Festive dishes on the New Year and Christmas table of various countries of the world. What to cook for Holy Eve or Christmas

Christmas is one of the most beloved and long-awaited Christian holidays all over the world. For many, it is associated with happiness, fun and good mood. At Christmas, it is customary to gather with family, friends and relatives, cook delicious meals and lay a rich table. And each country has its own special traditional dishes that are always served on the table on Christmas night. And it doesn't matter that our Christmas is celebrated later than the foreign one, we can borrow some recipes.

Christmas English pudding

Ingredients:
100 g butter
100 g granulated sugar
100 g flour
100 g breadcrumbs
2 eggs
0.5 tsp baking powder
150 g milk
a pinch of salt
300 g raisins, dried apricots
syrup, whipped cream to taste

Cooking:
Cut the butter into small pieces or grate on a coarse grater. Mix butter, flour, breadcrumbs and baking powder with your hands until crumbs appear.
Break the eggs into a separate bowl, add sugar, a pinch of salt and beat with a mixer for 10 minutes.
Add the beaten eggs to the dough and knead. Then pour in the milk and mix well again. Wash the dried apricots and cut into very small pieces, add together with the washed and dried raisins to the dough and mix well.
Transfer the resulting pudding dough to a greased baking dish, cover the top with foil and secure it well.
Pudding should be cooked in a water bath. At the bottom of a wide and deep saucepan, place a saucer turned upside down, place a mold with dough on it and pour water into the pan until halfway through the mold with pudding. Cover the pot with water and pudding, place over medium heat and, when the water boils, reduce heat. Keep the dish on fire for 3 hours, periodically adding water if it has evaporated. Cool the finished pudding, transfer from the mold to a plate, pour over with sweet fruit syrup and garnish with whipped cream.

In England Christmas is celebrated with a turkey with cranberry sauce, garnished with Brussels sprouts, fried potatoes, boiled or steamed vegetables. Another popular dish is pork leg garnished with cherries and cloves. A traditional dessert is a pudding with raisins, candied fruits, fruits and nuts, which is doused with a mixture of rum and liquor and set on fire before serving. The English Christmas drink is hot ale.

In France traditional Christmas dishes - specially cooked turkey with cognac and cream, chestnuts, goose liver pate, oysters, smoked salmon and all kinds of cheeses. For dessert, they usually serve a Christmas log - a creamy cake-cake, and for drinks - French champagne and dry wines.

IN Germany the main dishes of the Christmas table are goose with apples, prunes and cabbage, salmon with cream, pork with sauerkraut, homemade pies. On the table there should be 7-9 dishes from products symbolizing the birth of life: eggs, caviar, wheat, peas, beans. As a traditional drink, the Germans prepare a special Christmas mulled wine, and for dessert they prefer a walnut pie and marzipan cake with cream or meringue.

in Italy No Christmas is complete without homemade Kotekino pork sausage, served in a loaf with pears, shallots, juniper berries and numerous spices. Also on the festive table are usually served small tortellini dumplings, baked pork leg jampon and traditional pasta. The usual dessert on this day is pannetone cake stuffed with dried fruits, and drinks are dry or sparkling wine.

IN Spain on Christmas Eve, lamb is fried, turkey, suckling pig, seafood dishes are cooked. Dessert is turron with cream and nuts, marzipans and sweets made from egg whites, roasted almonds, honey and sugar.

danish glög

Ingredients:
1 bottle of dry red wine
2 cinnamon sticks
2 dry cloves
4 cardamom seeds
¼ cup raisins
¼ cup ground almonds
brown sugar to taste

Cooking:
Pour half a glass of wine into a saucepan, add cinnamon, cloves and cardamom, cook covered over low heat for 30 minutes, cool and leave in the refrigerator overnight.
Heat the remaining wine, mix with the prepared extract, add the raisins, almonds and brown sugar. Serve in glass mugs. To taste, you can add lemon or orange zest, a little rum.

In Denmark on the Christmas table with potatoes, red cabbage or sauce, they serve roast goose stuffed with dried fruits with brown sauce, or baked pork. For dessert, grutze is prepared - rice porridge, poured with thick cherry sweet jelly and sprinkled with fried almonds. Traditional Danish Christmas drinks are glög, mulled wine and beer.

In Holland for Christmas dinner, small groups of people get together, each brings a frying pan and cooks his own dish of vegetables, meat, fish, shrimp. The Dutch also serve traditional European dishes - roast beef, rabbit, pheasant, ham, turkey. Meat dishes are complemented by various vegetables and salads, fruits and sauces.

IN Norway fish dishes are traditional, as well as lamb or pork ribs, pork roast, swede puree, sauerkraut and boiled potatoes. On this holiday, Norwegians drink spiced potato vodka, and for dessert they serve seven types of cookies or biscuits.

In Sweden At Christmas, it is customary to eat hearty dishes: pickled herring, meat dishes with cabbage or berry sauce, ham, liver pate, jelly, homemade smoked sausage, baked potatoes, as well as the national dish kropkakor - balls from a mixture of boiled potatoes, ham and bacon. The traditional dessert is rice pudding served with a single almond hidden inside.

IN Belgium Boar meat, veal sausage with truffles, Christmas cake and various wines are served. Dessert is cougnous or cougnolles, tiny cookies in the shape of the baby Jesus.

IN Portugal at Christmas they eat baccalao, which means “dried salted cod”, which is washed down with sweet port wine.

