Holiday Foods From Around the World

With the holidays approaching, anticipation for traditional staples like eggnog, turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce are on the rise; but what about outside of Canada? Or even North America? Take a look at some traditional holiday cuisine from around the world; you might even like it enough to incorporate into your own celebratory feasts.

 

Bibingka is a type of rice cake with a spongy texture and slightly sweet taste, typically served at breakfast during the holiday season. It’s made of few ingredients, like rice flour and coconut milk and baked in banana leaf lined terracotta pots.

 

 

If you’ve got a sweet tooth, you might appreciate Sufganiyot. Sufganiyot are round jelly donuts eaten on the Jewish festival of Hanukkah. They’re deep fried, filled with jelly, and powdered with sugar.

 

 

Kransekake is an almond based cake usually served for Christmas, weddings, and other special occasions. Its name translates to “wreath cake” which describes its cool concentric structure of stacked rings held together with icing.

 

 

Even though seafood is enjoyed all year, oyster consumption especially goes up at the end of the year, as it’s traditionally served from Christmas to New Year’s in France.

 

If you like spicy dishes, look to devil’s curry. It’s a spicy curry flavoured with candlenuts and galangal often served during the holidays.

 

Mince pie has a long history, tracing back as far as the 13th century. Formerly known as shrid or mutton pie, it’s British tradition to indulge in this sweet, fruit based mincemeat pie during the Christmas season.

 

During the holidays a common Ethiopian dish served is a doro wot, a spicy chicken stew made using a spice seed called berbere to which hard-boiled eggs are sometimes added. The dish can be shared amongst a group and is usually accompanied with a spongy flat bread called injera.

 

 

Happy Holidays!! 

References:

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8