World Culinary Heritage
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From among the many various traditions on Unesco's lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage I've picked those which I deemed to be culinary in nature. They include entries related to particular dishes or beverages, ritual meals or even entire cuisines and dietary traditions. I have omitted those entries which are primarily related to traditional methods of food production (agricultural, pastoral, hunting, foraging, fishing, beekeeping, etc.). I will be updating the table as more traditional practices are inscribed by Unesco.
Tradition | Countries | Year of inscription | Video (English or French) |
---|---|---|---|
Baguette (see also: Is Poolish Polish?) |
France | 2022 | |
Ukrainian borscht | Ukraine | 2022 | |
Ceebu jën – Senegalese dish of rice, fish and vegetables (see also: A Fried Pie and a Fish Dish) |
Senegal | 2021 | |
Mediterranean diet | Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Morocco, Portugal, Spain | 2013 | |
Dolma – stuffed vine leaves and vegetables | Azerbaijan | 2017 | |
Ftira – Maltese sourdough flatbread | Malta | 2020 | |
Harissa – chili-pepper paste made in the Maghreb | Tunisia | 2022 | |
Tea in the Turkish and Chinese styles (see also: Tea or Coffee?) |
Azerbaijan, Turkey | 2022 | |
China | 2022 | ||
Yaldā – ritual supper consumed in the lands of the former Persian Empire in the night of winter solstice, in which red fruits (pomegranates, watermelons, grapes, jujube) play a particular role | Afghanistan, Iran | 2022 | |
Coffee in the Turkish and Arabic styles (see also: Tea or Coffee?) |
Turkey | 2013 | |
Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates | 2015 | ||
Keşkek – a meat stew with hulled wheat or barley, prepared in a ceremonial manner with live music for special occasions | Turkey | 2011 | |
Kimjang – the Korean art of making kimchi, or spicy vegetable and seafood pickles | South Korea | 2013 | |
North Korea | 2015 | ||
Krakelingen – ring-shaped pretzels whick at the end of the carnival are tossed from a hill to the people of the Flemish town of Geraardsbergen by members of the municipal authorities who first have to drink a goblet of wine together with a live roach swimming in it (see also: Holey Breads) |
Belgium | 2010 | |
Mexican cuisine | Mexico | 2010 | |
Kumis (in Kazakh) or airag (in Mongolian) – an alcoholic drink made from mare's milk by horse herders in the stepped of central Asia | Kazakhstan | 2018 | |
Mongolia | 2019 | ||
Couscous – durum-wheat semolina porridge made in the Maghreb | Algeria, Mauretania, Morocco, Tunisia | 2020 | |
Georgian method of ageing wine inside qvevri, or huge ceramic amphorae which are buried in the ground | Georgia | 2013 | |
Lavash, also know as katyrma or yufka – unleavened flatbread commonly baked in western and central Asia | Armenia | 2014 | |
Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey | 2016 | ||
Hawker culture of Singapore, combining Chinese, Malay, Indian and European culinary traditions | Singapore | 2020 | |
Mansaf – Jordanian dish of lamb or kid cooked in ewe's or goat's milk yogurt, served with bulgur or rice and very thin unleavened flatbread | Jordan | 2022 | |
Mesir macunu – candies made of toffee mixed with 41 kinds of herbs and spices, which around the spring equinox are distributed from the roofs and minarets of Sultan's Mosque in Magnesia (Manisa) on Turkey's Eagean coast to commemorate a legend about the herbal paste bringing Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent's mother back to health | Turkey | 2012 | |
Nowruz – Persian New Year observed on spring equinox by consuming a ceremonial meal among other celebrations | Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, India, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan | 2016 | |
Nsima – East African maize-flour porridge | Malawi | 2017 | |
Oku-noto no Aenokoto – a ritual celebrated twice a year by the farmers of Noto Peninsula in Japan, in which a diety of the rice paddy is invited into one's house for a sacrifical meal consisting mostly of rice, beans and fish | Japan | 2009 | |
Oshitushi shomagongo – a festival celebrating the harvest of the wild-growing marula fruits which the Owambo people of northern Namibia use for making a wine called omagongo | Namibia | 2015 | |
Gingerbreads of northern Croatia | Croatia | 2010 | |
Pilaf, also known as palav (in Tajik) or palov (in Uzbek) – a dish made of rice, meat and vegetables, commonly made in western and central Asia | Tajikistan | 2016 | |
Uzbekistan | 2016 | ||
Belgian beer | Belgium | 2016 | |
Neapolitan pizza | Italy | 2017 | |
Gastronomic meal of the French – the French way of celebrating special occasion by enjoying good food and drink together | France | 2010 | |
Raengmyon – cold soup with buckwheat noodles, meat, vegetables and eggs that is traditionally eaten in Pyongyang | North Korea | 2022 | |
Cuban light rum | Cuba | 2022 | |
Slava – day of the patron saint of the given family celebrated with a festive meal and a round yeast cake called slavski kolač | Serbia | 2014 | |
Šljivovica – Serbian plub brandy | Serbia | 2022 | |
Dragon Boat Festival, observed in China to commemorate the poet Qū Yuán (4th/3rd centuries BCE) who killed himself by drowning in a river when his city was invaded by a foreign army. The festival involves eating zongzi, or tetrahedral sticky-rice dumplings with meat or sweet filling that are wrapped in bamboo leaves and boiled, as well as drinking xiónghuáng jiǔ, rice or millet wine with powdered realgar (a red mineral consisting mostly of arsenic sulfide). | China | 2009 | |
Washoku – traditional Japanese cuisine typically seen during New Year celebrations | Japan | 2013 |