In Switzerland An incredibly popular dish is cheese fondue, which is made using 3-4 special types of cheese.

IN Ireland they serve smoked salmon with a shrimp cocktail - a piece of fish and shrimp, which are beautifully laid on green lettuce leaves and poured with sauce, as well as a ham or turkey.

Czech potato salad

Ingredients:
300 g potatoes
juice and zest of 1 lime
50 ml olive oil
10 g fresh grated ginger
green onions
ground white pepper

Cooking:
Peel potatoes, cut into 1 cm cubes and boil in salted boiling water. Rinse the cooked potatoes with cold water and transfer to a bowl. For dressing, combine lime zest and juice, ginger, finely chopped green onion, ground white pepper and olive oil. Pour the mixture over the potatoes and refrigerate. The salad can be served with sour cream with chopped mint.

in the Czech Republic meat is not eaten on Christmas Eve, so as part of this tradition, fried carp with potato salad is a Christmas dish. It is also customary to prepare different Christmas cookies that are distributed to guests.

IN Poland on the festive table on Christmas Eve there should be 12 dishes without meat - according to the number of apostles. The first is usually sour beetroot broth with tiny dumplings - borscht with ears, and the main dish is carp. Gingerbread and cookies are served as sweet dishes. On Christmas Eve, Poles do not drink alcohol, but already on Christmas they gather at a table with various types of meat and wine.

IN Hungary goulash with a huge amount of paprika and meat, stuffed cabbage, as well as carp soup and baked fish are served on the festive table.

IN Slovenia at Christmas, a special Christmas bread is served at the table, for baking which three types of flour are used: rye, wheat and buckwheat, as well as black pudding and venison or pork roast.

in Serbia at the Christmas table they eat a pig, sauerkraut and stew with smoked pork meat, a Christmas pie, and all this is washed down with brandy.

IN Bulgaria on Christmas Eve on the table only lenten dishes, always in an odd number: stuffed red bell pepper, vegetable cabbage rolls, beans or lentils, puff pastry with pumpkin, compote. On the second day, they eat carp, meat with vegetables and banitsa - a puff pastry stuffed with cottage cheese, feta cheese, veal, eggplant and apples.

In Romania pork plays the main role on the festive table, complemented by various types of sausages and pickles. At Christmas, it is customary to bake pies, in which, in addition to the filling, they put coins - in whose piece there is a coin, he will get rich.

IN Lithuania the Christmas table should consist of kutya, salads, fish dishes and other lenten foods. And only on Christmas itself, after the obligatory family visit to the church, Catholics are allowed to taste the roast goose.

IN Estonia at Christmas they serve black pudding with the addition of hot spices and pearl barley, boiled potatoes with sour cream, sauerkraut and stew, pumpkin salad and spicy cookies painted with multi-colored glaze.

In Finland the main dish is the Christmas ham, which is eaten with mustard or bread. At the festive table, Finns eat ham, chicken legs, fish, liver casserole with raisins, beetroot salad, baked turnips or potatoes. Mulled wine is considered a traditional drink for Christmas.

IN Greece they cook a turkey in wine and a traditional vasilopeta pie, as well as roast a suckling pig and serve it with a baked potato.

In Armenia traditionally they cook sweet lean pilaf with pistachios, nuts and dried fruits, they always bake Easter cakes, in one of which they hide a penny “for good luck”, bake, fry or boil trout.

American Christmas Turkey

Ingredients:
1 turkey
50 g margarine
30 g bacon
salt pepper
100 g breadcrumbs
100 g flour
20 g yeast
2 eggs
1 teaspoon marjoram
1 teaspoon chopped lemon zest
½ teaspoon curry
1 st. tablespoon chopped parsley
3 art. tablespoons sour cream or natural yogurt

Cooking:
Season the prepared turkey carcass with salt on the outside and pepper on the inside. Remove the tendons from the legs, pin pieces of bacon to them. For the filling, dilute the yeast in warm water, add flour, eggs, crackers, spices, lemon zest and herbs, mix everything with sour cream or yogurt. Sew up the turkey, place breast-side up on the grill and bake in the oven over low heat until golden brown, pouring over the juices from the pan. You can cover the breast and legs with foil so that they do not burn. Half an hour before removing the turkey from the oven, remove the fat and foil.

IN THE USA many traditions are borrowed from European countries, so most often a turkey with cranberry sauce stuffed with bread, cheese, prunes, garlic, beans, mushrooms, apples or cabbage is served on the table, as well as veal with spices and herbs. Different states have their own special dishes that are usually prepared for Christmas. The main drink of the holiday is eggnog - a thick cocktail of beaten eggs and cream with spices.

In the English part Canada Christmas dinners are not much different from English or American ones. A popular drink during the winter holidays is eggnog, a milk punch with beaten eggs and alcohol. In the French part of Canada, French customs are most followed.

In Mexico on this day, they prefer to give up burritos and treat themselves to a roasted pig with a side dish of rice, sweet peppers and black beans, as well as snacks from a variety of vegetables and cheese. From alcoholic drinks, the same tequila is served, and for dessert - simple cakes made from cornmeal.

In Argentina Christmas Eve begins with meat - roasted peacock, beef, pork or turkey - and ends with burgers and sweet puddings.

Brazil combines the Christmas traditions of many peoples: the main dishes of the festive table are most often fish or pork, a universal side dish is colored rice, fruit salad and nuts.

