What mums in other countries feed their kids

[agoodbookandsomefizz]

I started a thread in a totally different bit of MN and got no response so I'm hoping the food section is going to be more successful!

I am fascinated by what mums in other countries feed their kids as I get so bored with all my English style recipes I would love to introduce my kids to new dishes and new flavours. I also can't help thinking that some countries have a much healthier way of eating (Mediterranean diet etc) and I'd like to know more!

I've even gone so far as wondering whether a compendium of classic dishes from different countries - which would include breakfast ideas and snacks could work as a recipe book? So this is my initial research. Ideally I'd like to come away with a bunch of new ideas for my own daily cooking sanity and if there are enough interesting dishes, who knows, I may try to put a book together (I've been dying to use my brain since having kids and this seems like a good way to do it)!!

So, my question is. Does anyone out there know of any classic dishes from different countries? For example I know that grated carrot salad (made with orange juice) is a favourite vegetable dish amongst French children....and after a few failed attempts my kids love it too as I also grate apple into it. Any more?!

Thank you!

Oh yes Poppy no tinned tomatoes here

Cuxi, how on earth did you end up in Ecuador?

Over here in San Diego (which you may know borders Mexico) we are lucky to have access to some wicked spices that transform dishes. Take any meal you want and add some Chipotle and you will get an amazing result. Chipotle is actually dried Jalapeno, but it has a different name because it has an entirely different flavour - not even close to that of a jalapeno. Oh and if you are looking for inspiration for recipes, check out YUMMLY they are an incredible resource of millions of recipes from around the world.

is chipotle dried jalapeño? Never knew that, and I lived in Mexico for 5 years!

I guess it is cause jalapeño is usually green (the fresh ones) and chipotle is red.

You can buy tinned chipotle online in the UK!

I grew up in Central America and a popular snack for us was home made Tortilla made with Masa Harina stuffed with refried Pinto beans, sliced Avocado, Queso Fresca (like a mild crumbly cheese- Caerphilly substitutes well), tomato salsa and a sour cream dollop. Roll up and eat very messily.

I also ate watermelon slices sprinkled with Lime, salt and Chile powder and ate roasted sweetcorn the same way. Aged three!

Another popular food was Nopale paddles- they were icy cold and slightly jellified and crunchy in texture as you bit through the, but you won't find fresh Nopales here- even two days old they lose their snap.

My favourite Chile is the Adobe and Poblano, the latter has a smokey taste.

Eating and drinking from clay flatware and cups adds an extra layer of taste and smell. I get very homesick for that 'clay' overlay you get when you drink from a hand thrown clay cup. It goes so well with the earthy, smokey and fruity flavours of Chiles.

Kudzugirl

Ask friends/family/colleagues/students on gap year To bring you some clayware if they travél here.

Breakfast - bowl of warm milk. Biscuits.

Weaning food. - Jar of homogenised meat (cow/sheep/chicken etc) mixed with jar of homogenised vegetable, mixed with baby rice or tiny pasta. Continue until age 2 for fear of choking.

Snack - bread roll with a chocolate bar broken up and inserted.

Pasta, tomato sauce, grana sprinkled liberally over the top.

Pizza, focaccia, panini on the way home from school.

Marking place to steal ideas later

We lives in Spain for a whole pre dc, loved the Spanish omelet with dry bread... Making one for supper now actually!

Adora yes I am forever on the alert for travellers to do this. They need to be very rough clay though- none of this tourist stuff . I used to teeth on the edges of them apparently and the love of that smell and taste is ingrained now .

Curd cheese has plenty of options-sweet or savoury either on a sandwich or pancake or dumpling filling

As for potato "pancakes" you can also grate some courgette-made some today and they are fantastic!

Kudzugirl may I pick your brain please?

I haven't found chipolte paste here in Chile, but there is one from Perú called Ají Panca. Do you know that Name, is it the same as chipolte?

TIA

As far as I know Aji Panca is less smokey than Chipotle but shares some of those qualities. It has that lovely fruitiness- one of our children is in Peru at the moment fortunately so I was able to skype her and she asked the host family she iss taying with for you Adora.

It isn't at all hot apparently so more about flavour than heat.

We live in Norway - They do these pancakey waffle things with cream and berry sauce DS loves it. Also this mash made with carrots and turnip which they drizzle with bacon bits and bacon fat.

Oh and liver paste on bread - not my thing but DS really likes that too!

