Traditional Romanian cuisine has a rich history and centuries-old traditions. The dishes of Romanian cuisine were formed not only on the basis of natural conditions, but also due to the close proximity to Yugoslavia, Moldova, Bulgaria, Turkey and Greece. The original dishes of Romanians are quite simple. The basis of the cuisine was dishes from cornmeal, meat and a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. Due to the proximity to Greece, seasonings and hot spices began to be used in dishes. Cheese dishes came to Romania from Moldovan cuisine. In Romanian cuisine, pickled vegetables are readily used, which are served as a side dish for fish and meat. Thanks to developed agriculture, and especially sheep breeding, brynza has become one of the main products for Romanians. Cheese was prepared from sheep’s milk, kept in brine for a week and a half. Another type of cheese is also popular among Romanians – kashkaval, which is also made from sheep’s milk. First courses A prominent place in Romanian cuisine is occupied by various types of soups, called chorba. Chorby are prepared with dressing and have a sour taste. Citric acid, kefir, kvass and tomatoes are added to the dressing. No less common is borsh, a kind of sour infusion made from wheat bran. Ciorba de burte is cooked in beef broth, always with pieces of meat, which are cut into strips. There is a wide variety of chorba recipes, using lemon and cabbage juice, a variety of vegetables, herbs, and sour cream. The basis for the broth can be not only beef, but also pork, as well as skimba, which is made from the tripe of oxen. First courses in Romania are quite varied, including broths with flour dumplings, vegetables and rice. Green pea and bean puree soups, spinach and sorrel soups, garlic tomato soups. Corn and meat are staples of Romanian cuisine In Romania, cornmeal has always been used for cooking. Perhaps the most famous dish is hominy, a steeply boiled porridge made from cornmeal. Hominy has become the visiting card of the Romanians. There are many recipes for hominy – both tare and fried, and in the form of puddings and snacks. Such dishes from hominy as urs and balmush are very common. Urs is a ball of hominy stuffed with grated cheese. Urs is baked in hot ash. Balmush is hominy in milk. Also cooked from hominy dumplings and serve it with fried eggs. There are a lot of meat dishes in Romania, they amaze with their variety. Consider the most popular meat dishes. Stufat is a lamb roast with garlic and green onions. Stufat can be attributed to the truly national dishes of Romanians. Chulamu is finely chopped meat stewed with vegetables and mushrooms in flour sauce. Mitch i frigerui is a shish kebab from any kind of meat, cooked according to a special recipe on charcoal or on the grill. Mititei are oblong-shaped meatballs with garlic and pepper added. The mititei is fried on a griller. Tokanu is a stew that is cut into small pieces. Stewed tokanu in a sauce consisting of tomato sauce and onions. The most famous dish is paprikash. The dish is very similar to tokana, but red sweet bell pepper is added to the sauce. This dish came to the Romanians from Hungary. Givech is a meat stew stewed with eggplants, onions, sweet peppers and carrots. Ostropel is a duck meat stew. The duck is stewed in a thick spicy sauce, to which vinegar, garlic, red pepper and flour are added. On big holidays or for a wedding, in the tradition of Romanians, roast a whole ram on a spit. Traditional drinks and Romanian wines As in any southern country, Romanians have a wide variety of wines, liqueurs and fruit vodkas. Perhaps the most famous is tsuika, a kind of palenki. Tsuika differs from Palenki in strength. The palenka is less strong, no more than forty degrees, but the cuyka reaches fifty-five, sixty degrees. The raw materials for fruit vodka are apple, plum and pear fruits. The best tsuika is made from black plums and is called slivovitz. It is stored in large oak barrels and aged for at least three years, resulting in an oily, yellowish color. By the way, cuica is exactly Romanian vodka. But the palenka came to Romania from Hungary. A wide variety of delicious meat dishes and excellent local wine, a great reason to visit Romania and taste all the variety of Romanian cuisine.