polenta
Polenta (, ) is an Italian cuisine, Italian dish of boiled cornmeal that was historically made from other grains. It may be allowed to cool and solidify into a loaf that can be baked, fried or Grilling, grilled.
The variety of cereal used is ...
-like dish made out of yellow
maize
Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...
flour, traditional in
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
,
Moldova
Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...
, south-west regions of
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
and among
Poles in Ukraine
The Polish minority in Ukraine officially numbers about 144,130 (according to the 2001 census),
(''mamałyga''),
Hungary
Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
(''puliszka''), the Black Sea regions of
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States
Georgia may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
and
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
, and
Thessaly
Thessaly ( ; ; ancient Aeolic Greek#Thessalian, Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic regions of Greece, geographic and modern administrative regions of Greece, administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient Thessaly, a ...
and
Phthiotis
Phthiotis (, ''Fthiótida'' ; ancient Greek and Katharevousa: Φθιῶτις) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Central Greece (administrative region), Central Greece. The capital is the city of La ...
, as well as in Bulgaria (''
kačamak
Kačamak is a kind of maize porridge made in parts of Western Asia and Southeastern Europe. Its name is derived from the Turkish word , meaning escapade.
History
The dish is made of cornmeal. Potatoes, milk, white cheese or kaymak are sometimes ...
'') and in Greece. It is also eaten in
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
,
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
,
Southern France
Southern France, also known as the south of France or colloquially in French as , is a geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Marais Poitevin,Louis Papy, ''Le midi atlantique'', Atlas e ...
,
Slovenia
Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...
,
Croatia
Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
,
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
, often with the name ''polenta''.
History
Historically a
peasant food
Peasant foods are dishes eaten by peasants, made from accessible and inexpensive ingredients.
In many historical periods, peasant foods have been stigmatized.
Common types
Meat-and-grain sausages or mushes
Ground meat or meat scraps mixed w ...
, it was often used as a substitute for bread or even as a
staple food
A staple food, food staple, or simply staple, is a food that is eaten often and in such quantities that it constitutes a dominant portion of a standard diet for an individual or a population group, supplying a large fraction of energy needs an ...
in the poor rural areas. However, in the last decades it has emerged as an upscale dish available in the finest restaurants.
Maize was consumed by Romani slaves in Wallachia and
Moldavia
Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...
, as well as
Muslim
Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
slaves, who were
prisoners of war
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...
.
Roman influence
Historically,
porridge
Porridge is a food made by heating, soaking or boiling ground, crushed or chopped starchy plants, typically grain, in milk or water. It is often cooked or served with added flavourings such as sugar, honey, fruit, or syrup to make a sweet cereal ...
is the oldest form of consumption of grains in the whole of humanity, long before the appearance of bread. Originally, the seeds used to prepare slurries were very diverse as
millet
Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most millets belong to the tribe Paniceae.
Millets are important crops in the Semi-arid climate, ...
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
in the 16th century A.D., mămăligă had been made with millet flour, known to the Romans as ''pulmentum''.
Corn's introduction in the Romanian lands
Maize
Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...
was introduced into Spain by
Hernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano, 1st Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca (December 1485 – December 2, 1547) was a Spanish ''conquistador'' who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions o ...
from
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
in 1530 and spread in Europe in the 16th century. Maize (called ''corn'' in the United States) requires a good amount of heat and humidity. The
Danube
The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...
Valley is one of Europe's regions ideal for growing maize.
A Hungarian scholar documented the arrival of corn in
Timișoara
Timișoara (, , ; , also or ; ; ; see #Etymology, other names) is the capital city of Timiș County, Banat, and the main economic, social and cultural center in Western Romania. Located on the Bega (Tisza), Bega River, Timișoara is consider ...
,
Banat
Banat ( , ; ; ; ) is a geographical and Historical regions of Central Europe, historical region located in the Pannonian Basin that straddles Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. It is divided among three countries: the eastern part lie ...
region, 1692. In
Transylvania
Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...
, maize is also called 'cucuruz', which could imply a connection between Transylvanian and Serbian merchants, kukuruz being a Slavic word. Some assume it was either
Șerban Cantacuzino
Șerban Cantacuzino (), (1634/1640 – 29 October 1688) was a List of rulers of Wallachia, Prince of Wallachia between 1678 and 1688.
Biography
Șerban Cantacuzino was a member of the Romanian branch of the Cantacuzino family, Cantacuzino noble ...
Wallachia
Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Munteni ...
,
Maria Theresa
Maria Theresa (Maria Theresia Walburga Amalia Christina; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was the ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position suo jure, in her own right. She was the ...
Moldavia
Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...
where it is called păpușoi.
Mămăligă of millet would have been replaced gradually by mămăligă made of corn. Corn then became an important food, especially in the fight against famine, which prevailed in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Historian Nicolae Iorga noted that farmers of the Romanian Principalities had grown corn since the early-to-mid-17th century.
Etienne Ignace Raicevich, a Ragusan consul of Napoleonic France to Bucharest in the fourth quarter of the 18th century, wrote that corn was introduced only ''da poco tempo'' (recently).
