Transcript chapter7 - Homework Market

Central Europeans, People of the
Former Soviet Union (FSU)
and Scandinavia
Chapter 7
Introduction
Some of the earliest and largest ethnic
groups to the US
 Contributions include

◦
◦
◦
◦
Bread baking
Dairy farming
Meat processing
Beer brewing
Central Europe
FSU/Russian
Federation
Germany
Armenia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Hungary
Belarus
Romania
Georgia
Czech Republic
Kazakstan
Slovakia
Kyrgyzstan
Poland
Rep of Moldavia
Switzerland
Tajikistan
Liechtenstein
Turkmenistan
FSU/Baltic
States
Ukraine
•Estonia
Uzbekistan
•Latvia
•Lithuania
Immigration Patterns: Germans


Largest ethnic group in US and least visible
Earliest in early 1700’s
◦ Pennsylvania Dutch seeking religious freedom
 German farmers in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana

Second group in 1800’s
◦ Farmers and their families

Early 1900’s
◦ Unmarried industrial workers
◦ Descendants of Germans who had settled in
Russia


1930’s brought Jewish refugees
After WWII there were German refugees
Immigration Patterns: Poles
Earliest to US was 1608
 Most came between 1860 and 1914

◦ German ruled areas of Poland
◦ Western Germany

After 1890 Poles from areas under
Austrian and Russian rule
◦ Chicago, Buffalo, and Cleveland

After WWI came from political
dissatisfaction
Immigration Patterns: Others

Austrians
◦ Initially classified with Hungarians and unskilled
◦ Austrian Jews fled Hitler’s arrival

Hungarians
◦ Early immigrants were wealthy political refugees
after 1848
◦ Later Ohio, West Virginia, N Illinois, Indiana coal
mines

Czechs
◦ Nebraska, Wisconsin, Texas, Iowa, Minnesota
farmers
◦ Skilled laborers settling in the urban areas of
New York, Cleveland, and Chicago.
Immigration Patterns: Others

Slovaks
◦ Northeast and Midwest
◦ Coal mines, steel mills, and oil refineries

Swiss
◦ Artisans or professionals
◦ Urban areas of New York, Philadelphia,
Chicago, Cincinnati, St. Louis, San
Francisco, and Los Angeles

Gypsies or Roma
◦ Insular ethnic group found throughout the
world
◦ In US primarily from central Europe
Immigration Patterns: FSU
◦ Often listed as Russians

Lithuania
◦ After 1861 and then after WWII

Ukraine
◦ Recruited to coals mines of Pennsylvania
◦ Factory work in Ohio, New York, and Michigan

Armenia
◦ First in 1890 for economic opportunity
◦ Armenians from Turkey came after both WW
◦ Los Angeles, Boston, New York, Detroit,
Chicago, and the agricultural region of Fresno,
California.
Current Demographics and
Socioeconomic Status

Germans
◦ Some maintain aspects of their heritage
◦ higher in economic achievement and are
generally conservative in attitudinal
ratings
◦ Heavy anti-German sentiment after WWI
◦ Rapid assimilation

Poles
◦ Just below or solidly at middle-class level
◦ Formation and leadership in labor unions
Current Demographics and
Socioeconomic Status: Others

Austrian
◦ Clothing and tailoring, mining
◦ Bakeries, meatpacking operations, and
restaurants

Hungarians
◦ Urban, white collar workers
◦ Engineers

Czech
◦ Sales, machinist, or white-collar jobs
◦ Founded businesses in cigars, beer and
watches
Current Demographics and
Socioeconomic Status: Others

Slovak
◦ White collar families with high incomes
◦ Strong family and cultural ties likely

Swiss
◦ Multicultural, multilingual
◦ Work in Swiss companies

Gypsies
◦ Tradition of roaming, are very mobile
◦ Independent trades and service positions
◦ Women are often in the mystical arts
 Fortunetelling
Current Demographics and
Socioeconomic Status: Russia/FSU
 Recent immigrants settle in urban
areas
◦ Ukrainians in PA
◦ Armenians in CA

Most have easily assimilated
◦ In part due to anticommunist sentiments
Recent immigrants with advanced
degrees
 Recent Armenian immigrants may be
far below poverty line

Worldview – Religion: Germans




Early immigrants primarily Lutheran
Some Jewish
Some Roman Catholic
Mennonites
◦ From the Anabaptist movement
◦ Simple lifestyle
◦ Rejection of oaths, public office, military
service

