Romanian cuisine

Romanian cuisine is the way people in Romania cook and eat. It mixes foods from many places Romania has traded with. The main influences come from Ottoman and Turkish cuisine, but foods from the Balkan Peninsula, Greek cuisine, Hungarian cuisine, and Central Europe also help shape it.

Romanian meals often change with the seasons and holidays. Many people in Romania follow Eastern Orthodoxy. Their dishes use vegetables, grains, fruits, honey, milk, dairy, meat, and animals from the forest.

One big group of foods in Romania is called ciorbă. These are soups that taste a little sour. There are many kinds, like soup with meat or vegetables. They make these soups sour with lemon juice, juice from sour sauerkraut, vinegar, or borș.

Another special drink in Romania is called țuică. It is a strong alcoholic spirit made from plums. Romania shares its cuisine with Moldova, where people speak a similar language, so their foods are often very similar.

History

See also: History of Romania

In the past, important books helped shape Romanian cooking. Two writers, Costache Negruzzi and Mihail Kogălniceanu, made a cookbook in 1841 with many recipes. They wrote about how meals were simple in places like Moldavia.

Cheese has always been part of Romanian food. The word for cheese in Romanian is Brânză.

New foods like maize and potatoes became common in Romanian meals after they arrived in Europe. Maize helped people stay healthier.

For a long time, areas like Wallachia and Moldavia were near lands such as the Ottoman Empire. Ottoman cooking brought new dishes to Romania, like appetizers from vegetables such as eggplant and bell peppers, and tasty meat dishes. Popular soups and stews with meat and vegetables also came from nearby Turkish cuisine.

Description

Romanian recipes have been shaped by many cultures. The Turks brought meatballs, the Greeks gave us musaca, and the Austrians introduced the șnițel. Romanians share many dishes with foods from the Balkan area and former Austria-Hungary. Some dishes are special to Romania, but it's hard to know where they all came from.

One popular meal is mămăligă (polenta). Pork is the most common meat, but beef, mutton, and fish are also eaten.

Before Christmas, families often make special foods from a pig they might have raised. The Christmas meal often includes a sweet bread called cozonac. At Easter, lamb is common.

Romanian pancakes, called clătite, can be filled with ground meat, cheese, or jam. Wine is a favorite drink, and Romania makes many types of wine. Beer is also popular.

During certain times, followers of the Romanian Orthodox Church follow special diets. Because of this, many vegan foods are available in stores and restaurants.

List of dishes

Soups

• Borș is fermented wheat bran, used to make ciorbă. Borș is also used to mean ciorbă, but they were once different.
  • Borș de burechiușe
• Ciorbă is the traditional Romanian sour soup
  • Ciorbă de burtă (tripe soup)
  • Ciorbă de perișoare (meatball soup)
  • Ciorbă de fasole cu afumătură (bean and smoked meat soup)
  • Ciorbă de legume (vegetable soup)
  • Ciorbă de pește "ca-n Deltă" (fish soup)
  • Ciorbă de praz is a leek soup
  • Ciorbă de pui is a chicken soup
  • Ciorbă de lobodă is a red orach soup
  • Ciorbă de salată cu afumătură (green lettuce and smoked meat soup)
  • Ciorbă de sfeclă, also called borș de sfeclă or borș rusesc (similar to borscht)
  • Ciorbă de urechiușe, wild mushroom sour soup
  • Ciorbă moldovenească de găină is a hen sour soup
  • Ciorbă țărănească (peasant soup), made from vegetables and meat
  • Storceag, fish soup with sour cream and egg.
• Supă (generic name for sweet soups, made from vegetables or with poultry and beef). The difference between supă and ciorbă is that the meat and most of the vegetables are removed, the resulting liquid being served with dumplings or noodles. There are also sour soups which use lemon juice, called supe a la grec (Greek soups).
  • Supă (de pui) cu găluște (clear dumpling soup with chicken broth)
  • Supă (de pui) cu tăiței (clear noodle soup with chicken broth)

