New Years Oliebollen

Now that Christmas is over and done with, up next is New Year’s. On our last trip around the world, we are going to Holland and looking at a traditional New Year’s treat.

Oliebollen are deep fried donut like balls often containing currents and then sprinkled with icing sugar. They are like a dessert dumpling. They are first thought to have originated in Germanic tribes in the Netherlands during the Yule season which runs from December 26^th and January 6^th.  The name Oliebollen means oil ball or oil cookie. A typical Oliebollen recipes calls for flour, yeast, baking powder, salt, eggs, currents and milk. Many recipes do also call for raisins and finely chopped Granny Smith apples.

Take a look at our try at Oliebollen and see if it inspires you to make some for the New Year!

Classic Oliebollen Recipe

You will need...

4 cups of flour

2 packets/4 tsp. of yeast

1 tsp. of salt

1 large egg

1 ½ cup of lukewarm milk (about 50 seconds in the microwave)

2/3 cups of currents (optional)

2/3 cups of raisin (optional)

1 small Granny Smith apple (optional)

Oil for deep frying

Icing sugar to top

How to...

Put flour, yeast, and salt into mixer’s bowl/mixing bowl. Stir together.

Make a well in the centre of the flour mix and crack your egg into it. Cover with your lukewarm 

milk.

Using a dough hook if your using your mixer or a wooden spoon if you are not, Mix it all together to make a sticky wet dough.

Cover with saran wrap or a wet dish towel and place in a warm spot to rise - about 1-2 hours or until it doubles in size. If you can find a warm spot, put your oven at around 200 degrees and place it in the oven to rise.

Once risen, use two tablespoons and scoop the batter into the hot oil. 

Cook until puffed up and golden brown.

Pat with paper towel to remove excess oil and then sprinkle with icing sugar and enjoy warm. They aren’t the best to eat the next day so gobble them all up while fresh!

Fruitcake from Around the World

Today we are looking at a classic with different versions from all over the world. Yes, we are looking at Christmas fruitcake. You either hate it or love it but you’ll see so much of it during the holiday season. We’ll take a look at the different variations from around the world first of all and then we’ll share with you a classic North American fruitcake recipe!

The earliest instance of fruitcake was said to be in ancient Rome and it was a barley mash mixed with pomegranate seeds, pine nuts, and raisins. Another early instance was in the Middle Ages which was similar but honey, spices, and preserved fruits were added.

There are about 20 different countries that are known for their own version of Christmas fruitcake. They are Australia, Bahamas, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Switzerland, Anglophone Caribbean, UK, and the USA. Take a look at the chart below to see how the different countries put their own twists on the Christmas fruitcake.

Country:	Notable Ingredients or Facts:
Australia	Eaten all year round with no icing.
Bahamas	Drenched with rum. All the candied fruits, walnuts, and raisins are covered in a container for 2-3 months with rum. Once cake is baked it is covered in rum while still warm.
Bulgaria	Consumed through the year. Contains flour, butter, oil, milk, yeast, yogurt, eggs, cocoa, walnuts, and raisins. Baked in a bundt pan.
Canada	Eaten at Christmastime and rarely seen other times of the year. Similar to the UK version. Usually in the shape of a loaf with no icing or alcohol.
Chile	Called Pan de Pascua. Sweet sponge cake flavoured with honey and ginger and has candied fruit, raisins, walnuts, and almonds
France	Called gâteau aux fruits.
Germany	More of a sweet bread. Made with yeast, butter, water, flour, citrus zest, candied citrus peel, raisins, and almonds. Usually has powdered sugar on the outside.
India	Dense cake with fruits, nuts, and spices.
Ireland	Eaten at Halloween. Often contains small tokens as a treat for those who find them.
Italy	Called Panforte. It’s a chewy dense cake with strong spice flavours and filled with dried candied fruits. Also has a version called Panettone usually in a cylinder “cupola” shape which is more of a sweet bread with dried fruit and spices.
New Zealand	Sold throughout the year. A lighter coloured cake. Most are tiered and iced. Includes multiple dried fruits and brandy or sherry.
Philippines	Called Crema de Fruta. Made with layers of sponge cake, custard or whipped cream, gelatin, and fresh fruits like pineapple, cherries, strawberries, and mangoes.
Poland	Loaf shaped sponge cake with nuts, figs, raisins, and candied fruits.
Portugal	Called Bolo Rei. The cake is round with a hole in the center and is made with raisins, nuts, and crystallized fruit. Included is a fava bean and whoever gets it has to pay for the Bolo Rei next year.
Romania	Called Cozonac is a loaf shaped cake with raisins, lemon or orange zest, vanilla, walnuts, hazelnuts, and rum. Topped with poppy seeds.
Spain	Similar to the Panforte and includes fig, almonds, walnuts, and flavourings.
Switzerland	Dense sweet cake with candied fruits and nuts.
Anglophone Caribbean	Black cake almost like a figgy pudding with lots of dried fruit and rum/wine.
UK	Round cake with marzipan on the top and then covered with Royal Icing. Can be light to rich and moist. Will contain candied fruit, nuts, spices, and sometime alcohol.
USA	Rich in fruit and nuts. Some are saturated with alcohol but many left plain. Usually quite dense and in loaf form.

