Moldovan cuisine

Traditional Moldovan cuisine is famous for a wide variety of different dishes and delicious taste. It’s due to the fact that it has been developed under influence of cultures of many peoples who lived on this territory during the past centuries: Ukrainians, Russians, Greeks, Jews, Germans and others.

Moldova is considered to be a country of grapes, fruits and plentiful vegetables, sheep breeding and poultry farming. Favorite dishes of Moldovans are brynza (a cheese-like dairy product), polenta ("mamaliga", a mash from corn flour), and dishes from vegetables, fruits and meat. And of course, wine has a special place in the Moldovan cuisine.

Brynza, goat cheese, has been produced in Moldova since the 17th century, when sheep breeding was very popular. They use brynza in preparation of different dishes of national cuisine. They also serve it as an appetizer.

Another, just as famous dish in Moldova is polenta ("mamaliga"). It’s made of fully cooked corn flour, and served with brynza, milk, red-beet soup, salted fish, and cracklings. Corn appeared in Moldova about 200 ago. First it was used for cooking food for poor people, but now it is used for preparation of various dishes (soups, side dishes).

Moldovan cuisine is famous for a variety of vegetables and fruits; there is plenty of it in Moldova thanks to the favorable climate conditions. Traditional for the local cuisine dishes are dishes from diverse vegetables like: marrows, egg-plants, bell peppers, tomatoes. Beans, lentil, radish, onion are commonly used for cooking as well. Vegetables are used either separately or as a side dish. Vegetables can be roasted, stewed, baked, marinated, or boiled. Bell peppers and egg-plants are often stuffed with rice and meat, or other vegetables. Various vegetable ragout, puree from beans, appetizers from marinated vegetables are also popular.

They use different spices like pepper, savory, cloves, and tarragon to spice the dishes in Moldova. Onion and celery are often served separately. Garlic is also very popular. There are two popular types of sauce with garlic in Moldova "mujdei" and "scordoli", besides that they add garlic in almost every meat or vegetable dish.

Second course dishes in the Moldovan cuisine are traditionally made of beef ("mititei"), pork ("cirnetei", "costita", "mushka"), poultry ("zama"), mutton ("ciorba", "giveci" (mutton stew), "musaca"), and fish. Meat can be roasted (or baked), baked in pots, grilled (they put pieces of meat or poultry on a hot greased bars). One of the most favorite dishes of Moldovan people is a chicken soup with vegetables ("zama de gaina"), jellied chicken ("racituri"), stuffed cabbage ("sarmale"), "costita", "mititei" (grilled meat). Moldovans usually cook meat with lots of vegetables and fruits such as apricot and quince. It’s also very common to use wine and tomato juice while cooking meat and meat sauces. It softens meat.

Flour products of Moldovan cuisine include various stuffed pies, "vareniki". They use grapes and different fruits for desserts such as quince, apples, plums, cherries, apricots, nuts. Corn cake, "Gogos" cookies, "Semiluna", "Alvita", "Peltea" are the most popular confectionary products.

None of traditional holidays is organized without Moldovan wine. Moldovan wine is very well known even abroad. Wines are commonly used for cooking of national dishes and are always there at the festive dinner. Wines accompany almost every meal.

Mutton dishes are usually served with white or red wine (it depends on the way the meat is cooked). White wine is served with beef and poultry. Spicy meat dishes are served with strong alcoholic drinks and liquors. Traditional Moldovan Cahors wine is served with stuffed pies. Moldovan cognacs (divin) are also very popular.

Polenta and brynza are often served with red wines made of different kinds of grapes. But dishes with stewed or roasted vegetables are served with light rose or white wines. Desserts are normally served with sherry filled with aroma of wildflowers, fruits and nuts.

In Moldova wine is also used for making of confectionary products, like cookies and cakes and cookies made with puff paste. Moldovan halva and nut nougat are just delicious. Red dessert wines which could be served as a dessert are often served with different desserts.

Therefore, Moldovan cuisine has a very long history. It’s very rich in plentiful grapes, fruits, vegetables, meat and milk products and cereals and other natural food products that are ecologically pure. It’s one of the most interesting cuisines of the world. Its main distinguish characteristic is a combination of different food products and richness of taste.