What do we eat? What do we celebrate?

Typical meals and festivals in Holland, Germany, Poland and

Spain

Our international project

As we have an exchange project with schools in Germany, Holland and Poland, when they visit us in Valencia, we work together on a common project. Last time, we were comparing different aspects in our lifestyle and also other cultural differences and similarities in the four countries. Some groups worked sharing information about the food we usually eat, and the most representative festivals in every country. It was very interesting and we learned a lot about European traditions and also a few recipes. They could eat our typical meals here with our families and we could also try some of their traditional food, when we visited their countries.

Working in the school library

In every group, there are students from the four countries, so we have to speak English to understand each other. It is hard work but also fun. We have to decide how we are going to organize our work.

More groups in the library

Sometimes it is difficult to start. We have got ideas but we don’t know how to present things. We have to interview each other and discuss about our diet. And then decide what we are going to include in the poster

More project work

We have to ask everybody in the group a lot of questions about their eating habits, a complete questionaire about the things we eat and at what time we eat them. Also, we have to describe our daily diet and talk about the typical dishes. Then we have to say how much we do worry about our diet and the way we look. We were happy to tell our guests about our Mediterranean diet.

The Mediterranean Diet

The Mediterranean diet is not a specific diet plan or diet program but a collection of eating habits that are traditionally followed by the people of the Mediterranean region. There are at least 16 countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea and food habits vary between these countries according to culture, ethnic background and religion. But there are a number of characteristics common to them all:

• A high consumption of fruit, vegetables, potatoes, beans, nuts, seeds, bread and other cereals • Olive oil used for cooking and dressings • Moderate amounts of fish but little meat • Low to moderate amounts of full fat cheese and yogurt • Moderate consumption of wine, usually with meals • Reliance on local, seasonal, fresh produce • An active lifestyle

Questionaire about eating habits

EATING HABITS• Which is the most important meal of the day in your country?• What time do you have breakfast and what do you usually eat for

breakfast?• Do you usually eat something in the middle of the morning?• What time do you have lunch and what do you usually eat for lunch?• Do you usually eat lunch at home? If not, where do you?• Do you eat something before dinner? If so, what do you eat?• What time do you eat dinner and what do you usually have for

dinner?• Do you eat something before going to bed?• What kind of fat do people usually use for cooking in your country?• What do you usually have for dessert?• What is the typical dish in your country or local area? Can you

describe it?

How often do you eat the following foods:

• FRUIT• a. every day b. 4 - 5 times a week c. once or twice a week d. never• FRESH VEGETABLES• a. every day b. 4 - 5 times a week c. once or twice a week d. never• BREAD, PASTA, RICE• a. every day b. 4 - 5 times a week c. once or twice a week d. never • LEGUMES (beans, lentils…)• a. every day b. 4 - 5 times a week c. once or twice a week d. never• RED MEAT, CHICKEN• a. every day b. 4 - 5 times a week c. once or twice a week d. never• FISH• a. every day b. 4 - 5 times a week c. once or twice a week d. never• DAIRY PRODUCTS. MILK, YOGURT, CHEESE…• a. every day b. 4 - 5 times a week c. once or twice a week d. never• FAST FOOD: PIZZA, HAMBURGUERS…• a. every day b. 4 - 5 times a week c. once or twice a week d. never• SWEETS, CHOCOLATE, CAKES…• a. every day b. 4 - 5 times a week c. once or twice a week d. never

Discussing eating habits

We had to ask and answer questions about our eating habits, and explain to the other students what we usually eat, what is our favourite kind of food, if we eat a lot of junk food, or if we are worried about our diet.

The moment of the presentation

We have to present our work to the rest of the people, so we have to agree who is going to speak in the first place. Nobody wants to start, but in the end all of us try to do our best.

More presentations

• Some presentations are really good. Some people are very good at drawing and may have an artistic talent to make a poster.

• But in some cases it is difficult to manage with all the pictures and writing.