Amish
◦ Strict sect of Mennonites
◦ No electricity or cars
Worldview – Religion: Poles,
Others

Poles
◦ Devout Catholics

Austrians
◦ Most Catholic
◦ Some Jewish

Hungarian and Slovaks
◦ Primarily Catholic

Czech
◦ Catholic, but many have left the church
Worldview – Religion: Gypsies


From Asian Indian religions
Worldview called Romaniya
◦ Believe in God, devil, ghosts, and
predestination.
◦ Persons and things are either pure or
polluted.
◦ Preserve purity
◦ Avoid contamination through contact with
non-gypsies

Some Gypsy Americans are Christian
◦ Often fundamentalists
◦ Combined Christian and Gypsy concepts
Worldview – Religion:
Russians and People of the FSU

Russia
◦ Majority are of the Russian Orthodox
Church
◦ Soviet Jews

Ukrainian and Lithuanian Americans
◦ Roman Catholic

Armenian Americans
◦ Armenian Apostolic Church
◦ Armenian Rite of the Roman Catholic
Church
Worldview: Family

Germans
◦ Traditionally large families on farms, later
in businesses.
◦ Pennsylvania Dutch (descendants of
German immigrants) and the Amish still
have large families

Poles
◦ Patriarchal with mother caring for home.
◦ Wives and children rarely worked outside
the home
Family: Others

Austrian
◦ Tight nuclear family with father in charge
of finances and mother ruling home life.

Czech and Hungarian
◦ Male dominated with many relatives.

Slovaks
◦ Strong family ties with respect for parents.
Family: Gypsies
Maintain extended family
 Temporarily band together while
traveling with multifamily groups.
 Father in charge of all public matters
 Women take care of family income
and manage all money matters

◦ Retain power due to ability to
communicate with the supernatural world

Arranged marriages are common
Family: Russians
Traditionally large families
 Women legally dependent on their
husbands

◦ Changing
◦ Families are smaller due to women
working and with more education
◦ Still maintain all household chores
Russian families have fewer children
 Education emphasized

◦ Russian language
Family: FSU
Ukrainian and Lithuanian early
immigrants were single men who were
basically forced to intermarry with other
ethnic groups.
 Men dominate the household
 Women run the home
 Extended family is the norm
 Armenians are tight-knit with respect for
elders maintained
 All are similar to the average American
household

Traditional Health Beliefs and
Practices: Germans
German biomedicine uses botanicals
extensively
 Illness may be believed to be caused by
infection or stress
 Expected consequence of hard labor
 Dress properly, avoid drafts, breathe
fresh air
 Exercise, work hard
 Take cod liver oil
 Suffering is “a blessing from God”
 Lots of home remedies used

Traditional Health Beliefs and
Practices: Pennsylvania Dutch
Hearty diet
 Home remedies, homeopathy, healers
common
 Sympathy healing

◦
◦
◦
◦
Laying on of hands
Powwowing or Brauche
Charms, spells, and blessings to cure symptoms
Healer acts as God’s instrument and requests
God’s direct assistance in treatments
Reflexology
 Herbal Teas

Traditional Health Beliefs and
Practices: Poles
Shortage of medical supplies in Poland
led to widespread use of faith healers
 Faith in God
 Religious medals
 Avoid sick people
 Healthy diet
 Sleep
 Keep warm
 Exercise
 Loving home
 Avoid gossip

Traditional Health Beliefs and
Practices: Gypsies

Health maintained through marimé
◦ Purity and pollution related to Asian Indian
beliefs

Separate clean from unclean
◦ Upper body and all secretions pure
◦ Lower half unclean and shameful
◦ Avoid contamination of upper body by
touching lower body
 Left hand only for personal care
 Menstrual blood especially impure
◦ Avoid public places non-Gypsies frequent
◦ Don’t touch contaminated surfaces
Traditional Health Beliefs and
Practices: Gypsies

Illness due to
◦ Contact with non-Gypsies
◦ Conditions caused by spirits, ghosts, the
devil, or breaking cultural rules
Home remedies
 Gypsy healers
 Non-Gypsy conditions are suitable for
treatment by non-Gypsy physicians

◦ May still consult a non-Gypsy folk healer
Traditional Health Beliefs and
Practices: Russian and the FSU
Natural cures, alternative medicine used
extensively
 Often integrated with biomedical therapy
 Saunas
 Massage
 Steam baths
 Balneotherapy

◦ Bathing in mineral springs


Mud baths, sulfurated hydrogen baths
Homeopathic preparations and herbals
Traditional Health Beliefs and
Practices: Russian and the FSU

