This country was occupied by many conquerors like the Romans, Greeks and Turks. This is why many of the recipes have ancient roots. Even today this tradition in cooking remained. Every region in Romania has its specific specialties.
So if you go to the mountain side don't stay at the hotel. We suggest you take a room in one of the locals villa. Villa managers are serving all sorts of traditional foods and you won't regret it. Hospitality is at high price in their houses.
On the menu we have the original all times favorite: Sarmale. Sarmale is a recipe that takes a lot of time to prepare. For the result to be outstanding, the dish must be prepared a long time before. Locals usually take fresh cabbage and put it in a barrel along with water and salt. They add all sorts of aromatic herbs like basil for example. The cabbage is left to soak in the salted water for about 3-4 months. This operation usually begins at the beginning of autumn so the cabbage is ready by Christmas.
Most Romanians will say that Sarmale are great during holidays. Once the cabbage is ready, a mixture of rice and minced meat will be prepared. Then they take parts of the composition the size of a meat ball and roll them in a cabbage leaf. Out of a bowl of meat and a cabbage you should get about 20 Sarmale. These are then cooked in the oven for almost an hour. Tomato sauce can make wonders to them while cooking. If you want to try this at home don't forget to spice the meat. They should be served warm with traditional bread. A glass of Palinca is also welcome. Palinca is a traditional drink similar to whiskey. The difference is that Palinca has plum flavor.
The middle of the country is also famous for the cheese. If you happen to come that way try some of the cheese. You will find it deliciously divine.
Another thing Romanians are renowned for is soup (ciorba). Their soups are extremely good especially served with hot peppers soaked in vinegar.
The most traditional food of Romania is Mamaliga (corn mush). They serve it hot with cheese, butter and yogurt. Combining this with sarmale and Tuica (grape brandy) will turn out to be a memorable culinary experience.
If you ever find a course of Romanian culinary art don't miss it because it will help you understand a lot of things of an unknown but happy place here on the planet. You can find and taste Romanian food in many restaurants all over the world well known for their great food and atmosphere. Don't worry if you don't find a place where you can learn how to cook Romanian style or other desired styles because there are a lot of books that will help you learn how too cook and maybe apply your knowledge in your own restaurant afterwards.
The culinary arts is comprised of many categories - some of which are tools, methods, combination of spices and ingredients that adds flavour to the food. It normally needs the right measurements, proper selection and accurate combination of ingredients involved to reach desired result.
The diversity of the Culinary arts around the world mirrors many considerations such as:
- Economic - Aesthetic - Nutritional - Religious - Cultural
1. The Dawn Of Fire
The culinary arts, if not always, is associated with fire. The heat generated by fire is oftentimes required to be applied to be able to change the food's texture, flavour, nutritional contents and even its appearance. Heating is important in the culinary arts because it disinfects the food and makes it softer. The food danger zone is between 4 to 60 degrees Celsius. Within these temperatures, the bacteria found in the found or even those that were transferred to the food can grow at a very alarming rate. Under ideal conditions bacteria can double their population every twenty minutes. Although at a glance, these foods may not appear harmful, when ingested they can be. Many people have the misconception that bacteria will die when we freeze our food or refrigerate them, but this actually does not rid the food of bacteria, merely it slows down their expansion.
2. Baking
Baking is probably the most famous department in the culinary arts. In the culinary arts, baking is the art of cooking food using an oven. The food is cooked through applying dry heat evenly through the oven and onto the food. It is used in producing pastry based goodies such as pies, tarts and cakes. The dry heat in the oven causes the starch to gelatinize and results to the browning or charring of the outside of the food. Some uneducated in the culinary arts might think that the charred part or the brown part is not as tasty as it sounds, but this part is actually what gives taste and flavour to the baked good, partly sealing the moisture of the food. The browning apparent in the baked good is caused by the sugar caramelizing and the chemical reaction that happens between the reduction of sugar and the amino acid (Maillard reaction). Moisture in the baked goody, on the other hand, is not really completely kept in, in time as the goody is being baked it will become drier and drier.
3. Boiling
Another category is boiling. Boiling is when there is a rapid vaporization of any liquid when the liquid is heated. In cooking, boiling is divided into many other categories. Blanching, a cooking term used to describe the submersion of food into boiling water and removing it after a certain period of time and then throwing it into cold water or letting water run over it causing the firming of food. Pressure cooking is when food is cooked inside an enclosed cooking tool that would limit the air that's coming in or going out of that tool - this technique speeds up the pace of cooking. Stewing would probably be the most popular cooking technique in the culinary arts division. It is a method where meats are cut up into smaller pieces and along with some vegetables are simmered into a liquid. Simmering, then again is a cooking method where the liquid is barely kept away from its boiling point. Other boiling techniques are braising, codding, steaming, infusion, poaching, double steaming, steeping and vacuum flask cooking.
4. Other
To most Americans, microwaving and grilling are the most common forms of cooking. Microwaving is the easiest and simplest form of cooking; it is a technique used mostly to reheat sumptuous meals ready to be consumed. And for grilling, most Americans have a grill station in their backyard. Grilling is a roasting method that is cooking directly under a source of heat. Other roasting methods are Barbecuing, Searing and Rotisserie. A less common method is smoking meat, or even salting it.
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