Culinary dish strongly associated with a particular country
Frans Snyders, The Pantry
A national dish is a culinary dish that is strongly associated with a particular country.[1] A dish can be considered a national dish for a variety of reasons:
It is a staple food, made from a selection of locally available foodstuffs that can be prepared in a distinctive way, such as fruits de mer, served along the west coast of France.[1]
It contains a particular ingredient that is produced locally, such as a paprika grown in the European Pyrenees.[1]
It has been promoted as a national dish, by the country itself, such as the promotion of fondue as a national dish of Switzerland by the Swiss Cheese Union (Schweizerische Käseunion) in the 1930s.
National dishes are part of a nation's identity and self-image.[2] During the age of European empire-building, nations would develop a national cuisine to distinguish themselves from their rivals.[3]
Some countries such as Mexico, China or India, because of their diverse ethnic populations, cultures, and cuisines, do not have a single national dish, even unofficially.[2] Furthermore, because national dishes are so interwoven into a nation's sense of identity, strong emotions and conflicts can arise when trying to choose a country's national dish.
Latin American dishes
In Latin America, dishes may be claimed or designated as a plato nacional,[4] although in many cases, recipes transcend national borders with only minor variations.[citation needed] Preparations of ceviche are endemic in Peru and Ecuador, while a thin cut of beef known as matambre is considered close to being a national dish in Paraguay.[5] Stews of meat, plantains, and root vegetables are the platos nacionales of several countries in Central America, South America, and the Caribbean: Colombian ajiaco, as well as the sancocho of the Dominican Republic, Colombia, and Panama, are examples of platos nacionales. Janer (2008) observes that this sharing of the same plato nacional by different countries calls into question the idea that every country has a unique national dish that is special to that country; she states that cuisine does not respect national and geopolitical borders.[2]
The identification of Latin American national dishes is stronger among expatriate communities in North America.[2] In Latin American countries, the plato nacional[6] is usually part of the cuisine of rural and peasant communities, and not necessarily part of the everyday cuisine of city dwellers. In expatriate communities, the dish is strongly reclaimed in order to retain the sense of national identity and ties to one's homeland, and is proudly served in homes and restaurants. By this show of national identity, the community can resist social pressures that push for homogenization of many ethnically and culturally diverse communities into a single all-encompassing group identity, such as Latino or Hispanic American.[2]
Costa Rica: Casado, Chifrijo (chicharrón or deep fried seasoned pork pieces) served with beans, usually red or black beans (frijoles in spanish there comes the name Chifrijo; CHI from Chicharrón and FRIJO from frijoles), white rice and pico de gallo. Optionally, it may be served with avocado and/or corn chips, Gallo Pinto,[9] Olla de Carne (stewed beef soup with a variety of vegetables).
A national drink is a distinct beverage that is strongly associated with a particular country, and can be part of their national identity and self-image. National drinks fall into two categories, alcoholic and non-alcoholic. An alcoholic national drink is sometimes a national liquor drank straight/neat (as in the case of whiskey in Ireland), but is most often a mixed drink (e.g., caipirinhas in Brazil and pisco sours in Peru and Chile), or beer or wine. Examples of non-alcoholic national drinks include tea for China, Coca-Cola for the US, lassis for India, mate for Uruguay, and kompot for East European nations.
^ abcd"Top Ten National Dishes". National Geographic Magazine (Travel section). 13 September 2011. Retrieved 6 March 2013.
^ abcdeZilkia Janer (2008). Latino food culture. Food cultures in America. ABC-CLIO. pp. 71–73. ISBN9780313340277.
^Howes, David; Lalonde, Marc (June 1991). "The history of sensibilities: Of the standard of taste in mid-eighteenth century England and the circulation of smells in post-revolutionary France". Dialectical Anthropology. 16 (2): 125–135. doi:10.1007/BF00250241. ISSN0304-4092. S2CID143715189.
^Schehr, Lawrence R.; Weiss, Allen S. (2001). French Food: On the Table On the Page and in French Culture. Abingdon: Routledge. p. 158. ISBN0415936284.
^William Woys Weaver (2002). "The Origins of Trachanás: Evidence from Cyprus and Ancient Texts". UC Press Journals. ((cite journal)): Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
^Quintero, Carol (9 May 2012). "El Encebollado" (in Spanish). Montanita.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 3 October 2013.
^"la guatita ecuatoriana". Ecuador Por Descubrir (in Spanish). 19 December 2008. Archived from the original on 26 December 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2013.
^"Kapusta kiszona (sauerkraut) is the basis for Poland's national dish bigos (sauerkraut with a variety of meats), kapuśniak (sauerkraut soup)" [in:] Polish Holiday Cookery by Robert Strybel, 2003, p. 14; "Bigos, the national dish of Poland — a hunter's stew of mixed meats and vegetables" [in:] The food lover's companion to Portland by Lisa Shara Hall, Roger J. Porter, 1996
^"Two national specialities you'll find everywhere are bigos (cabbage stewed with meat and spices) and pierogi" [in:] Poland: the rough guide, 1991 and kotlet schabowy is a close cousin of the Teutonic Wiener Schnitzel" [in:] Joey Porcelli, Clay Fong . The Gyros Journey: Affordable Ethnic Eateries Along the Front Range, 2006
^Groundwater, Ben (5 February 2017). "Feed the World". Sydney Sun Herald. ProQuest1864945067. Beetroot soup: it may not sound that enticing, and it certainly doesn't look it. But imagine it's freezing cold outside, that the snow has been piling up for months. Imagine that a pot of soup has been sitting on the stove all day, improving and intensifying. Imagine that the best root vegetables have gone in there, plus herbs, and maybe hunks of sausage. Imagine that a steaming bowl is placed in front of you, topped with a dollop of sour cream. Now you're getting why this is Russia's favourite dish.