Before the arrival of
maize
Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...
in Eastern Europe, ''mămăligă'' was made of
millet
Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most millets belong to the tribe Paniceae.
Millets are important crops in the Semi-arid climate, ...
flour. Long lost, millet ''mămăligă'' is now again fashionable in western Europe.
Preparation
Traditionally, ''mămăligă'' is cooked by boiling water, salt and cornmeal in a special-shaped
cast iron
Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content of more than 2% and silicon content around 1–3%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloying elements determine the form in which its car ...
pot called ''ceaun'' or ''tuci''. When cooked peasant-style and used as a bread substitute, ''mămăligă'' is supposed to be much thicker than the regular Italian polenta to the point that it can be cut in slices, like bread. When cooked for other purposes, ''mămăligă'' can be much softer, sometimes almost to the consistency of
porridge
Porridge is a food made by heating, soaking or boiling ground, crushed or chopped starchy plants, typically grain, in milk or water. It is often cooked or served with added flavourings such as sugar, honey, fruit, or syrup to make a sweet cereal ...
. Because ''mămăligă'' sticks to metal surfaces, a piece of sewing thread is used to cut it into slices instead of a knife; it can then be eaten by holding it with the hand, just like bread.
''Mămăligă'' is a versatile food: various recipes of ''mămăligă''-based dishes may include milk,
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 ...
, various types of cheese, eggs, sausages (usually fried, grilled or oven-roasted), bacon, mushrooms, ham, fish etc. ''Mămăligă'' is a fat-free, cholesterol-free, high-fiber food. It can be used as a healthy alternative to more refined carbohydrates such as white bread, pasta, or hulled rice.
Serving mămăligă
''Mămăligă'' is often served with sour cream and cheese on the side (''mămăligă cu brânză și smântână'') or crushed in a bowl of hot milk (''mămăligă cu lapte''). Sometimes slices of ''mămăligă'' are pan-fried in oil or in lard, the result being a sort of corn pone.
The traditional Moldavian meal is often served with meat, usually pork or fried fish, and mujdei, a garlic-and-oil sauce. Harder boiled mamaliga is traditionally cut with a string, so it would not stick on a knife.
Similar dishes
Since ''mămăligă'' can be used as an alternative for bread in many Romanian and Moldovan dishes, there are quite a few which are either based on ''mămăligă'', or include it as an ingredient or side dish. Arguably, the most popular of them is sarmale (a type of cabbage roll/grapevine roll) with ''mămăligă''.
Another very popular Romanian dish based on ''mămăligă'' is called bulz, and consists of ''mămăligă'' with cheese and butter and roasted in the oven.
Balmoș (sometimes spelled balmuș) is another ''mămăligă''-like traditional Romanian dish, but is more elaborate. Unlike ''mămăligă'' (where the cornmeal is boiled in water) when making ''balmoș'' the cornmeal must be boiled in
sheep
Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to d ...
milk. Other ingredients, such as butter, sour cream, '' telemea'' (a type of
feta cheese
Feta ( ; ) is a Greek brined white cheese made from sheep milk or from a mixture of sheep and goat milk. It is soft, with small or no holes, and no skin. Crumbly with a slightly grainy texture, it is formed into large blocks and aged in b ...
curd
Curd is obtained by Denaturation (biochemistry), coagulating milk in a sequential process called curdling. It can be a final dairy product or the first stage in cheesemaking. The coagulation can be caused by adding rennet, a Kefir cheese, ...
led ewe cheese without
whey
Whey is the liquid remaining after milk has been curdled and strained. It is a byproduct of the manufacturing of cheese or casein and has several commercial uses. Sweet whey is a byproduct resulting from the manufacture of rennet types of hard c ...
, which is sometimes called " green cheese" in English), '' urdă'' (similar to
ricotta
Ricotta () is an Italian whey cheese made from sheep, cow, goat, or Italian water buffalo milk whey left over from the production of other cheeses. Like other whey cheeses, it is made by coagulating the proteins that remain after the casein h ...
), etc., are added to the mixture at certain times during the cooking process. It is a specialty dish of old Romanian shepherds, and nowadays very few people still know how to make a proper ''balmoș''.
In literature
In Chapter One of ''
Dracula
''Dracula'' is an 1897 Gothic fiction, Gothic horror fiction, horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. The narrative is Epistolary novel, related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist and opens ...
'' by
Bram Stoker
Abraham Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912), better known by his pen name Bram Stoker, was an Irish novelist who wrote the 1897 Gothic horror novel ''Dracula''. The book is widely considered a milestone in Vampire fiction, and one of t ...
, the character Jonathan Harker writes, "I had for breakfast more paprika, and a sort of porridge of maize flour which they said was 'mamaliga', and egg-plant stuffed with forcemeat, a very excellent dish, which they call 'impletata'".
As a traditional Szekler food, it also appears in Hungarian folktales multiple times, for example in ''Szép Palkó''.
