Belarusian Cuisine

The Belarusian Cuisine preserves national traditions. Many original dishes go back to early times for example: holodnik, zatirka, machanka.

But the king of the Belarusian cuisine is certainly potatoes. Belarusians are able to prepare most unthinkable dishes out of it! First of all, of course, it is “draniki” – peculiar pancakes made of grated potatoes that can also have stuffing: mushrooms, meat, berries. The one, who hasn’t tasted “draniki”, can not say he or she has visited Belarus. Potatoes may also be stuffed, stewed in a pot, baked in an oven, with mushrooms, vegetables and bacon.

Other vegetables used in cooking are cabbage, carrots, peas, and black radish. Wild mushrooms are added to many dishes for flavoring and taste.

Soups play an important role in Belarusian cuisine. There are two types of soups: hot and cold. All soups have sour tastes and are often prepared with whey as one of ingredients.

Meat is very popular, especially pork and pork fat. The second place in meat choice belongs to lamb and beef takes the third. Sausages are made from liver and blood. The most favorite poultry is goose which is prepared for the festive occasions.

Sweets are not very popular in Belarusian cuisine. Instead of cooked sweets Belarusians eat a lot of berries and fruit in their natural form, the only exception are baked apples. Belarusians also drink sweet juices from birch and maple trees. From those juices Belarusians make kvass.

Belarus

To most of the world Belarus is relatively unknown, a country in central Europe. To its people it's an ancient land with rich history and culture. There are a few variants of the origin of the name "Belarus". Here are two of them: Firstly, the white flax clothes of the ancient villagers, their fair hair and the whiteness of their skin. Secondly, when our ancient Slav lands were invaded by Tatars and Mongols, that part of Russia was clear of the invasion and remained "white".

The territory of the country is not large. It amounts to about 207.600 square kilometers. It borders on the Ukraine, Russia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. So, it's advantageously situated at the crossroads from Western Europe to the East. Such favourable situation has always attracted the enemy. There was not a single war in Eastern Europe that has missed Belarus.

The country's population is about 10 million people. Representatives of more than 160 nationalities live here. Significant numbers of Russians, Poles and Ukrainians live in the Republic along with Belarusians.

Belarus is a land of vast plains and picturesque hills, thick forests and green meadows, blue lakes and flowing rivers with its varied animal and plant kingdom. The Dnepr, Prepyat, Berezina, Sozh, Zapadnaya Dvina, Neman are the biggest rivers with more than 500 kilometers in length. The largest lake in Belarus is lake Naroch which stretches 13 kilometers from West to Hast. It is a very popular recreation area in our country. Forests cover 2/5 of Belarus. Belarusian swamps are called “lungs” of Europe.

The climate of the country is moderately continental with mild and humid winter, warm summer and wet autumn.

The country has few mineral resources and it almost totally depends on Russia for oil and gas supplies. It has to import coal, metal, chemicals and cotton as well. But Belarus, however, rich in peat, which is used as fuel for power stations and in the manufacture of chemicals, oil. underground fresh and mineral waters, building materials and ores.

Over the recent years Belarus has faced serious economic problems. With the collapse of the USSR the ties between enterprises were by and large broken. The market reforms under way are sure to lead Belarus to equal relations with the rest of the world.

Russia still remains the basic trading and economic partner of Belarus. The Ukraine is the second largest trading partner. The third place belongs to German. The “trio” of leaders is followed by China. Poland, Lithuania, the USA, the Netherlands and Italy.

Today the main industries are engineering chemical industry, wood-working industry, light and food industries. The major industrial centers in Belarus are Minsk, Gomel, Vitebsk, Mogilev, Soligorsk, Zhodino, Brest. Belarusian goods are exported to many countries.

Agriculture of Belarus specializes in milk and meat production, flax, vegetables (especially potatoes) and fruit (especially apples).

The republic of Belarus has well-developed science and education system. The Academy of Sciences founded in 1929 is one of the largest centers of science in the country. Its research institutes work on various important problems in such fields as mathematics, optics, genetics and biology. Universities, academies and institutes provide training in various spheres of science and humanities.

Since 1994 Belarus has had an executive President, chosen in direct popular elections. The President appoints the Prime-minister who is responsible for many of the day-to-day affairs of Government.

The highest body of State power is the Parliament, which is the soul of legislative body. The Council of Ministers is the highest executive and administrative body of the Republic. The main law is the Constitution, which guarantees the rights of freedom of the press, assembly, leisure...

Belarus has its own national flag, emblem and anthem. The State flag of the Republic of Belarus is green and red with the Belarusian national ornament decorating it on the left side. The State emblem of Belarus is a wreath of flax, clover and spikes decorated by red and green ribbons. In the middle of it one can see the globe with the rising sun above and the contour of Belarus. There is a red star on the top of it.

The capital of Belarus is Minsk. The contemporary Minsk occupies an ideal central position. It is considered to be one of the most attractive and important cities. One of the chief glories of Minsk is the Trinity Suburb, a delight for every visitor. It's beautiful in all seasons of the year. Its narrow streets and small beautiful houses remind us of the past. The center of the present-day Minsk has become Independence Square, framed by a variety of outstanding buildings of modern architecture.

Minsk is full of parks and is surrounded by a countryside of great natural beauty. Its parks and the Botanic Garden are real attractions of the city. The river Svislotch runs through the city center and divides it into 2 parts.

Minsk is the country's center of science and culture. A great number of research institutes, design and engineering institutions and the National Academy of Sciences function here. Republic's specialists are trained at more than 20 higher educational institutions. Minsk today is the capital of an independent state, which means that broad possibilities for development are open before the city. Minsk is growing and prospering. Life in the capital is acquiring new qualities and is changing with every passing year.

I believe that the country with its courageous past and tolerant present, rich cultural heritage will have a happy future. I hope for the better times to come.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14