Magic and the occult
◦ Cure illnesses due to supernatural
◦ Psychics and Znakarki
 Elder women who whisper charms and sprinkle water with
magic powers

Siberia
◦ Spiritual crisis, soul loss, evil spirits, breach of taboos,
curses
◦ Shamans realigned life forces, retrieved souls
 Visualization, singing, chanting, prognostication, dream
analysis, séances

Russians who don’t believe in occult practices
◦ Illness from social conflict, political problems, war,
poor medical care, starvation
Traditional Food Habits:
Ingredients and Common Foods









Determined by what
grows in cooler, damper
climates
Potatoes, Beans, Beets
Cabbage and cabbage
family
Eggs and Dairy products
Pork, Beef, Fish
Seafood from the Baltic
Fresh fish from local
lakes
Apples
Rye, Wheat, Barley
Traditional Food Habits:
Ingredients and Common Foods

Dried, pickled, or fermented for
preservation
◦ Cucumber pickles
◦ Sour cream
◦ Sauerkraut
Traditional Food Habits:
Ingredients & Common Foods: Breads
Rye and other grains
 Darker

◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦

Whole or cracked wheat
Black
Rye or pumpernickel
Caraway, egg, or potato
Cornmeal
Pretzels
Dumplings
◦ May be stuffed or
unstuffed
Pastries
 Stuffed pockets
 Buckwheat - Russia

Traditional Food Habits:
Ingredients & Common Foods: Meats

Pork is the most
popular

◦ Goose
◦ Schnitzel
 German Holidays
◦ Chicken Kiev
 Meat cutlet
◦ Ham

Beef
◦ Sauerbraten
◦ German National
Dish

Veal
◦ Young calf
Poultry
 Russia

Game meats
◦ Hasenpfeffer
 German rabbit dish
◦ Bigos
 Polish “Hunter’s
Stew”
Traditional Food Habits: Ingredients and
Common Foods: Ground Meats


Seasoned with a binder to stretch meat
when it was expensive or scarce
Steak Tartare
◦ Raw ground beef on toast


Ground meat to stuff vegetables or make
meatballs
Hungary known for gulyás
◦ Goulash
◦ Paprika-spiced stew
◦ Sweet Hungarian Paprika is ground, dried,
red chile peppers with sugar added
Traditional Food Habits: Ingredients and
Common Foods: Sausages (Wurst)

Rohwurst

◦ Cured and smoked
◦ Can be eaten as is

Bruhwurst
◦ Kikielbasa
 Garlic flavored

Kockwurst
◦ Like a cold cut

Austria
◦ Wieners
◦ Frankfurter

Polish

Czechs and
Slovaks
Bratwurst
◦ Jaternice
◦ Similar to raw
sausage links
◦ Jelita
 from pork
 blood sausage
Traditional Food Habits:
Ingredients and Common Foods: Fish

Fresh and salt water fish
◦ Fresh, smoked or cured


Trout, carp, and eel
Germany
◦ Pickled herring

Russia
◦ Smoked salmon and sturgeon
 Caviar (sturgeon roe)

Poland
◦ Fish is not popular as associated with Soviet
rule
Traditional Food Habits: Ingredients and
Common Foods: Dairy products






Eaten daily
Cheeses served at any meal
May be fresh and sweet or strongly flavored
Fresh milk
Butter
Butter milk
◦ Kefir (FSU)
Sour cream
 Fresh cream
 Whipped cream daily in Austria and Germany

Traditional Food Habits: Ingredients and
Common Foods: Fruits/Vegs








Cold weather fruits and vegetables
Red and green cabbage
Potatoes
Beets
Kohlrabi
Cucumbers
Onions
Mushrooms
◦ In Poland a meat substitute on religious fast days

Temperate vegetables more common now
◦ Cauliflower and tomatoes

Apples, cherries, plums, berries
Traditional Food Habits: Ingredients and
Common Foods: Sweets
Enjoyed daily
Cheesecake, coffee cakes, doughnuts, nut or
fruit-filled individual pastries
 Apple, cherry, raspberry, chocolate, almond,
poppy seed flavors
 Austria:


◦ Apple strudel

Germany:
◦ Black Forest Cake

Lithuania and Poland:
◦ Branch Cake

Russia
◦ Cooked fruits such as the berry pudding kisel
Traditional Food Habits: Ingredients and
Common Foods: Beverages