Meat

• Caltaboș / chișcă - a cooked sausage made from minced pork organs mainly liver, rice, onions, herbs and spices
• Cârnați - a sausage, mostly smoked, stuffed in small bowel as in Fasole cu cârnați
• Cevapcici - grilled minced meat from areas with a Serbian minority, mostly in Banat
• Chiftele - a type of small meatball made of ground pork, beef, lamb mixed with breadcrumbs and egg, onions, garlic and parsley.
  • Ciulama de vițel - veal ciulama
  • Ciulama de pui - chicken ciulama
• Drob de miel - a lamb haggis made from minced organs wrapped in a caul and roasted
• Frigărui - Romanian-style shish-kebab, made with pork or a mixture of ground pork and chicken
• Limbă cu măsline [ro] - cow tongue with olives
• Mititei (mici) - grilled minced meat rolls, traditionally made from lamb meat, or from mixed meats (pork, veal, lamb) with lots of spices
• Grătar (usually made together with "mici") - grilled pork/beef, thinly sliced with condiments
• Musaca - an eggplant, potato, and meat pie
• Ostropel - method of cooking chicken or duck or any meat in tomato sauce.
• Papricaș - Chicken paprikash made with bell pepper and paprika
• Gulaș - Goulash, a stew made with potato and beef
• Jumări - kind of pork cracklings
• Pastrami - a food usually made from beef brisket, or from lamb, pork, chicken or turkey. The raw meat is brined, partially dried, seasoned with herbs and spices, then smoked and steamed.
• Pârjoale - a type of meatball bigger than chiftele, with breadcrumbs and parsley
• Piftie - the preparation of this dish is similar to the French demi-glace. Pork stock is reduced by simmering, and spiced. The boiled pork meat is then added, and left to cool.
• Plescavița - hamburger type meat consisted of spiced minced pork, beef and lamb meat
• Pleșcoi sausages - registered as a Romanian protected geographical indication (PGI) product in the European Union
• Rasol - slowly stewed beef at low fire, usually served with a garlic paste (mujdei)
• Salam de Sibiu - a variety of salami registered as a Romanian protected geographical indication (PGI) product in the European Union
• Sarmale - stuffed sour cabbage or grape leaves with ground meat with rice, onions, herbs. It is boiled for a few hours. There are also many vegan varieties stuffed with rice and herbs.
• Slănină - pork fat, often smoked with paprika, herbs and pepper
• Shawarma - locally known as șaormă, it is one of the most popular street foods in the country.
• Șnițel - a chicken, pork, veal, or beef breaded cutlet (a variety of Viennese schnitzel)
  • Cordon bleu șnițel - breaded pork tenderloin stuffed with ham and cheese
  • Mozaic șnițel - a specialty of Western Romania, which is two thin layers of different meats with a mushroom filling. Other vegetable fillings may be used instead of mushrooms.
  • Șnițel de pui - breaded chicken breast cutlet
• Stufat - lamb, onion, and garlic stew
• Tobă - pork sausage (usually pig's stomach, stuffed with pork jelly, snout, ears and skin)
• Tocană/tocaniță - meat stew
• Tocăniță vânătorească - venison stew
• Tochitură - pan-fried cubed pork, fresh salty cheese, fried eggs, sausages served with mămăligă and wine
• Varză călită - fried or sauteed cabbage with pork ribs, duck, or sausages
• Virșli - a type of sausage made from a mixture of goat or lamb with pork

Fish

• Chiftele de pește - fish meatballs
• Crap pane - breaded carp fillet
• Ghiveci cu pește - fish stew with vegetables
• Macrou afumat - smoked mackerel fillet
• Novac afumat din Țara Bârsei - smoked carp fillet, registered as a Romanian protected geographical indication (PGI) product in the European Union
• Pană de somn rasol - catfish in brine with garlic
• Plachie din pește - ragout of river fish with vegetables
• Papricaș de pește - fish papricaș
• Salată de icre - roe salad, traditionally made from carp, pike, or various marine fish species, called tarama, with onion
  • Salată cu icre de știucă de Tulcea - a variety of salată de icre registered as a Romanian protected geographical indication (PGI) product in the European Union
  • Salata tradițională cu icre de crap - another variety of salată de icre registered as a Romanian protected geographical indication (PGI) product in the European Union
• Saramură de crap - carp in brine
• Scrumbie de Dunăre afumată - smoked pontic shad, registered as a Romanian protected geographical indication (PGI) product in the European Union

