to feel confident they can share their publications or links that fit any conversation or discussion.
On (Armenian) my mother's side, I think of dolma, stuffed peppers or tomatoes, lamb kebabs, choreg, anything eggplant and boorma for dessert. Welsh cookies on my dad's side...with lots of tea and sweets, including Welsh cookies. And honestly? It seemed to me that they liked anything with lots of butter!
Absolutely love this question - and the answers!!! I would say for me it’s polpettine - Italian meatballs - and merengue. Even though my mother is half British, she always identified with her Italian side most. As a kid, lengua (cow tongue) with salsa verde (think: Italian chimichurri) was my favorite food! I found proof on a 3rd grade worksheet asking us to list our favorite foods 😂
Oh we had chargrilled gyūtan (牛タン, ox tongue) for dinner. Do you grill or braise your lengua? It's great both ways 😋.
We love polpettini too, but I think we had Asian-style meatballs first as kids, so we still gravitate towards them. When you make them, you have to "slap" the mince long and hard till it develops a sort of "gluten" that gives them a signature bounce and chew.
Honestly, and embarrassingly, I haven't cooked lengua! I always just rely on my mom too...hehe. Oooo tell me more about the Asian-style meatballs you had!
Oh nothing to be embarrassed about - cooking tongue is fine, but prepping it (cleaning it, removing the veins and gristle etc) can be quite time-consuming ☺️.
Asian-style meatballs? In general, whether they're made from pork, beef, lamb, fish, squid or shrimp, they tend to be judged based on their bounciness. The closest ones to European-style meatballs are shi zi tou 獅子頭 (lion's heads) - these are packed quite loosely and poached in a master broth, so they're soft and tender.
You can check out these vids:
- Traditional Chinese meatballs made bouncy by pounding rather than slapping:
Well, I’m French so the first thing that comes to mind is foie gras. But not in a pompous way. My mom’s family is from the southwest of France, my grandparents were farmers. They raised their own ducks & geese and made their own foie gras! So my mom taught my Parisian dad to do it and it was delicious!
Each region has their ways of cooking it. My parents cooked it all the way but I’ve had some “mi-cuit” (half cooked) from friends who came from other parts of France that was really good.
PS: don’t forget to add plenty of black pepper & salt 😉
We cooked lots of duck liver when I was a kid - not foie gras per se, but more rustic pâtés and terrines. We also braised it with fermented veggies, tossed it in stirfries, poached it in hotpots. Sometimes we had it pickled in vinegar - that was done mi-cuit too, but the flavours were probably quite different from the foie gras you had.
Coming from the southern parts of northern Germany, I grew up with traditional foods that focus on simplicity and nourishment. Luftgetrocknete Mettwurst, air-dried with whole peppercorns, adds a subtle spiciness, while gekochte Mettwurst brings a mild, comforting flavor. Bauernfrühstück, a hearty mix of potatoes, bacon, and eggs, is perfect for starting the day.
Other staples include Rotwurst, a rich blood sausage with chunks of pork belly fat, and Weißwurst, a sausage made from pork fat (Flomen), onions, and fatty pork meat. Fresh Brot und Brötchen were always on the table, along with Schmalz mit Grieben (lard with cracklings) and Sülze, a savory mix of tender meat, gherkins, hard-boiled egg, and pickled vegetables in aspic. Klümpe, small dumplings served in Schlachtebrühe, were another favorite.
Then there’s Schwärchen, a type of Schwartenwurst made from boiled pork rind, onion, salt, black pepper, caraway, and mustard seeds—less fatty yet full of flavor. Steke is another classic, made from boiled pork belly and served as cold cuts.
Festive dishes, like roast duck or goose with red cabbage and Kartoffelklöße halb und halb (potato dumplings with a mix of raw and cooked potatoes) or simple boiled potatoes, bring back memories of special gatherings. It’s rustic, hearty fare, and each bite is a taste of home.
Would love to try Schwärchen too - pork rind is so often overlooked. Mostly it's just turned into crackling or chicharrones, but we also make roupi dong (肉皮凍, a sort of aspic or jelly) or braise it with mugeunji (aged kimchi).