Central Europe
◦ Coffee is most common

Russia
◦ Strong tea
◦ Served in samovar
 Brass urn heated by charcoal
Traditional Food Habits: Ingredients and
Common Foods: Beverages

Germany, Austria, Hungary,
◦ Beer most popular
◦ Excellent wines

German beer can be sweet, bitter, weak
strong and typically bottom-fermented
◦ Lager
◦ Bock beer is strong flavored
◦ Marzenbier
 Midway between pilsner and bock
◦ Weissbier
 Wheat beer with lemon or raspberry fruit syrup
◦ Schnapps
 Fruit brandy
Traditional Food Habits: Ingredients and
Common Foods: Beverages

Czechs
◦ Pilsner Beer
 Bitter but light in color

Poland
◦ Goldwasser
 Has flakes of gold
◦ Mead
 Fermented from honey

Russia
◦ Kvass
 Sour beer fermented from rye bread or beets
◦ Vodka
 Distilled spirit from potatoes
 Popular in Poland and Russia
Switzerland

Known for Fondue
◦ Hot dish of melted cheese, etc., in which
food is dipped

Zesty cheeses with holes
◦ Emmenthal
 Original Swiss cheese
◦ Gruyère.
Armenia
Cuisine greatly influenced by Greeks,
Turks, Persian, Syrians and other
Arabs
 Word for bread is “meal” or “food”
 Lamb is staple meat, pork rarely eaten
 Freshwater fish
 Yogurt and cheese daily
 Fresh, dried and pickled fruits and
vegetables

Armenian Dinner







Mezze with anise-flavored aperitif raki
Soups made with yogurt, eggs, lemon,
tomatoes
Salads
Kebabs, stew or casserole
Bread such as pita
Fruit for dessert
Coffee, tea, than
◦ Yogurt thinned with water and flavored with
mint

Wine and brandy
Meal Composition and Cycle:
Daily Patterns

Central Europe
◦ 5 – 6 large meals daily in the past
◦ Today 3 meals plus snacks

Gypsies
◦ Two meals daily
◦ Morning and late afternoon
◦ Social occasions

Russia and the FSU
◦ 3 hearty meals daily
◦ Snacking is rare
Meal Composition and Cycle:
Daily Patterns: Central Europe

Breakfast
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦

Coffee
Tea
Hot chocolate
Pastries
Bread and fruit OR
A small sandwich
Lunch
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
Bread
Butter and jam
Hardboiled eggs
Cheese
Ham
Midmorning breakfast
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦


Soup
Fish, 1-2
Meat dishes with vegetables
Stewed fruit
Dessert with whipped cream
Mid-afternoon break
◦ Coffee or tea, cake or
cookies

Evening meal
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
Lighter
Salads
Pickled or smoked fish
Cheese, ham and sauces
Selection of breads
Meal Composition and Cycle:
Daily Patterns: Russia and the FSU


Bread
Soup made from beets
◦ Borscht
Cabbage
 Fish
 Kasha

◦ Cooked porridge from barley, buckwheat or
millet

Lithuania
◦ Soup is replaced with salad
Meal Composition and Cycle:
Daily Patterns: Russia
Czars ate 4 meals
daily
 Zakuski

◦ Part of the traditional
czarist evening meal
◦ “Small bites”
◦ Still part of Russia
today
◦ An array of
appetizers
◦ From simple to
countless
Etiquette


More formal than Americans
Germany
◦ Invitations for dessert or wine later in the evening


Host begins meal with appropriate announcement
Gifts are good quality dessert wines, candies, or pastries
◦ Not Vodka where it is served

Fork in left hand, knife in right
◦ In Germany do not use knives unless absolutely necessary
◦ Knife to cut potatoes, etc., an insult as it implies the food is tough



Hands above the table with wrists on edge
Pass dishes to left
Specific glasses for each beverage that will be refilled quickly
◦ Consume vodka in one shot
Special Occasions
Usually have religious significance
 Traditions often have pre-Christian
roots
 Christmas and Easter are major
holidays
 Immigrants brought to the US

◦ Christmas tree
◦ Easter egg hunt
Special Occasions: Germany
Land of popular festivals
 Lots of food and drink
 Munich’s Oktoberfest

◦ Sausage eating and beer drinking
◦ World’s largest public event
Easter bunny hides eggs on Easter
 Ham and pureed peas for Easter
dinner

