title: Maya religion

text: In Maya narrative, warfare includes the warriors' transformation into animals (wayob) and the use of black magic by sorcerers. In the pre-Hispanic period, war rituals focused on the war leaders and the weapons. The jaguar-spotted War Twin Xbalanque counted as a war deity in the Alta Verapaz; preceding a campaign, rituals were held for him during thirty days, so that he might imbue the weapons with his power. The Yucatec ritual for the war chief ("nakom") was connected to the cult of a puma war god, and included a five-day residence of the war leader in the temple, "where they burned incense to him as to an idol." In Classic war rituals, the Maya jaguar gods were prominent, particularly the jaguar deity associated with fire (and patron of the number Seven), whose face commonly adorns the king's war shield. The Palenque Temple of the Sun, dedicated to war, shows in its sanctuary the emblem of such a shield, held up by two crossed spears.


title: Maya religion

text: The early Spanish writers have little to say about the king's (or, as the case might be, queen's) ritual duties. Nonetheless, one finds the Yucatec king ("halach uinic") referred to as 'bishop', so that, in virtue of his office, the king appears to have had a leading role in major public rituals. In the Classic period, the rituals of kingship were the most important rituals of the Maya court. The term 'theatre state' (Geertz), originally coined for the Hindu kingdoms of Bali, could also be used for describing the Classic Maya kingdoms; it suggests the cohesion of the state to be dependent on elaborate royal rituals through which status differences between aristocratic families could find expression. On monuments, the king sometimes assumes a dancing posture suggestive of his participation in the rituals that were staged on the large plazas where the royal stelae stood. On important occasions, the royal impersonator would be shown to the crowd while being within a shrine erected on a large palanquin (as on a wooden lintel from Tikal's Temple IV).


title: Maya religion

text: The specific rituals engaged in by the king are only rudimentarily known. The Postclassic Kʻicheʻ king together with his dignitaries regularly visited the temples to burn offerings and pray for the prosperity of his people, while fasting and guarding sexual abstinence. As to the Classic Period king, he appears at times (often period-ending dates) to be scattering blood, incense or, perhaps, maize. At other times, the king, represented by the hero Hunahpu, is sacrificing his own blood in front of directional trees (murals of San Bartolo), or he is officiating in front of such a tree (Cross temple sanctuaries of Palenque).


title: Maya religion

text: The king not only took a leading part in ritual, but ritual is likely to have focused on his office as well. The erection of stelae showing the king and dedicated to the day 'King' ("Ahaw"), which concluded intervals of five 360-day years, constituted a royal ritual by itself. It appears to implicate the king as the divine lord of his own day. Inversely, at San Bartolo, the divine hero of the day 'King', Hunahpu, substitutes for the real king. Setting up a stela may additionally have involved the notion of the king as a protective 'tree of life'. Moreover, in the Classic period, the king is commonly depicted holding a cosmic serpent from whose jaws deities (often those of rain, lightning and fire) emerge; the king's raising and balancing of this serpent, accompanied by his 'conjuring' of the emerging deities, may well have been expressed and supported by ritual.


title: Maya religion

text: During the Classic period, Tikal's North Acropolis consisted of nucleated royal burial temples and is even referred to as a 'necropolis'. In Classic-period royal courts, tombs are generally found integrated in the residences of the nobility. Apart from the ancestral remains themselves, sacred bundles left by the ancestors were also an object of veneration. Reliefs from the Classic-period kingdom of Yaxchilan also show that royal ancestors were sometimes approached during bloodletting rituals and then appeared to their descendants, emerging from the mouth of a terrestrial serpent (which has been nicknamed 'Vision Serpent').


title: Maya religion

text: The monthly feast cycle of the Postclassic kingdom of Maní included a commemorative festival for an ancestral hero viewed as the founder of Yucatec kingship, Kukulcan (a name corresponding to Quichean Gucumatz and Aztec Quetzalcoatl). Around 1500, the incinerated remains of the (male) members of notable Yucatec families were enclosed in wooden images which, together with the 'idols', were placed on the house altar, and ritually fed on all festive occasions; alternatively, they were placed in an urn, and a temple was built over it (Landa). In the Verapaz, a statue of the dead king was placed on his burial mound, which then became a place of worship.


title: Maya religion

text: Apart from writing, the fundamental priestly sciences were arithmetics and calendrics. Within the social group of the priests at court, it had by Classical times become customary to deify the numbers as well as the basic day-unit, and – particularly in the south-eastern kingdoms of Copan and Quirigua – to conceive the mechanism of time as a sort of relay or estafette in which the 'burden' of the time-units was passed on from one divine numerical 'bearer' to the next one. The numbers were personified not by distinctive numerical deities, but by some of the principal general deities, who were thus seen to be responsible for the ongoing 'march of time'. The day-units ("k'in") were often depicted as the patrons of the priestly scribes and diviners ("ah k'in") themselves, that is, as Howler Monkey Gods, who seem to have been conceived as creator deities in their own right. In the Postclassic period, the time-unit of the katun was imagined as a divine king, as the 20 named days still are among the traditional 'day-keepers' of the Guatemalan Highlands. On a more abstract level, the world was assumed to be governed by certain fundamental numbers, first of all the numbers 13 and 20 that, multiplied, defined both the mantic day count and, on a vast scale, the amount of time elapsed before the first day (5 Imix 9 Kumk'u) of the Long Count.


title: Maya religion

text: Like all other cultures of Mesoamerica, the Maya used a 260-day calendar, usually referred to as "tzolkin". The length of this calendar coincides with the average duration of human gestation. Its basic purpose was (and still is) to provide guidance in life through a consideration of the combined aspects of the 20 named days and 13 numbers, and to indicate the days on which sacrifice at specific 'number shrines' (recalling the number deities of Classic times) might lead to the desired results. The days were commonly deified and invoked as 'Lordships'. The crucial importance of divination is suggested by the fact that the general Yucatec word for 'priest' ("ah k'in") referred more specifically to the counting of the days.


title: Maya religion

text: K'iche' daykeepers use puns to help remember and inform the meanings of the days. Divinatory techniques include the throwing and counting of seeds, crystals, and beans, and in the past also – apart from the count – gazing in a magical mirror (scrying), and reading the signs given by birds (auguries); in the Late-Classic period, pictures of such birds were used as logograms for the larger time periods.


title: Maya religion

text: The mantic calendar has proven to be particularly resistant to the onslaughts of time. Nowadays, a daykeeper, or divinatory priest, may stand in front of a fire, and pray in Maya to entities such as the 260 days; the cardinal directions; the ancestors of those present; important Mayan towns and archaeological sites; lakes, caves, or volcanoes; and deities taken from published editions of the Popol Vuh. People also come to these daykeepers to know about baby names, wedding dates and other special occasions.