Germany has such a rich Würste tradition. We love blood sausages of any kind, so we always pick up Rotwurst when it's available. A German neigbour shared his stash of Mettwurst with us as well as some spreadable Mett, but we haven't been able to get it since. We also like Krakauer, but we've been told that's actually Polish in origin.
Adobo (chicken, pork etc) represents the Filipino culture as it's unofficially the national dish. It's the perfect dish to eat with rice. Although I prefer the ginisang mungo (sauteed mung bean) which is such bith hearty and filling. And of course, eaten with rice too.
Rebecca, I like your statement about culture and subjective experience. Yes, sometimes culture is about our background/heritage but it’s also about our journey in life and what we’ve adopted along the way. My ethnic background is Asian and European and I grew up eating foods from these areas. But I feel like my “culture” now is a giant jumble of that, plus where I’ve lived, who my friends are, and my current home state (hello fellow Californians!). Like you said, it’s complicated, lol!
Ah it is! My family is such a mish mash of different heritages and backgrounds that I never know which side is going to come out tops for the next meal. In a single day, menus can flip from Korean to Italian to French to Baja California 🤣.
I’m a mixture of Welsh, Scottish and Irish Heritage (confusingly with an English accent). Bara brith, a traditional Welsh tea bread is something my sister and I always buy from the bakery in Conwy whenever we go home to North Wales. I love it slathered with salted butter and a mug of strong tea.
My husband is Greek and there are many ingredients and dishes which have become staples in my kitchen.
Being in Greece has made me realise which foods are part of my culture which is generally tea related and the need for salted butter for toast and bread. We are lucky to have access to the most wonderful olive oil but there are times when only butter will do. I often think about which foods I will miss or need while I’m there for a few months but the list is small! There will be marmite, mustards and Worcester sauce travelling with me.
Ahh such a great answer - there are so many dishes that just wouldn't taste right without a steaming bowl of rice! It's so versatile too - pilaf, pudding, porridge, risotto...
Oh and scorched rice! So many cultures have their own version - nurungji, socarrat, okoge, gratin duri, guoba, tahdig... We'd love to try Filipino tutong too, but haven't had the chance yet.
ooooh. This is a good one! For me it's all about that slavic grandmother cooking. Honey cakes and blintzes. Cucumber yogurt dill salad and sour pickles. Long braises and homemade chicken soup. Crusty bread and fresh tomatoes or bread with butter & sour cherry jam. My Ukrainian/Ukrainian Jewish roots always bring me back to these flavors.
Being raised in a family originating from the south, chicken and dumplings was a favorite. When the family came together, this pot would feed a crowd. I haven't made this for many years because my style of cooking has changed. But it will always bring back fond memories of family gatherings.
I'm poor, working class and northern. I'd say the biggest association I have with my background is buttered white bread. Especially to mop up baked beans or to put chips in. Or just to eat as a snack.
Hi - the first food that popped into my head was meatballs - My husband’s family is Italian and they had pasta and meatballs every Thursday and Sunday…but for me it’s anything that’s a boiled dinner like Kielbasa and Cabbage (always been my favorite).
I'm Belgian, so French Fries (or Belgian fries 🤷♀️) with mayonaise. And beer and chocolate. And waffles.
I think I must be Belgian in my heart. 😂
Yes!
All the best things! 😂
I love the question! The first thing that came to mind actually surprised me. They are called 'petaritses' in Southern Greece - and it was a 'treat' that our grandmothers would make for us. They would make a thick batter from flour, egg, a pinch of baking powder, sugar and water. Then add a bit of cinnamon, or grated orange peel. They would ladle it onto the hot grill, and they would come out thicker than a pancake, like flat fried breads. They would pile them high on the platter, drizzled with plenty of honey and cinnamon. I suppose that what madeleines did to Proust, the petaritses just did to me...brought back memories, scents, sounds, and definitely a piece of cultural heritage that is lost among the younger generations...
Those sound absolutely sounds delicious! It's interesting how many cultures have a version of a pancake - something made with a quick batter and cooked on a griddle or in a pan. What petaritses do for you, my great grandmother's gingerbread does for me. If ever I'm in the mood for some nostalgia, all I have to do is bake gingerbread. :-)
the gingerbread looks delicious...and truly pancakes are universal!!!!!