In Peru the family usually gets together for a turkey stuffed with minced meat and nuts and garnished with fresh pineapple slices and cherries, fried potatoes and applesauce. For dessert, marzipan, raisins, almonds and panettone pie with a cup of hot chocolate are served.

In Japan every dish makes sense. For example, soba - buckwheat noodles with broth - symbolizes longevity. The Japanese also eat osechi-riori - a set of seafood: fish, shrimp, herring caviar, lobsters, oysters, seaweed, to which ozoni soup with rice cakes is added. From drinks in this country they drink green tea and rice vodka.

In Australia the Christmas table is most often a barbecue with shrimp, chicken, pork, lamb and beef. A dessert dish is a cake with whipped cream and fruit or meringue.

This article will focus on national dishes on the New Year and Christmas holiday table. But first, a short introduction about whether it is customary to celebrate the New Year in all countries of the world.

January 1 is New Year's Eve according to the Gregorian calendar. But on the world map there are countries in which the New Year comes at a completely different time. Or this date is not assigned the status of a holiday and weekend. In which countries do not celebrate the new year?

For example, Muslim countries do not celebrate the new year, since the celebration of the change of dates is alien to Islam in principle. Muslims can go to a restaurant or home dinner on this day at the invitation of friends, but rather out of respect.

Some countries living according to the Persian calendar celebrate the new year - Navruz - on March 22. For example, Iran, Afghanistan. And on this occasion, specific national dishes are being prepared.

In some countries with a Persian cultural heritage, both holidays are celebrated (January 1 and March 22), but they are given different meanings. For example, in Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Albania and Macedonia.

In Israel, the New Year - Rosh Hashanah - is celebrated according to the Jewish calendar and this happens in the fall. And on January 1, the New Year is celebrated only by people from the former USSR.

In Asian countries, rich in their national holidays and rituals, there is an equal attitude towards January 1. For example, in South Korea, January 1 is a day off, but you should not expect magnificent celebrations, they will happen later - on the day of the Korean New Year - Seollal, which is set according to the lunar calendar.

A similar story is in China. There are no noisy festivities and folk festivals on January 1. And the Chinese New Year (Chunjie), which falls on the period from January 21 to February 21, is already celebrated on a grand scale, with fireworks, processions and a traditional family dinner.

It is no secret that in the Catholic part of Europe and America, Christmas, which is celebrated on December 25, is of great importance, and all the main efforts and festive preparations are directed to this holiday. The New Year is celebrated more modestly and in the format of parties with friends.

And in countries located on the territory of the post-Soviet space and professing Orthodoxy, the New Year is celebrated earlier than Orthodox Christmas (January 7), and, as a rule, more magnificent feasts are arranged on New Year's Eve from December 31 to January 1. This has been happening since the times of the Soviet Union, when religious holidays were banned by the authorities and people began to celebrate the New Year on a grand scale.

Gathering at the festive table for the whole family is a wonderful tradition! New Year's holiday table - as one of the symbols of the holiday. Some countries have developed their own superstitions about what needs to be put on the table in order to attract happiness, prosperity, good luck in the coming year, and what dishes should be avoided. The recipes of some traditional dishes have not changed for centuries!

Let's go with you on a gastronomic journey through the countries and see what dishes are on the Christmas and New Year tables in the countries celebrating these holidays!

What do they eat for New Year and Christmas in different countries?

Italy

Christmas is the most important and expected holiday of the year in the Catholic part of Europe! But, probably, the strongest emotions and adherence to traditions are in Italy, where almost the entire population professes the Catholic faith. In addition, it is in Italy that the Vatican is located, where the Pope conducts a festive mass.

After the Christmas Mass, the Italians gather at home for.

In each region and family there is a certain established order. Someone prepares a fast eve dinner, and the next day arranges a sumptuous festive dinner. For some, one flows smoothly into the other. On a lean table, as a rule, they cook (eel or cod), with spaghetti. For a gala dinner, the hostesses offer and, or cold cuts, sausages, tortellini (Italian dumplings) in broth.

For dessert - Italian pies: panettone (cake with dried fruits, reminiscent of Easter cake) and pandoro ("golden bread"), e, as well as dried fruits and nuts.

But it is not customary to treat apples, as they symbolize original sin.

Christmas festivities smoothly flow into New Year's. Italy is a country of fun, so the New Year is celebrated here noisily and cheerfully.

On the New Year's table there are the same Italian dishes. Traditional fish and seafood. It is believed that fish caviar eaten on New Year's Eve will bring wealth.

Pork dishes are obligatory: pork legs and sausage - which symbolize the movement forward. But chicken dishes are avoided.

Also, nuts, lentils and - as a symbol of health and longevity are put on the table.

Traditional holiday pastries also have a place on the New Year's table.

A glass for the New Year is raised not with champagne, but with Italian wine!

England

For the English, Christmas is a family holiday with many traditions and customs. It is believed that how you celebrate Christmas is how you will spend the next year, so everyone tries to have fun from the heart and set a rich table.

As a side dish - baked vegetables or potatoes. Favorite sauces - and sauce from.

For dessert you will be served Plum pudding. This is a traditional holiday dessert in the UK and Ireland. For its preparation, bread crumbs, prunes, raisins, almonds, honey are used. Pudding is considered a family tradition and its recipe can be passed down through generations. It is prepared, as a rule, in advance - 2-4 weeks before the holidays. During serving, they flambé - pour cognac or rum over it and set it on fire.