Vegetables

• Ardei umpluți - stuffed bell peppers with meat, rice, onions
• Dovlecei umpluți - stuffed zucchini
• Gulii umplute - stuffed kohlrabi
• Găluște - boiled dumplings; similar to knedle or knödel in Central European cuisines
• Vinete umplute - stuffed eggplant
• Sarmale - stuffed cabbage rolls, also made from grape or dock leaves similar to Dolma
• Ghiveci - a vegetable stew similar to the Bulgarian gjuvec and the Hungarian lecsó
• Ghiveci călugăresc - vegetable stew prepared by the nuns in the monasteries
• Fasole batută - bean paste made from Romanian refried beans, uses white or cannellini beans, with the addition of olive or sunflower oil and minced garlic. The dish is traditionally served with fried onions as a garnish.
• Mămăligă - cornmeal mush, also known as Romanian-style polenta. Mămăligă can be served as a side dish or form the basis of further dishes, such as mămăligă cu lapte (polenta with hot milk), bulz (baked polenta with Romanian sheep cheese and sour cream), mămăliguță cu brânză și smântănă (polenta with telemea (Romanian cheese similar to feta) and sour cream), and others.
• Mâncare de mazăre - pea stew
• Mâncare de praz - leek stew
• Pilaf - a dish of rice, vegetables, and pieces of meat (optional). The meat is usually the offal, wings, and organs of chicken, pork, or lamb.
• Chifteluțe de ciuperci - chiftele made from mushrooms instead of meat
• Șnițel de ciuperci - mushroom fritter (șnițel is the Romanian spelling of the German word schnitzel (breaded boneless cutlet), but it may be used to mean any sort of fritter)
• Tocană de ciuperci - mushroom stew made with fried mushrooms, garlic and dill
• Tocăniță de gălbiori - chanterelle stew
• Zacuscă - vegetable spread consisting of roasted eggplant, sauteed onions, tomato paste, and roasted red peppers cooked for a long time at a low temperature

List of salads

• Ardei copți - roasted pepper salad, with vinegar and sunflower
• Murături - a way of pickling different fruits and vegetables
  • Castraveți murați - pickled small cucumbers with dill, garlic and parsley root
  • Gogonele murate - pickled green tomatoes
  • Varză murată - cabbage pickled in brine, with dill and beetroots for color.
  • Murături asortate - mixed pickled vegetables like onions, garlic, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, kohlrabi, beets, carrots, and more. It is usually cured in brine.
• Mujdei - crushed garlic sauce, made from garlic, salt, oil and water
• Salată de boeuf - minced boiled meat with boiled vegetables, mayonnaise, and pickles
• Salată de vinete - roasted and peeled eggplant, chopped onions, and salt mixed with oil or mayonnaise
• Salată grecească - pieces of tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, feta cheese, olives, salt and olive oil
• Salată orientală - potato salad with eggs, onions, and olives
• Salată de sfeclă - beet salad
• Salată de roșii - tomato salad, with sliced onions, bell peppers, and cucumber. Flavored with dill or parsley.
• Shopska salad - made from tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, raw or roasted peppers, telemea, and parsley. The vegetables are usually diced and salted, followed by a light dressing of oil and vinegar

List of cheeses

In Romania, cheese is called brânză. Many cheeses there are made from cow’s or sheep’s milk. Some people like sheep cheese best, but others do not because it can smell strong.

Some famous Romanian cheeses include:

• Brânză de burduf, a cheese from sheep’s milk.
• Brânză topită, a melted cheese.
• Brânză în coșuleț, a smoked cheese from sheep’s milk.
• Caș, a fresh, soft white cheese.
• Cașcaval, a semi-hard cheese.
• Năsal cheese, known for its strong smell.
• Șvaițer, a factory-made cheese.
• Telemea, a white cheese similar to feta.
• Urdă, made from milk liquid.
• Zămătișe, a kind of cottage cheese.