And more presentations

A Dutch RecipeDutch Pancakes

Ingredients:

3 eggs, ½ cup of milk, ½ cup of flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 2-3 tablespoons butter, vanilla extract, salt

How to make it

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees • In a bowl beat the eggs until they are thick and

frothy.• Add the milk, vanilla, salt, flour and baking powder.

(if you like you could also add chocolate chips, cinnamon, dried fruits or nuts)

• The batter will be thin but creamy looking. Once the Oven is heated, Drop the butter into the pan and spread it around with a fork.

• Pour the batter into the Pan and close the oven.• Bake for 20-25 minutes. The pancake will puff up

as it cooks and its done when it starts to brown a bit.

• Take the dutch pancake out of the oven. Add toppings and eat.

A German Recipe: Sauerkraut Soup

Ingredients: • 325g/12oz Sauerkraut, drained • 675g/1-1/2lb Ham Bone (with meat) • 5 Peppercorns • 2 Bay Leaves • 1.5L/50fl.oz. Water • 4 medium Potatoes, peeled and cubed • 25g/1oz Butter • 2 Onions, chopped • 2 tbsp Plain Flour

Preparation:

1. Place the sauerkraut, ham bone, peppercorns, bay leaves and water in a large saucepan, cover and bring to the boil.

2. Reduce the heat, uncover and simmer for 1-1/2 hours, stirring from time to time.

3. Half an hour before the end of the cooking time, place the potatoes in a saucepan, cover with water, bring to the boil and cook for 5 minutes or until just tender.

4. Remove ham bone from the sauerkraut, allow to cool a little then slice the ham from bone.

5. Return the sliced meat to the sauerkraut, together with the cooked drained potatoes. potatoes to sauerkraut mixture, mix well and continue to cook for a further 15 minutes.

6. Meanwhile, heat the butter in a saucepan, add the onions and sauté, stirring, for about 10 minutes.

7. Sprinkle the flour over the onions and ladle about 240ml/8fl.oz. of the sauerkraut broth into onion mixture, stirring to mix well.

8. Add the onion mixture to the sauerkraut soup and bring to the boil. Remove the bay leaves before serving.

A Polish RecipePolish Pierogi

Ingredients

• Sauerkraut• Mushrooms• 550 grams Plain Flour• 115g Unsalted Butter• 180ml Water• 6 egg yolks• 3 eggs• 1 Onion

Polish Pierogi Recipe – Method

• Make a mound of the flour with a well in the center.• Add eggs (all) and slowly mix from the center outwards to form a smooth,

kneaded dough.• Roll out the dough (approx 1.5 cm thick), and cut into small circles.• Fry mushrooms gently in a little butter.• Drain sauerkraut, and mix with mushrooms to create filling mixture.• Place filling if into center of the dough, and seal edges with a little water,

squashing down with a fork forming semi circles.• Boil a pot of water with a little salt, and insert Pierogi.• Cook for approximately 5 minutes – they will float when nearly ready.• Fry with butter until lightly browned if desired.• Chop onion and fry gently in butter until soft. Serve on top of the pierogi.

A Spanish RecipeValencian Paella

Ingredients for 4 persons

• 1 medium chicken • 1 medium rabbit • 2 medium ripe chopped tomatoes • 165 grs. wide green beans ( spanish-bachoqueta) • 130 grs. large white lima beans ( spanish-garrafon) • 1 level teaspoon of saffron • 3 cups of spanish rice • 8 cups of hot chicken broth• olive oil ( enough to cover the bottom of the paella pan) • salt ( to taste) • 1 level teaspoon of sweet red paprika • Dried rosemary to taste (optional)

First, heat the oil and when it is hot enough, add the rabbit and chicken (lightly salted ) and fry unitl lightly browned. Then add the white and green beans and cook them together with the meat. While they are cooking, make a clearance in the middle of the paella pans and fry the chopped tomatoes until they look a little pasty, quickly adding the paprika, stirring quickly and immediately adding the hot broth until it is almost to the top of the paella pans edge. Cook all the ingredients for about 20 minutes over a high fire and tasting for salt. After 20 minutes we add the rice, distributing it evenly, making sure the rice is covered with liquid. The fire should be fairly high, not interrupting the boil. It takes about 20 minutes for the paella rice to cook. Do not stir the rice once you have added it to the paella pans, just change its position so that the fire gets to all patrs equally. All the broth should be absorbed when finished. Take the paella off the fire and let stand for about 10 minutes covering the top with paper. If the rice has been cooked correctly, the rice grains should be loose, not clumped together or having a mushy texture.