Sigh, can't really take sweet pancakes these days, but still enjoy savoury ones - pajeon (with scallions and carrots) and kimchi-jeon, tortang talong (with eggplant), jianbing (with pork mince).
It's lovely when food brings back memories.
It is Lynn...One would never suspect that a simple snack, meal, or even its scent could trigger childhood memories!
Scents are such a powerful trigger for memories. We saw a woman break down in tears at a bath shop because one of the soaps reminded her so strongly of the butterfly pea vines that used to grow wild all over her gran's garden.
i can imagine...it must have been moving just watching her suddenly reliving moments that appeared to have vanished ....
Oh at first we thought something was wrong, so we went over to ask if we could help, but she said, oh no they were happy tears!
isn't it amazing how perfect strangers can connect and 'tune into' someone's feelings in an instant...its very moving and its almost as if you share the experience...its wonderful...its what we all should be about. but this world is becoming very closed in and 'gray'...and I don't like to be pessimistic but we are changing as a society....
Oh they sound like paradise on a plate...
they were so simple, but so amazing...the scent, the sticky honey...so many decades have gone by...and the ear to ear smiles remained...
As an Indian, the dish that speaks to me the most is Dahl. Even if I’m travelling and having the best food I’ve ever tasted, after about 4 days I need Dahl and rice to feel like I’ve eaten and like I’m satisfied. I’ll forever associate Dahl with family, comfort and just being home.
I totally know what you mean about needing to eat something that feels like it grounds you and brings you back to yourself. My husband and I often feel the same way when we've been on vacation and eaten out at a lot of restaurants. I'll make something simple and familiar and it feels like a sigh of relief.
Do you have a dish that you almost always make in those times? For us having plain yellow Dahl and rice after reaching home, unpacking and shower is almost a ritual. A sign that we’re home now.
We live in an RV and spend our year traveling around the country. I almost always make these crispy corn tortilla quesadillas on days when we move from one location to the next. We get parked and I get the kitchen unpacked and make quesadillas. It's a very similar ritual to you and dahl. :-)
We make dahl every few days, usually masoor dal with lots of veggies tossed in, but you're so right, there's nothing more comforting than a simple dhuli moong dal.
Yeah when I'm stressed or worn out in other ways, all I want are the dishes mum used to make ☺️.
I make 2 versions of sweet apple cheese noodle pudding; one which we crave all year made with 4 % milkfat cottage cheese, cream cheese and sour cream, the trifecta of warm, cheesy creaminess, along with eggs and butter that we make for celebrations. It’s so rich, we eat it for dessert, warming us as the Fall chill sets in. But, we can’t afford these indulgences frequently, so I also make a lightened up version, still apple-y and rich, with less sugar, yogurt, and ricotta. Either way, it’s a dish that always makes our hearts sing a little.
This sounds lovely.
thanks, Lynn
This sounds like kugel! Yum!
Hi, Betty. Yes! I am the queen of lokshen kugel...a version of my grandmother's (I was never drawn to potato versions, but I have a baked barley risotto which is essentially an updated Eastern European barley kugel in my Oct newsletter
Okay nice to meet you kugel queen! I have made and eaten many a kugel. Honestly my favorite is a savory one made by a friend. She puts caramelized onions in it (which are kind of sweet, now that I think about it).
likewise, Betty! my mother-in-law made something like this to go with meat
Never tried barley risotto, so just checked out your recipe, thanks!
Agreed!
YUM! As Betty mentioned, it does sound similar to kugel, something I've eaten but never made. I'm feeling inspired by your comment to try an apple version.
happy to send you a recipe any time
Yes please!
Oh gosh. British food doesn't have a great reputation does it. But there are many good things! Salty, vinegary chips with battered fish next to the seaside. A sunday roast piled high with yorkshire puddings and lots of gravy. Fresh crumpets slathered in butter and a smidge of marmite. And of course, british baking. For some reason this morning, biscuits are coming to mind. My favourite is a custard cream.
I have never been to England - yet! - but I would go there just to eat every single thing you've mentioned here.
It is definitely worth a visit!
All things from my childhood and upbringing that I love as well!! Especially fresh fish n chips sloshed with vinegar!
The vinegar really makes it, doesn't it!
Yes! It’s hard not to eat fried anything with a little vinegar now, lol.
