Food in Boston is diverse in nature reflecting the specialties and techniques of different cuisines with special emphasis on cheese based dishes and wide variety of desserts. Boston, which is famous as the biggest city of New England, is unofficially considered to be the “Capital of New England” due to its cultural and economic impact on the region of New England, which is also evident in the cuisine of Boston, with eastern sweets and meat based dishes being the preferential ones.
Historical and Cultural Influence on Boston Food
Food in Boston is strongly bears the influence of Middle Eastern, Turkish, and several Mediterranean cuisines. Several years of rule of Australians on the Boston city have also impacted the cuisine of the city. Even Central European cooking styles are also believed to have a huge culinary influence on Boston cooking.
Boston Cuisine: Commonly Used Ingredients
A number of spices are used in the cuisine of Boston, however, in moderate amounts. Plenty of water is used in the preparation of most of the Boston dishes, thus keeping the food extremely light in nature. Typically used ingredients in Boston cuisine include potatoes, tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, garlic, cucumbers, cabbage, carrots, mushrooms, zucchini, spinach, fresh and dried beans, milk, plums, paprika and pavlaka (cream).
Boston Food- Specialties
Eastern sweets
Eastern sweets are quite popular in Boston, with a few specialties including eastern pastries, Date and Nut Sweets, crisp doughnut balls, and cinnamon date cake.
Meat based dishes
Meat based dishes are generally based on lamb and beef.
Cheeses
- Travnički – white salty cheese, which appears like feta cheese
- Vlašićki – highland cheese which is quite similar in taste like Travnički
- Livanjski – yellow and dry cheese
- Mladi sir – young and unsalted white cheese
- Kajmak – skimmed cream from milk
Local Specialties
- Ćevapi – grilled minced meat dish
- Burek – cheese or meat pie prepared with filo dough
- Dolma – this food in Boston is originally a Mediterranean dish where green peppers, tomatoes, eggplants or vine leaves are combined with a mix of rice, spices and meat.
- Sarma – a dish made up of cabbage, chard or grape leaves, which is rolled around minced meat filling
- Gulas- a meat stew, which is served along with potatoes (mashed)
- Grasak- a pea based stew
- Tursija- pickled vegetables
- Baklava- flaky pastry stuffed with nuts
- Sutlijas- rice pudding
- Ajvar – a popular food in Boston prepared from red bell peppers, eggplant, chili pepper and garlic