Traditional ones with dried fruits and nuts are also prepared in advance.

The sweet table is quite diverse, on it you will find shortbread and macaroons, shortbread and sweet rolls. Of the strong drinks, the British prefer - punch and English spiced ale, the bowl with which is traditionally raised for health and well-being!

The New Year is celebrated with cheerful companies in pubs or at home, but without a magnificent feast, with alcoholic drinks and light snacks.

In New Zealand, Australia and other countries that were English colonies, the traditions of celebrating Christmas, including culinary ones, have passed.

America

And in the New Year, they manage with snacks and drinks, indulging in fun. They prefer strong alcoholic drinks and.

There are many versions of the origin of the world's first cocktail, up to the most romantic ones. But they are all connected in one way or another with the “cock tail”. It is confirmed in writing that the first mention of a cocktail was in 1806 in New York, in the Balance and Columbian Repository, where the following definition was given to a cocktail - “A stimulating liquor consisting of any alcoholic drink with the addition of sugar, water and bitters from herbs."

Among the New Year's cocktails among Americans are popular:

Red Currant Champagne - a cocktail of champagne and redcurrant or cranberry puree;

Ginger Sparkler - champagne, ginger slices and sugar;

Champagne Punch and Sangria - punches and sangria with different berries and fruits;

Cranberry Sparkler is a non-alcoholic cocktail based on cranberry puree, orange juice and sparkling water.

In the cuisine of the southern states, the influence of Latin American cuisine is also felt. On the Christmas table, there may be tamal - a dish of meat and corn, which is cooked in corn leaves.

Canada

In the English-speaking part of Canada, Christmas dinners are similar to English and American dinners.

The main dish of the table is turkey. It is served with potatoes or mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce.

For dessert, pudding. Bake traditional.

Obviously, in the French-speaking part of the country, the traditions of France dominate.

France

In France, the main holiday of the year is Christmas.

The whole family gathers for reveillon - dinner on Christmas night - on December 24 and indulges in a feast almost until the morning. exquisite and diverse, replete with a large number of vegetable dishes, cheeses that are famous throughout the world, high-quality wines,.

Needless to say, Christmas dinner turns into a gourmet feast.

The French are gourmets, there are always delicacies on the festive table: foie gras (goose liver), oysters, king prawns, and others, as well as French cheeses and roasted chestnuts.

A number of dishes have a ritual past and symbolize this or that action.

A traditional dish on the French table is poultry, goose or duck, cooked with a special delicacy, stuffed, for example, with mushrooms, goose liver or truffles, marinated with various spices and baked.

Another traditional dish is the festive rooster, the kaplan, which is bred and fed in a special way for its larger size and more delicate taste.

Another tribute to tradition is the Christmas log - Buche de Noel. There was an ancient custom of burning a Christmas log, dating back to paganism, when the arrival of the winter solstice was celebrated by burning a log. Now no one burns the log, but the tribute to tradition has remained, and the log appears on Christmas night in the form of a sweet roll on French tables. The French also have territorial gastronomic features of the Christmas table.

Le pain calendeau is a traditional Christmas bread in the south of France, part of which is given to the poor.

In Provence, it is customary to serve 13 desserts (according to the number of 12 Apostles and Christ), which include all kinds of sweets and dried fruits.

And, of course, all this variety is washed down with French wine and champagne. And what else, in the homeland of the drink?

Belgium

In European countries that border on each other and have common historical roots, cultural and culinary traditions are similar.

Belgian cuisine has incorporated many of the French, Austrian and German.

On the festive table in Belgium there are meat dishes, a special role is given to pork (it is considered the most prolific animal).

Among the sweets, in many respects similar to all European ones, one can note the Christmas wreath - ritual cookies with almond filling, sprinkled with almonds and candied fruit, in the form of a ring. , which the Belgians consider their national product, can be found here all year round, even on the New Year's table.

Germany

Christmas in Germany is the most long-awaited holiday of the year. Preparations for it begin in advance. Already in November, Christmas markets begin to work in the cities. On them you will meet all the attributes of Christmas, decorations, souvenirs, try traditional spicy mulled wine, and other national treats.

A few weeks before Christmas, the Germans prepare (Stollen) - a traditional Christmas cake. For its preparation, raisins and dried fruits are soaked in cognac or rum in advance, and after baking, the stollen is generously sprinkled with powdered sugar and sent for storage - to ripen until Christmas night.

On Christmas Eve itself, or Holy Night (Weihnachten), German families gather around a richly laid festive table.

As in many other European countries, the main dish on the festive table is roast goose. It can be prepared with apples and prunes, or with dumplings, and each family has its own signature recipe.

Garnished with potatoes and vegetables. In addition to the goose, stewed cabbage (Sauerkraut) and fried sausage or pork knuckle (Eisbein) are always served.

Also on the Christmas table is always present.

And this is not accidental, since the fish is an ancient symbol of Christianity.

In general, everything that is served on the table on Christmas Eve is symbolic. There is a tradition of serving seven or nine courses for the "holy supper". Mostly cereals, seeds, and other products that represent new life - wheat, peas, beans, nuts, poppy seeds, caviar, eggs. And wheat porridge seasoned with oil and honey is attributed magical properties. solid and sound, like everything German. Many recipes have survived to this day unchanged from the Middle Ages.