title: Maya religion

text: In the pre-Hispanic past, important divinatory dates relating to the prospects of the entire kingdom were sometimes given a mythological pedigree. At Palenque, for example, the auspicious day 9 Ik', chosen for the enthronement of one of its kings, is also stated to have witnessed, in a distant, mythical past, the enthronement of some of the patron deities of the kingdom.


title: Maya religion

text: What is often called Maya 'astronomy' is really astrology: that is, a priestly science resting on the assumption of an influence exerted on earthly events by the movements of heavenly bodies and constellations. The observation of sky and horizon by present-day Mayas relates chiefly to celestial signs of seasonal change relevant to agriculture; stars connected to the hunt and specific hunting animals; and stars sending certain illnesses. With but few exceptions, the names of stars and constellations are all that have been preserved, and the influence of star lore on social and professional activities beyond agriculture and on individual destiny can no longer be traced. In this respect, other Mesoamerican groups (such as Totonacs and Oaxacan Chontals) have fared better. The far more sophisticated pre-Hispanic Mayan astrology is mainly found in the Early Post-Classic Dresden Codex, and concerns lunar and solar eclipses and the varying aspects of Venus in the course of its cycles; animals and deities symbolize the social groups negatively affected by Venus during its heliacal rising as the Morning Star. The Paris Codex contains what some consider to be a zodiac. In the Classic period, references to specific stars are not rare; in dynastic texts, a star glyph with rain symbols signals a decisive war ("star war"). Some of the Books of Chilam Balam testify to the great interest the colonial Maya had for the astrology of their conquerors.


title: Maya religion

text: Horizontally, the earth is conceived in various ways: as a square with its four directional or, perhaps, solstice points, or as a circle without such fixed points. The square earth is sometimes imagined as a maize field, the circular earth as a turtle floating on the waters. Each direction has its own tree, bird, deity, color, and aspect, in the highlands also its own mountain. Vertically, the sky is divided into thirteen layers, and Classic period deities are sometimes linked to one of the thirteen skies. By analogy with the 'Nine-God' mentioned together with the 'Thirteen-God' in the Chilam Balam book of Chumayel, the underworld is often assumed to have consisted of nine layers. However, the Popol Vuh does not know such a ninefold division, and Classic period references to layers of the underworld have not been identified.


title: Maya religion

text: In the world's centre is a tree of life (the "yaxche" 'ceiba') that serves as a means of communication between the various spheres. In Palenque, the tree of life is a maize tree, just as the central world tree in the Borgia Codex; a curving bicephalic serpent hovers around it, which some believe to embody the ecliptic. The king was probably identified with the tree of the centre and is usually shown to carry the bicephalic serpent as a ceremonial bar. Besides worshipping a central maize tree, the king commonly sits or stands on a mountain containing the maize, perhaps as a guardian of the kingdom's maize supplies.


title: Maya religion

text: In the Classic period, earth and sky are visualized as horizontally extended serpents and dragons (often bicephalic, more rarely feathered) which serve as vehicles for deities and ancestors, and make these appear from their maws. Other serpents, shown as vertically rising, seem to connect the various spheres, perhaps to transport the subterranean or terrestrial waters to the sky. Dragons combine features of serpent, crocodile, and deer, and may show 'star' signs; they have been variously identified as the nocturnal sky and as the Milky Way.


title: Maya religion

text: Within the framework of the post-Classic cycle of thirteen "katuns" (the so-called 'Short Count'), some of the Yucatec Books of Chilam Balam present a deluge myth describing the collapse of the sky, the subsequent flood, and the re-establishment of the world and its five world trees upon the cycle's conclusion and resumption. The lightning deity (Bolon Dzacab), the divine carriers of sky and earth (the Bacabs), and the earth crocodile (Itzam Cab Ain) all have a role to play in this cosmic drama, to which a much earlier, hieroglyphic text from Palenque's Temple XIX seems to allude. The Quichean Popol Vuh does not mention the collapse of the sky and the establishment of the five trees, but focuses instead on a succession of previous mankinds, the last of which was destroyed by a flood.


title: Maya religion

text: For the Classic Mayas, the base date of the Long Count (4 Ahau 8 Cumku), following upon the completion of thirteen previous "baktun" eras, is thought to have been the focus of specific acts of creation. Through the figures of two so-called 'Paddler Gods', the mythology of the Maya maize god appears to have been involved. References to 4 Ahau 8 Cumku events are few in number (the most important one occurring on Quirigua stela C), seemingly incoherent, and hard to interpret. They include an obscure conclave of seven deities in the underworld (among whom the deity Bolonyokte') and a concept of 'three stones' usually taken to refer to a cosmic hearth.


title: Maya religion

text: The traditional Mayas believe in the existence, within each individual, of various souls, usually described in quasi-material terms (such as 'shadow', 'breath', 'blood', and 'bone'). The loss of one or more souls results in specific diseases (generically called 'soul-loss', 'fright', or "susto"). In Classic Maya texts, certain glyphs are read as references to the soul. Much more is known about the so-called 'co-essences', that is, animals or other natural phenomena (comets, lightning) linked with the individual (usually a male) and protecting him. In some cases (often connected to black sorcery), one can change into co-essences acting like a sort of 'werewolves' (see also nagual). The Classic Maya grandees had a whole array of such soul companions, which were called "wayob", and carried distinct hieroglyphic names. Among them were spook-like creatures, but also violent stars.


title: Maya religion

text: In the pre-Spanish past, there may never have existed a unified concept of the afterlife. Among the Pokoman Maya of the Verapaz, Xbalanque was to accompany the dead king, which suggests a descent into the underworld (called "xibalba" 'place of fright') like that described in the Popol Vuh Twin myth. The Yucatec Maya had a double concept of the afterlife: Evildoers descended into an underworld (metnal) to be tormented there (a view still held by the 20th-century Lacandons), while others, such as those led by the goddess Ixtab, went to a sort of paradise. The ancestors of Maya kings (Palenque tomb of Pakal, Berlin pot) are shown sprouting from the earth like fruit trees which, together, constitute a blissful orchard. The so-called 'Flower Mountain' has more specifically been interpreted as a reference to an aquatic and solar paradise. To judge by the marine faunal remains found in Classic tombs and by the accompanying aquatic imagery, this sea paradise may have been the Maya variant of the rain god's paradise ("Tlalocan") in Central Mexican religion.


