Central European cuisine consists of the culinary

customs Customs is an authority or Government agency, agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling International trade, the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out ...

, traditions and

cuisine A cuisine is a style of cooking characterized by distinctive ingredients, List of cooking techniques, techniques and Dish (food), dishes, and usually associated with a specific culture or geographic region. Regional food preparation techniques, ...

s of the nations of

Central Europe Central Europe is a geographical region of Europe between Eastern Europe, Eastern, Southern Europe, Southern, Western Europe, Western and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Central Europe is known for its cultural diversity; however, countries in ...

. The cuisines within each country in the region is strongly influenced by the local

climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in a region, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteoro ...

. For example, German, Austrian and

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

cuisines show many similarities, yet differ from the highlander cuisines in their respective countries, while in settlements closer to rivers or lakes, more

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

and various seafood can be found more frequently. More mountainous areas near the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

house dishes that contain

cheese Cheese is a type of dairy product produced in a range of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk (usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats or sheep). During prod ...

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of lactating mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfeeding, breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. ...

and

butter Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of Churning (butter), churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 81% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread (food ...

among other

dairy products Dairy products or milk products are food products made from (or containing) milk. The most common dairy animals are cow, water buffalo, goat, nanny goat, and Sheep, ewe. Dairy products include common grocery store food around the world such as y ...

. While Czechia, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia are often geographically regarded as central European, their cuisines are considerably dissimilar to the cuisines of Austria, Germany and Switzerland. Czech, Lithuanian, Polish and Slovak cuisine are alternatively regarded as part of the eastern European culinary sphere due to strong East Slavic influences. During the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

and

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

the basic foods were pulses, wild fruits and nuts, and cereals. Archaeobotanical evidence has shown that a large number of new foodstuffs were introduced to Central Europe under Roman rule, becoming incorporated into (rather than replacing) local culinary flavors. Because chickpeas, gourd, black pepper, pistachio, almond, dates, olives, melons and rice were difficult to cultivate locally they remained imported luxuries, out of reach for most. Evidence has been found for dill, celery seeds and other seasonings at Bibracte and other excavation sites.

References

*Metzger, Christine (ed.) Culinaria Germany. Cambridge: Ullmann, 2008. * Montanari, Massimo, Il mondo in cucina (The world in the kitchen). Laterza, 2002 * Mintz, Sidney . Tasting Food, Tasting Freedom: Excursions into Eating, Power, and the Past, Beacon Press, 1997, * Mintalová - Zubercová, Zora: Všetko okolo stola I.(All around the table I.), Vydavateľstvo Matice slovenskej, 2009, European cuisine {{Europe-cuisine-stub

See also

References