In pre-Christian times, the Germanic peoples celebrated the winter solstice at about the same time. Therefore, many dishes have retained their recipes, but acquired a new meaning and moved into the category of Christmas.

Originally, traditional German pastries were gifts to the pagan gods, who were coaxed with gingerbread, marzipan, and fruit pies.

And now baking is always present on the tables in the form of stollen, gingerbread and gingerbread houses.

In eastern Germany, it is popular, which shows the influence of the national gastronomic culture of the eastern neighbors.

Austria, Hungary

Also, the Wiener Schnitzel, which has found worldwide popularity, can be served.

And, of course, pastries, which Austrian cuisine is famous for. It can be classic, Linz tart, Sacher cake and others.

In Hungary, it is customary to serve traditional bagels - poppy seeds and nut rolls - to the festive table.

Norway, Sweden, Finland

Let's look in the north of Europe, in the Scandinavian countries, and see how Christmas is celebrated in Finland, Norway and Sweden.

Christmas is also the main holiday of the year for them. Each of these countries has its own peculiarities of celebrating this event.

Finland is the place where the tale of Santa Claus comes true. After all, it is here, in Lapland, that the residence of Santa Claus (in Finnish - Yolupukki).

Christmas Eve is about the same as in other European countries: a church service, a meeting with relatives, a festive table.

The main Christmas dish in Finland is pork ham. For garnish - baked vegetables: potatoes, carrots, rutabagas. Of the cold appetizers, the Finns prefer beetroot salad (similar to ours).

On the table, there is always milk rice porridge with almonds. According to legend, the one who gets it will have good luck and good health next year.

Many pastries are being prepared, including traditional gingerbread cookies and puffs with plum jam.

The traditional drink of the winter holidays is spicy glög, which is very similar to mulled wine.

Norway also has a respectful attitude towards Christmas and touching traditions.

When preparing festive dishes, do not forget to leave a plate with refreshments for the Norwegian Santa Claus - Julenissa, as well as feed the birds. The holiday is held quietly and in a family way.

Fish is a must on the festive table: a cod dish called lutefix and herring.

Pork ribs, roll and sausages. Garnished with mashed potatoes.

And for dessert - rice cream with nuts and 7 types of cookies.

In Sweden, there are now tendencies not to bring the religious component of the holiday to the fore, Christmas for the Swedes is a period of “seasonal greetings”, an occasion to gather relatives and friends, exchange wishes and gifts.

As in all Scandinavian countries, fish dominate. The Swedes have this fish casserole - "The Temptation of Jansson". The filling of the Christmas table is traditional for the Scandinavian peoples - pork (ribs, ham, aspic); pickled herring and cod; sweet rice porridge, gingerbread cookies and saffron buns, which are baked here on the feast of St. Lucia (December 13).

Russia

Russia occupies a vast expanse from the Baltic in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east, and from the White Sea in the north to the Black Sea in the south. Needless to say, how diverse are the traditions and cuisine of the nationalities inhabiting the country?

For example, in the cuisine of northerners there are a lot of sea fish, rye pies, mushrooms. It is similar to Scandinavian cuisine. On the Don, they cook game, eat a lot of vegetables and fruits, much in cooking was adopted from the Turks. And in Siberia and the Urals - among the Tatars and Udmurts. phenomenally versatile!

Culinary traditions have undergone significant changes in the course of historical events. These are the reforms of Peter the Great, when elements of Western European culture, way of life, and culinary traditions were borrowed. Under Peter I - from Holland and Germany. And under Catherine II and Alexander I - France.

The Soviet era also formed certain tastes and laid down the culinary traditions of entire generations of the people.

And despite the fact that under Peter I the transition to the Gregorian calendar took place and a decree was issued to celebrate the new year on January 1 and decorate the house with Christmas trees, it was in Soviet times that this holiday acquired a dominant role, replacing Christmas.

Calendarly, the New Year comes earlier than Orthodox Christmas (January 7), so it accounts for larger celebrations.

The New Year's table matches the scope of the holiday and the breadth of the Russian soul. The abundance of cold - from pickles (

For garnish - potatoes in the form of mashed potatoes or baked, vegetables. If it comes to dessert, then this could be it!

Tangerines and champagne - another symbol of the New Year!

Now imagine that this whole set can be supplemented with regional and family traditional dishes and drinks!

For people who keep the Christmas fast, “to resist” is a serious test.

But the more joyful is the meeting of Christmas and the Christmas meal!

A traditional Christmas dish is kutia, a wheat dish with honey, poppy seeds, raisins and nuts.

Since the time of Rus', pork dishes have been served on the Christmas table: sausages, jelly and even a roasted pig. In addition, other meat dishes were prepared: goose with apples, hare in sour cream, lamb.

An indispensable dish for Christmas, as well as for all holidays, were pies: open and closed, kulebyaks, pies, kurniki, saiki, shangi, as well as. They washed down with mead and sbiten.

All kinds of gingerbread, marshmallow, cookies, and brushwood relied on the sweet table.

Many of these dishes are still being cooked today, perhaps not on such a grand scale…

The common history of Russia with the peoples of Ukraine, Belarus and the countries of Eastern Europe, professing Orthodoxy, makes the traditions of celebrating Christmas and New Year, including culinary ones, similar.

Our gastronomic journey is coming to an end, although the list of countries and the study of their traditions is endless!

The history and traditions of the countries of the world, despite regional peculiarities, have much in common! New Year and Christmas are warm family holidays. The main thing is not what you put on the festive table, but who will gather at it together to wish each other happiness, health and prosperity next year!

