Join Lauren as she divulges some mouth-watering international holiday food traditions. Article: Top 10 International Holiday Food Traditions http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/menus/10-international-holiday-food-traditions.htm#page=0 Special thanks to Barcelona Wine Bar! http://www.barcelonawinebar.com/atlanta.htm Image Attribution: Alpha - Linzer Torte https://www.flickr.com/photos/avlxyz/4981788536 Yair Aronshtam - Sufganiyah https://www.flickr.com/photos/yairar/13056275613 kimubert - Toshikoshi soba https://www.flickr.com/photos/treevillage/11665873653 kimubert - Toshikoshi soba https://www.flickr.com/photos/treevillage/5310620706 geraldford - Toshikoshi Soba https://www.flickr.com/photos/geraldford/11679243505 Music: Tchaikovsky - The Nutcracker Suite - Act I, No. 7 - Dance of the Flutes Handel - Judas Maccabaeus - Part 1 - 8-18 Vivaldi - Four Seasons - Winter Subscribe http://bit.ly/1AWgeM7 Twitter https://twitter.com/HowStuffWorks Facebook https://www.facebook.com/HowStuffWorks Google+ https://plus.google.com/+howstuffworks Website http://www.howstuffworks.com Watch More https://www.youtube.com/HowStuffWorks The scent of a linzertorte baking - almond, orange, clove, and raspberry - simply _is_ the holidays to me. It’s a personal family tradition, and nothing else makes me feel so cozy. So I wanted to find out what foods might invoke that same festive feeling in people around the world. Stollen: For Christmas, some German families bake stollen, a dense, marzipan-filled cake studded with dried fruits. It dates back to the 1300s, and was sometimes made without butter or milk, which were once prohibited by the Catholic Church during Advent. The Vatican eventually relented and issued the "butter letter," saying these products could be used – as long as bakers paid a fine that would go toward constructing churches. Sufganiyot: Hanukkah is a celebration of the story that one small pot of lamp oil lasted for eight nights. So lots of Hanukkah’s foods are fried in oil. (Also, fried things are delicious.) Take sufganiyot. These small, sugar-crusted donuts, filled with jam or custard, arose in Israel soon after its formation in 1948. Austro-Hungarian immigrants may have blended recipes for European jelly donuts (like paczki or berliner), which were not part of their holiday traditions, with sfenj, a type of plain donut common in North African Hanukkah feasts. Toshikoshi Soba: On New Year’s Eve, some Japanese families eat toshikoshi soba, or year-crossing buckwheat noodles. Fresh soba are long, symbolizing longevity. And they’re thin and tender, reflecting the eater’s ability to cut through and overcome any hardships of the previous year. The noodles can be served hot or cold; in soup or with dipping sauces; and with garnishes from sweet fried bean curd to salty fish cakes to simple green onion. Grapes: In Italy, Spain, and many other places, grapes are a major player in New Year’s festivities. The Spanish version is las doce uvas de la suerte, or the twelve grapes of luck. The tradition goes that you eat one grape at each chime of the clock at midnight to ensure good luck in each month of the new year. In Italy, the grapes still symbolize prosperity, but the tradition is to eat as many as possible come midnight. How many grapes can you eat in a minute? So my favorite holiday food is linzertorte – what’s yours? Share it in the comments. Especially if you’ve got the recipe. If you liked this video, make it official, and subscribe so you won’t miss the next one. And to learn more about holiday foods, like the legend behind Panettone, check out “5 International Holiday Meals” on HowStuffWorks.com.

• published: 22 Dec 2014
• views: 917