Traditional Canadian Fruitcake Recipe

Ingredients:

4 cups of candied mixed peel

3 cups of seeded raisins, light ones

1 cup of dark raisins

1 cup of currents

1 cup of halved candied cherries

1 cup of brandy

1 cup of rum

½ cup of candied pineapple

1 ¼ cup of brown sugar

1 cup of butter, softened

3 eggs

2 tsp. of vanilla

2 cups of flour

1 ½ tsp. of baking powder

1 tsp. of cinnamon

1 tsp. of nutmeg

½ tsp. of salt

½ tsp. of cloves

1 cup of chopped pecans

1 cup of blanched almonds

How to:

In large bowl, stir candied peel, dark raisins, currants, cherries, brandy and pineapple; cover with plastic wrap. Let stand for 12 hours or microwave on High for 3 minutes or until steaming; stir.

In mixer bowl, beat butter and sugar. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time; beat in vanilla.

In separate bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and cloves. Stir into batter, one-third at a time.

Scrape fruit mix over batter and then sprinkle with pecans and almonds. Stir to coat fruit and nuts.

Spoon batter into two 9- x 5-inch and one 5-3/4- x 3-1/4-inch parchment lined loaf pans, packing with back of spoon. Tap lightly on counter.

Bake at 300 degrees for 1-1/4 hours for small loaf and 2 hours for large loaves.

Allow to cool in pans on a rack for 30 minutes. Turn out, right side up, onto rack; let cool completely.

Remove the paper and wrap in plastic wrap and foil. Store in cool place for up to 2 months.

Lithuania and Denmark Drinks

On our first food tradition post we are going to Lithuania and Denmark to take a look at a couple of common Christmas drinks.

Denmark is located in Northern Europe and consists of the peninsula of Jutland along with 443 named islands (74 are inhabited); many of the islands are connected by bridges! The largest cities are Copenhagen (the capital), Aarhus, Aalborg, and Odense. Fun fact, Lego was created in Denmark in 1932 by a carpenter named Ole Kirk Christiansen who hailed from Billund, Denmark.

Glogg is a traditional Christmas drink from Denmark. It is a spiced mulled wine that is served warm. Originally it was called Glogi and was consumed by messengers and postmen who travelled long and far on horseback or on skis in the very cold weather.

Traditional Glogg is made by firstly boiling water and then adding spices to it. Common spices are cloves, cinnamon, ginger, orange peel, and cardamom. It is then simmered for a few minutes and then strained and after that blackcurrant juice and wine or other clear spirits are added to it. Often raisins and almonds are added to this drink as well.

Check out this recipe...

1 bottle of red wine

½ cup of sugar

2 tbsp. of orange zest

2 tbsp. of raisins

1 tbsp. of cardamom

2 tbsp. of ginger

1 stick of cinnamon

8 cloves

1 ½ cups of bourbon or vodka

Combine all of the ingredients in a large pot. Heat to 175 degrees Fahrenheit and simmer for 2 minutes.

Remove from the heat and let it stand for 1 hour.

Strain the spices out and add 1 extra tsp. of raisins. Garnish with an orange slice.

Lithuania is located in the Baltic region of Europe. It is located on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea and boarders Latvia, Belarus, Poland, and the Kaliningrad region of Russia. It has lots of rolling hills, forests, rivers, and streams. It has 108 km of Baltic seashore with many sandy beaches that attract lots of tourists. A couple fun facts about Lithuania, basketball is the most popular sport in the country, Lithuania has one of the oldest languages in the world today, and every St. Patrick’s Day the river Vilnia is dyed bright Emerald green!

Poppy milk is a sweet warm Lithuanian Christmas drink usually drunk with holiday dinner. It is made with two cups of poppy seeds that are soaked in hot water for a day or so until the seeds become soft. Change the water over this time. Crush the seeds in the food processor until a white milky liquid appears. Add some cool water and then strain the seeds and crush them over again. Do this quite a few times to get a good concentrated poppy milk flavour. Dilute the concentrate the you make with some cold boiled water and then finally add some honey or sugar to get the sweet flavour of your choice.

Tradition #9 - New Year's

We are on our last few days of 2017 and on our last tradition. Today we are taking a look at New Year’s traditions from around the world. Some of them you’ll be familiar with and maybe even do, and some will be new to you and you might want to give them a try.

A popular tradition is watching the ball drop at Times Square at midnight. Whether you're there or just watching on TV, it’s something that you always associate with New Year’s Eve.

Originating in Scotland, Auld Lang Syne is usually heard or sung as the old year goes out and the New Year comes in.

Kissing at midnight is another fun tradition which started in Europe to “ensure” that you won’t spend the year ahead lonely.

In Mexico and Brazil, it is said that colourful underwear will help you have the type of year you want. For example yellow means prosperity and success and red means lots of love ahead for you.

Many Spanish speaking countries will eat 12 grapes at midnight so that they have 12 months of good luck.

Circles in the Philippines mean good luck so you will see many people from the Philippines wearing something polka dotted on New Year’s.  

In Denmark, people save unused dishes and throw them against doors of family and friends on New Year’s Eve. They also jump from chairs at midnight as a way to “jump” into the New Year.

Japanese Buddhists will ring bells 108 times at the temples for good luck and cleanliness in the New Year.

Swiss people will drop ice cream on their floors to celebrate the New Year. Ah! What a waste of ice cream.

In Romania, they toss coins into rivers to ensure that they have a happy New Year.

Belgium farmers take their livestock seriously, they wish all of the cows a Happy New Year when the clock strikes 12. In Romania, the farmers even talk to their cows for long periods of time as the New Year begins.

This one’s interesting; some people in Siberia will go into freezing cold lakes carrying tree trunks. Don’t know why exactly, but it’s like Polar Swims I guess but with tree trunks.

In France, the New Year is ushered in with a big stack of crepes.

 

Happy New Year!