Some conclusions about our eating habits

• We learned that here in Spain we eat a lot of fruit and vegetables, as more or less we follow our Mediterranean diet.

• But we don’t eat much for breakfast, some Spanish people don’t have anything for breakfast, only some milk, and that is not healthy.

• But in Germany and Holland, they eat a light lunch. We eat more for lunch.• In the other three countries they eat a bigger breakfast, with toast and ham or cheese.• But we eat more fruit and yougurt or milk than in other countries.• In Holland, they eat a lot of chocolates and snacks and in general a lot of junk food.• But we all, teenagers in the four countries, love fast food, such as pizzas, hamburguers, etc, and

it is popular food when we go out with friends, as it is cheap and tasty. We all know it is fattening and maybe unhealthy but we eat it anyway.

• In Germany, Holland and Poland, they eat a lot of meat and potatoes.• In Spain we eat meat but also a lot of fish, especially here in Valencia. In the other three

countries they don’t usually eat fish.• In the other three countries they have dinner very early. Here in Spain we have a late dinner,

usually at nine or half past nine. In Poland they go to bed at that time, and they have dinner at six, or even earlier. So our timetables are very different.

• In Spain we like to have a little bit of many different dishes, that’s why we love our “tapas”, but in the other countries, they usually eat a bigger amount of only one or two things, and it is usually hot.

Typical festivals: Christmas and New Years’ Eve We exchanged information about our typical festivals. It was very interesting. We have festivals that we celebrate in a similar way, although there are some differences. For example Christmas, or New Year’s Day. We all have a special dinner with our families and we all eat delicious meals, but in Germany and Poland, they get presents on Christmas Day and in Spain we get presents on the Three Kings Day, the 6th of January. In Holland, children get presents on the 6th of December, when they celebrate St Nicholas Day or Sinterklaas Day. The name Santa Claus comes from the name Sinterklaas. But many people also get presents on Christmas Eve.

On New Years’s Eve, people from Poland and Germany have celebrations with firecrackers and fireworks. They call this day Sylvester. In Spain some people wear red underwear to have good luck in the new year and everybody eats twelve grapes, one on each chime of the clock during the countdown. In Holland, they celebrate with fireworks too. But in all the countries there are parties and people eat, drink and wish good luck to everybody for the new year.

Typical Christmas sweets in Spain are turrón, mazapanes, polvorones, etc In Germany Christmas markets are very popular in every city.

– Granada Spain

A German Festival: Munich's 'Oktoberfest'

In Germany, “Carnival” is very popular. The most famous ones are in Aachen, Cologne, Dusseldorf and Munich. They are celebrated in February. But there are also a lot of music festivals in the country. One of the best is the Beethoven Festival in Bonn. But one of the most important festivals in Germany, very popular all over the world is the famous beer festival:

Munich’s 'Oktoberfest' Today, the 'Oktoberfest' is the largest festival worldwide attracting a multitude of visitors. Apart from beer tents the festival offers amusements as diverse as roller coasters, circus appearances, festival parades and live brass bands.The ceremonial opening happens at noon. The mayor arrives in a festive coach followed by a decorated horse-drawn brewer's cart. Guests, staff and the numerous brass bands are all wearing traditional costumes for the occasion (Bavarian costumes). At the end of the parade the major taps the first keg of beer and shouts, "o'zapft is!" (The keg is tapped).