Christina Belko

Hello! My name is Christina. When I was a little girl, I loved to look at my mother's cookbooks and sculpted plasticine dishes for my dolls. Now I myself am a mother of two kids and love to pamper them with different goodies. Searching for interesting recipes and sharing culinary wisdom has become an exciting hobby for me. I draw inspiration from my family, books and walks around the beautiful city of St. Petersburg. For my family, I choose tasty and healthy food. When cooking, I use simple and affordable ingredients, often resorting to the help of a double boiler. I love Russian cuisine, I think it is part of our history and culture. Also, in our menu, dishes of national cuisines that have proven themselves all over the world often appear. The recipes that I offer you are loved by my family and friends. I hope you enjoy them as well! I will be happy to answer your questions, accept comments and suggestions! Leave your comments on the site or email me [email protected] and @kristinabelko on Instagram.

For several years in a row, celebrating Christmas, I certainly include in my festive menu recipes for dishes that are traditionally prepared on this day in various countries of the world.

So, on my table have already visited:
- dandy cake originally from Scotland (prepared three weeks before Christmas and then stored in the refrigerator, tempting home);
- “wet” like English weather, a cake with dried fruits, apples and pears, soaked in orange juice, syrup and cognac (alas, it is also necessary to start preparing this laborious masterpiece about a month before the holiday);
- German cottage cheese cake "quarkstollen";
- a tree made of ginger "stars" and white sugar icing (destroyed in about five seconds after being placed on the table, however, it is prepared quite quickly);
- a common place for Europe - a gingerbread house richly decorated with everything (children especially like to turn it into picturesque ruins);
- fragrant turkey stewed with rosemary and thyme, according to a recipe from Provence ...

And I do not plan to stop there, because cooking "foreign" food for Christmas is an exciting adventure every time, no worse than traveling. After all, the national cuisine is what, among other things, the culture of another country is made up of. And we can touch it without leaving home, but simply inhaling the smells of spices, studying an unusual combination of tastes for us, taking a sample from an already prepared dish. Maybe my tradition of “traveling by the stove” will take root in your kitchen? There are only two days left before Christmas, and if you can’t bake long-lasting cupcakes, then you can still have time to cook other, less energy-intensive “foreign” dishes. Since the spy network of our portal is spread like a sea, I specifically interviewed Russian-speaking housewives from different countries: what do they cook for Christmas? “Matrons” from France, Belgium, Serbia and Estonia responded to my call.

Recipe one. French Christmas log with chocolate mousse

My friends - spouses with two children - have long lived in the same country with the great confectioner Pierre Erme and Gioconda. When I asked them about traditional French Christmas dishes, the first response was… a mockery of the poor of us, languishing under the yoke of European food sanctions. The French in Paris prefer for Christmas ... foie gras! So, naturally, they open a jar, spread goose liver pate on toast - and voila!

Eyewitness narrates : “The French are a little crazy about their foie gras. Especially in the southwest of the country, where fatty goose liver is added to soup, salad, hot and even dessert. Foie gras is a favorite delicacy at Christmas too. Even a month before the holiday, market traders begin to hint unambiguously, they say, place an order for foie gras with truffles now, otherwise, you know, everything will be swept away by Christmas. Foie gras is usually sold ready-made, you just need to cut it and serve it, but there are also gourmets who buy raw goose liver for Christmas, cook it at home according to their own recipe, and then rub it through a sieve for many hours, turning it into the most tender mousse".

But we are not French after all, and it’s a pity for the poor geese. So we suggest you prepare a traditional French dessert for Christmas - a Bouche de Noel log cake (by the way, the tradition of preparing a Christmas cake in the form of a log goes back to the Celtic tradition of burning a huge log on the winter solstice - with the advent of Christianity, the carriage turned into a pumpkin, the pagan tradition was transformed into a Catholic one, and the tree became a dessert).

So, the recipe.
For biscuit(based on 10 people) you will need:
- 140 g sugar
— 150 g flour
- 3 eggs
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1/2 sachet of baking powder
- 1 sachet of vanilla sugar
- 15 ml fruit liqueur

For chocolate mousse:
- 100 g chocolate
- 3 eggs

For cream decoration:
- 120 g butter
- 100 g of powdered sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons of instant coffee
- 2 tablespoons fruit liqueur

Biscuit
Beat egg yolks with sugar until white, then add lemon juice. Add the baking powder, a pinch of salt, vanilla sugar, flour and beaten egg whites. Grease a baking sheet with oil or lay out baking paper. Bake for 10 minutes at 210°C on top of the oven. Then take out the cake and let it cool.

Chocolate mousse
Melt the chocolate in a water bath. Separate the egg whites from the yolks. Add a pinch of salt to the egg whites and beat them into a stiff white foam. Add melted chocolate to yolks and mix well. Combine whites with yolks with a spatula. Place the mousse in the refrigerator to cool.

When the biscuit has cooled, transfer it to a clean towel (make sure it doesn't smell like powder or conditioner!) Carefully peel off the top crust with a knife. Dissolve the liqueur in 30 ml of water and soak the biscuit with the resulting mixture. Spread the chocolate mousse over the biscuit, then carefully roll it into a roll. Leave it in a towel and place in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours so that the mousse hardens well.