List of desserts

• Alivenci is a sweet and salty pie made from corn and cheese, from Eastern Romania and Moldova.
• Amandine is a chocolate cake filled with almonds and topped with chocolate.
• Brânzoaice are soft cakes from Moldova filled with sweet cheese.
• Carpați is a cake with layers of sponge cake, chocolate, and caramel cream, shaped like the Carpathian mountains.
• Cataife
• Chec is a type of pound cake.
• Clătite are thin pancakes filled with sweet ingredients.
• Colivă is made from boiled wheat mixed with sugar and walnuts, often shared at special times.
• Colțunași
• Cozonac secuiesc is a cake rolled in sugar and butter.
• Cremă de zahăr ars is a dessert like crème brûlée.
• Cremșnit is a cream cake, also called vanilla slice, linked to the former Austro-Hungarian Monarchy.
• Doboș is a sponge cake with layers of chocolate buttercream and a caramel topping.
• Gogoși are doughnuts made from fried dough. In Banat, they are called crofne.
• Gomboți are dumplings filled with plums.
• Griș cu lapte
• Halva
• Joffre cake was created at the Casa Capșa restaurant in Bucharest.
• Lapte de pasăre is vanilla custard with whipped egg whites on top.
• Magiun of Topoloveni is a special plum jam.
• Mucenici/sfințișori are sweet pastries shaped like the number "8", filled with walnuts or honey, eaten on March 9th.
• Orez cu lapte is Rice pudding.
• Pandișpan is a type of Sponge cake.
• Papanași are doughnuts made from sweet cheese, eggs, and semolina, served with fruit syrup or jam and sour cream.
• Pelincile Domnului is a Moldavian pie made from honey-flavoured wheat cakes.
• Pișcoturi are thin, light, sweet, and crispy cookies.
• Prăjituri are different kinds of pastries.
• Rahat is Turkish delight.
• Chocolate salami is made from biscuits, chocolate, and rum essence.
• Savarine is a type of cake.
• Scovergi is flat fried dough eaten with honey, jam, or cheese.
• Șarlotă is a custard made from milk, eggs, sugar, whipped cream, gelatin, fruits, and ladyfingers.
• Ștrudel is a layered pastry that can be sweet or savoury.
• Tort is a cake.
• Tulumba
• Turtă dulce is gingerbread.

List of pastries

Here are some tasty Romanian pastries you might enjoy:

• Cornuri - a bread roll shaped like a crescent.
• Cornulețe - pastries filled with jam, chocolate, cinnamon sugar, walnuts, or raisins, also shaped like a crescent.
• Covrig - circular bread sprinkled with sesame seeds.
• Covrigi - a type of pretzel.
• Cozonac - a sweet bread similar to Stollen, made with milk, eggs, sugar, butter, and other yummy ingredients.
• Pogace - a corn cake or wheat flour dough cake.
• Plăcintă - a traditional Romanian pastry.
  • Plăcintă dobrogeană - a special type of plăcintă.
  • Burec - a three-cornered pie made with thin filo sheets, filled with walnuts, cheese, or minced meat.
• Prăjituri - a variety of assorted pastries.

List of drinks

See also: Romanian wine and Beer in Romania

Here are some popular drinks enjoyed in Romania:

• Afinată - a sweet drink made from afine, which are like blueberries.
• Ayran - a cool, savory drink made from yogurt, mostly enjoyed in Dobrogea.
• Bere - local beers from different breweries.
• Cafea - Turkish-style coffee made in a special pot with very fine coffee grounds.
• Ceai - tea, either made from plants like chamomile or mint, or as black tea called ceai rusesc, usually enjoyed during breakfast.
• Chefir - a thin, creamy drink made from fermented milk.
• Horincă is a strong drink made from plums or apples, especially in Maramureș.
• Must - fresh grape juice that is still becoming wine.
• Pălincă is a powerful fruit brandy, often made from plums, and comes from Transylvania.
• Pelin de mai is a special spring wine flavored with dried plants.
• Rachiu/Rachie is a fruit brandy; țuică is especially made from plums.
• Rachiu de tescovină is a strong drink made from grape leftovers, similar to grappa.
• Rachia de Banat is a fruity brandy, often from plums, made in Banat.
• Sana is a drinkable yogurt.
• Secărică is a caraway-flavored vodka, like the German kümmel.
• Sirop - a sweet drink made from syrup using different fruits and honey or sugar.
• Socată is a non-alcoholic drink made from fermented elderflowers (Sambucus nigra).
• Șliboviță is a plum brandy from the Banat area.
• Turț is a strong plum brandy from the village of Turț.
• Țuică is a type of plum brandy.
• Vin
• Vișinată is a sour cherry drink.
• Vodcă
• Zmeurată is a raspberry drink.