AS TREES BEGIN to blossom with the start of spring, the thoughts of Christians around the globe turn to Easter. Easter is a time for those who celebrate it to be with family, friends, and loved ones.
And what better way to spend time with your favourite people than to stuff your face with delicious and traditional Easter meals? But what these time-honoured treats are can differ dramatically depending on where you are in the world.
We decided to find out just what those typical dishes are. Now we’re hungry.
Mexico
Mexican families traditionally often spend Good Friday eating capirotada, a sweet bread pudding covered in sugary syrup, various fruits, berries, and nuts, and a layer of cheese.
Fanesca is a rich soup served in Ecuador during the week before Easter. It contains milk, gourds, pumpkins, beans, grains, peas, corn, eggs, and salted cod. It is usually served with empanadas or fried plantains.
In Jamaica, Christians eat buns and cheese on Easter. The buns, made with spices and raisins, are cut in two and eaten with slices of cheese, usually cheddar.
Hot cross buns, the English bread made famous by a nursery rhyme, is an Easter tradition. They are baked with currants or raisins and have a signature cross on the top, usually made with frosting.
Advocaat is a long-standing tradition in the Netherlands and is often drank on Easter. It is a creamy Brandy-based alcohol, thickened with eggs and sugar and flavored with honey and vanilla. It is drank by itself or added to puddings, as it is below.
Koulourakia are small butter pastries and are a traditional treat in Greece. The dessert, which has a hint of vanilla and is said to be meant to resemble a snake, is eaten on Holy Saturday.
Also a favorite in Greece as well as countries in Western and Central Asia, tsoureki is a braided brioche-like sweet bread that traditionally comes with eggs dyed red to signify the blood of Christ. The treat is served not only on Easter, but also on Christmas and New Year’s.
In Eastern European countries like Serbia, Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, and in parts of Russia, Orthodox Christians dine on kulich, a tall cylindrical cake topped with white frosting. During Easter services, the kulich is often decorated with flowers and blessed by a priest.
Easter in Finland is often marked by eating mämmi, a soft and chilled bread flavored with molasses and orange zest and served with a dousing of milk or cream. Mämmi is a long-standing tradition in the area and is included in many other Easter dishes as well.
Torta pascualina is a savoury pie made with spinach, ricotta, and whole eggs that cook as the pie is baked. This traditional Easter dish is a favourite of both Argentine and Uruguayan families.
In the United States, the go-to meal on Easter Sunday is the classic Easter ham, often served with pineapples and cherries.
The butter lamb, arguably the cutest of all the Easter meal traditions, is a common centerpiece on the Easter tables of Russian, Slovenian, Polish Catholics. True to its name, the dish is a sculpture of a tiny lamb made out of butter, often with peppercorns for eyes and a red bow around its neck.
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