Moldovan Food

In some ways I have wanted to write this blog post for a while now...but I have also been avoiding it. Partly because I wanted to make sure that I had given myself time to fully appreciate Moldovan cuisine before I write a post about it and also because I wanted my blog post to have pictures. Well I have never really had the opportunity to take pictures of my food before I eat it so instead I stole a bunch of pictures from the internet that will work just as well. I apologize in advance to any owners of pictures I have chosen to use.

For the most part my diet consists of a lot of potatoes, cabbage, sausage, chicken, grains, and whatever fruit is in season.  However, just like in any country Moldova has it's own traditional dishes and particular way it prepares it's food.

Mămăliga - Very similar to cornbread except it is a lot more moist and not as sweet. Unlike what is being shown in the picture I have mostly just observed people pulling small chunks off instead of cutting it.

Placinta - Equally as traditional as mămăliga, placinta (pronounced pla-chin-ta) is a thin layer of baked dough with variety of possible fillings. Such as apple, mashed potato, cabbage, and the most popular, brînza cheese with dill.

Usually I have seen placinta made as a sort of flat bread. Though it is also made to look more like a cannoli.

Zeama - Chicken noodle soup...not much I need to say here. Though mine never has the lemon slice as shown in the picture...

Borsht - Traditional Ukranian dish of cabbage and beat soup.

Parjoale - Minced meat patty. Like nothing I have eaten in America. Although its appearance is benign enough. I think its distinctive taste can probably be attributed to whatever meat it is made with. But good luck figuring it out.

Gruel (Not sure on the spelling) - This is my breakfast every morning...and coincidentally was also my dinner. The picture that I found that looked the closest to what I have been eating says it is Buckwheat porridge. Whodathunkit. (BTW the package that it comes out of says that it was grown it China)

Brînza - White cheese. This is one of Moldovas most popular condiment. I say condiment because they do not use it as much as a cheese but more as a topping or addition to a dish. Usually just shredded right on top. Personally I dont like it at all, it has a very 'fresh' taste that for me taste too much like grass, other people enjoy the earthiness of the flavor.

Smântâna - Basically sour cream. It taste a little different and is not as tangy but it has the same consistency as sour cream.

Квас or Cvas - A drink made from yeast that wins against Dr. Pepper for having more than 23 flavors. At first taste it was a mix of cream soda and root beer, but also has a fruity, grainy, and even a slight beer presence. The beer taste makes a little bit of sense because it does indeed contain 1% alcohol but is sold on basically every street corner in the capital to young and old alike. My favorite way to describe it comes from a 2 1/2 year old who called it, "bere pentru copii" or "beer for children."

Okay, well that gives you a slightly better understanding of at least the main food items of Moldovan Cuisine. Of course they also have a lot of dishes that are very similar to American dishes which I did not mention for obvious reasons. Thinking about food for so long has made me hungry.