Hello Mary :-) I'm back but not with what I was looking for! I wanted to seek for some statistics about what kind of meat are Romanians eating. But I think I've found something more interesting. Here it is: "The central characteristic of the Romanian cuisine is its great variety. It is a cuisine influenced by repeated waves of different cultures: the ancient Greeks, with whom Romanians traded; the Romans, who gave the country its name; the Saxons, who settled in southern Transylvania; the Turks, who for centuries dominated Romania; as well as Slavic and Magyar neighbors. All of these influences gradually blended into the varied and delicious Romanian culinary tradition" Nicolae Klepper — Taste of Romania The main ingredients used by Romanian chefs are meats such as pork, beef and lamb, fish, vegetables, dairy products and fruit. A traditional Romanian meal may include: Appetizer All kinds of cheeses, cold cuts and vegetable spreads. Soup "Ciorba de perisoare" (meatball soup), "ciorba taraneasca">/i> (vegetable soup, with or withour meat), "ciorba de burta" (tripe soup). Fish "Saramura" (grilled carp in brine), "nisetru la gratar" (grilled Black Sea sturgeon) or "scrumbie la gratar" (grilled herring). Entree "Tocanita" or "tochitura" (meat stew seasoned with onions and/ or spices), "ghiveci" (over 20 vegetables cooked in oil), "sarmale" (pickled cabbage leaves stuffed with a mix of minced meats, rice and spices) and "mititei" (The "Wee Ones" — small skinless grilled sausages) are among the favorites. Romanians produce great pickled vegetables, called "muraturi" (red peppers, green tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, red cabbage, cauliflower). Dessert "Papanasi" (cottage cheese donuts, topped with sour cream and fruit preserve), "clatite cu branza" (crepes filled with cottage cheese, raisins and spices) and "cozonac" (traditional holiday sweet bread filled with walnuts, poppy seeds or cream cheese). A traditional drink enjoyed with appetizers is "tuica" (a potent plum brandy) which varies in strength, dryness and bouquet according to the production area. Romania produces excellent wines, some of which are exported all over the world. Romanian beers are excellent as well. In recent years foreign chefs have come with fresh ideas and introduced a variety of delicious cuisines from around the world: French, Italian, Chinese, Indian and Japanese are offered, to name a few. Hope you enjoyed the reading! :-) With friendship, Anamaria

Dear Friend.....! Thank you for your invitation and information. You have selected a "Good Topic" (with difference of openions with different religions/faiths). What Islam says about it...............? There are few "sensitive questions".....! (1) Is it "Harma" (not permitted) for a person to eat something deliberately that the knows isn't port but he isn't sure whether it contains port compnents or was prepared by machinery that was used on port as well ? (2) Can you tell me what to look out for when trying to detemine which products have pork....? (3) What are the names of some of the ingredients which are derived from pork or are are pork influenced....? (4) Finally, what is the ruling with respect to earing meat which has not been slaughtered in accordance to Islam...? Is it permissible to still eat the meat...? What do you recommend.....? The basic principle established by Islam is that all kinds of food, except meat, are essentially for man's use, and hence are "Halal" (accepted) unless one makes sure of something "Haram" (not accepted) in such foods. In additon, one has to know that just doubts do not constitute a ruling of Haram or Halal. As for meat, the basic principle is the prohibition unless such meat taken from Halal animal that are slaughtered accoring to the Islamic method. Thus, if a Muslim has any doubts about some kind of meats, he/she makes sure that it is Halal. As for slaughtering of an eatable animal, there are two conditions :- (1) Cutting off the throat. (2) Cutting off the gullet. It is desirable to cut off the two jagular veins. According to some Islamic Scholars, the best way is to cut the windpipe, the gullet and the two jugular veins. Thus, if a Muslim or a person of the People of the Book slaughters as mentioned above, then the meat is Halal, otherwise, the meat will be Haram and a kind of dead animal, whether slaughtered by a Muslim or a person of the People of the Book. Thanking you, once again. With lots of Love, Affection, Respect and Prayers..........! Your Ever Loving Friend, Mohamed Gani.

Hi Anamaria, You gave me a lot of information to use on the other pages of our Adlandpro cookbook. This was an interesting story of how all the cultures influenced your cuisine. In America we experienced something of this. The English and Dutch introduced formal meals of many courses with meat being the center of attraction. They brought recipes from their countries and shared with other nationalities. Wild game, like bison, deer, rabbit, turkey, quail were added to the diet because it could be hunted. Those immigrants from countries that had little meat, meant that the new pioneers knew how to use less meat to feed large families......stews, soups, casserols etc. The spanish introduced a new way to eat meat----wrapped in a tortilla. The northern Eurpeans, Italians, Asians, have all blended the recipes to offer us many ways to serve meat.

Thank you Mary And don't you think that casseroles are great - not much cleaning up, that's my favourite bit. I should have said casserole instead of goulash, but this is what we call casseroles. Our word for meat is "meso" and it means flesh of animal. I'd like also to say thanks for all the great information you bring to us in all your forums. Regards Jadranka

Dear Friend Mary Hofstetter....! I joined your Forum and posted my view about "Meat" (with an inclination on Arabs Culture and Tredition over here in Dubai, United Arab Emirates). I know that I have gone little bit...out of subject and still would like to share the culture, tredition and religious believes over here in Gulf Countries (not only in Gulf Countries but also in the Religion Islam). Hope that it may give at least a minimum required feedback on the subject. Thanking you, once gain, for giving me this opportunity to share my view on the subject. With Warm Regards and Best Wishes.....! Friendly Yours, Mohamed Gani.