Special Occasions: Germany

Advent and Christmas are holiest seasons
◦
◦
◦
◦







Tree lit on Christmas Eve
Christ Child brings presents
Take tree down on Epiphany
Large dinner on Christmas
Christmas Carp on Christmas Eve
Hare or goose with apples and nuts on
Christmas Day
Marzipan
Spice cakes
Cookies
Fruit cakes
Gingerbread houses
Special Occasions: Poland


Christmas and Easter are the most
important
Easter dinner
◦ Roast suckling pig, hams, coils of sausages
and roast veal
◦ Painted hard boiled eggs, grated horseradish
◦ Paschal lamb sculpted from butter or white
sugar
◦ Babka is a rich yeast cake
◦ All food blessed by the priest
Special Occasions: Poland

Christmas Eve is a fast day
◦ Meatless meal served when the first star of the
evening is seen
◦ Barszcz Wigilijny
 Soup similar to borscht made with mushrooms and beets
◦ Carp on Christmas Even
◦ Makowiec
 A rich Christmas cake

New Year’s Eve
◦ Paczki
 Jelly doughnuts

New Year’s Day
◦ Bigos
◦ Washed down with vodka
Special Occasions: Czech
Republic

Czechs
◦ Eat carp four ways
at Christmas
 Breaded and fried
 Baked with dried
prunes
 Cold in aspic
 Fish soup
◦ Vanocka
 Christmas bread
◦ Easter dinner is ham
or roasted kid
Special Occasions: Slovakia
Christmas
 Break Advent fast with
oplatky

Easter
 Dinner dessert called
paska

◦ Wafer with honey

Christmas Eve meal
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
Wild mushroom soup
Cabbage
Potato dumplings
Stuffed cabbage
Mulled wine
Babalky
◦ Pyramid shaped dessert
Meal will be blessed by
the priest on Holy
Saturday
 Ham, sausages, duck or
goose
 Horseradish
 Syrek

◦ Easter cheese
 Bread with poppy seeds

Hrudka
◦ Imitation cheese ball
Special Occasions: Hungary
Easter is most important holiday
 Pancakes are eaten on Shrove
Tuesday
 Sour eggs and herring salad on Ash
Wednesday
 Easter week has new spring
vegetables and painted Easter eggs
 Good Friday meal with wine-flavored
soup, stuffed eggs and baked fish

Special Occasions: Easter

Feast of Easter Eve
◦ Rich chicken soup with dumplings or
noodles
◦ Roasted meat
◦ Pickled vegetables
◦ Stuffed cabbage rolls
◦ Cakes and pastries
◦ Coffee
Special Occasions: Hungary

Christmas Eve
◦ Meatless with fish and potatoes

Christmas Day
◦
◦
◦
◦
Roast turkey, chicken or goose
Roast potatoes
Stuffed Cabbage
Desserts
 Brandied fruits
 Fruit compote
 Poppy seed and nut cakes
Special Occasions: Austria
Christmas and Easter
 Fasching

◦
◦
◦
◦
Originally a pagan ceremony
Drive out the evil spirits of winter
Parade down the streets ringing cow bells
Now a multi-day carnival associated with
Lent
◦ Doughnuts, fritters, other sweets are
typical food
Special Occasions: Russia and
the FSU

Fast days
◦ Fish
◦ Mushrooms
 Forest meat
Easter is most significant holiday
 Butter Festival

◦ Maslenitas
◦ Precedes the 40 days of Lent
◦ Blini
 Raised buckwheat pancakes
 Numerous toppings
 Butter is traditional as can’t be consumed during Lent
Special Occasions: Russia and
the FSU

Easter meal after midnight Mass
◦ Pasha
 Cake decorated with XB (Christ is Risen)
◦ Kulich
 Cake made from rich, sweet yeast dough
◦ Red or hand decorated eggs

Pentecost (Trinity) Sunday
◦ Kulich leftover from Easter eaten
Special Occasions:
Russia and the Ukraine

Christmas Eve
◦ 12 different dishes represent the 12 apostles
◦ Kutia or Sochivo
 Porridge of wheat grains, honey, poppy seeds and
stewed, dried fruit


Christmas Day celebrated with festive meal
New Year’s
◦ Children receive gifts
◦ Spicy ginger cakes

Krendel
◦ Pretzel shaped sweet bread
◦ Eaten on wedding anniversaries and name days
Therapeutic Use of Food:
Germans

Chicken soup
◦ Diarrhea, vomiting, sore throats

Tea
◦ Upset stomach

Milk with honey
◦ Coughs

Pennsylvania Dutch
◦ Cold drinks are unhealthy
◦ Eat meat 3 times per day
◦ Herbal teas for many complaints
Therapeutic use of food: Poles