title: Maya religion

text: The traditional Maya live in the continual presence of the '(grand)fathers and (grand)mothers', the usually anonymous, bilateral ancestors, who, in the highlands, are often conceived of as inhabiting specific mountains, where they expect the offerings of their descendants. In the past, too, the ancestors had an important role to play, with the difference that, among the nobility, genealogical memory and patrilineal descent were much more emphasized. Thus, the Popol Vuh lists three genealogies of upper lords descending from three ancestors and their wives. These first male ancestors – ritually defined as 'bloodletters and sacrificers' – had received their private deities in a legendary land of origins called 'The Seven Caves and Seven Canyons' (Nahua Chicomoztoc), and on their disappearance, left a sacred bundle. Already during the Classic period, ancestral deities (the three 'patron deities' of Palenque) and ancestral bundles (Yaxchilan) are in evidence. In Chiapas at the time of the Spanish conquest, lineage ancestors were believed to have emerged from the roots of a ceiba tree; comparable beliefs still exist amongst the Tz'utujiles.


title: Maya religion

text: Within the group of the ancestors, a special category is constituted by the heroes, best known through the sixteenth-century Quichean epic of the Maya hero twins, Hunahpu and Xbalanque. In the Classic period, the adventures of these two heroes – only partly coinciding with those of the Popol Vuh – were known all over the Mayan area. Specific ancestral heroes occur among various traditional Maya groups, such as the dwarfish Ez among the Yucatec Mayas; Juan K'anil among the Jacaltecs of the northwestern highlands; Ohoroxtotil, the jaguar slayer, among the Tzotziles of Chiapas; and Kumix among the Ch'orti' Mayas. The heroes' actions can belong to a relatively recent past, and be semi-historical, or have occurred in the deep past, and be primeval; but in principle, the heroes can be addressed in prayer, and receive some form of worship. Sometimes, they have merged with specific military saints.


title: Maya religion

text: The ancient Maya concept of 'deity', or 'divinity' ("k'u" in Yucatec, "ch'u" in Ch'ol, and "qabuvil" in ancient Quiché) is insufficiently understood, but can by no means be reduced to a mere personification of natural phenomena. The life-cycle of the maize, for instance, lies at the heart of Maya belief, but the role of the principal Maya maize god transcends the sphere of agriculture to embrace basic aspects of civilized life in general (such as writing). Deities have all sorts of social functions, related to such human activities as agriculture, midwifery, trade, and warfare. Moreover, they can be the patrons of large kin-based, ethnic or localized segments of society, as shown by the four deities presiding over the four wards of the town of Itzamkanac; the Popol Vuh Triad of lineage gods (Tohil, Hacavitz, Avilix); and probably also by the Palenque Triad (G[God] I, II, and III) and its Classic Period analogues elsewhere. Such patron deities - who may be either place-specific, or instances of a general deity - tend to have an intimate relationship with the associated community and its representative (in Classic inscriptions usually the king), by whom they are bathed, dressed, and fed.


title: Maya religion

text: From the multitude of deity names occurring in early-colonial sources (and especially in the medical 'Rituals of the Bacabs'), about twenty have been linked to deity figures from the three Postclassic hieroglyphic books and their correspondences in the corpus of Classic ceramic representations; these have been assigned letter names (Schellhas-Zimmermann-Taube classification). The codices demonstrate that deities were permanently being arranged and rearranged according to cultic criteria which usually are not immediately accessible to us. Moreover, Maya deities typically operate within various fields, changing attributes accordingly. With the provisos formulated above, the main deities depicted in the codices can be roughly divided into the following groups (the names given are 16th-century Yucatec):


title: Maya religion

text: Whereas, within the three hieroglyphic codices, the group of male deities is highly differentiated, the female functions seem largely to have been concentrated in the young goddess I (the 'White Woman') and the old goddess O (the 'Red Woman'). The Postclassic Maya deity Kukulcan ('Feathered Serpent'), tutelary deity of the Toltec invaders and of the Maya kings deriving their legitimacy from them, is nearly absent from the codices. Although the Classic Hero Twins are among the codical deities, the associated Classic Maize Hero (or Tonsured Maize God) seems to be absent. Entirely missing from the codices, but important in Classic iconography are, amongst others, an ocean deity characterized by a shark tooth set in the mouth (who is also the 'God I' of the Palenque Triad) and some of the Maya jaguar gods associated with warfare. In the framework of the Classic period, the omnipresent lightning deity is usually referred to as K'awiil ('Powerful One').


title: Maya religion

text: In Maya folk religion, the members of the Catholic Trinity, the Virgin Mary, a number of saints, the archangels and the devil have usually merged with traditional deities, patron deities, and ancestral heroes. Angels, for example, generally represent rain deities. The complex figure of the "Mam" ('Grandfather') Maximón venerated in Santiago Atitlan is another example of such syncretism. The deities governing the wild vegetation, the game animals, and the fishes are often referred to as 'Owners' or 'Masters' ("Dueños"), like the 'Mountain-Valley' deities (or mountain spirits) of the highlands. More generally, the living Earth and its male personification is often called 'World' ("Mundo").


title: Maya religion

text: Animal persons (usually mammals and birds, but including insects) appear to enjoy a relative autonomy which is lacking in the case of the animal 'co-essences'. Perhaps representing the transformed human beings of a former creation, they mirror human society in playing varying social roles. In the Popol Vuh, for example, grandfather 'Great White Peccary' and grandmother 'Great White Coati' act as healers, whereas the owl messengers of the lords of the underworld wear military titles. Turning to the 'ceramic codex', one finds that animal persons are often dressing and acting like persons at court, especially that of the upper god, Itzamna. The howler monkey, for example, is commonly depicted in the social role of a writer and sculptor, and functions as a divine patron of these arts. Other mammals function as musicians. In the Dresden Codex, certain animals (dog, jaguar, vulture, owl, parrot, frog), most of them clothed as human beings, are seated in between deities, and seem thus to be treated on a par with the latter, while other animals, again acting as human beings, fulfill important ritual roles. In the New Year rites, for example, an opossum traveler introduces the patron of the incoming year. Similarly, in the Paris Codex, a turkey person alternates with deities in offering the head of the lightning deity (god K) to the new king. Animal persons are repeatedly shown interacting with Goddess I.


title: Maya religion

text: The power exercised by a deity is legitimate, and this legitimacy justifies offerings and sacrifice. Unlike the gods of disease and death, spooks (apparitions) and demons have no such legitimacy. Whereas spooks – like the specters of the dead – only frighten (and in that way, can also cause disease), demons are devourers; in practice, however, the borderline can be thin. One of the best-known spooks is an attractive woman maddening the men who give in to her lures (known in Yucatec as the "xtabay" 'Female Ensnarer'). Spooks of the Tzotziles include such figures as the 'charcoal-cruncher', the 'one who drops his own flesh', and 'white-bundle'. The boundary between spooks like these and the wayob of the Classic period is not always entirely clear. The principal demon of the Tzotzil area is the 'Black-man' ("h?ik'al"), a kidnapper and rapist. An ancient Mesoamerican bird demon, which the Popol Vuh calls Vucub Caquix, severed the limbs of his victims, and was already known in Preclassic Izapa. In order to terrorize their enemies, kings would at times assume the shapes of spooks and demons. Bush spirits (such as the 'Wild Man' or "Salvaje") belong to the frightening denizens of uninhabited areas, without, however, being apparitions.


