Transcript Ethiopian Culture

Ethiopia
By: Bahaar Frost
Julie Wiechec
Jeremiah Xavier
Origin of Ethiopian Food
• Although Ethiopia has
been an independent
country for a very long
time it remains very
diverse and is made up of
many different cultural
groups.
• There are over 100
different languages
spoken among cultural
groups.
• Groups have their own
traditions, but certain
staple foods remain
prominent.
Staple Foods: Injera
• A flat, spongy, pancake-like bread made mostly of fermented
teff flour with a bitter taste.
• Stays true to tradition and is prepared today as it was
thousands of years ago; by baking in a flat pan until it
becomes spongy.
• Is more than just a food, but a staple of everyday living acting
as a plate and utensil.
• A popular way of consuming this is covering it with hot food
and wrapping it in a fajita fashion to be eaten all at once.
Staple Foods: Wat
• Wat (the Ethiopian name
for stew) can be prepared
with many different
kinds of meats and
vegetables.
• The most popular kind
has either chicken (doro),
beef (sik sik), or
vegetables since many
Ethiopians restrict meat
from their diet most days.
• Traditionally Wat
contains a very spicy type
of paprika.
• Wat is traditionally
served on Injera.
Key Ingredients
• Niter Kebbeh is a butter
that is mixed with
garlic, ginger, onions,
and other spices to
make an incredible
flavor.
• Berbere is a red pastelike seasoning made up
of many different spicy
herbs and spices. It is
essential as a base for
most Ethiopian meals.
Dinner Traditions
• Before beginning a meal it is traditional for Ethiopians to
wash their hands under a water basin and say a prayer.
• The meal begins by laying out the injera in a basket
known as a mesob.
• The wat, or other meal is then placed on the injera.
• The meal is served usually with beer or honey wine.
• Coffee is always the end of the meal and is the most
popular drink of Ethiopia.
Ethiopian Cuisine vs. American
• The food in Ethiopia revolves mostly around
exotic spices, which were originally meant to
preserve the food and flavor, but have now
grown to be the base flavor for most Ethiopian
dishes.
• Spices used would likely overpower American
taste buds, although enjoyed on occasion,
they’re definitely not tolerable for everyday
eating.
• Ethiopian cuisine tends to lack textural variety.
Most is mushy so that it is easily wrapped into
injera. Americans seem to prefer foods of all
different textures.
Ethiopian Meal Traditions
• Meals in Ethiopia tend to contain one course. Although an
appetizer of curd may be offered, normally the entire meal is
laid out on the injera. In contrast most Americans enjoy
having multiple sides and their foods separated rather then all
mixed together.
– This facet of Ethiopian meal habits also facilitates another major
difference of eating between the two nations of Ethiopians’
traditions of sharing the meal and consuming it together from
the same basket. Also, utensils are barely used since they are
exchanged for the use of the injera.
VS.
Agriculture - Grains
• Most important field crop and chief
element, examples include
teff, wheat and barley;
• Grown in cool weather settings 1,500
meters above ground level.
Agriculture - Grains
• Sorghum, millet, and corn are grown in
warmer climates in southeast and
southwest regions.
• Sorghum and millet do not require much
water, while corn does.
Pulses
• 2nd most important staple food and most
eaten protein source.
• Grown 3,000 meters above sea level.
• Boiled, roasted and included in wat.
Fruits and Vegetables
• Consumption is limited
due to high costs.
• Common vegetables in the
Ethiopian diet include
onions, peppers and
squash.
• The ensete, or “false
banana”, resembles an
inedible red banana.
• Ensete leaves are used as
starch for flours to create
kocho bread.
Coffee
• Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee.
• Originally found in the Kaffa region.
• Coffee is either washed or dry-processed
(washed is preferred by most).
• Over 300,000 coffee farms and 12 million coffee
workers.
• All coffee grown is organic.
Foods Avoided – Lenten Season
• Despite droughts, the Ethiopians have
observed sacred fasting days.
• Fasting in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church
involves staying away from meat or dairy
products for up to 55 days.
• Fasting is a time for purification and has
been done since the time of the Ancient
Greeks.
Foods Avoided
• Because most Ethiopians are either Ethiopian
Orthodox Christians, Muslims, or Jews, there is
no pork of any kind in any Ethiopian food.
• Depending on which religion Ethiopians follow,
most fast throughout the entire Lenten season,
Wednesdays, Fridays, or the Ramadan Season.
Because fasting seasons allow no animal
products of any kind, most dishes are
vegetarian.
Typical Lenten Meal
• Gogo is eaten. (A thick
pancake made from
barley bread).
• Various vegetarian paste
dishes are put on the gogo
platter and are eaten with
just washed hands.
• Vegetable oils are also
used during the season
including flaxseed, neug
seed and sesame seed.
Breaking the Fast - Easter
• On Easter eve Ethiopians attend a midnight Easter mass
service. After mass, Ethiopians return home to break their
fast with chicken or lamb, slaughtered the previous night,
accompanied by injera and traditional drinks.
• Easter is a day of family reunion, and an expression of
good wishes with exchange of gifts (i.e. lamb, goat or loaf
of bread) is typical.
• Ye’assa Minchet Abish is a stewed mix of dried fish,
fenugreek, flax flour and vegetables, served over injera
also eaten to break the fast.
Holidays - Timkat
• Biggest Ethiopian festival begins on January 19 and lasts for 3 days,
celebrating the day of baptism of Christ.
• People dress in traditional white, while priests wear ceremonial
sequined velvet and satin costumes and hold umbrellas (symbolic to
protect the Tabot and priests).
• Reenactments of biblical scenarios are preformed. the third day is
devoted to the Feast of St. Michael
Holidays - Timkat
• The third day is devoted to the
Feast of St. Michael
• Fat-tailed African sheep are
fattened up for slaughter.
• Ethiopian honey wine, called
tej, and beer (tella) are drank.
• Tej is a drink reserved for
special occasions made of a mix
of honey and water flavored
with gesho plant twigs and
leaves, traditionally drunk in
tube-shaped flasks.
• High-quality tej has become a
commodity of the upper class,
whom have the resources to
brew and purchase it.
Holidays - Meskal
• Meskel celebrates the
anniversary of the
discovery of the cross
upon which Jesus was
crucified, and falls on
September 27th.
• Yeqwalima We't is a
spiced sausage stew
which is generally served
only on this and other
special occasions due to
the labor intensive nature
of the dish.
Holidays - Enkutatash
• Meaning the “gift of jewels”, this is the first day of the
Ethiopian New Year, celebrated on September 11
• Legend says that the holiday celebrates the Queen of
Sheba returning from her visit to King Solomon and the
welcoming that she received.
• Traditionally, Ethiopians eat dulet on New Year’s which
is chopped tripe, liver, raw beef and a variety of spices.