Typical Easter food around the world
Have you ever given it any thought that the traditional meals eaten at Easter speak volumes about how the holiday is observed around the world? The components utilized, the methods of preparation, serving, timing, and eating constitute much more than just a recipe. They are customs and symbolism from the widest range of civilizations and religions.
Explore the history and traditions behind each of these treats as you travel through the flavors of Easter in 20 different nations.
List: Main traditional Easter food around the world
Zurek — Poland
Families bring food to church on Holy Saturday that will be blessed and eaten the next day. The components of Zurek, a soup made with rye flour, sausage, carrots, basil, and other spices, are among them. It is frequently served within the bread and is served with boiled eggs. Even though the soup occasionally has a little sour taste, it is widely regarded in Poland as one of the most traditional Easter dishes.
Fanesca — Ecuador
Fanesca is more than just a soup; it is a part of Ecuadorian culture. The dish symbolises both the diversity of food and the cohesiveness of the Ecuadorian people because it uses ingredients from every region of the nation. Its ingredients include 12 different types of grains, which represent the 12 apostles of Jesus Christ, as well as fish, milk, cheese, beans, wheat flour, and garlic.
Le Gigot d ́Agneau Pascal — France
Contrary to many other countries, which prefer seafood, French Easter cuisine is built on red meat. The reason the lamb rules supremely is found in religion itself. It represents Christ, the divine lamb who gave his life as a sacrifice to save the world. Le Gigot d’Agneau Pascal, a lamb shank roasted and served with beans and potatoes, is a traditional Easter Sunday dish.
Cod Dishes — Brazil
Cod Recipes are a typical food in Brazil that the Portuguese brought to the nation. The dish Bacalhoada, in which fish is cooked alongside vegetables, is one of the most popular. Additionally, many families use traditional Portuguese recipes as inspiration to change up the Easter lunch menu.
Roasted Ham — USA
Easter in America is somewhat different. Sunday supper is the main course rather than lunch. And the typical dish is a roast ham with a sweet flavour, not fish. After roasting it, it must be “glazed” with brown sugar or honey to provide this look; occasionally, pineapple slices are also used as a glaze.
Pizza Chiena — Italy
A typical Easter dish from Naples, a region in southern Italy, is pizza chiena. It is customarily prepared on Good Friday and eaten on Holy Saturday. Despite the name, the flavour and appearance are not like regular pizza. It is spherical, but it looks like a savoury pie. Lard is used in the dough, and the filling, which might include cured meats, cheeses, and eggs, varies.
Pashka — Russia
Pashka is a Russian dessert full of symbolism. Its pyramidal shape refers to the tomb of Christ. The cookie is decorated with religious symbols, such as the Cyrillic letters “XB”, which means “Christ is risen”. It is made with cheese, butter, sugar, egg yolks and dried fruits. According to tradition, Pashka is consumed on Easter Sunday with Kulich, another typical food.
Pasca — Romania
One of Romania’s most popular Easter foods has a pagan influence. Pasca is a sweet bread made with cheese and raisins with a round shape, golden colour, representing the sun, which symbolizes life. On Holy Saturday, Romanians prepare bread at home to bless it at Easter Sunday Mass. Following this tradition, the person will have prosperity in the year.
Capirotada — Mexico
A typical Easter food from Mexico that begins to be consumed in Lent. Capirotada is a bread pudding with fruit, whose recipe changes depending on the region. But some ingredients cannot be missing, such as bread, fruits, cloves and cinnamon. This dessert symbolizes the crucifixion of Jesus: bread is the body; the cinnamon sticks, the cross; and the cloves, the nails.
Pascualina Pie — Argentina
The Easter table in Argentina has European inspiration. Pascualina Pie is of Ligurian origin, in northern Italy. It is a savoury dish filled with spinach, artichokes, parsley, ricotta and whole boiled eggs. The latter represents the resurrection of Christ. The 33 layers that make up the dough symbolize Jesus’ years of life.
Tsoureki — Greece
Tsoureki is a braided sweet bread, with strong symbolism in the pagan and Christian cultures. For both, bread represents life, while braided bread has different meanings. In pagan culture, it drives away evil spirits while for Christians, the three-strand braid symbolizes the Holy Trinity. After baking, eggs dyed red that represents the blood of Christ are placed on the bread.
Mona de Páscoa — Spain
In some regions of Spain, more specifically in Catalonia, children look forward to Monday to get Easter Monas from their godparents. In their original format, monas are simple brioches decorated with boiled eggs. However, the ones that are most successful with the kids are more elaborate and look like a themed birthday cake.
Colomba Pascal — Italy
Anyone who thinks that food cannot seal the peace between peoples is because they don’t know the history of Colomba Pascal. Legend has it that a baker from the city of Pavia, in northern Italy, presented the king who was at war with his city with a dove-shaped candy. The king liked the orange-flavoured cake so much that he left his war intentions behind.
Hot Cross Buns — England
Originally, these rolls were stuffed with dried fruit and consumed on Good Friday. Nowadays, it is easy to find them filled with chocolate and nuts all year round. The cross drawn on the rolls refers to the crucifixion of Christ and ward off evil spirits. Still according to tradition, offering Hot Cross Buns to friends strengthens the relationship.
Mämmi — Finland
One of Finland’s typical Easter foods is Mämmi, a dessert based on rye flour, malt, molasses, water, salt and orange zest. It takes time to prepare and can take 3 to 4 days to be ready. For the hurried, it is easy to find it in supermarkets, serving it with some cream on Good Friday, the day you should avoid household chores and eat simple, cold meals.
Pinca — Slovenia and Croatia
It is a sweet bread made with wheat flour, eggs, sugar, milk, raisins, lemon or orange zest and finished with prošek, a local wine. Originally, it was created to celebrate the arrival of spring, but it ended up being incorporated into the Christian tradition. As in other cultures, Pinca must be blessed on Holy Saturday to be consumed on Easter Sunday.
Chakapuli — Georgia
Chakapuli is the typical Georgian Easter food and consists of a lamb stew based on white wine, tarragon leaves, tkemali (green plums), chives and green peppers. It is served hot and accompanied with bread. Although it can be consumed throughout the year, the greatest demand is in the spring when the plums are not yet ripe.
Souvla — Cyprus
How about eating a barbecue in Holy Week? Souvla is a lamb meat skewer that Cypriots have for lunch on Easter Sunday. As in other cultures with a European influence, eating this type of meat in Cyprus is a way of honouring the sacrifice of the Lamb of God.