Colic
◦ Tea, soda water, sauerkraut

Cramps
◦ Chamomile tea

Colds
◦ Tea with dried raspberries
◦ Wine

High blood pressure
◦ Cooked garlic

Coughs
◦ Warm beverages

“Sweat out” an illness
◦ Tea with honey and alcoholic spirits
Therapeutic Use of Food:
Gypsies

Fresh food most nourishing
◦ Leftovers unwholesome
◦ Canned and frozen items not fresh

Non-Gypsies carry disease
◦ Use disposable plates and utensils in public places

Insufficient intake of lucky foods cause poor
health
◦ Salt, pepper, vinegar, garlic

Home remedies are common
◦ Tea with crushed strawberries
◦ Asafetida (devil’s dung)
◦ Ghost vomit (Fuligo septica)
Therapeutic Use of Food:
Russia & the FSU

Butter

◦ Eyesight

Dill
◦ Kvass cures hangovers

◦ Dyspepsia

Honey


Teas
◦ Raspberry, chamomile,
eucalyptus, cornsilk
Vodka with herbs
◦ Supplement
◦ Consumed as a shot
◦ Added to coffee or tea
Gogomul
◦ Egg yolk, sugar, milk,
baking soda
◦ Respiratory infections
Balsam flavored vodka
◦ Cures anything
◦ Flatulence

Alcoholic beverages

Full hearty meals
◦ To maintain health
Adaptations of Food Habits in
US


Diet not significantly different from U.S. fare
Quantity did increase
◦ Especially of meat
Many traditional foods have become common US
fare
 3 meals a day but with more dairy and sausages
 More traditional meals served at special
occasions
 Amish families celebrate religious holidays only

◦ Add a day to the celebration
◦ Celebrate quietly at home with family
Nutritional Status
Central European diet among highest in
animal products, potatoes, sweets,
refined/processed items
 Germany

◦ Highest in fats and oils of animal origin
◦ 50% German woman are obese, 66% for men
Slightly lower rates in Czech Republic,
Slovakia and Hungary
 Recent Russian and FSU immigrants
consume diet high in saturated fats, sodium,
sugar
 All at risk of developing CVD and other
conditions associated with high-fat items

Nutritional Status: Russia and
FSU




Immigrant nutritional deficiencies from
lack of vegs/fruit
Dietary selenium deficiency, moderate
iron and manganese deficiencies
High rates of diabetes, HTN, HLD, CVD,
TB, HIV
Leukemia and thyroid cancer rates
increased
◦ 80% of Russian immigrants from regions
affected by Chernobyl

May resist x-rays
Nutritional Status: Russia and
FSU
Strongly support breastfeeding
High rates of iron-deficiency anemia and
endemic goiter
 Heavy alcohol use in Russia, some FSU nations
and Poland
 High rates of gastric cancer Lithuania


◦ Due in part to a high consumption of salted and cured
meats and fish

Homemade cheeses with unpastuerized milk
◦ Increased risk of listeria

Eggs sometimes used raw in uncooked dishes
◦ Increased risk of salmonella
Nutritional Status: Gypsies

Boston Study:
◦ High rates of HTN, Type 2 Diabetes, Vascular disease
◦ Obesity at 85%
◦ Chronic renal insufficiency

Europe
◦ Dyslipidemia, obesity and insulin resistance

At risk for genetic problems
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦


PKU
Galactokinase deficiency
Citrullinaemina
Wilson’s Disease
Metchromatic Leucodystrophy
High rates of infant mortality and unfavorable birth outcomes
Life expectancy overall is low
Counseling


May be a language barrier with Russians
Germans – monochronistic
◦ Formal, polite, respect education and titles
◦ Direct eye contact and handshake

Poles – quieter than Americans
◦ Uncomfortable with loudness
◦ Handshake and direct eye contact

Both may be reluctant to seek medical
care
Counseling: Amish









May need an interpreter
Reserved and respectful and expect it in
return
Conservative and modest
Modern health technology ok
No photos, pictures, depictions of human
faces
More digestive problems, obesity, bedwetting
High fat, high sodium diet
Less issues with heart disease, alcoholism
Genetic issues such as PKU more common
Counseling: Gypsy Americans
English may be second language
 Illiteracy common
 “Man’s worth is in his girth”
 May seek care only in emergencies
 May refuse injections