We toss a bit of vinegar in everything - really lifts the flavours!
Salty, vinegary chips!!! Yes! I lived in England for a summer and could not get enough of them. Those and HobNobs.
I also like Balsamic Vinegar on chips.
Oh this is a new one! I’ve always used malt vinegar. I will have to try balsamic!
Hob Nobs are an excellent choice!
Not into marmite, but could once finish off a whole basket of crumpets along with a big crock of clotted cream 😋
Haha vinegar and chips are such a brilliant combo - kudos to whoever first dreamt it up!
We have a friend who loves the smell of vinegar but not the actual taste, so she puts vinegar in a mister and sprays it around the table whenever she's having chips 😝
Haha, gosh, that is very unusual!
Yeah you'd think that if someone liked the smell of something, they'd like the taste too. But I'm the same way with beer - love the fruity, flowery aroma, but can't stand the taste. But then I don't put beer in a mister to spray the room with either 🤣
That is next level commitment!
I'm trying to think if there is anything I am similar with. Maybe coffee? I love the smell of a strong espresso but can only ever drink milky and frothy!
Haha, mum loved strong coffee. Every day she'd down 2-3 pots of "Hainan style" roast that was so thick, you could have stood a spoon up in it!
These roasts became popular in Asia after Hainanese immigrants set up neighbourhood coffee shops in their adopted lands. Customers usually ordered big hearty cups along with a "Nanyang breakfast" consisting of soft-boiled eggs and thick slabs of charcoal-grilled toast slathered in butter and kaya.
That coffee sounds intense! I think it would keep me awake for days!
Oh wow, that's fascinating. I've just had to google Kaya, and coconut jam sounds immense! Nanyang breakfast sounds like something I need to try.
marmite aside...(I tried it once and couldn't be sold on it)...you make everything here sound very tempting. Custard cream always gets my attention, too.
Marmite is very much a love/hate thing!
It's such a cliche but the first thing that popped into my head was 'chopped liver' because, Jewish. Even my vegetarian sister will eat my mum's, and I won't because the livers she usually buys are lacking in any welfare standards.
There's ofton a proud battle between people of the 'my mum's liver is better than your mum's' variety. Many overcook the livers because of the kosher rule about blood. This results in chopped leather, not liver. Or they'll compensate by adding too much oil or chicken fat. It's not a good look. My mother used to use a jar of chicken flavoured vegetable fat for hers. She'd never use chicken fat because she's been told it's unhealthy. I'll use it if I've got it, usually 50:50 with oil because it makes it very rich, and I use organic chicken livers which don't cost a fortune. Obviously my chopped liver is better than yours. 🙂
Haha! I love this! I had no idea that chopped liver was such a badge of honor within families. Also, chicken flavored vegetable fat??? 😂
I searched for it online...https://images.app.goo.gl/of93gzTbLw1HwZKt5
!!! 😵💫
Hehe not so long ago in China (only a few centuries), prospective daughters-in-law were judged on their ability to render pork fat into perfect lard, which had to be silky, fragrant and snow-white.
Piping hot rice was often served with just a few drops of soy sauce and 雪花豬油 (snowflake lard), so the fat couldn't be "tainted" in any way.
So sad that your mum gave up on schmaltz cos she was told it was unhealthy. Now they're actually advocating animal fats 🙄.
We always save all the fat whenever we cut up a whole chook. It adds so much flavour, even to breads.
Oh overcooked liver is so sad. We make a triple-liqueur chicken liver pate as a Xmas hamper gift, and one year, we got interrupted while we were cooking the liver... Had to make a whole new batch 😣
Great question, Rebecca! Well, my adopted food culture is Italian and it's what I cook 90% of the time so... pasta, risotto, coffee in the moka, slow food in general. But if I think about my American food culture, it's down to 2 foods: 1) MUFFINS! and 2) PEANUT BUTTER! Although the origin story of muffins is European, muffins as we know them today are American. In Italy, my Italian boyfriend pronounces them "muh-fy" which I find hilarious. Blueberry muffins were one of the first things I was ever passionate about baking when I was a teenager. Peanut butter is weird, because I didn't think much of it when I lived in the US, but now that I live in Italy, I'm decently obsessed. That stuff is delicious.
