New Year’s Food From Around The World

What’s your New Year’s Eve menu looking like? You’ve likely got a couple of favorites lined up to nosh on as we look forward to a new year. If you’re looking for something new and a little exotic to add to your NYE buffer of yum, why not try making some of this delicious New Year’s food from around the world.

Vasilopita: Greece

This New Year’s food is typically served on New Year’s Eve in Greece. Vasilopita can take the form of cake or bread. As the tradition goes, when the clock strikes midnight, the cake is cut into slices. This is thought to bring good luck for the next year and bless the house. Before baking, a coin or a small gift is hidden inside the dough. The cake is then served to each person in the home, starting from the eldest to the youngest. Whoever is lucky enough to discover the coin in their slice of vasilopita then is able to keep the coin and often receive another arranged gift. If you want to try making your own, check out this recipe.

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The Reveillon: France

When it comes to New Year’s food, the French go all out. Would you expect anything less? For their New Year’s celebration, the French tradition is all about decadence when it comes to the meal. Traditional offerings include things like goose, duck or turkey, oysters, foie gras, and champagne. The meal takes several hours and can last well past midnight. In certain parts of France, it is also traditional for 13 desserts to be served. Among those, is typically a buche de Noel. You can find out how to make your own Yule log dessert here.

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Soba: Japan

This New Year’s food is all about the symbolism. The length of the soup’s noodles are meant to symbolize a long life. Additionally, the buckwheat the noodles are made from is said to bring resiliency. However, there is a bit of a method to eating your soba. As the tradition goes, you must carefully slurp you soup. If you end up breaking the noodle before it’s time to chew, it is said to ruin the good luck the food is thought to bring. Learn how to make your own Soba here.

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Lentils: Various Countries

When it comes to New Year’s food that’s super popular the world over, look no further than beans and lentils. Several different cultures and countries hold this food as a bringer of luck and prosperity for the New Year. It is thought that the round shape of lentils in particular resembles coins. Thus, eat a lot of lentils, strike it rich in the new year. Why not try this sweet potato and lentil stew and see if there’s any truth to the tradition?

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