title: Maya religion

text: According to Yucatec belief, the indigenous priests can create goblins ("aluxob") who, if properly attended, will assist the farmer in his work by protecting his field, having the rain deities visit it, and thus making the maize grow. In the same area, dwarfs, and also hunchbacks, are associated with antediluvial times; they perished in the flood when their stone boats sank. The childlike dwarfs and hunchbacks of Classic iconography often accompany the king and the Tonsured Maize God. They repeatedly show aquatic features and may, in such cases, be identical to the dwarfish assistants of the deities of rain, lightning, and thunder already mentioned in Aztec sources (the Tlaloqueh).


title: Maya religion

text: There is considerable diversity in recent religious narrative, which embraces stereotypical, moralizing stories about encounters with mountain spirits and supernatural 'Owners', as well as myths concerning heroes and deities. Particularly in tales concerned with the creation of the earth and the origin of useful plants, a reworking of Catholic imagery is often noticeable. Among the best-known myths are those about the opening of the Maize Mountain by the Lightning deities, the struggle of Sun and his Elder Brethren, and the marriage of Sun and Moon. The early-colonial Quichean Twin myth, set out in the Popol Vuh, has not been transmitted, although fragments are recognizable in recent narrative; the name of one of its heroes, Xbalanque, was around the turn of the 20th century still known in the Alta Verapaz. Early creation mythology is found in the Popol Vuh and in some of the Books of Chilam Balam.


title: Maya religion

text: Notwithstanding the progress in hieroglyphic decipherment, the most important sources for Classic mythology are still scenes painted on pottery (the so-called 'ceramic codex') and monumental iconography. The two principal narratives recognized thus far are about demigods close to humanity (the Hero Twins and the principal Maya maize god), and have to be reconstructed from scenes in which often, narrative and ritual concerns are intertwined.


title: Maya religion

text: Like other Mesoamerican populations, Maya societies since the Spanish conquest have known a series of religious 'revitalization' movements, of a more or less violent character, and in response to intolerable exploitation. These movements usually followed the appearances of supernatural beings. In Chiapas (early 18th and late 19th century), the ensuing cults focused on female saints such as the Virgin Mary in the Tzeltal Rebellion of 1712 and Saint Rose of Lima, whereas in eastern Yucatán during the late 19th-century 'Caste War', crosses, dressed as women, and especially a 'Talking Cross', played the main roles. In the Alta Verapaz, the role of saints and crosses was assumed by male mountain deities demanding the destruction of the coffee plantations and a return to the ancient ways. In each case, certain individuals were recognized as mouthpieces of the supernatural entities involved.


title: Maya religion

text: As ethical systems, polytheistic religions like those of the Maya are difficult to compare with the monotheistic world religions. However, the idea of 'covenants' between deities and human beings is common to both. Fulfilling the ritual requirements of the 'covenants' should ideally lead to a state of harmony. The archaic practice of human sacrifice should first of all be viewed within this framework.


title: Dragan Skočić

text: Prior to his coaching career, Skočić started his playing career with the local club Rijeka and then abroad when he signed for Las Palmas in Spain.


title: Dragan Skočić

text: Skočić, a midfielder, played professional club football in Croatia for Rijeka and NK Novalja, in Spain for Las Palmas and Compostela, and in the UAE for Al-Ittihad Kalba. He was the first player from the Croatian football league who went abroad to play professionally.


title: Dragan Skočić

text: After his playing career, Skočić went on to complete the Football Academy at the Croatian Football Academy and the Coach Education and Training Department at the Zagreb Faculty of Kinesiology, receiving an UEFA-PRO Coach diploma and a Professional Bachelor of the Coaching Profession.


title: Dragan Skočić

text: He became manager of his hometown club, Rijeka, in 2005. Skočić secured one trophy for the club, winning the Croatian Cup for the 2005–06 season.


title: Dragan Skočić

text: In 2007, he became the head coach of the Slovenian club Interblock Ljubljana, while the club was in a difficult situation on the league scale. Only two years after the club was founded and under the management of Skočić, the club achieved outstanding results in the Slovenian PrvaLiga. Not only did they manage to stay in the first league, but they also won two trophies in the 2007–08 season, the Slovenian Cup and a Super Cup.


title: Dragan Skočić

text: Skočić took a year long sabbatical from coaching following his time at Interblock, and in the 2009–10 season, he took over the management of the Al-Arabi club in Kuwait. Under his leadership as head coach, the club played in two finals, the Crown Prince Cup and the Federation Cup. Also under Skočić, Al-Arabi played in the AFC Cup quarter-finals.


title: Dragan Skočić

text: Following Kuwait, in the 2010–11 season, Skočić was engaged by the Al Nassr football club from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, one of the most prominent football clubs in the Arab world. Under Skočić, Al Nassr qualified for the third round of the AFC Champions League, after having played a successful season of competitions within the group. On 25 May 2011, he was sacked after a disappointing 4–1 loss to 2010 AFC Champions League finalists Zob Ahan, and was replaced by Portuguese boss Eurico Gomes.


title: Dragan Skočić

text: In March 2012 Skočić returned to take over the management of his hometown club Rijeka by replacing Ivo Ištuk as head coach, and became the third coach to take charge of the club in the 2011–12 Prva HNL season. Skočić inherited a defensively frail side that was 2 points off the relegation zone and was tasked with saving the team from relegation. Upon a 2-0 defeat to Cibalia, the club fell to the 12th place in the league. After just 43 days in charge, Skočić was relieved of his position, following a series of poor results, and was replaced by his assistant, Mladen Ivančić.


title: Dragan Skočić

text: On 26 May 2013, Skočić was announced as head coach of Malavan for the upcoming season. He signed a two year contract with the club. He led the club to the seventh place, their best league finish since 2005.


title: Dragan Skočić

text: On 23 May 2014, Skočić was named as new head coach of Iran Pro League title-holders Foolad, on a one-year contract, replacing Hossein Faraki who resigned on the following day. In May 2015, Skočić received the award for coach of the month and signed a two-year contract extension to keep him at the club until July 2017. In November 2015 after poor scores with the club, Skočić was linked with the vacant head coach position at Sepahan F.C. but the job went to his compatriot, Igor Štimac. After an unsuccessful transfer to Sepahan, he remained as Foolad's head coach according to his contract. He left the club on 1 June 2016.


title: Dragan Skočić

text: On 16 January 2018 he became manager of F.C. Khooneh be Khooneh (Rayka Babol) replacing formerly resigned Javad Nekounam. He soon went on a streak by getting 13 points out of his first 5 games and also leading the second tier team into Hazfi Cup's final.