◦ Impure

Will bring food to patients
◦ Contamination feared
Counseling: Russians
Russians expect more formality
 May always respond “no”
 Direct and possible loud communication
 3 quick kisses and handshake common
greeting
 Direct eye contact
 Preventive medicine unfamiliar
 Compliance issues with medication or
lifestyle changes
 Avoid mental health care

Counseling: Russians







Many feel ailments/treatments not
understood in US
Culture specific ailments not familiar in
US
Medical care in Russia drugs with
alternative treatments
Prefer injections over oral meds
May self medicate
Assertive in US as they had to be
assertive in Russia
Many are highly acculturated
Scandinavians
Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, and Iceland
History of Scandinavians in the
US


Legend says Norsemen first discovered
North America
Documented presence in US
◦ 1629 when Jonas Bronck (Danish) bought
land that became known as the Bronx in NYC

Immigration began in 1800’s
◦ Norwegians, Swedes primarily
◦ Few Icelanders


Moved to homestead Midwest states
Danes developed 24 Danish
communities
Current Demographics



All assimilated well
Were literate, valued education
Norwegians and Sweded
◦ Continued farming in Midwest
◦ Construction

Swedes
◦ Engineering, architecture

Danes
◦ Livestock, dairying

Finns
◦ Natural resource management, mining engineering,
geology
◦ Women in home economics, nursing
Worldview: Religion

Majority who immigrated were
Lutheran
◦ Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

If not Lutheran, other Protestant
churches
Worldview: Family
Nuclear family was center of rural life
 Large families with father head of
household
 Kinship ties were strong

◦ Brought other relatives to US and helped
them

Smaller families now
◦ Finns often with one child
Traditional Health Beliefs and
Practices


Fish necessary for good health
Norway
◦ Cough and cold confectionaries
◦ Herbs and dietary supplement boost immune function

Finns
◦ Natural health care
◦ Massage, cupping, bloodletting
◦ Sauna used for many things

Swedish Massage
◦ Relaxation
◦ Increase circulation
◦ Promote Healing
Traditional Food Habits
Hearty and simple
 Abundant seafood
 Limited foods produced on land
 Preservation methods of previous
centuries used

◦ Fish dried, smoked or pickled
◦ Milk is fermented or allowed to sour
◦ Preserve foods with salt
Ingredients and Common Foods:
Staples and Regional Variations

Feature natural flavors with subtle
seasoning
◦ Black pepper, onions, dill
◦ Juniper berries
◦ Caraway, cloves, nutmeg and cardamom

Lots of FISH
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
Scandinavian dried salt cod
Pickled herring
Lox
Fish sticks
Fish with cheese and breadcrumbs
Ingredients and Common Foods:
Staples and Regional Variations
Cream and butter popular
 Lots of fermented dairy products

◦ Sour cream, cheese, buttermilk, yogurtlike products

White sauce with milk and parsley
◦ Known for cheeses
 Common for breakfasts and snacks
Ingredients and Common Foods:
Staples and Regional Variations
Meats more popular inland
 Pork is popular, veal, mutton and lamb
 Reindeer
 Game meats such as elk
 Goose and grouse, not chicken
 Historically meat was scarce and
chopped and combined with other
ingredients

◦ Swedish meatballs
Ingredients and Common Foods:
Staples and Regional Variations

Cold weather vegetables (especially root
crops)
◦ Rutabagas

Yellow and green split pea soups with
ham or pork
◦ Served with pancakes


Wild mushrooms
Berries
◦ Lingonberries

Fruits stewed or made into preserves
◦ Sometimes served with meats
Ingredients and Common Foods:
Staples and Regional Variations

Breads are often rye
◦ Norwegian flatbreads
◦ Swedish knäckebröd
 Like hardtack
◦ Norwegian lefse
 Potato and wheat flour dough
◦ Norwegian potato dumplings
◦ Tunnbrød from Sweden
 Thin, tortilla like bread
 Sold as fast food wrapped around fillings
Ingredients and Common Foods:
Staples and Regional Variations



Desserts rich but not overly sweet
Butter, cream, sweetened cheese,
cardamom
Aebelskivers
◦ Danish pancake puffs



Pancakes or crepes served with berries
or jams
Almonds, almond paste or marzipan
Danes known for their pastries
◦ Weinerbrød
Ingredients and Common Foods:
Staples and Regional Variations
Milk is popular beverage
 Aquavit

◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
Water of life
Distilling potatoes or grain
Flavored with caraway or other herb
Serve ice cold in a Y-shaped glass
Down like a shot, chase with a beer
Meal Composition and Cycle:
Daily Patterns: Breakfast