Similar dishes
Cornmeal mush is its analogue common in some regions of the United States and
grits
Grits (stylized as GRITS) is an American Christian hip hop group from Nashville, Tennessee. Their name is an acronym, which stands for "Grammatical Revolution In the Spirit". GRITS is made up of Stacey "Coffee" Jones and Teron "Bonafide" Carter ...
in the southern regions.
Its analogue in
Serbia
, image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg
, national_motto =
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg
, national_anthem = ()
, image_map =
, map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
and
Bulgaria
Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
is called
kačamak
Kačamak is a kind of maize porridge made in parts of Western Asia and Southeastern Europe. Its name is derived from the Turkish word , meaning escapade.
History
The dish is made of cornmeal. Potatoes, milk, white cheese or kaymak are sometimes ...
(, ) and is served mainly with white brine cheese or
pork rind
Pork rind is the culinary term for the skin of a pig. It can be used in many different ways.
It can be rendered, fried in fat, baked, or roasted to produce a kind of pork cracklings (US), crackling (UK), or scratchings (UK); these are ...
(fried pieces of pork fat with parts of the skin).
In
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...
,
Croatia
Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
(also ''polenta'' or ''palenta''), Serbia (also ''kačamak'') and in
Montenegro
, image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg
, coa_size = 80
, national_motto =
, national_anthem = ()
, image_map = Europe-Mont ...
, the dish is mainly called ''pura''. In
North Macedonia
North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...
, it is called ''bakrdan'' () and in
Slovenia
Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...
, ''polenta''.
Hungarians call it ''puliszka, and is traditionally eaten in both salty and sweet form''. It is also called kukoricamálé, kukoricagánica or ganca.
The
Transylvanian Saxons
The Transylvanian Saxons (; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjer Såksen'' or simply ''Soxen'', singularly ''Sox'' or ''Soax''; Transylvanian Landler dialect, Transylvanian Landler: ''Soxn'' or ''Soxisch''; ; seldom ''sa ...
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
, it is also called mamaliga, or kaçamak. Another similar dish, called ''kuymak'' or ''muhlama'', is among the typical dishes of the Black Sea Region, although now popular in all the greater cities where there are many regional restaurants.
Broccoliga is a variant of mămăligă featuring a broccoli-polenta mixture suffused with cheddar cheese and herbs.
Known by different names in local languages (, , ka, ღომი, ghomi, , , , ), it is also widespread in
Caucasian cuisine
The following dishes and beverages are part of the cuisine of the Caucasus, including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia and the North Caucasus.
Traditional dishes Cheese
* Ashvlagwan ''(Ашвлагуан)'' — Abkhazian cuisine ...
s.
There is also a distinct similarity to '' cou-cou'' (as it is known in the
Barbados
Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...
), or ''fungi'' (as it is known in
Antigua and Barbuda
Antigua and Barbuda is a Sovereign state, sovereign archipelagic country composed of Antigua, Barbuda, and List of islands of Antigua and Barbuda, numerous other small islands. Antigua and Barbuda has a total area of 440 km2 (170 sq mi), ...
and other
Leeward Islands
The Leeward Islands () are a group of islands situated where the northeastern Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic Ocean. Starting with the Virgin Islands east of Puerto Rico, they extend southeast to Guadeloupe and its dependencies. In Engl ...
in the Caribbean Sea).
This dish is eaten widely across Africa, often with white maize flour instead of yellow, where it has different local names:
Gallery
File:Bulz și pastramă la grătar 02.jpg, Grilled bulz and pastrami
File:Kulesha&brunza.jpg, Mămăligă with pork rind, bryndza and sour cream
File:Mamałyga-e.jpg, Mămăligă with a spoonful of
sour cream
Sour cream (sometimes known as soured cream in British English) is a dairy product obtained by fermenting regular cream with certain kinds of lactic acid bacteria. The bacterial culture, which is introduced either deliberately or naturall ...
and sarmale
File:Păstrăv la staniol.jpg, Mămăligă and
trout
Trout (: trout) is a generic common name for numerous species of carnivorous freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of which are members of the subfamily Salmoninae in the ...
wrapped in
tinfoil
Tin foil, also spelled tinfoil, is a thin foil (metal), foil made of tin. Tin foil was superseded after World War II by cheaper and more durable aluminium foil, which is still referred to as "tin foil" in many regions (an example of a misnomer). ...
File:Tochitura-moldoveneasca.jpg, Moldavian tochitură with mămăligă, cheese and
egg
An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the ...
File:Bulz cu ou.jpg, Bulz with egg
Mămăligă2020-02-12.jpg, Mămăligă served with salad, cheese, and meat in Moldova
Cornbread
Cornbread is a quick bread made with cornmeal, associated with the cuisine of the Southern United States, with origins in Native American cuisine. It is an example of batter bread. Dumplings and pancakes made with finely ground cornmeal are st ...
List of porridges
Porridge is a dish made by boiling ground, crushed, or chopped starchy plants (typically grains) in water, milk, or both, with optional flavorings, and is usually served hot in a bowl or dish. It may be served as a sweet or savory dish, depending ...