This is such a great answer! I also love muffins and peanut butter... do they not have peanut butter in Italy? I've never thought about it being an American thing.
You can get peanut butter in Italy but pretty much only because there are foreigners here now!
Haha, so are you a chunky or smooth PBJ fan? 😉
Haha! BOTH!!!! 🥰
Oh yes, you've definitely embraced Italian food - love your recipes!
Thank you Leana!! I love hearing that 🥰 I am so passionate about this food culture!! What was your food answer??
Haha not sure I really answered in the end - was too carried away reading what everyone else had to say!
Hee hee! 😊
I was born in Germany but have been abroad for almost 25 years now. But the one thing I always look forward to going home are German bread and Teilchen (aka pastries). Every time I step foot in a German bakery I am overwhelmed by the sheer variety of different kinds of bread - from light white sandwich breads to the hearty grain-studded pan loaves often made with rye flour we have come to associate more with the Nordics today. And then the Teilchen - clearly not as sophisticated or refined as French patisserie but I am nonetheless counting down the days until I can sink my teeth into another Pudding Teilchen (a custard filled danish with a custard so thick the pastry doesn't need a bottom layer), Streuseltaler - buttery pastries the size of a small dinner plate covered all over with buttery crumble and a sweet icing, Mohn- or Nussstrudel - our version of what elsewhere might be referred to as a babka, with typically a poppy seed or nut filling.
Oh my goodness, all of this sounds so good but especially "a custard filled danish with a custard so thick the pastry doesn't need a bottom layer" 😋!!!
Haha, it was the source of endless fascination as a kid. And the first time I baked my own German style custard danishes I was on tenterhooks as the pastries cooled down because I wasn't sure I would achieve the same level of sorcery in my own kitchen! (And yes, I did)
Well, obviously, I need to know how to make these. Have you published a recipe?
I did years ago but not for a traditional version but for a Tahini and Cardamom Custard version.
Here is a recipe in English for the traditional version from a German foodblogger I trust:
https://baketotheroots.de/german-pudding-pretzels/
Here are the ones I wrote about on my old blog:
https://realsimplefoodblog.com/2018/08/18/cardamom-and-tahini-custard-danishes-and-how-i-once-applied-for-a-stage-in-ottolenghis-test-kitchen/
I had no idea! Have lived in Belgium for 10 years and never even seen one! But not surprised - Brussels doesn’t always seem to be the most representative place when it comes to Belgian food!
I love that every German bakery sells a range of beautiful breads. If I'm not making my own and I want a decent rye bread I won't find it on the high street. And I'm wishing for those custard danish to be available here. It used to be fairly easy to find a good danish pastry, now they've mostly vanished in favour of more Instagram worthy frankenstein-cake creations.
I know what you mean. However, sadly, in many German cities the old school bakeries are also being replaced with more and more chains with an increasing focus on white sandwich breads and oversized sugary pastries developed more for their Instagram worthiness than anything else. But fortunately the trend is much slower than elsewhere and there are still plenty of great bakeries to be found.
Oh it's been decades, but I still remember an Aprikosen Pudding Teilchen we had during a brief layover in Frankfurt. The custard was incredible - so rich and silky!
Oh god yes, adore the various kind of Puddingteilchen with fresh fruit as well. Apricot is definitely a favourite but love the cherry ones too.
Well, obviously these https://sarahfrison.substack.com/p/just-how-strong-should-your-coffee and https://www.amazon.co.uk/Festive-Belgian-Bakery-Chocolate-biscuits/dp/B0CP5YSWFZ/ 😉, shameless plugs aside, there are also lots of main meals too; chicory gratin, meatballs with cherry sauce, rolled up sausages with carrot-potato mash...
Plug away. This is not like those FB groups where you are not allowed to self promote. I want the FSL community to feel confident they can share their publications or links that fit any conversation or discussion.
Thank you Lynn!
I would like one of every single thing in your book, please and thank you. Also, some meatballs with cherry sauce. 😋
Haha, thank you Rebecca!
cherry sauce ...love fruit with savory
Oh they add such lovely sweet and tangy notes. We dry grapes just so we can add them to braises.
