Moldova cuisine

Mamaligă and wine

Moldavian cuisine is a style of cooking derived from the Moldavian people. It consists mainly of traditional European foods, such as beef,pork, potatoes, cabbage, and a variety of cereals.

Moldova's fertile soil (chernozem) produces plentiful grapes, fruits, vegetables, grains, meat, and milk products, all of which have found their uses in the national cuisine. The fertile black soil combined with the use of traditional agricultural methods permits growing a wide range of ecologically clean foods in Moldova.

It has had a considerable influence on the traditional food of other nationalities in this region, while drawing in the past centuries, various elements from theUkrainian, Bulgarian, Gagauz, Jewish, Russian, as well as Turkish and Greek cuisines.

Diches

Sarmale

Perhaps the best known Moldavian dish is a well-known Romanian dish, mămăligă (a cornmeal mush or porridge). This is a staple bread-like food on the Moldavian table, served as an accompaniment to stews and meat dishes or garnished with cottage cheese, sour cream, and pork rind. Regional delicacies include brânză (a brined cheese), and ghiveci (a mutton stew).^{[clarification needed]} Local wines accompany most meals.^[1]

Traditional for the Moldavian cuisine are dishes combining diverse vegetables, such as tomatoes, bell peppers, aubergine, cabbage, beans, onion, garlic, andleek. Vegetables are used in salads and sauces, they are baked, steamed, pickled, salted, or marinated.

Meat products hold a special place in the Moldavian cuisine, especially as the first course and appetizers.^{[clarification needed]} Chicken soup and meat, known as ciorbă is very popular. Roast and grilled pork, beef meatballs, and steamed lamb are common. Meat and fish are often marinated and then grilled.

Traditional holiday dishes include stuffed cabbage rolls with minced meat (known in Romania as "sarma" and in Turkey as "dolma"), pilaf (a rice dish),jelly,^{[clarification needed]}, noodles, chicken, and much more. The holiday table is usually decorated with baked items, such as pastries, cake, rolls, buns, and a variety of fillings (cheese, fruit, vegetables, walnuts, etc.), known in Romania as "cozonac", "pască", and "poale-n brâu".

In certain regions, the cuisine of various minorities is predominant. In the Eastern areas, the Ukrainians eat borscht; in the South, the Bulgarians serve the traditional mangea (sauce with chicken), while the Gagauz prepare shorpa, a highly seasoned mutton soup; in the Russian communities, pelmeni (meat-filled dumplings) is popular. Also popular are a variant of Ukrainian varenyky called colţunaşi, filled with fresh white cheese (colţunaşi cu brînză), meat (pelmeni orcolţunaşi cu carne), and cherries.

Beverages

Non-alcoholic beverages include stewed-fruit compotes and fruit juice. Popular alcoholic beverages are divin (Moldavian brandy), beer, and local wine.

European grapes are used in the wine making, includes Sauvignon, Cabernet, and Muscat. The main domestic Moldavian varieties includeFetească, Rara neagră, and Moldova (wine).

Sparkling wine has a special place in Moldavian cuisine. The country produces large quantities of classic white and pink sparkling wines, as well as red sparkling wines that were originally introduced in Moldova. The most famous sparkling wines are those made in Cricova winery. Known brands of Moldavian sparkling wines are Negru de Purcari, Moldova, Chişinău, Cricova, Muscat spumant, National, Nisporeni, and others. They are made from a wide range of European grape varieties, that includes Chardonnay, Pinot blanc, Pinot gris, Pinot menie, Sauvignon, Aligote, Traminer pink, Muscat blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Pinot noir. The local variety Feteasca Albă, also used in sparkling wines, has been cultivated in Moldova since the times of ancient Dacia.