Food

Food is often a large part of our identity. Eating is a deeply sensory and often communal experience. Food permeates our memories of childhood and is embedded into religious, national, and familial celebrations. Food is an everyday need often elevated to the sublime by social custom.

How much food is part of who we are is perhaps never more obvious than when we finds ourselves abroad for an extended period. Removed from homeland and home, we begin to crave the dishes of our youth. In eating these, we feel reconnected to the place and people to which we belong.

Filter the below food-related articles for: Slavic, Turkic, Caucasian, Baltic, or other cultures.

The Customs and Culture of Traditional Beshbarmak in Bishkek

This past weekend, I checked out a restaurant that offers 12 variations of one of Kyrgyzstan’s most beloved dishes. What might that be, you ask? Here’s a hint: It’s noodly, meaty, and eaten with the hands. If you guessed beshbarmak, you guessed correct. Beshbarmak, which literally means “five fingers” because of the way it’s eaten, […]

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