Easter Food Traditions Around The World
Like many other holidays, Easter is traditionally celebrated with plenty of unique and delicious food. The recipes are often quite indulgent, featuring the foods that were forbidden during Lent. Follow us on a gastronomic globe-trot and discover what Easter food traditions exist in other countries. Ready? Off we go…
Here in the UK, our tastiest tradition has to be the good old hot cross bun, a.k.a. the HCB. These sweet, spiced buns are traditionally eaten on Good Friday to signify the end of Lent, although we rather like the Guardian’s suggestion that: “HCBs are best eaten between 3pm and 5pm on a damp, overcast, miserable midweek afternoon. In front of the fire. While watching Countdown. You should use the hot cross bun as a comforting palliative to, well, life.”
HCBs have been an Easter tradition for centuries, traced back as early as 1361. Their staying power suggests that they’re much more than just a teacake with good PR! Currants or raisins dot the bun, and a flour and water paste should be used to make a cross on top, which signifies the crucifixion. If you’re kind enough to share your hot cross bun, it’s thought to bring you friendship: “Half for you and half for me. Between us two, shall goodwill be”… is it really worth it, though?!
Also dating back centuries, but slightly less popular, is the simnel cake: a rich, fruity cake that was originally eaten on Sunday during Lent throughout the United Kingdom. The cake is topped with a layer of toasted marzipan and 11 marzipan balls to represent Jesus’ disciples (minus Judas, who betrayed him). It is lighter than a Christmas cake, but thankfully can last as long…long after the hot cross buns have disappeared.
These sweet treats can’t overshadow a traditional Easter lunch though: a delicious leg of lamb, seasoned with a bit of garlic and rosemary and served with fresh mint sauce. If spending Easter morning in the kitchen doesn’t appeal, you can also pick up one of our Family Roast Boxes, which has enough West Country lamb, roasties and veg for six. Take a look here.
The Russians get a bit more creative with their lamb, artistically fashioning a lump of butter into the shape of a lamb to adorn the table. The butter lamb symbolizes the beginning of spring as well as the sacrifice of Jesus, the “Lamb of God.”
Lambs aren’t the only animal synonymous with Easter, there is of course also the Easter Bunny. Or in Australia, where rabbits are blight not a blessing, many people celebrate with the “Easter Bilby” instead. A small marsupial native to Australia, the bilby is a charming little chap with large ears and a long, pointed nose. It’s also sadly endangered, and in an effort to raise both money and awareness about the dwindling Bilby population, the Easter season sees chocolate bilbies, rather than bunnies sold throughout the country. What a great idea! Rather than chocolate-induced guilt, the Australians feel good about eating it, as every bite they take is helping to save this threatened species.
Another country that isn’t a fan of rabbits is New Zealand. Easter Bunny, if you’re reading this, our advice is a hard and fast, self-imposed travel ban! While we might love cute little fluffy bunnies, and the spring birth that they represent, in Central Otago, New Zealand, they are seen as nothing more than crop destroying pests. An annual competition recruits teams of hunters to participate in an annual ‘Great Easter Bunny Hunt’ which is essentially a 24 hour ‘shoot-off’ with the aim of getting rid of as many bunnies as possible.
We think the Easter Bunny in Greece has got wind of this and is seeing red. On every Greek household table, you will find red eggs, as families boil and dye eggs a deep crimson red, symbolising the blood of Christ. These eggs usually decorate the sweet tsoureki, an orange and spice-scented bread, and can be used in the cracking game, tsougrisma. This involves players trying to crack each other’s eggs while keeping theirs intact, not dissimilar to our game of conkers.
Possibly the most iconic dish from Greece is spanakopita, which can be found on nearly every dinner table across the country, especially at Easter. Spinach is mixed with feta cheese and layered between flaky sheets of filo. It’s hugely popular and after tasting, you’ll understand why.
The Argentinians have a different version of this savoury dish, and mix their spinach with ricotta cheese, hard boiled eggs, artichoke, and parsley. Since it is meatless, it's a common dish during Lent, and the many eggs used to make it symbolize the resurrection. It’s known as torta Pascualina. Pascua is Spanish for Easter, so tarta Pascualina means ‘Eastertime Tart’. There. Spanish lesson over.
We’re not going to give you any points for guessing what Pasqua means in Italian, but hands up if anyone knows the translation of colomba?! It means dove, and the Italians enjoy colomba di Pasqua or ‘Easter dove’ at this time of year. Shaped like a dove, the bird that flew back to Noah with an olive branch in its beak and a symbol for peace, colomba di Pasqua has similar flavour elements to our hot cross bun and is stuffed with candied fruit and then sprinkled with almonds and pearl sugar. Towering pandoro and panettone cakes may reign supreme in Italy at Christmas, but at Easter the shelves of Italian bakeries groan under the weight of this traditional cake.
The Polish people also enjoy a customary Easter bread, called babka, and it’s very similar to the Italian panettone. However, the tradition in Poland is less about the actual food itself, more about its preparation. In Poland, men don’t help prepare the babka, because folklore has it that if any dough gets in their facial hair, they will turn grey, or the bread won’t rise. Does this mean that clean-shaven men are safe, so they’re all lining up to help out? Answers on a postcard!
Whilst the Polish men are ducking out of the Easter food preparation, it’s all hands on deck – on rather on pan – in France. Villagers in Haux, Gironde embark on their yearly quest to feed all the residents with a giant omelette on Easter Monday. A huge fire is built in the town square and each family breaks eggs in their homes and then brings them to the fire where chefs use in the region of 5,000 eggs and 110 pounds of bacon, onion, and garlic to create the 10 ft wide dish. The village feast has only been an annual event for 30 years but many trace it back to a tale that the French Emperor Napoléon Bonaparte liked an omelette he'd eaten there and wanted a huge one made for him and his army. This ultra-omelette serves over 1000 people for lunch on Easter Monday …Tuesday … Wednesday …
Lots of eggs-traordinary ways to celebrate Easter and some delicious recipes to experiment with. If, however, you’d rather be out of the kitchen than in it, we’d be honoured to COOK for you and yours.
However you celebrate and whatever you eat, we wish you a very Happy Easter!