title: Dragan Skočić

text: On 6 February 2020, Skočić was named head coach of the Iran national team. He managed to take Iran to the 2022 World Cup as the winner of Group A by scoring 25 points out of 10 matches in the third round of the World Cup qualifiers and set the best performance of the Iran national football team in the World Cup qualifiers.


title: Havana Club

text: Havana Club is a brand of rum created in Cuba in 1934. Originally produced in Cárdenas, Cuba, by family-owned José Arechabala S.A., the brand was nationalized after the Cuban Revolution of 1959. In 1993, French-owned Pernod Ricard and the government of Cuba created a state-run 50:50 joint venture called Corporación Cuba Ron. They began exporting this version of Havana Club globally, except for the United States due to the embargo put in place by the U.S. government.


title: Havana Club

text: Bacardi, another Cuban family that had left Cuba after the Cuban revolution, after purchasing the original Arechabala family Havana Club recipe, also began producing Havana Club Rum in 1994, a competing product made in Puerto Rico and sold in the United States.


title: Havana Club

text: Bacardi and Pernod Ricard have engaged in ongoing litigation about ownership of the name "Havana Club".


title: Havana Club

text: The Arechabala family founded a distillery in Cardenas, Cuba in 1878. Later renamed José Arechabala S.A., the company created the Havana Club brand in 1934, and sold rum under that name in both Cuba and the United States. The company was nationalized without compensation by the Castro government in 1960. The Arechabala family allege it was taken from them at gunpoint. Subsequently, much of the Arechabala family was forced to leave Cuba for Spain and the United States, while other members of the family were imprisoned.


title: Havana Club

text: The Cuban government sold rum abroad under the Havana Club name beginning in 1972, focusing primarily on the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. The government focused on Havana Club because (unlike the Bacardi family) the Arechabala family had not established plants outside of Cuba and so could not produce a competing brand. The company was considered a "national jewel" by the Cuban government, and in 1977 manufacturing was moved to a new plant in Santa Cruz del Norte.


title: Havana Club

text: Since 1994, Cuban production and non-US global marketing of Havana Club has continued under a joint partnership between Pernod Ricard and Corporación Cuba Ron.


title: Havana Club

text: In 1994, Bacardi began producing rum under the Havana Club name in Cataño, Puerto Rico using a recipe given to them by Arechabala family members. While originally sold in only a few US states (primarily Florida), production was expanded in 2006, and in 2012, after winning a critical court battle, Bacardi announced plans to sell the rum more broadly.


title: Havana Club

text: The Havana Club trademark has been the subject of extensive trademark litigation in the US, Spain, and World Trade Organization (WTO).


title: Havana Club

text: After José Arechabala S.A. was nationalized, the Arechabala family fled Cuba and was forced to stop producing rum. The US trademark registration for "Havana Club" lapsed in 1973. The family alleges that this was due to the company's lawyer, Javier Arechabala, remaining imprisoned at the time. Taking advantage of the lapse, the Cuban government registered the mark in the US in 1976. The brand was then assigned by the Cuban government to Pernod Ricard in 1993.


title: Havana Club

text: In 1994, Bacardi obtained the Arechabala family's remaining rights in the brand, and began producing limited amounts of rum bearing the name. 922 cases were sold in the US in 1995 and 1996. This drew litigation from Pernod Ricard. Pernod Ricard was successful in two of the first three court holdings issued in this litigation.


title: Havana Club

text: However, in 1998, after heavy lobbying from Bacardi, the US Congress passed the "Bacardi Act" (Section 211 of the Omnibus Appropriations Act of 1998), which protected trademarks related to expropriated Cuban companies, and effectively ended the first phase of the litigation by eliminating Pernod Ricard's standing. The statute has been applied only to the Havana Club trademark, and was ruled illegal by the WTO in 2001 and 2002, on grounds that it singled out one country (Cuba). The United States has not yet acted to address the WTO ruling, despite a 2005 deadline and requests from the European Union.


title: Havana Club

text: Following the initial round of litigation, a second round of litigation occurred, through both the US Federal court system and the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, focused in part on the allegedly deceptive nature of the use of "Havana" in the name of a rum produced outside of Cuba. This round of litigation lasted from 2009 to 2012, and again resulted in a victory for Bacardi. After this defeat, Pernod Ricard announced plans to market the product in the US under the "Havanista" mark, while Bacardi announced plans to extend distribution of Bacardi's version of Havana Club throughout the US.


title: Havana Club

text: In Spain, Pernod Ricard's ownership of the mark has been upheld in three court rulings, most recently in 2011.


title: Havana Club

text: In January 2016, after a thaw in U.S.–Cuba relations, the U.S. government awarded a trademark for Havana Club to the Cuban government, which was "expected to reignite longstanding tension between Bacardi Ltd. and the Cuban government". Bacardi appealed the decision, and in 2017, a bipartisan delegation from the Florida House of Representatives asked new President Donald Trump to reverse the decision.


title: Havana Club

text: Pernod Ricard's Havana Club is the fifth-largest rum brand in the world, with almost 4 million cases sold in 2012–2013. It is sold in over 120 countries. Its strongest markets include France, and Germany, where marketing plays off the brand's distribution in East Germany during the Cold War. Since 2008, it is also bottled in India, the world's second-largest rum market.


title: Havana Club

text: Pernod Ricard plays heavily on Cuban themes in its marketing, including labeling Havana Club as "El Ron de Cuba" ("The Rum of Cuba"). It is one of the most common items brought into the US by tourists returning from Cuba. To avoid charges of customer deception, Bacardi's Havana Club labeling prominently mentions that it is made in Puerto Rico and is often referred to as "Havana Club Puerto Rican rum".


title: Havana Club

text: Pernod Ricard's labeling, originated by Cubaexport in the 1970s, is gold and red, and features the Giraldilla, a weathervane from the old fort of Havana. Pernod Ricard has announced plans to use similar gold and red labels on their "Havanista" product in the United States.