3 meals a day
3 coffee breaks
Breakfast
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
Bread
Eggs
Pastries
Cheese
Fruit
Potatoes
Herring
Sour cream or yogurt like fermented milk
Fruit soups in winter
Meal Composition and Cycle:
Daily Patterns: Lunch

Lunch in Denmark
◦
◦
◦
◦

Smørrebrød
Open-faced sandwich
Means buttered bread
May be a snack
Swedes consume
hot lunch
◦
◦
◦
◦
Pea soup
Brisket or hash
Mashed rutabaga
At work or school
cafeteria
Swedish Smörgåsbord
Buffet meal
Means “bread and butter table”
Large variety of hot and cold dishes
Served with Aquavit
Starts with herring, then other fish dishes
Meats and salads
Hot dishes like Swedish meatballs and
mushroom omelets
 Dessert
 Today served only on special occasions







Meal Composition and Cycle:
Daily Patterns: Dinner

Heavier dinner if lunch is light
◦ Appetizer, soup, entrée, vegetables, dessert
◦ Potatoes

If heavier lunch, lighter dinner
◦ Informal
◦ Convenience foods
◦ Italian foods

3 most common dishes in Swedish homes
◦ Falun sausage, spaghetti with meat sauce, pizza

Milk, beer or wine
◦ Coffee or wine with dessert
Etiquette
Fork in left hand and knife in right
 Sandwiches consumed with fork and knife

◦ Only bread eaten with hands





Keep hands above the table with wrists on
edge
Pass dishes to the left
Finland: wait for host to initiate eating
Norway: male guest of honor is to thank
hosts on behalf of all guests
Wine is always appreciated as a hostess gift
as it is expensive
Special Occasions
Conferences and meetings
 Milk and coffee with sweets

◦ Cinnamon buns
◦ Open-faced sandwiches
◦ Fruit

Sandwich cakes
◦ Layers of bread and fillings
◦ Served mid-afternoon at events
Special Occasions: Christmas
From Advent to St.
Canute’s Day on
January 13
 Sweden

◦ December 13
◦ St. Lucia’s Day

Christmas Eve is
the big meal
Special Occasions: Christmas in
Norway
Rice porridge sprinkled with sugar and
cinnamon
 Lutefisk

◦ Dried salt cod soaked in lye, then boiled
Pork ribs and sausages with cabbage
Dried lamb rib specialty with mashed
rutabaga
 Cod or halibut with white sauce and green
peas
 Boiled potatoes
 Cookies and cakes


◦ Traditionally 7 types of sweets
Special Occasions: Christmas

Christmas Smörgåsbord in Sweden
◦ 20 – 30 dishes
◦ Ham, herring

Denmark
◦ Roast duck, goose or pork with brown gravy
◦ Red cabbage and caramelized potatoes
◦ Rice pudding with whipped cream and hot cherry
sauce

Finland
◦ Pickled herring and salmon, then ham
◦ Vegetable casseroles with potatoes, carrots, or
turnips
◦ Prunes, cookies, pies
Special Occasions: Christmas

Dozens of cookies
◦ Ginger and cloves
Tree hung with gingerbread figures
 Deep-fried, brandy-flavored dough

◦ Klejner, klener, klenätter

Traditional holiday beverage
◦ Glögg
◦ Hot alcoholic punch
Special Occasions:
Midsummer’s Day

June 24
◦ Swede’s Day in the US


Maypoles, bonfire, feasting
Sweden
◦ Boiled new potatoes and wild strawberries

Norway
◦ Rømmengrøt

Finland
◦ New potatoes with dill and smoked salmon
Adaptations of Food Habits
Diet did not change significantly
 3 meals a day

◦ Dairy products
◦ Animal protein

Many Scandinavian foods adopted by
Americans
Nutritional Status: Intake

In Finland
◦ 40% obesity for women, almost 60% for men
◦ Somewhat lower for Denmark, Norway,
Sweden

Finns
◦ High rates of heart disease, stroke,
alcoholism, depression, lactose intolerance

Scandinavian Americans may be at
increased risk for CVD due to high fat,
high cholesterol diet
Counseling










Low context communicators
Highly analytical
Emotions controlled
Superficiality and personal inquiries are
avoided
Danes are less formal
Direct eye contact
Firm, brief handshake
Other touching is reserved for friends and
relatives
Sickness considered a weakness
Will avoid talking about it