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Sample some holiday foods from around the world
By VIRGINIA JUSTICE
The holidays are celebrated in
diff erent ways around the world.
Not all cultures celebrate Christ-
mas or Hanukah, and even climate
some mes dictates what food
items are available during the
holiday season. In the northern
hemisphere, December is winter,
in the southern hemisphere it is
summer, so while we in Oregon are
dealing with the cold and possibly
snow, people in Australia and other
countries south of the equator are
dealing with the heat. Many coun-
tries share tradi onal holiday foods
or have meals similar to neighbor-
ing countries.
For Israelis, latkes are a popular
Hanukah food. This pancake-type
dish is made with shredded or
mashed potatoes, diced onions and
eggs, then fried in oil un l crisp on
both sides. This fried potato dish is
typically served with applesauce or
sour cream.
In Greenland, where Christmas
trees are imported because pine
trees do not grow there, the Christ-
mas celebra on includes ma ak,
whale skin with blubber inside, and
kiviak, which is auk (a small bird)
inside a seal skin that is buried for
several months to decompose.
Greenlanders also enjoy fi sh,
cooked or raw, barbecued caribou
with a desserts of berries, apple
crisp and Danish pastries.
For Peruvians, spiced hot choco-
late is a holiday tradi on even
though Christmas is summer me.
This hot chocolate with spices like
cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves is
made in large quan es and served
to the less fortunate along with
pane one, an Italian sweet bread
made with currants and orange
zest. For Christmas dinner, Peru-
vians will dine on turkey, tamales,
salads, applesauce and pane one.
Polish families dine on 12 foods
that represent the 12 apostles.
Borscht, a beet soup served hot or
cold, is o en the fi rst course of the
Christmas Eve dinner. The Polish
typically do not consume meat dur-
ing this me so dishes contain fi sh,
vegetables and legumes. Pierogi (a
polish dumpling) and cabbage rolls,
which normally contain meat, are
made without it during the holi-
days.
On the island of Jamaica, fruit-
cake, curry goat, stewed oxtail and
rum are a part of the tradi onal
Christmas feast. Dried fruit for
the fruitcake is soaked in rum for
months before the cakes are made
to ensure moist, fl avorful cake.
Lutefi sk is a tradi onal holiday
dish in many Nordic countries. Lute-
fi sk is dried white fi sh, which has
been soaked in a lye solu on, then
rinsed and cooked. The prepara-
on of lutefi sk is a lengthy process
star ng with soaking the dry fi sh
in water for fi ve to six days, chang-
ing the water daily. The fi sh is then
soaked in a water and lye solu on
for two days followed by again
soaking the fi sh in clear water for
six days (water changed daily). Af-
ter comple ng the soaking the fi sh
is cooked by parboiling or baking in
a low heat oven. The result is a fi sh
with a jelly-like texture and strong
fi sh smell.
Australians are likely to have a
barbecue for Christmas dinner due
to the summer heat. Their celebra-
ons include shrimp and fi sh or the
more tradi onal roast turkey with
stuffi ng. In Japan, Kentucky Fried
Chicken is a holiday tradi on; peo-
ple call in orders months in advance
and line up around the block to
ensure they get this holiday food.
One thing that appears to be
common in holiday celebra ons
around the world is sweets: pas-
tries, sweetbread, pudding, candy
and cookies with na onal and re-
gional twists are a huge part of the
holiday season. In many countries
special cakes, pastries and breads
are made to honor Christ and the
Apostles; some of these treats
include a hidden prize said to bring
happiness, health or prosperity dur-
ing the coming year to the person
who fi nds it.
________
Home economist Virginia JusƟ ce
holds an educaƟ on degree. The
Pendleton resident and her husband
have two college-aged daughters.