title: Havana Club

text: In 2016, Bacardi announced new branding and sells their version of Havana Club nationally, distilled in Puerto Rico and bottled in Florida.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Midwestern cuisine is a regional cuisine of the American Midwest. It draws its culinary roots most significantly from the cuisines of Central, Northern and Eastern Europe, and Native North America, and is influenced by regionally and locally grown foodstuffs and cultural diversity.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Everyday Midwestern home cooking generally showcases simple and hearty dishes that make use of the abundance of locally grown foods. It has been described as "no-frills homestead and farm food, exemplifying what is called typical American cuisine". Some Midwesterners bake their own bread and pies and preserve food by canning and freezing it.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Sometimes called "the breadbasket of America", the Midwest serves as a center for grain production, particularly wheat, corn and soybeans.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Beef and pork processing have long been important Midwestern industries. Chicago and Kansas City served as stockyards and processing centers of the beef trade and Cincinnati, nicknamed "Porkopolis", was once the largest pork-producing city in the world. Iowa is the current center of pork production in the U.S.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Everyday Midwestern home cooking generally showcases simple and hearty dishes that make use of the abundance of locally grown foods. It has been described as "no-frills homestead and farm food, exemplifying what is called typical American cuisine". The traditions of canning and freezing summer foods is still practiced in modern times. It's not unheard of for pies and bread to be baked at home.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Ohio was one of the first Midwestern regions settled, mostly by farmers from the Thirteen Colonies, in 1788. Corn was the staple food, eaten at every meal. Ohio was abundant in fish, game and wild fruits. The settlers learned techniques of making venison jerky from Native Americans. They grew pumpkins, beans, potatoes and corn, and raised hogs. Apples, wheat and oats were introduced later.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Swedes, Norwegians and Finns began to settle the Midwest in the late 18th century, introducing rich, butter-laden cakes and cookies. In addition to making cheese and butter, German and Swiss dairy farmers raised milk-fed veal and produced a type of white beer called "weisse bier". Germans brought dishes like "Hassenpfeffer", sauerbraten, Spätzle, Maultasche, Schnitzel and pumpernickel bread. Lutefisk and other types of pickled and smoked fish were introduced by Scandinavians.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: In the 19th century, as the frontier advanced westward, recipes had to be adapted based on the availability of ingredients. Danish frikadeller and aebleskivers were served with locally grown chokecherry or blueberry syrup. Custard-style puddings similar to figgy pudding were made with native wild persimmons. A typical Midwestern breakfast might have included meat, eggs, potatoes, fruit preserves, and pie or doughnuts. At harvest time families would have eaten mostly home-produced foods.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: More settlers began to arrive in the rural Midwest after the Erie Canal was completed in the 1820s. Rural and urban foodways began to diverge as cash strapped immigrants became dependent on packaged foods.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: The expansion of railroads in the 1870s and 1880s allowed fresh citrus fruits to be shipped to the Midwest. At the turn of the century, cruise ships operating along the Great Lakes offered varied dining selections. Seasonal fruits, sirloin steak, and lamb kidney saute with mushrooms were some of the breakfast offerings available in 1913.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Beginning in the 1930s, fine dining was offered on railroad cars. Some of the dishes found on the menu were cashew chicken, baked filet of Lake Superior whitefish au gratin and the ambiguous dessert called "floating island".


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Some European foodways have, by wide acceptance, become part of the local cuisine to a degree that they have shed most cultural associations with specific immigrant groups.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: A Wurst mart, sometimes spelled Wurstmart or Wurst Markt, is a variation on a fish fry found predominantly in German-American communities. Wurst marts are usually held by churches as fundraising events, where people will pay for a buffet of sausages and other side dishes. Common side dishes include mashed potatoes, gravy and sauerkraut. Wurst Mart comes from the German word "Wurstmarkt", meaning sausage market. Wurst marts are found mostly in small rural German-American communities in the Midwest, particularly around St. Louis.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: The local cuisine of Chicago has been shaped by its Greek, Jewish and Italian communities. Jewish immigrant communities of Eastern European origin ate oatmeal cereal called "krupnik" , made with milk only when it was available. Workers carried packed lunches of bagels, knish and herring to work. Today, Chicago's Greektown serves typical ethnic like gyros and cheese saganaki.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Throughout the city there are many variations on classic sandwiches like the Chicago-style hot dog, club sandwich served on bagels or other artisan breads like sourdough or brioche with complex spreads like aioli and piri piri sauce. The iconic Italian beef sandwich, made with slow-cooked tough cuts of beef, originated during the Great Depression.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Italian-American cuisine continued to flourish in Chicago as American forces returned from World War II with a taste for Italian foods. Pepper and onion topped Italian pork sausage sandwiches became widely available, and can still be found at festivals, fairs and ballparks today. Thin-crust pizza arrived in Chicago with Italian immigrants as early as 1909 but according to some the iconic deep-dish pizza dates to 1943 when it first appeared on Pizzeria Uno menus. Italians are also known for Chicken Vesuvio, bone-in chicken sauteed with oregano and garlic in white-wine sauce before and finished in the oven with potatoes.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Chicago's cuisine has also seen notable contributions from its Latin American communities. Steamed tamales made from cornmeal filled with seasoned ground beef have been available in Chicago since the 19th century.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Puerto Ricans introduced the skirt steak sandwich Jibarito. Now also available with chicken, roast pork, ham, shrimp and even the vegetarian option tofu is available, the "jibarito" is distinguished from other sandwiches by substituting green plantains for bread.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Chicago's food processing industry is historically significant. Following the Civil War, Chicago made use of railway networks to establish distribution networks, making fresh beef widely available. For the first time American consumers without access to local livestock could purchase fresh beef. In 1903 James L. Kraft founded a wholesale cheese distribution business in Chicago which became Kraft Foods. Miracle Whip was introduced in 1933 at an industry event. The American Licorice Company founded in Chicago in 1914 makes Red Vines and Super Ropes. Brach's company in Chicago started making candy corn in the 1920s. The Dove Bar was invented in Chicago. Cracker Jack was founded by a German immigrant who in 1871 started selling molasses-coated, steam-popped corn out of a candy shop in Chicago's South Side. Chicago meat packer Gustavus F. Swift is credited with commercializing shipping fresh meat in refrigerated railroad cars. By 1892 the number of refrigerated railroad cars in use exceeded 100,000. Vienna Beef became a major producer of hot dogs and by the early 2000s was one of the major suppliers for hot dog carts. Some other Chicago meatpackers are Armour, Oscar Meyer, Hygrade and Swift.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: The Queen City is known for its namesake Cincinnati chili, a Greek-inspired meat sauce (ground beef seasoned with cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, bay leaf, cumin, and ground chilis), served over spaghetti or hot dogs. Unlike "chili con carne", Cincinnati-style chili is almost never eaten by itself and is instead consumed in "ways" or on cheese coneys, which are a regional variation on a chili dog.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Goetta, a meat-and-grain sausage or mush made from pork and oats, is unique to the Greater Cincinnati area and "every bit as much a Queen City icon" as Cincinnati chili. It is similar to the traditional porridge-like German peasant food "stippgrutze" but incorporates a higher proportion of meat-to-grain and is thicker, forming a sliceable loaf. Slices are typically fried like sausage patties and served for breakfast. More than a million pounds of goetta are served in the Cincinnati area per year.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: The city has a strong German heritage and a variety of German-oriented restaurants and menu items can be found in the area. Cincinnati's Oktoberfest Zinzinnati, an annual food and music celebration held each September, is the second-largest in the world. Taste of Cincinnati, the longest running culinary arts festival in the United States, is held each year on Memorial Day weekend. In 2014, local chefs and food writers organized the inaugural Cincinnati Food & Wine Classic, which drew chefs and artisan food producers from the region.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: The area was once a national center for pork processing and is often nicknamed Porkopolis, with many references to that heritage in menu-item names and food-event names; pigs are a "well-loved symbol of the city."