On (Armenian) my mother's side, I think of dolma, stuffed peppers or tomatoes, lamb kebabs, choreg, anything eggplant and boorma for dessert. Welsh cookies on my dad's side...with lots of tea and sweets, including Welsh cookies. And honestly? It seemed to me that they liked anything with lots of butter!
What a delicious mix of flavors from different parts of the world!
Butter lifts everything! But these days, I'd definitely go for the dolma and imam biyaldi ☺️
Absolutely love this question - and the answers!!! I would say for me it’s polpettine - Italian meatballs - and merengue. Even though my mother is half British, she always identified with her Italian side most. As a kid, lengua (cow tongue) with salsa verde (think: Italian chimichurri) was my favorite food! I found proof on a 3rd grade worksheet asking us to list our favorite foods 😂
I'd guess you were the only 3rd grader in the class who said cow tongue was their favorite food!
Whaaaat! Love it!
Oh we had chargrilled gyūtan (牛タン, ox tongue) for dinner. Do you grill or braise your lengua? It's great both ways 😋.
We love polpettini too, but I think we had Asian-style meatballs first as kids, so we still gravitate towards them. When you make them, you have to "slap" the mince long and hard till it develops a sort of "gluten" that gives them a signature bounce and chew.
Honestly, and embarrassingly, I haven't cooked lengua! I always just rely on my mom too...hehe. Oooo tell me more about the Asian-style meatballs you had!
Oh nothing to be embarrassed about - cooking tongue is fine, but prepping it (cleaning it, removing the veins and gristle etc) can be quite time-consuming ☺️.
Asian-style meatballs? In general, whether they're made from pork, beef, lamb, fish, squid or shrimp, they tend to be judged based on their bounciness. The closest ones to European-style meatballs are shi zi tou 獅子頭 (lion's heads) - these are packed quite loosely and poached in a master broth, so they're soft and tender.
You can check out these vids:
- Traditional Chinese meatballs made bouncy by pounding rather than slapping:
https://youtu.be/x37kdrS6c_U?feature=shared
- Silky lion's head meatballs:
https://youtu.be/3y-HejT87qc?feature=shared
Well, I’m French so the first thing that comes to mind is foie gras. But not in a pompous way. My mom’s family is from the southwest of France, my grandparents were farmers. They raised their own ducks & geese and made their own foie gras! So my mom taught my Parisian dad to do it and it was delicious!
Each region has their ways of cooking it. My parents cooked it all the way but I’ve had some “mi-cuit” (half cooked) from friends who came from other parts of France that was really good.
PS: don’t forget to add plenty of black pepper & salt 😉
I can imagine that once you've had home grow, homemade foie gras, nothing else compares. How wonderful.
We cooked lots of duck liver when I was a kid - not foie gras per se, but more rustic pâtés and terrines. We also braised it with fermented veggies, tossed it in stirfries, poached it in hotpots. Sometimes we had it pickled in vinegar - that was done mi-cuit too, but the flavours were probably quite different from the foie gras you had.
Coming from the southern parts of northern Germany, I grew up with traditional foods that focus on simplicity and nourishment. Luftgetrocknete Mettwurst, air-dried with whole peppercorns, adds a subtle spiciness, while gekochte Mettwurst brings a mild, comforting flavor. Bauernfrühstück, a hearty mix of potatoes, bacon, and eggs, is perfect for starting the day.
Other staples include Rotwurst, a rich blood sausage with chunks of pork belly fat, and Weißwurst, a sausage made from pork fat (Flomen), onions, and fatty pork meat. Fresh Brot und Brötchen were always on the table, along with Schmalz mit Grieben (lard with cracklings) and Sülze, a savory mix of tender meat, gherkins, hard-boiled egg, and pickled vegetables in aspic. Klümpe, small dumplings served in Schlachtebrühe, were another favorite.
Then there’s Schwärchen, a type of Schwartenwurst made from boiled pork rind, onion, salt, black pepper, caraway, and mustard seeds—less fatty yet full of flavor. Steke is another classic, made from boiled pork belly and served as cold cuts.
Festive dishes, like roast duck or goose with red cabbage and Kartoffelklöße halb und halb (potato dumplings with a mix of raw and cooked potatoes) or simple boiled potatoes, bring back memories of special gatherings. It’s rustic, hearty fare, and each bite is a taste of home.
