"Whybin TBWA Australia and The Sydney International Food Festival cooked up a clever way to promote last year’s fest — they used iconic foods from the participating countries to recreate their flags. From the green-white-red of basil-spaghetti-tomatoes to the orange-white-green of tikka masala-rice-saag, the results are both appetizing and a little reminiscent of middle-school geography class. Which brings us to our challenge: Can you correctly identify these 12 culinary flags?" [more inside]
posted by timory on Apr 13, 2010 - 12 comments

Watermelon carving - a gallery of intricate work and eclectic subjects. In Thailand, there is a tradition of elaborately carving fruit and vegetables, especially when preparing foods for royalty or as part of festivals such as Loi Krathong. This gallery offers some pictorial instructions; books, tools, and sample instructions are also available from the Temple of Thai.
posted by madamjujujive on Sep 9, 2004 - 15 comments

Say goodbye to winter and welcome spring with a Russian-style Mardis Gras celebration of Maslenitsa-Pancake Day. Maslenitsa is an ancient pagan weeklong Slavic holiday held before the beginning of the Christian season of Lent. Pancakes, the traditional food eaten during this time, are round and hot, representing the sun. "Fat is the key word for Maslenitsa," said Valentina Bakhtina. It is a sort of Mardi Gras without the costumes and with a lot of butter. The central thing is to drink, be merry, and eat - pancakes and more pancakes.
posted by stbalbach on Mar 4, 2003 - 4 comments

Butter sculptures can be rather elaborate, and are a folk art favorite at country fairs in the U.S. And on the other side of the globe in the ancient Himalayas, butter sculpting is an ancient symbolic tradition among Tibetan Buddhists, and is also an integral part of annual festivals and celebrations.
But in other dairy art, cheese sculptures haven't achieved quite the same level of dignity.
thanks to Wordforge for the Jim Victor link.
posted by madamjujujive on Oct 23, 2002 - 14 comments