HISTORY OF THE ROMANIAN CUISINE
Cooking food started a long time ago when the fire and fruit fermentation were discovered. 10 000 years ago people started cultivating plants and raising animals.
FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE PEOPLE’ S DIET & EATING HABITS: geographical position, climate, relief, religion, customs and the contact with other cultures
In Romania, the temperate climate, the diverse relief crossed by rivers that empty in the Black Sea have provided us with conditions for a rich diet and eating habits The archeological discoveries confirm the presence of people on the Romanian territory since Paleolithic age until now.
AGE OF THE DACIAN CIVILIZATION
The Dacians used to eat: roast veal, wild pigeons, honey, aromatic wines, juicy pears, milk, boiled millet or wheat. They used to preserve the food by adding salt or exposing it to smoke. The pots discovered in that period confirm the Roman influences in the Dacians’ diet and eating habits by: clay pots for baking bread or hand mills. They also brought the pie with different stuffings or the olive oil in Dacia.
DIET AND EATING HABITS IN THE NEOLITHIC AGE
The archeological discoveries confirm the presence of an outstanding civilization at Cucuteni, in northern Romania, 6000 years ago. The inhabitants had a protein-rich diet. Their main occupations were: fishing, hunting, farming, making hand made tools and clay pots.
MIDDLE AGES
In Romania the people from the rural areas used to have a vegetarian diet . In the urban areas people used to eat meat every day. In the 14 th century, the banquets held by the boyars contributed to the diversification of the Romanians’ diet.
CLASSICAL PERIOD 17th-18th centuries
Corn began to be grown in the 17th century. The yellow and round cornmeal mush (also known as “polenta”) replaced the boiled millet and became a symbol for the Romanian peasants. The Romanian boyars had meals similar to the menus from the Western countries where cooking food had started to be considered culinary art. At the end of the 18th century, the historical documents confirm that the Romanians used to grow: cabbage, peas, beans, onion, garlic, cucumbers and potatoes.
SCIENTIFIC PERIOD 19th-20th centuries
The food processing industry (sugar, sugar products, food concentrates) appeared in the 19th century. However, cooks’ interest was still focused on traditional products cooked in clay pots. In the early 20th century, restaurants (with staff trained at the cooking schools from Paris) appeared in different towns. Capsa brothers invented the so-called “Joffre cake” (that is also very much appreciated nowadays) in 1920, and launched it on the occasion of the visit of the French Marshal Joffre. The cake has the shape of his hat.
COMMUNIST PERIOD
1944 - 1989
Food was scarce during the communist period. Food rationing was introduced on a wide scale (the government promoted it as "a means to reduce obesity" and "rational eating"). Bread, milk, butter, cooking oil, sugar, pork, beef, chicken, and in some places even potatoes were rationed in most of Romania by 1989, with rations being made smaller every year (by 1989, a person could legally buy only 10 eggs per month). Nevertheless, the Romanians tried to be creative and invent diverse and healthy foods.
AFTER 1989
The development of the society and the free contact with other European countries have allowed the appearance of the industrial processed products on the Romanian market. Recently, there has been an increased interest in cooking and nutrition education as well as consumer education according to the European norms. Many campaigns focused on healthy food choices have been launched in schools and mass media in order to raise awareness of the health problems caused by eating unhealthy food. Besides, there has been an increased interest in ecological food products and clear food labelling.
CONCLUSIONS
As it is situated in a geographical position that made it a prime target for many invading nations, Romania has a very diversified cuisine influenced by the neighbouring countries and the foreign invaders. Starting with the dishes brought by the Roman invaders and continuing with influences from other nations such as the Turkish, Russians, Germans and Hungarians, the Romanian cuisine tried to adapt the international dishes to the local traditions. Several dishes, such as “mamaliga” (or polenta as it is often called) and “sarmale” (cabbage rolls with rice and minced pork meat) are considered Romanian traditional dishes.
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THANK YOU!
This presentation and the learning objects have been designed by the Comenius team (pupils and teachers) from School no. 191, Bucharest, Romania within the Comenius project “Food and Health” (2008-2010)