People drink a lot of beer and it is always a great success. This festival has been exported to other places around the world.

Dutch festivals• Queen’s Day Celebrations

For one day only during the first week in April, the Dutch party all day and all night to help the Queen celebrate her birthday. This isn’t actually Queen Beatrix’s birthday, however, it is her mothers. In recent decades celebrations have exploded into one mass nationwide party which sees young and old, locals and visitors come together to join in the numerous events taking place: street parades, craft shows, live theatre, music and dance and fireworks. And all the people wearing orange

• Carnival, Maastricht

Thousands of people in full costume sing, dance and jump their way through the streets and the bars of Maastricht. One of the highlights of the festivities is the performances by the ‘zaate herremeniekes’, unique bands whose motto is ‘not too nice but definitely loud’. In fact, this pretty much sums up the whole carnival. If you’re looking for a relaxing break forget Maastricht for these three days because it’s just not going to happen. If you’re looking for an unforgettable party, however, then this is just the place.Everyone comes down to earth on Ash Wednesday, the day after carnival, when a portion of 'heering biete' (herring and bread) is the traditional consolation.

Polish Festivals: Easter

The "blessing basket“is one of the unique Easter traditions in Poland. The blessing basket is prepared the Saturday before Easter Sunday. The basket, stashed with colored eggs, bread, cake, salt, paper and white colored sausages, is taken to the church to have it blessed. This tradition stems from the belief that the Great Lent, which is the forty day fast before Easter, is not over until the basket has been blessed. Hence it is called the Blessing Basket. It is considered to be sanctified and auspicious.

Smingus Dyngus Another traditional ritual is Dyngus or Smingus Dyngus, celebrated on the first Monday after Easter. On this day boys roam around the neighborhood to sprinkle girls with water or perfume. This custom of watering has its roots in pagan traditions since the pouring of water is an ancient spring symbol of cleansing and purification. Easter Monday has also been celebrated as "Switching Day" because on this day boys switch girls with a small willow branch. So, apart from the regular Easter norms, the special rituals of Easter make it unique in Poland.

Spanish Festivals

• La TomatinaJust thirty miles away from Valencia is Buñol, another town famous for its produce: tomatoes. But its notoriety comes from the locals' habit of wearing the produce as well as tasting it: every year, Buñol hosts La Tomatina, the world's largest vegetable fight. Situated only 30 kilometers inland from the Mediterranean Sea, this charming town erupts into a fiery blaze of tomato-hurling on the last Wednesday of every August. For a week leading up to the epic battle, Buñol is filled with parades, fireworks, food and street parties. The "batalla" takes place during a week-long celebration. The monstrous tomato battle serves as the culmination of the week's events.

• Moors and ChristiansMoros y Cristianos is a peculiar celebration which is held in different cities along the Spanish coast. This festival acts out a part of Spanish history demonstrating the battles between the Arabs and the Christians that took place in the region centuries ago. One of the best places to see this fiesta is Alcoy, in Alicante, where the celebrations take place between the 22 and the 24 of April.Armies march all day to the sound of the bands. Berbers, soldiers, Mudéjares, Abencerrajes etc are all preparing for war. Soldiers march, sergeants wave to the crowds and horsemen show off their skills. All day long the hosts parade through a city decked with banners, especially the red cross of Saint George.. The Moors and Christians battle the whole day; the Christians are defeated first and the Moorish crescent can be seen on the ramparts of the castle where the red cross had once flown. When the fighting is at its fiercest, Saint George himself appears at the top of the castle to aid the Christian armies. The Moors retreat. The celebration is one of the great

fiestas in Spain

The end of the project

Working together with teenagers from other European countries was really enriching and interesting for us. We learned a lot of things, we went out together and laughed a lot. We had fun and we made good friends.We hope to repeat the experience again!(Paco, Helena, Adrián, Laura, Guillem, Salman, Nuria, Andrés, Bárbara, Marta, Cristian, Lara, José, Andrea, Rocío, Nathalie…..)