Kellisha Lettsome
Cuisine Across Cultures
Chef Reynolds
Portugal & Spain
Portuguese cuisine is known for its quality ingredients that a prepared simply to preserve their distinctive flavors. To the natural eye or on the surface this might sound plain, but it really isn’t. Rich Mediterranean and Moorish influences and the wide variety of available ingredients have given the Portuguese cook the best flavors and textures to work with, so there is very little need for complex preparation. Portuguese cuisine is renowned for being lusty and robust. It is easy to prepare, and uses very basic equipment, it is often described as peasant food. Most of the popular Portuguese dishes can be made in a single pot over an open fire. The use of seasoned
…show more content…
They helped brought rare spices home from their people to enjoy. The Portuguese were among the first to experiment with cinnamon, pepper, cloves, and nutmeg, modifying their native dishes to take advantage of these new flavors. The discovery of the New World also brought bounty to Portugal with the introduction of tomatoes, bell peppers, chilies of all types, potatoes, kidney beans, turkey and avocadoes. There were many imports, and the Portuguese cook was at the center of this exciting revolution in the way Europe looked at food. Meat, often pork is an essential ingredient in many Portuguese recipes. Chicken is also used frequently, and to a lesser degree so is beef, turkey, veal, lamb, young goat, and rabbit. Some Portuguese desserts make creative use of meats as thickener, and fish dishes are often cooked in pork lard or topped with meat. Portuguese has a long coastline and a passion for seafood that includes, tuna, sardines, swordfish, cod, sea perch, shrimp, crab, clams, octopus and eel. Even though the fishing industry in Portugal is undergoing a renaissance, the supply of fresh seafood doesn’t meet the demand and is often …show more content…
On February 3, St. Blaise’s Day is celebrated by baking a small loaves of bread called panecillos del santo, which are blessed at mass in the Roman Catholic Church. According to tradition, all the children in the household are to eat a bit of this bread to protect them from choking in the year ahead. Christmas in Spain officially begins on December 24th, called Nochobuena. It is marked by a special family dinner. A typical menu includes onion and almond soup, baked fish, roasted meat, and red cabbage and apples. Dessert may include flan and a variety of fruits, cheeses, and sweets especially turron. On January 5th, parades are held to welcome the arrival of Baltasar, Gaspar, and Melchior who arrive that night to bring gifts to children, they are known as the “Three Wise Men”. The next day, the traditional Roscon de Reyes (a sweet bread) is baked and enjoyed. A small surprise such as a coin, is baked into the cake and the person who finds it in his piece is believed to enjoy good luck in the year
Dia de los reyes magos is on Jan. 5 - Feb. 2 and the day is about the 3 wisemen, But January the 6th is the special day in Mexico….. this day represents the height of the Christmas season. This celebration is where it is stated that the kings, Melchor, Gaspar, and Balthasar, traveled by night all the way from the farthest confines of the Earth to bring gifts to Jesus, whom they recognized as the Son of God. As well as regal, the Three Kings are depicted as wise men, whose very wisdom is proved by their acknowledgement of Christ's divine status. Arrived from three different directions, the kings followed the light provided by the star of Bethlehem, which reportedly lingered over the manger where the Virgin Mary gave birth for many days. In
Coming from a mexican culture, I am blessed to have a rich variety of traditional delicious home made recipes. Most people my age always salivate to the idea of their grandmothers making that amazing dinner. Mostly all americans can agree on the superb taste of the mexican food, and one of my favorites and most traditional of them all is the famous “Mole sauce”. It is made on special occasions such as birthdays, christmas, new years, and teenagers first communion at the church. This complex dark red spicy/sweet sauce has a legend behind its creation. It is believed in the mexican culture that it was made for the first time at the Convent of Santa Rosa in Puebla early in the colonial period. The convent nuns went into panic one day as they found out the archbishop was paying them a visit and they had nothing to prepare for him due to lack of wealth. The nuns prayed and put together the scraps of ingredients that they had left including chilli peppers, day old bread, nuts, some chocolate and spices. After they killed a turkey, cooked it and served it with the sauce on top, the archbishop fell in love with the dish. They asked the nuns about the dish and they responded truthfully with “I made a Mole” which is the anctient word for mix in spanish. There is also a few variations of this sauce within the mexican community, but the one I will be instructing you how to make is the traditional recipe that my grandmother learned from her grandmother; Mole poblano.