Cream for decoration
Beat softened butter with powdered sugar, add egg and coffee dissolved in a little water. Pour in the liquor last. Take out the roll, remove the towel and coat the roll with cream on all sides, leaving grooves so that the roll looks like a real log. Put the roll back in the refrigerator overnight.

Christmas log is ready! It is customary to decorate it with small plastic Christmas trees, snowmen, holly and hatchets.

Recipe two. Belgian puff pastry Christmas wreath

If you bake buns that resemble the swaddled baby Christ (in Belgium they are called cougnou), or roast a whole pig's head (the pig has been a symbol of fertility and the main guest on the Belgian Christmas table since the Middle Ages, as it promises abundance and prosperity next year), you If it seems too much, then you can safely serve a special Christmas drink from the Netherlands called "slem" (slem) to your Christmas table.

It is made from hot milk with tea, sugar, cinnamon, lemon peel, saffron, cloves and nutmeg. The aroma is indescribable and there is less harm to the body than from completely harmless mulled wine and glegg! And the kids will love it. And if you still want to “get confused” and cook something authentic Belgian, try baking kerstkrans - a “wreath” of shortbread cookies with almond filling and almond sprinkles. It is made in the form of a ring and decorated with candied fruits. It is customary to serve it both for Christmas breakfast and on the same day for tea (the Dutch are economical!).

Ingredients:

- homemade or store-bought puff pastry
- 1 egg
- 3/4 cup peeled (including peeled) and blanched almonds
- lemon peel
- apricot jam
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 5 cocktail cherries
- candied cherries and candied fruits for decoration

Cooking:
The filling is best prepared a few days before Christmas. Store it in a jar in the refrigerator. To make the filling, grind the almonds very well, add sugar, egg and grated zest. Mix well. Grind everything together again. Leave to stand. Knead again if necessary and add a little water if the almond paste is too dry. Make puff pastry the way you normally would. Roll it out into a long strip about 4mm thick and about 10cm wide. Moisten a baking sheet with water. Take a sheet of baking paper that is about the size of the baking sheet. Put it in the middle and mark a circle on it - this will help you make an even ring.

Roll the almond paste into a sausage about the same length. Press 10 cocktail cherry halves into the batter at regular intervals, just above the center. Moisten the bottom of the dough with water and loosely wrap the dough around the almond sausage. Then lay out on a baking sheet in a circle. Connect the ring by lubricating the ends with a little water. Fasten the ends well and turn the roll over so that the bonding point looks down. Brush with beaten egg. Leave in a cool place for 15 minutes, then bake for 20 minutes in a hot oven (230 degrees) until golden brown. When the ring is ready, spread it thinly with apricot marmalade and garnish with candied cherries and candied fruit. Tie a ribbon around the ring and garnish with holly.

Recipe three. Serbian Christmas pie "Chesnica"

A friend who went to Belgrade a couple of years ago to teach Russian at the Serbian metropolitan university is looking forward to the traditional roast pig that Serbian colleagues promised to treat her to for Christmas - if it happens in the village, then the whole pig is cooked over the fire, and cooking it takes a whole day ... Because most of us do not live in the countryside, and a whole piglet would cost any Russian housewife a pretty penny, a friend suggests serving another traditional Serbian dish for the Christmas table - the “chessnitsa” pie, which is very budgetary, but with a surprise.

Ingredients:
- 2 eggs
- 1 sachet of yeast
- 1/2 liter of milk
- 1 kg of flour
- salt
- coin

Cooking:

Dissolve the yeast in a small amount of warm milk. Add one beaten egg. Season with salt and stir while adding the flour and the rest of the warm milk to make a dough. Cover with a cloth and leave the dough to rise, then knead. Put a coin in the dough (the editors suggest putting a ruble so that it gets better next year!). By the way, in some parts of Serbia, a piece of oak, a dogwood berry (a symbol of health), a grain of wheat or beans is added to the cake.
Lubricate the garlic on top with the second egg, bake in a preheated oven until cooked. This is a traditional pie made exclusively for Christmas, in some parts of Serbia it is made and eaten on Christmas Eve. Having served it on the table, the hostess breaks this cake and distributes it to everyone in a piece (it doesn’t cut it, but breaks it!). The one who gets the coin will be rich and happy all next year. And the one who tried the dogwood berry on the tooth is healthy.

Recipe four-e-e-erty, Estonian. Herring in milk

No, I'm not kidding and I don't want to ruin your holiday with a dubious combination of products.

This recipe was obtained personally by me, because right now I'm just in Tallinn, visiting friends, and the first thing they asked about the traditional Christmas recipe was: herring in milk. And yes, these strange Estonians cook fish in a very special way. (Fish, by the way, is a symbol of Christ, no wonder.)

Baltic herring is still considered the main national fish in Estonia, although the favorite of the Swedes, salted herring, is already stepping on her heels. What about the names of herring dishes? It's just poetry! Herring koorega (herring in sour cream), silgurullid (herring rolls), silgukaete (herring sauce), hautatut raimed (stewed herring), silgu worm (herring cooked in the oven - and yes, also in milk)…

Here are a couple of simple recipes that Estonian hostesses in white headscarves and neat aprons always cooked for Christmas.

Houtatud raimed (stewed herring)

Ingredients:

1 kg small herring
-1 cup finely chopped green onion
-0.5 cup dill
-1 glass of milk
-0.5 st. l flour
-3 tbsp. l oil

Cooking:

Peel the herring, cut off the heads and tails, put in layers in a deep frying pan greased with oil or a low saucepan, sprinkle with onion and dill, pour milk, after diluting flour in it, put butter on top, cover with a lid and bake for 30-40 minutes in the oven. Serve with boiled potatoes.

