Moldovan cuisine

Moldova's fertile soil (chernozem) produces plentiful grapes, fruits, vegetables, grains, meat, and milk products, all of which have found their uses in the national cuisine.

This is a staple polenta-like food on the Moldovan table, served as an accompaniment to stews and meat dishes or garnished with cottage cheese, sour cream, or pork rind.

[1] Traditional Moldovan dishes combine diverse vegetables, such as tomatoes, bell peppers, aubergine, cabbage, beans, onions, garlic, and leeks.

The holiday table is usually decorated with baked items, such as pastries, cakes, rolls, and buns, with a variety of fillings (such as cheese, fruit, vegetables, and walnuts), known (also in Romania) as cozonac, pască, brânzoaice (poale-n brâu), sfințișori, papanași, colaci, plăcinte, and cornulețe.

In eastern Moldova, Ukrainians eat borscht; in the south, the Bessarabian Bulgarians serve the traditional mangea (chicken with sauce), while the Gagauz prepare shorpa, a highly seasoned mutton soup; in the Russian communities, pelmeni (meat-filled dumplings) are popular.

Well-known brands of Moldovan sparkling wines are Negru de Purcari, Moldova, Chişinău, Cricova, Muscat spumant, National, Nisporeni, etc.

The first cookbook in the Romanian language, 200 Proven Recipes for Dishes, Pastries, and Other Household Works, was written in 1841 in Iași, in the Principality of Moldova, by Costache Negruzzi and Mihail Kogălniceanu.