Las Posadas is a Mexican holiday that is like Christmas for the United States. It was originated in Spain and lasts for nine days. This holiday begins on December sixteenth and ends on December twenty-fourth. This is also a catholic holiday but most people in Mexico celebrate it. This holiday was thought to be started in the sixteenth century by “St. Ignatius of Loyola or Friar Pedro de Gant in Mexico.” In Mexico they have a tradition where they put a candle in a paper lampshade. Then they would take the lampshade with the candle inside it and went outside to sing a song, allowing Joseph and Mary to be recognized and allowed to enter the world. This is still a tradition today but one thing has changed from around when it was started. It, for some people, celebrated it in a church instead of the family’s home. There is a thing that is common for both the United Stated and Mexico. They both sing Christmas carols, they go along to houses or in a church and sing Christmas songs. On these days the children will break piñatas to get the candy and prizes inside. They also so another thing ...
Of all the cuisines to choose from, I have decided upon the country of Spain from Europe and Laos from Asia. Lao cuisine is the closest to Hmong food, which is my ethnicity. The Hmong people do not have their own country to call their own, for example Lao people are from Laos and Spanish people are from Spain. Hmong people are not from Mongolia. Instead a majority of Hmong people resides in the mountains of Laos. Some live in Cambodia, Thailand, France, or the U.S. of A. Spain has influenced a large part of world cuisine. It’s techniques and ingredients have been intertwined with the rest of the world for thousands of years.
Cuban cuisine has been influenced by Spanish, French, African, Arabic, Chinese, and Portuguese cultures. Traditional Cuban cooking is primarily peasant cuisine that has little concern with measurements, order and timing. Most of the food is sauteed or slow-cooked over a low flame. Very little is deep-fried and there are no heavy or creamy sauces. Most Cuban cooking relies on a few basic spices, such as garlic, cumin, oregano, and bay laurel leaves. Many dishes use a sofrito as their basis. The sofrito consists of onion, green pepper, garlic, oregano, and ground pepper quick-fried in olive oil. The sofrito is what gives the food its flavor. It is used when cooking black beans, stews, many meat dishes, and tomato-based sauces. Meats and poultry are usually marinated in citrus juices, such as lime or sour orange juices, and then roasted over low heat until the meat is tender and literally falling off the bone. Another common staple to the Cuban diet are root vegetables such as yuca, malanga, and boniato, which are found in most Latin markets. These vegetables are flavored with a marinade, called mojo, which includes hot olive oil, lemon juice, sliced raw onions, garlic, cumin, and little water.
Cubans who arrived in the United States in the late 50's and 60's had to make some adaptations to their cooking. Many markets did not carry the vegetables, fruits or cuts of meat that they were accustomed to using in their island kitchens. Lard and olive oil, which are generally used in Cuban cooking, had to be replaced by other cooking oils. Lard was too difficult to find and olive oil was too expensive; a substitute had to be found. Cooks started using vegetable oil, which was readily available and affordable. Nowadays, safflower and canola oils have become more preferable because they are healthier. Many items are now also available in low-fat versions. The consumption of salt has too been cut back thanks to low- sodium products.
The hispanic culture has many traditions but another important one is el Día de Reyes and la Rosca de Reyes: It is a Mexican tradition that Mexicans celebrate. This used to be the real Santa Claus at least in Mexico and while kids aren’t complaining about getting gifts from both days, we shouldn't lose the beautiful tradition. Getting the family together to cut the Rosca de Reyes or Three Kings Bread, is a great tradition where if you get the muñequito or Niño Dios, and is found then you have to host a Tamal party on February 2 for the Candelabra.
Mexico has 31 states and 1 Federal district which is Mexico City. While the overwhelming majority of Mexicans today speak Spanish making it the largest Spanish speaking population in the world there is no single official national language of Mexico. The colonizers of Mexico forced the Spanish language on the natives, but in the 1990s the government recognized 62 indigenous Amerindian languages, including Aztec, or Nahuatl, and the Mayan family of languages, as national languages. About 6 % of the population is non-Spanish speaking, and some indigenous Mexican words have become common in other languages, to include English. Examples are: chocolate, coyote, tomato and avocado all originated in Nahuatl.