Silgu worm (baked herring)

Ingredients:
- 500 g fresh herring
- 500 g smoked herring
- 500 g of herring soaked in milk
- 500 g potatoes
- 1 cup finely chopped green onion
- 100 g butter
- 0.5 cup finely chopped dill
- 2 eggs
- 1.5 liters of milk

Cooking:

Fillet all types of fish. Boil mashed potatoes or cut raw potatoes into small strips. Lubricate the form with oil and put in it layers of onions, potatoes (or mashed potatoes), fish fillets of different varieties, and the lower and upper layers should be potato. Beat eggs with milk, salt and pour this mixture over fish and potatoes. Put butter on top and bake (without closing the lid) over moderate heat in the oven. This dish can only be made from fresh herring or only from smoked herring (but not from salted herring).

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What holiday is so closely associated with the joy of New Year's Eve hype, the warmth of family gatherings, the smell of citrus and cinnamon pastries, if not Christmas? Christmas garlands and glass balls sparkle everywhere, children throw snowballs, housewives take fragrant pies out of the oven, and Santa Claus throws such cherished gifts into stockings. Joy, harmony and the spirit of Christmas reign in the world. That is why on this wonderful day we try to set the table especially richly and satisfyingly in order to appease the coming year and please our loved ones.

Each country has its own traditional cuisine, each culture brings something special to the Christmas menu. We dedicate this article to Christmas dishes from various countries of the world, offering a closer look at the customs of serving the Christmas table abroad.

Christmas dinner: traditional dishes from around the world

Russia

Meeting Christmas, the Slavs try to cook 12 complex dishes for the table at once, which symbolize prosperity in each month of the coming year. By default, kutia, dried fruit uzvar, stuffed duck, cabbage rolls, borscht, dumplings with secret filling, pancakes and pies should be on the table by default. They start the meal with a spoonful of kutya, trying to taste each dish so as not to upset the hostess.

Germany

The Germans are famous for their good appetite, and therefore their table for Christmas should be bursting with tasty and fatty dishes - a roast goose stuffed with apples, a variety of smoked sausages and pates. Apples are also placed on the table, as a symbol of the fruit of paradise, as well as nuts with raisins, which embody the idea of ​​life's suffering, which must be overcome, imitating Christ.

Italy

The inhabitants of this sunny country have a special reverence for the vine, because there are always grapes on the Christmas table, and the best wine is poured into glasses. The Christmas meal is heavy - meat leg cooked according to a special recipe, kotekino, juicy lasagna and other cold cuts.

France

Christmas at the French is impossible to imagine without the favorite foie gras and goose stuffed with pickled chestnuts. The French are a nation of gourmets, therefore, in addition to traditional dishes, they love to pamper their stomach with the most exquisite combinations. One thing remains unchanged - sparkling white wine for dessert and a cheese plate.

England

The English Christmas dinner is not complete without a traditional pudding and a turkey stuffed with vegetables, poured with a sauce of ripe gooseberries. Especially effective is the presentation of the Christmas pudding, which is specially sprinkled with rum in order to set it on fire in front of the guests!

USA

The most popular Christmas drink among Americans is the good old egg, milk, and sugar eggnog. The main Christmas dish is a baked stuffed turkey in cranberry sauce, stuffed with whatever comes to hand: prunes and garlic, apples with mushrooms, beans or cheese. The garnish is either standard French fries or boiled broccoli and Brussels sprouts.

Spain

The Spaniards' Christmas dinner in its richness can only compete with the cuisine of Germany, because the local people are trying to celebrate the holiday in such a way that the table is literally bursting with meat dishes. Variety is overwhelming! Grilled lamb, stuffed turkey in sweet sauce, suckling pig in sour cream, stewed hare, chicken breasts with pineapple, smoked sausages and much more. All this is traditionally washed down with sherry, and for dessert, special Christmas cookies and a local favorite among desserts, turron, are served.

Norway

The main Christmas tradition of Norwegians is to organize a dessert of seven types of glazed cookies. In addition to sweets, lamb ribs, pork roast with swede garnish and a couple of glasses of potato vodka are eagerly eaten here.

Czech

The traditional hero of the Christmas table is carp baked in sour cream sauce, meat salads and apple strudel for dessert. Why not?

Slovenia

The main dish on the table is Christmas bread, which is baked by each housewife according to a special recipe from 3 types of flour. Most often, buckwheat, rye and wheat flour are combined, sometimes spicy spices, raisins or dried apricots are added to the dough.

Finland

Finns prefer to celebrate Christmas away from home, rightly choosing cafes or Christmas markets for this purpose. However, those who still stay to celebrate the holiday in the bosom of the family bake a ham for the Christmas table, cook liver pate, meat casserole, turnips with honey and raisins, and warm up fragrant mulled wine for dessert.

Japan

The dishes of this country are far from European dishes in taste, but they are very symbolic. On Christmas Eve, they cook “o-sechi-riori”, a traditional appetizer of red beans with rice and mushrooms, which symbolizes health in the coming year and good spirits. Also served on the table are pickled vegetables with boiled fish, rice cakes and roasted chestnuts, which portend success in business and family well-being.

What dish would you like to cook for Christmas?