12/12/2024
Among all Romanian cuisines, the cuisine from the Moldavian area is special, full of love and passion. I'm talking about a varied and certainly tasty cuisine, where Moldovans express their hospitality with lots of food and wine!
Guests from other countries are welcomed here with golden polenta (mămăligă) with cheese and cream, meat and rice rolls (sarmale) in vine or cabbage leaves, and pies. I could mention the Moldavian borscht, sărbușca or înăcreala, a sour vegetable soup with yogurt, hence the name. I could bring up the Moldavian zacusca, the vegetable stew. I could talk about the rich desserts that do not miss the pies filled with cow's cheese, bellows cheese, and raisins, the pancakes with plum jam or alivencile. All of these, 𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿....
Of course, all dishes must be seasoned with selected wines from the Moldova area, such as wines from the wineries of Bohotin, Gramma, Bucium, Cotnari.
With all these goodies, I chose to talk to you about the traditional bread (𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗶), that I prepare year after year for my children and that were offered in the past to carolers from Valea Siretului, in Siliștea Nouă Village, the place where I grew up, on the occasion of the Winter Holidays. Here, traditions are preserved and carried forward by people with a beautiful soul.
This tradition has existed for a long time in Romanian culture, as confirmed by Vasile Alecsandri, in his collection of folklore, published in 1866. He mentions that giving and receiving bread is one of the old traditions of the country. In all the most significant circumstances of a person's life (birth, baptism, wedding or funeral), this type of bread is taking proportions of the appropriate size to the well-being of the person.
𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗶 represent the symbolic link of Moldovans with the past, referring to the circle dance, named 𝗛𝗼𝗿𝗮. This dance is an old ritual symbolizing the spiritual community, equality and desire of Romanians to live together. From my point of view, when Vasile Alecsandri wrote Hora Unirii was inspired by this type of local bread.
𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗶 are woven from 3 strands of dough in the shape of a circle symbolizing the Union. As you can see, they shine like the sun, and in the past they were browned in the wood oven. They were the most beautiful gift that the carolers received from the villagers as a reward for their efforts to carry the tradition forward.
They can be served warm, just out of the oven. They can also be an optimal bread substitute for any of the previously mentioned dishes. I happily serve them instead of bread croutons with any of the traditional borschts.
Excerpt from the speech 𝗜𝗮ș𝗶, 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀, prepared for Romania's National Day, Dicember 1, 2023, Tourism Guide Presentation Alba Iulia.
