① Eating raw garlic dipped in salt
When you think of Korean food, Kimchi might be the first thing that comes to mind. You can’t think of Kimchi without garlic. Not only in Kimchi, but garlic is also in many Korean dishes, and Koreans are very familiar with the taste of garlic.
However, foreigners who encounter Korean culture for the first time may not easily get used to the scent of garlic and the taste of Kimchi. Many countries, including Italy, use garlic in their cuisine, but it’s hard to find a country that eats raw garlic with meat or puts minced garlic in numerous side dishes like Korea.
But recently, foreigners from a country that loves garlic as much as Korea appeared on the MBC Every1 entertainment program Welcome, First Time in Korea?
These first-time visitors to Korea ordered Garlic Dakgalbi (spicy grilled chicken and vegetables) at a Dakgalbi restaurant and even refilled their Kimchi side dish. So, where are they from?
They are from Bulgaria. Ibailo, a Bulgarian guest on the show, surprised everyone by saying, “We eat raw garlic dipped in salt. We also eat bread with garlic.”
② Garlic, it goes in here?
When you think of Bulgaria, ‘Yogurt’ comes to mind, and when you think of ‘Yogurt,’ you think of ‘Bulgaria’. Bulgaria and yogurt are so inseparable.
Perhaps because of this, other Bulgarian dishes seem to be overshadowed by yogurt. Bulgarian cuisine is one of the most delicious in Southern Europe.
Thanks to the influence of Central Europe, Greece, and Turkey, they use various ingredients depending on the region, so there are many types of dishes.
Since ‘Garlic’ has been introduced as a common ingredient in Korea and Bulgaria, I will introduce Bulgarian dishes that contain garlic.
Like many European countries, Bulgaria also enjoys eating soup, bread, and salad.
At first glance, these types of food seem to have no similarity with traditional Korean food. However, there are dishes where ‘garlic’ goes into soup and salad.
Shkembe Chorba is a soup dish known as Bulgarian intestine soup. It’s a ‘tripe soup’ made from a clean cow stomach, with added milk, garlic, vinegar, and chili.
They also say that garlic goes into the salad. ‘Lyutenitsa’ is a salad dish with bell pepper, tomato, onion, and garlic.
If you go to a restaurant selling such traditional Bulgarian food, besides the main dish, something else reminds you of Korea.
Raw garlic, an indispensable side dish when you go to a Korean BBQ restaurant, is also an essential side dish in traditional Bulgarian restaurants.
In addition, salt and pepper are also provided. These side dishes show that Ibailo’s statement, “We eat raw garlic dipped in salt,” was true.
③ Love-Hate Relationship with Garlic in Europe
So, is Bulgaria the only European country that loves ‘garlic’? Not really. Europe’s love-hate relationship with garlic varies by era and class, and you can even distinguish European regions based on their relationship with garlic.
The Latin cultural sphere (France, Spain, Italy) and the Slavic cultural sphere (Eastern Europe) love garlic. In contrast, the Germanic cultural sphere, including the UK, Germany, and Northern Europe, reportedly dislikes garlic.
Garlic was already widespread in ancient Greece and Rome, but the regions and classes that ate a lot of garlic then were mainly Germans and people with low incomes.
Even in the Middle Ages, the preference for garlic continued to vary by class and region. In France, where absolute monarchy emerged in the late 16th century, garlic was banned in the court.
During the 19th century, garlic re-emerged as an ingredient in high-end cuisine, but people used to freshen their breath after meals to get rid of the smell of garlic.
In the UK, as industrialization and the formation of civil society progressed and modern hygiene concepts spread, garlic, which causes bad breath and body odor, became a new object of disgust.
Even now, British cooking is far from using garlic and other spices that stimulate the taste buds. The reason why Koreans who have traveled to the UK say, “I didn’t like the food there,” may also be due to this difference.
In the mid-19th century, with the advent of industrialization, modern hygiene concepts also arrived in Germany and Northern Europe. They also despised garlic for the same reasons, but the Germans’ attitude towards garlic was particularly nationalistic.
Eastern Europeans, who migrated to Germany as cheap labor, loved to use garlic in their diet, which only increased Germany’s aversion to garlic.
However, when Southern Europeans (Greeks, Italians, etc.) came to Germany, Mediterranean food using garlic also gained popularity in Germany.
We’ve looked at the historical background of how the love and hate for garlic divided Europe, starting with Bulgaria, a country that loves garlic as much as Korea.
Although Europe is often associated with ‘garlic hatred,’ surprisingly, many European countries love garlic.
Through the Korean Wave, not only the country of Korea but also Korean food has become widely known. Even those who disliked garlic are enthusiastic about Korean food despite it containing garlic.
It seems that garlic, a single ingredient, has become a presence that opens hearts to the food and culture of various countries rather than fostering hatred or division.
By. Kim Min Jae
Most Commented