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: The Columbus, Ohio area is the home and birthplace of many well-known fast-food chains, especially those known for hamburgers. Wendy's opened its first store in Columbus in 1969, and is now headquartered in nearby Dublin. America's oldest hamburger chain, White Castle, is based there.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Besides burgers, Columbus is noted for the German Village, a neighborhood south of downtown where German cuisine such as sausages and kuchen are served.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: In recent years, local restaurants focused on organic, seasonal, and locally or regionally sourced food have become more prevalent, especially in the Short North area, between downtown and the Ohio State University campus. Numerous Somali restaurants are also found in the city, particularly around Cleveland Avenue.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Columbus is also the birthplace of the Marzetti Italian Restaurant, opened in 1896. Owner Teresa Marzetti is credited with creation of the beef-and-pasta casserole named after her brother-in-law, Johnny Marzetti. The restaurant's popular salad dressings became the foundation for the T. Marzetti Company, an international specialty foods manufacturer and distributor, headquartered in Columbus.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Cleveland's many immigrant groups and heavily blue-collar demographic have long played an important role in defining the area's cuisine. Ethnically, Italian foods as well as several Eastern European cuisines, particularly those of Poland and Hungary, have become gastronomical staples in the Greater Cleveland area.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Prominent examples of these include cavatelli, rigatoni, pizza, Chicken paprikash, stuffed cabbage, pierogi, and kielbasa all of which are widely popular in and around the city.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Local specialties, such as the pork-based dish City Chicken and the Polish Boy (a loaded sausage sandwich native to Cleveland), are dishes definitive of a cuisine that is based on hearty, inexpensive fare. Commercially, Hector Boiardi (aka Chef Boyardee) started his business in Cleveland's Little Italy.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: In Italian bakeries around the Cleveland area, a variation of the "cassata" cake is widely popular. This local version, commonly called the "Cleveland-style cassata" differs from the "cassata siciliana" in that it is made with layers of sponge cake, custard and strawberries, then frosted with whipped cream. The cake is sold at bakeries throughout the Midwest region, including the Cleveland-area Corbo's, Presti's and LaPuma Bakery (credited with creating the cake back in the 1920s).


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Detroit specialties include Coney Island hot dogs, found at hundreds of unaffiliated "Coney Island" restaurants. Not to be confused with a chili dog, a coney is served with a ground beef sauce, chopped onions and mustard.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: The Coney Special has an additional ground beef topping. It is often served with French fries. Food writers Jane and Michael Stern call out Detroit as the only "place to start" in pinpointing "the top Coney Islands in the land."


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Detroit also has its own style of pizza, a thick-crusted, Sicilian cuisine-influenced, rectangular type called Detroit-style Pizza. Other Detroit foods include zip sauce, served on steaks; the triple-decker Dinty Moore sandwich, corned beef layered with lettuce, tomato and Russian dressing; and a Chinese-American dish called "warr shu gai" or almond boneless chicken.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: The Detroit area has many large groups of immigrants. A large Arabic-speaking population reside in and around the suburb of Dearborn, home to many Lebanese storefronts.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Detroit also has a substantial number of Greek restaurateurs. Thus, numerous Mediterranean restaurants dot the region and typical foods such as gyros, hummus and falafel can be found in many run-of-the-mill grocery stores and restaurants.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Polish food is also prominent in the region, including popular dishes such as pierogi, borscht, and "pączki". Bakeries concentrated in the Polish enclave of Hamtramck, Michigan, within the city, are celebrated for their "pączki," especially on Fat Tuesday. Hungarian food is featured in nearby eastern Toledo, Ohio with Tony Packo's Hungarian hot dog, a form of "kolbász".


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Chinese restaurants in the Detroit area serve almond boneless chicken, a regional Chinese-American dish consisting of battered fried boneless chicken breasts served sliced on a bed of lettuce with a gravy-like chicken flavored sauce and slivered almonds.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Kansas City is an important barbecue and meat-processing center with a distinctive barbecue style. The Kansas City metropolitan area has more than 100 barbecue restaurants and proclaims itself to be the "world's barbecue capital."


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: The Kansas City Barbeque Society spreads its influence across the nation through its barbecue-contest standards. Kansas City's barbecue craze can be traced back to Henry Perry, who in the early 1920s started barbecuing in an outdoor pit adjacent to his streetcar barn


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: The large number of Irish and German immigrants who came to St. Louis beginning in the early 19th century contributed significantly to the shaping of local cuisine by their uses of beef, pork and chicken, often roasted or grilled, and desserts including rich cakes, stollens, fruit pies, doughnuts and cookies. A local form of fresh-stick pretzel, called Gus's Pretzels, has been sold singly and by the bagful by street-corner vendors.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Mayfair salad dressing was a mainstay at a St. Louis hotel of the same name, and one of the original recipes from the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: St. Louis is also known for popularizing the ice cream cone and for inventing gooey butter cake (a rich, soft-centered coffee cake) and frozen custard. Iced tea is also rumored to have been invented at the World's Fair, as well as the hot dog bun.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: A staple of grilling in St. Louis is the pork steak, which is sliced from the shoulder of the pig and often basted with or simmered in barbecue sauce during cooking.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Other popular grilled items include crispy snoots, cut from the cheeks and nostrils of the pig; bratwurst; and Italian sausage, often referred to as "sah-zittsa," a localization of its Italian name, "salsiccia". Maull's is a popular brand of barbecue sauce in the St. Louis area.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Restaurants on The Hill reflect the lasting influence of the early 20th-century Milanese and Sicilian immigrant community. Two unique Italian-American style dishes include "toasted" ravioli, which is breaded and fried, and St. Louis-style pizza, which has a crisp, thin crust and is usually made with Provel cheese instead of traditional mozzarella.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: A poor boy sandwich is the traditional name in St. Louis for a submarine sandwich. A St. Paul sandwich is a St. Louis sandwich, available in Chinese-American restaurants. A slinger is a diner and late-night specialty consisting of eggs, hash browns and hamburger, topped with chili, cheese and onion.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Traditional cuisine in Wisconsin was influenced by the European immigration there, so much, that it could be considered the "most European in the United States". Foods frequently considered comfort foods, and foods signature to Wisconsin culture in Milwaukee include cheese dishes, butter burgers, beer, Bloody Marys, beer soup, cheese curds, fish fry, and bratwursts. There is a sizeable amount of farms spread across Wisconsin for dairy, corn, and meat production.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Once known as "Mill City", homemade breads and pies feature prominently in Minneapolis cuisine. Bread and cakes available at the Eagle Bakery in 1850 included fruitcake, pound cake and something called "Fancy cake" for the holidays. In the 1930s there were four Jewish bakeries within a few blocks of each other baking bagels and other fresh breads. Jewish families purchased "challah" loaves for their Sabbath meal at the North Side Bakery. There were two kosher meat markets and four Jewish delicatessens, one of which began distribution for what would become Sara Lee frozen cheesecakes. The delis sold sandwiches like corned beef and salami.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Minneapolis is more racially and ethnically diverse than the rest of Minnesota. For the diverse ethnic groups that call Minneapolis home, retaining their distinct ethnic culture remains a goal that is supported by ethnic-oriented community organizations. Celebrating ethnic holidays and get togethers by preparing traditional foods remains a major symbol of cultural retention. It is a way people share their heritage and culture with outsiders. There are a plethora of restaurants serving ethnic cuisines.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Today there are many restaurants serving various Polish dishes like polish sausage, pierogies and stuffed cabbage rolls. and typical German foods like "rippchen", "knackwurst", and "wienerschnitzel". Traditionally, potato salad and kraut were served alongside an entree of bratwurst or ham hocks. A side of "spaetzle" and red cabbage would accompany "sauerbraten" or "rouladen".


