What I Am Eating in Romania

This morning I decided I don't care one bit for Romanian butter. It's sour. Really sour. On purpose.

They have a completely different approach to dairy goods here than the U.S. We prefer sweet; they prefer sour. In Romania, sour cream is called, simply, "cream." (In Romanian, of course.) Oddly enough, it isn't quite as sour as our sour cream, and is less solid. I can imagine Romanians being completely grossed out by the texture of our sour cream. And they eat it on mamaliga, which is grits. And I could do with some of that right now. Romanians know how to whip up some good grits.

Romanian cow's milk, on the other hand, is a treat. I wasn't quite sure about it at first, as there is a strongish scent that hits you as soon as you put the glass up to your face. Reminded me just a little of boiled eggs. But, since I like boiled eggs well enough, I got used to that. It's worth getting used to, because the milk tastes like sweet butter.

It's odd, I know, when you hear about it. But tasting it is something different. It tastes like something you would cheat on your diet for.

As a vegetarian, I don't drink a lot of cow's milk because I fell head-over-heels in love with soy milk some time ago, and you can forget about it for a few days without worrying about spoilage. But soy milk is a little more difficult to find here than it is back home -- though the So Good brand definitely lives up to its name.

Romanian cheese tends to be white, which makes me wonder why our cheese back home is orange, since milk doesn't tend to come out of the cow that way. There is a sweet cheese here that is very sweet, and in fact tastes like lemon filling and which I can't seem to find again. I would sell an organ for that stuff.

That's a joke, by the way. I like my organs just where they are, thank you. At the moment, my stomach is trying to make up its mind about the butter and jam on toast I just ate. At least the jam is thick enough to cover up any taste you want. Now, you can't beat Romanian jam with a stick. That is some of the best stuff I've ever put in my mouth, and they will make it out of any fruit they can get their hands on.

I think I may have to go get my hands on some more, sans the sour butter. Meanwhile, why don't you try a little mild white cheese melted into your grits and put a spoonful of sour cream on top? Tell your family it's Romanian mamaliga. See how you like it. Write me back and tell me.