Salmon nuggets, fish balls and fish cakes I have no idea how they make the fish balls but they have this 'bouncy' texture which DS also seems to like?! I personally draw the line at brunost and fairly sure you won't get that in the uk but its a sweet brown goat cheese bit like goaty fudge that is very popular.

On a different note my DS loves Dahl one of the staples in our house.

ah the perils of not reading a thread I see the 'merits' of brunost have already been discussed :)

Marking place! Need sone inspiration

Loves I am a major Cloudberry addict and understandably don't get my fix very often which makes it even more special. Is that the berry sauce of which you write? I have the cookbook 'Falling Cloudberries' by Tessa Kiros which is complete Scandi porn and contains the prettiest cake I have seen- a simple sponge filled with fruit and cream.

I am intrigued by the turnip and bacon mash- do you have a name for this? We love mashed up root vegetable combinations and of course an amazing way of getting a variety of vegetables into children (and fussy adults).

Every year we have an Easter ritual that has little to do with our roots other than my Husband once did an MA in Acting & Theatre Skills and as part of his immersive Chekhov research he cooked an Easter meal for the rest of his class. We had Paschka and Kulich.

Kulich is a sweet, yeast-risen bread with raisins, almonds and is made in a tall chimney pot shape. The Paschka is a sweet cheese spread, a bit like a super enriched uncooked cheesecake topping. It usually has raisins, nuts and candied citrus rind in it but each family has their own variation- we add Rum to ours! It is also reminiscent of the Sicilian Cassatta flavour without the grated or chunked dark chocolate.

So each year we sit down for this. In Russia Kulich is traditionally eaten after the Midnight Easter service although we don't attend this. Tradition dictates Kulich is on the table for each of the three main holy days so I guess that means making three as they don't last long in our house.

kudz you can get cloudberry jam in ikea and yes its that or lingonberries, delicious.

I don't know the name of the mash but I just do equal amounts carrots and swede with a massive knob of butter and pepper and some of the cooking liquid to make a nice texture it is a cracking combination especially with the bacon bits.

Those cream cakes are also amazing is it the one which has a very thin layer of marzipan over the top? Oh and I almost forgot the boller which are yeast buns made with cardamon and cinnamon and raisins kids love them .....and me! though i like mine with the custard filling and icing :)

Thanks Loves we'll get over to IKEA forthwith. And I have made swede,carrot mash but not with bacon so am going to do that.

The marzipan covered cake is called a Princess Cake I believe and very popular in Denmark. They are very pretty too. And buns with Cardamom in are the best- such an unexpected spice to find in a northern hemisphere cuisine IMO.

ahh food porn ...........

Has anyone mentioned Congee, or rice porridge?

Its a savoury rice dish were white rice (usually but not always white rice) is boiled in chicken stock, some garlic, ginger and other basic ingredients and cooked until the rice grains become soft, mushy and almost deteriorate. This makes the porridge consistency. once cooked, tiny pieces of chicken is added, along with perhaps a few chopped mushrooms, maybe sweetcorn if needed, finished off with some soy sauce and sesame oil too and sprinkled with spring onions and parsley.

Its a Chinese poor-mans dish, and is also given to young children, toddlers etc as the consistency makes for easy eating. Its also eaten when a person is unwell, similar to chicken soup for colds, and traditionally for breakfast too, though not exclusively so. My DP loves it as he used to eat it when living in the Far East as a child.

Plenty of tutorials on YouTube.

Frank I have been known to accidentally make Congee when I stove top rice instead of using other (better for me) methods.

It is very comforting isn't it and meets the need for the traditional white foods that I believe are given to the sick, the young or post natally as you say.

I have a family dish- Mexican Chicken that is very similar, bizarrely. It is basically rice, shredded chicken, soft potato pieces, carrots, onions and a little chile. The chile disqualifies it in Chinese eyes from being suitable for convalescence as it 'excites the senses' too vividly. I am starting to think that most cultures have some variation of the chicken and rice soup that has nourished many a Jewish soul and indeed it research has shown it has health benefits.

Thank you very much Kudugirl, and Thanks To DC and the hosts in Perú.

Will buy some when I next shop. I'm a little nervous of using chiles, mine and DH's upbringings were not what your'd call open minded.

I used to have an Asbestos lined tongue as a child and regularly ate chiles on sticks! I am now more delicate and have had to retrain my palate to cope with heat Adora so I do sympathise.