YUM! All of that sounds so homey and delicious!
Would love to try Schwärchen too - pork rind is so often overlooked. Mostly it's just turned into crackling or chicharrones, but we also make roupi dong (肉皮凍, a sort of aspic or jelly) or braise it with mugeunji (aged kimchi).
Germany has such a rich Würste tradition. We love blood sausages of any kind, so we always pick up Rotwurst when it's available. A German neigbour shared his stash of Mettwurst with us as well as some spreadable Mett, but we haven't been able to get it since. We also like Krakauer, but we've been told that's actually Polish in origin.
Adobo (chicken, pork etc) represents the Filipino culture as it's unofficially the national dish. It's the perfect dish to eat with rice. Although I prefer the ginisang mungo (sauteed mung bean) which is such bith hearty and filling. And of course, eaten with rice too.
Adobo chicken is one of my favorite things in the whole world! It's so, so good!
Ooh you shouldn't have mentioned ginisang munggo - now I'm craving a big hot bowl! We usually have it with lechon, but adobo is great too 😋
Rebecca, I like your statement about culture and subjective experience. Yes, sometimes culture is about our background/heritage but it’s also about our journey in life and what we’ve adopted along the way. My ethnic background is Asian and European and I grew up eating foods from these areas. But I feel like my “culture” now is a giant jumble of that, plus where I’ve lived, who my friends are, and my current home state (hello fellow Californians!). Like you said, it’s complicated, lol!
Yes! Culture is a subjective experience that, for most of us, includes a lot of different influences. People are complicated. :-)
Ah it is! My family is such a mish mash of different heritages and backgrounds that I never know which side is going to come out tops for the next meal. In a single day, menus can flip from Korean to Italian to French to Baja California 🤣.
and the gingerbread looks delicious....
True
I’m a mixture of Welsh, Scottish and Irish Heritage (confusingly with an English accent). Bara brith, a traditional Welsh tea bread is something my sister and I always buy from the bakery in Conwy whenever we go home to North Wales. I love it slathered with salted butter and a mug of strong tea.
My husband is Greek and there are many ingredients and dishes which have become staples in my kitchen.
Being in Greece has made me realise which foods are part of my culture which is generally tea related and the need for salted butter for toast and bread. We are lucky to have access to the most wonderful olive oil but there are times when only butter will do. I often think about which foods I will miss or need while I’m there for a few months but the list is small! There will be marmite, mustards and Worcester sauce travelling with me.
I had never heard of bara brith so I had to look it up. It looks delicious! I might have to make some.
I love this discussion! I’m so white and vanilla I’m embarrassed by it. So jealous of all these cultures and rich food heritage.
I’m Latvian, Croatian, and Irish and grew up in the 70’s and 80’s in Ohio. Both grandmothers were lousy cooks.
My heritage includes boxed Mac and cheese and steak-um’s.
When I finally found some good food to eat I became obsessed, went to culinary school, and now I can’t get enough!
Rice 🍚 filipino
Ahh such a great answer - there are so many dishes that just wouldn't taste right without a steaming bowl of rice! It's so versatile too - pilaf, pudding, porridge, risotto...
Oh and scorched rice! So many cultures have their own version - nurungji, socarrat, okoge, gratin duri, guoba, tahdig... We'd love to try Filipino tutong too, but haven't had the chance yet.
ooooh. This is a good one! For me it's all about that slavic grandmother cooking. Honey cakes and blintzes. Cucumber yogurt dill salad and sour pickles. Long braises and homemade chicken soup. Crusty bread and fresh tomatoes or bread with butter & sour cherry jam. My Ukrainian/Ukrainian Jewish roots always bring me back to these flavors.
Being raised in a family originating from the south, chicken and dumplings was a favorite. When the family came together, this pot would feed a crowd. I haven't made this for many years because my style of cooking has changed. But it will always bring back fond memories of family gatherings.
I'm poor, working class and northern. I'd say the biggest association I have with my background is buttered white bread. Especially to mop up baked beans or to put chips in. Or just to eat as a snack.
Hi - the first food that popped into my head was meatballs - My husband’s family is Italian and they had pasta and meatballs every Thursday and Sunday…but for me it’s anything that’s a boiled dinner like Kielbasa and Cabbage (always been my favorite).