It originates from Medellin, which is located in the Antioquia region. It is a plate made up of rice, ground meat, pork rinds, plantains, fried eggs, chorizo, arepa, avocado and red beans. In this dish one can see the history of Colombia. For instance the pork rinds and chorizo came from the Spanish conquistadors. The avocado came from the Brazilians. The chorizo, pork rinds, and plantain are all fried in oil, a cooking method taught by the African slaves. In addition, one can see how the region influenced the dish as it has red beans, a food that is well known in the Antioquia region where Ls Bandeja Paisa originated from. In conclusion, one can learn a lot about a culture through its food and
The Portuguese navigator Pedro Alvares Cabral arrived at present day Pôrto Seguro (Safe Harbor) in the state of Bahia on the Brazilian coast in April 1500 and named the new territory Ilha de Vera Cruz, Island of the True Cross, thinking he was on an island. A year later, Italian navigator Amerigo Vespucci sailed to Brazil on a voyage commissioned by the Portuguese crown and returned home with a cargo of hard, reddish wood. The wood was similar to an East Indian variety called pau brasil, which was then popular in Europe for making cabinets and violin bows. Pau brasil (brazilwood), the first product to be exploited by the Portuguese in this new territory, is the origin of the country's name, Brazil (Ramaworldtours.com, 2014). Brazil is characterized by a diverse culture and geography, and historically it has been the source of important natural resources in its 510 years of history. It is the largest country in South America in both population (approximately199.321 million- “World Population Statistics”) and area (8.5 million square kilometers) and 5th largest country in the world. Brazil has several regional variations, and in spite of being mostly unified by a single language, some regions are so different from each other that they could have become different countries altogether. Brazil is composed by multicultural mixture: Africans, Europeans and Native Americans formed the bulk of Brazilian culture. This fact influences arts, literature, music or gastronomy, creating a heterogeneous mix of habits and patterns in society. (Noble J., Chandler G., & Clark G., 2008) Bossa Nova, Carnival and samba are some of the most popular exponents of this heterogeneous and rich culture. Brazil was colonized by the Por...
...ition of spices into the market during the Middle Ages not only created an economic boom but also led to the change in social, political, and religious outlooks of society. The vast importance of the spice trade opened the doors for nations to expand and create new relationships with neighboring regions, but most importantly it allowed individuals such as Columbus, Da Gama, Polo and other explorers to be able to discover new domains that eventually led to the colonization of the Americas today. Paul Freedman’s book does an excellent job in enlightening the reader of how meaningful spices were throughout the centuries and with the help of numerous primary sources, the message was clear just after reading the first chapter. The book allows us to have a better understanding of the fundamental importance spices played in shifting the medieval times into the modern era.
Spain, the third largest country in Europe, has a strong history and diverse culture dating back to when the Iberians first inhabited the land. The country lies between the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean and the land ranges from mountains to meadows. Over hundreds of centuries, many different civilizations have inhabited the land influencing the people there today. From the Visigoths and Celts to the Romans of the Middle Ages, Spain has received a rich history and background. One of the strongest of its cultures is the food. All of these cultures brought a particular type of food and combined and blended with the food that exists there today. Spain is very popular for olives, vineyards, and citrus fruit. Another well-liked food is garlic, including varieties of peppers and spices. Once spice specifically—golden saffron—is essential in many recipes, including the Spanish Paella. There are many distinguished Spanish foods that encompass the daily life and culture of the country.
Brazilwood was not nearly as profitable as the silk and spices in India, which made the Portuguese disregard Brazil until 1533. Yet, there were some settlers spread out throughout the land who tried to profit from brazilwood. It was until after 1533 when the Portuguese started to permanently settle in Brazil; the Portuguese had a sudden interest in Brazil because of French and Spanish invaders, and because of the economic downfall that was taking place
La Semana Santa is a holiday celebrated in most Spanish speaking countries but it originated in Spain. It takes place the entire week prior to Easter or, in Spanish, Pascua. They celebrate their Christian traditions and on this very important holiday. During this week, the city is very busy. All of the businesses close their shops for Semana Santa but the bars and restaurants stay open. Every afternoon, floats parade through the city, some carrying a life size Jesus and Virgin Mary for hours.
However, due to the effects of globalization, modern African cuisine and cooking draws upon an assortment of ethnic traditions merged with the seasonings and tastes of outside countries (AIG, 2011). In general, European explorers and traders introduced several important food staples to t...