^Леонид Беловинский. Энциклопедический словарь российской жизни и истории: XVIII-начало XX в., стр. 557, Пирог (Leonid Belovinskiy. The encyclopedic dictionary of Russian life and history: from the 18th to the beginning of the 20th centurym p. 557, "Pirog"; in Russian)
^Вильям Похлебкин. Большая энциклопедия кулинарного искусства, Пироги русские. Москва: Центрполиграф, 2010, ISBN978-5-9524-4620-5 (William Pokhlyobkin. The Great Encyclopedia of Culinary Art, "Russian pirogi". Moscow: Centrpoligraph, 2010; in Russian)
^Pamela Goyan Kittler; Kathryn P. Sucher; Marcia Nahikian-Nelms (August 2011). Food and Culture, 6th ed. Cengage Learning. p. 410. ISBN978-0-538-73497-4. Large, thin meat patties made from lamb and beef, known as pljeskavica, are considered a national dish of Serbia but are also a favorite with Bosnians and Croatians
^Tanja Glogovčan Belančić (28 May 2020). "Ajda - koristna za ljudi in čebele". Government Communication Office of the Republic of Slovenia. Retrieved 23 August 2010.
^Panadero, Amparo (11 March 2019). "La paella valenciana quiere ser Patrimonio de la Humanidad". Diario16 (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 February 2020. En el caso de la paella valenciana, se trata de una tradición culinaria y social que constituye un icono de hospitalidad y un símbolo de unión e identidad valencianas ...
^"Switzerland's national dishes". Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. Swiss Confederation. Retrieved 18 January 2023. Some traditional Swiss dishes, such as fondue and raclette, are more typically eaten in the winter. Others, such as muesli – also known in Switzerland as Birchermüesli – and rösti are popular all year round and come in many variations.
^Л. М. Безусенко (ред.) (2002), "Борщ", Українська нацiональна кухня, Сталкер, p. 31 (L. M. Bezussenko, ed. (2002), "Borscht", Ukrainian Ethnic Cuisine (in Ukrainian), Stalker Publishers, p. 31)
^Л. М. Безусенко (ред.) (2002), "Вареники", Українська нацiональна кухня, Сталкер (L. M. Bezussenko, ed. (2002), "Varenyky", Ukrainian Ethnic Cuisine (in Ukrainian), Stalker Publishers, p. 181)
^В. В. Похлёбкин (2000), "Вареники", Кулинарный словарь от А до Я, Центрполиграф, p. 181 (William Pokhlyobkin (2000), The Culinary Dictionary from A to Z (in Russian), Centrpoligraf)
^"Fish and Chips," in Fast Food and Junk Food: An Encyclopedia of What We Love to Eat (2011). Ed. Andrew F. Smith. ABC-CLIO p. 258 . Darwin Porter and Danforth Prince, Frommer's England 2011: With Wales (2010). John Wiley & Sons: p. 163. Heston Blumenthal, In Search of Total Perfection (2010). Bloomsbury: p. 205. Fish and Chips, Historic UK. Heston Blumenthal, Further Adventures in Search of Perfectionp. 100 Roy, Parama (2010). Alimentary Tracts: Appetites, Aversions, and the Postcolonial. Durham N.C.: Duke University Press. ISBN9780822347880. p. 3
^Robert Appelbaum, Aguecheek's Beef, Belch's Hiccup, and Other Gastronomic Interjections: Literature, Culture, and Food Among the Early Moderns (2006). University of Chicago Press, p. 214 Yee Chiang, The Silent Traveller in London (1939). Interlink: p. 157.
^Peter Earle. The Making of the English Middle Class: Business, Society and Family Life in London 1660-1730 (1989). University of California Press: p. 279. Cassell's Dictionary of Cookery (1883), p. 137. About Plum Pudding, Everyday Housekeeping: A Magazine for Practical Housekeepers and Mothers (Vol. 13-14), p. 97.
^Sari Edelstein. Food, Cuisine, and Cultural Competency for Culinary, Hospitality, and Nutrition Professionals (2010). Jones & Bartlett : p. 118. Lesley Anne Rose, Michael Macaroon, and Vivienne Crow. Frommer's Scotland (2012). John Wiley & Sons: p. 28.
^Trumbull, Robert (1977). "Two Samoas". Tin Roofs and Palm Trees(PDF). Australian National University Press. p. 196. ISBN0708107443 – via Australian National University.
^Mariano, Maureen Aimee (4 April 2016). "The Five Best Places for Mofongo in Miami". Miami New Times. Retrieved 3 January 2020. "Foods of Puerto Rico". American Indian Health and Diet Project. Kansas University. Retrieved 3 January 2020. Popular foods in Puerto Rico include the national dish, mofongo (below), made with fried and mashed plantains that are mixed with shrimp, bacon, olive oil and garlic. Zaino, Caitlin (15 July 2013). "On the mofongo trail in Puerto Rico". Travel. BBC. Retrieved 3 January 2020. From urban Old San Juan to the beaches of Isla Verde, past the cities of Bayamón and Ponce, through lush rainforest and striking coastlines, mofongo proudly stands as Puerto Rico's unofficial national dish. Pitzer, Kurt (2 September 2009). Puerto Rico's Cordillera Central. Hunter Publishing, Inc. p. 24. ISBN978-1-58843-796-9.