Traditional Wedding Food Served in 12 Countries
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What are traditional wedding food served in countries?
- France: A cake used for special occasion called Croquembouche
- England: The wedding cakes are usually fruitcakes to represent fertility and prosperirty.
- Brazil: Cookies called ‘bem casados”, which means “happily married”, are served
- Norway: The Kransekake is a cake that shows the love between husband and wife.
- Morocca: Tagine are common cakes used in these weddings.
- China: To ensure a smooth and sweet marriage, couple eat tangyuan
- Italy: Bowties, fried dough covered in powdered sugar, represent good tiding for the couple.
- Korea: Kak and Yak Shik are eaten to represent long life for the couple and a big family.
- Germany: Hochzeitssuppe is served to wedding guests and they must sya “I do!”
- Japan: The San-san-kudo is a Japanese tradition that involves drinking sake to seal a marriage.
- India: The bride and groom must feed each other honey and yogurt during their celebrations.
- Bermuda: Saplings are placed on top of wedding cakes for couples to take home and plant in their home to represent their union.
Weddings are considered a joyous occasion because it is the proclamation of eternal love between two people. Weddings around the world have always differed with regards to culture and tradition; what is served at a wedding catering in Manila is not exactly going to be the same as those served in other parts of the world.
France
The French are renowned for their talents in the culinary arts. With regards to traditional wedding food, the French combine tradition, art and great taste in one tower sized cake-like French dessert called a “croquembouche”, which means “that which crunches in the mouth”.
This dessert is essentially a tower of cream puffs held together by threads of caramel. Aside from weddings, croquembouche is also served at baptisms and first communions.
England
The English customs call for serving fruitcake at weddings. The top of the cake is adorned with fruit and nuts to symbolize fertility and prosperity. The top tier would be kept and reserved for the christening of the wedded couple’s firstborn.
Brazil
In Brazil, they serve traditional Brazilian cookies called “bem casados”, which means “happily married”. Two mini-sponge cakes are held together with dulce de leche or caramel sauce, egg curd, or jam. The cookies are offered as edible wedding giveaways to the guests at the end of the ceremony.
Wrapped Bem Casados
Norway
While there is a lot of food that the Norwegians may enjoy, nothing beats the “Kransekake” with regards to tradition. Kransekake, or simply “Ring Cake” is made up of egg whites, sugar and almonds and is formed by stacking them together to form a tower resembling a cone. Not only is Kransekake sweet in taste, it is also sweet in the sense that it represents eternal love between Husband and Wife.
Morocco
Moroccan Weddings are often likened to festivals because they would often last for several days. The more extreme celebrations would even persist to be a weeklong event.
Traditional Moroccan wedding food is seen and served with a “homely” atmosphere, which in this case, the dish “Tagine” takes the cake. Tagine is a casserole that is made up of vegetables and meat, and fruit is sometimes mixed into the dish. Tagine is unique in a sense that it doesn’t have a fixed recipe to follow, as many families have their own traditions and versions when it comes to this unique dish.
China
In China, many important events serve tangyuan, or sweet rice ball soup for dessert. The bride and groom must each eat sweet rice ball soup either on their wedding day or the night before as this act will ensure a sweet and smooth marriage. However, the couple should refrain from chewing the rice ball so as not to ruin the smooth shape. They must instead swallow the rice balls whole to receive good luck in their marriage.
Italy
In Italy, it is not a matter of which food to get to uphold tradition, but of how much food you can get. In traditional Italian wedding receptions, there is usually as many as 14 courses, which contain mushrooms, olives, salami, pickled peppers, calamari, prosciutto, and other antipasti. This is served along with pasta, salad, and soup.
Certain sweets are also given as symbolism. Bowties, which is fried dough covered in powdered sugar, represent good tidings. Also, guests are given boxes of candied almonds, which represent the bitter and sweet aspects of life.
Bermuda
On the cake of the couple to be wed in Bermuda, cedar sapling must be put on top of it. This is because they are meant to take these samplings home, where they plant it in their garden and watch them grow. This acts as a symbol of their union.
Korea
There are 2 specific Korean wedding foods that both hold a symbolic meaning in their culture. These are the following:
- Kuk
- These are long noodles.
- Represents long life for the couple.
- Yak Shik
- A stick rice ball dessert
- Brown sugar is used to sweeten it.
- Pine nuts, raisins, and chestnuts are added to represent the children that the couple will bear.
The alternative of Korean weddings to rice throwing is chestnut and dates throwing. When this happens, the bride will try to catch as many of it in her dress. The number of chestnuts and dates that she manages catch represent how big a family she and her partner will have.
Germany
There is a dish in Germany called Hochzeitssuppe. This literally translates to “wedding soup” and it is named so because eating it comes with a simple tradition. When a guest is served this at a wedding he or she must say “I do”.
It is a broth-y kind of soup that is served with vegetables and small meatballs. Though it is a simple dish, the preparation of it can take up to 5 hours. This is why it is only reserved for special occasions.
Japan
In a Japanese wedding, there is a tradition called the San-san-kudo. This is what seals a marriage and locks the couple in an unbreakable bond. During this tradition, the bride and the groom will take turns drinking sake from three different cups that vary in size. The first three sips are called the san, which represents three couples: the bride and the groom, the parents of the bride, and the parents of the groom. Ku simply means “9”, which is considered a lucky number in Japan.
India
A Hindu wedding can last up to a week and such a celebration means that the eating will be a marathon of sorts. During this, food such as naan, curries, and roasted potatoes are staples. After the wedding proper, the meals start to have more non-vegetarian items and even alcohol. While there is no wedding cake, tradition states that the bride and groom must feed each other sweet food such as honey and yogurt.
In Sikh and Punjabi weddings, sweets also played a big role; at engagement parties, brides would usually receive something called methiyai. During the wedding itself, the bride’s mother would feed couple ladoo.
Key Takeaway
There are a lot of traditions in the world that shows your partner that you love them but if you would like to enjoy a unique catering experience that is tailored just for you, give Juan Carlo a try.