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: In the fall, the Twin Cities share along with Green Bay, Wisconsin, the tradition of the neighborhood booyah, a cuisine and cultural event featuring a hodge-podge of ingredients in stews.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Like Milwaukee, American restaurants in the Twin Cities supply a wide spectrum of choices and styles that range from small diners, sports bars and decades-old supper clubs to high-end steakhouses and eateries that serve new American cuisine using locally grown ingredients. The Jucy Lucy (or "Juicy Lucy"), claimed as an innovation of the local pubs, is a hamburger with a core of melted cheese. Barbecue restaurants in the area tend to feature a combination of the various regional styles of this type of cooking.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Minneapolis and St. Paul also offer a diverse array of cuisines influenced by their many immigrant groups. In the 1970s the Twin Cities saw a large influx of Southeast Asian immigrants from Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam. Asian cuisine was initially dominated by Chinese Cantonese immigrants that served Americanized offerings. In 1883 Woo Yee Sing and his younger brother, Woo Du Sing, opened the Canton Cafe in Minneapolis, the first Chinese restaurant in Minnesota. Authentic offerings began at the influential Nankin Cafe which opened in 1919, and many new Chinese immigrants soon took this cuisine throughout the Twin Cities and to the suburbs. The cuisine of Japan has been present since the opening of the area's very first Japanese restaurant, Fuji Ya in 1959. Since 1976 Supenn Supatanskinkasem has been cooking and serving Thai food through her Minnesota State Fair Booth, Siam Café, and Sawatdee chain of Thai restaurants. Modern dining options include "phở" noodle shops, "banh mi" and Thai curry restaurants.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Restaurants offering other cuisines of Asia including those from Afghanistan, India, Nepal and the Philippines are also recent additions to the Twin Cities dining scene. Local ingredients are often integrated into Asian offerings, for example Chinese steamed walleye and Nepalese curried bison.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Mexican and Tex-Mex restaurants serve "tacos", "tortas", "tamales" and other similar dishes. Cuisines from Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, Ecuador, Peru and the Spanish Speaking West Indies are also represented, as well as Native American cuisine.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: The Twin Cities are home to many restaurants that serve the cuisines of the Mediterranean, Middle East and Northeast Africa including, Greek, Ethiopian and Somalia have also opened a number of restaurants in Minnesota.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: West-African immigrants have brought their own cuisine in recent years. There is also a presence of Afro-Caribbean restaurants, with the famed Nicollet Avenue in Minneapolis being home to two Caribbean restaurants.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Central European and Southern influences can be seen in the local popularity of carp and South 24th Street contains a multitude of Mexican restaurants. North Omaha also has its own barbecue style.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Omaha is one of the places claiming to have invented the reuben sandwich, supposedly named for Reuben Kulakofsky, a grocer from the Dundee neighborhood.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: The cheese frenchee is also a local favorite and staple, originating from the original King's Food Host fast-food restaurants.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Early settlement in Illinois along the Ohio River included farm owners, tenant farmers and sharecroppers. The lowest rung were called "river rats", similar to folks who lived along the Illinois River foraging for clams and mussels, mostly German, Irish, English and Appalachian. During winter months when fish, clams and mussels were inaccessible the "river people", or alternately "shantyboat dwellers" hunted possums, beaver or raccoons. Lower-income families consumed less milk, meat and eggs in general. Whole milk was usually not available outside wealthy families, but children were sometimes given skimmed milk.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Beans, pork, and potatoes were dietary staples in Southern Illinois. Fried eggs, fried pork, biscuits, fruit preserves and coffee were traditional breakfast foods. Dinner options consisted of boiled or fried potatoes, green beans cooked in fat, boiled pork, fried fat pork, sliced tomatoes, lettuce wilted with vinegar, macaroni with tomatoes, pie and cake.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: German settlers arriving in the 19th century brought foods like wienerschnitzel, sauerbraten, potato pancakes, rouladen, bratwurst, liverwurst. hasenpfeffer, liver dumplings, cakes like Black Forest cake, Lebkuchen and Schnecken, strudel and cookie recipes like Sandbakelse and Pfeffernüsse.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: By 1890, fish from the Illinois river were being sent upstream to Chicago for sale in commercial markets on the east coast. Carp and buffalo fish were used to make gefilte fish or fried carp in cornmeal batter.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: The horseshoe sandwich is rarely seen outside Springfield, Illinois. The original version from Springfield was an open-faced sandwich made a horseshoe-shaped ham steak and two pieces of white toast but it is available with other types of meat also like chicken cutlets or hamburger. The sandwich is served with a cheese sauce similar to Welsh rarebit and french fries.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Indiana claims shoreline along Lake Michigan so freshwater fish like perch and walleye have a place on local menus. Biscuits and gravy, topped with sausage gravy, can be found at diners throughout the state, sometimes served with eggs on the side, or other breakfast sides like home fries.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: German pubs serve traditional fare like sausages, schnitzels, rouladen, and sauerbraten. Fried brain sandwich is not very common any more but was more widely available in the past. It was first brought to Evansville by German immigrants.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Indiana produces roughly 25,000 gallons of maple syrup each year, making it a popular condiment for different sweet and savory foods.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Fried biscuits are a specialty of the state, served with cinnamon sugar and spiced apple butter. Deep-fried pork tenderloin and fried bologna sandwiches are popular in Indianapolis and other parts of the state. Turkey and Beef Manhattan dishes originated in Indianapolis and can be found in diners across the state.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Fried chicken is a staple of after-church dinner on Sundays (Indiana's version uses more black pepper than most). A popular dish seen almost exclusively in Indiana is sugar cream pie (also called Hoosier pie) which most likely originated in the state's Amish community. Some say it originated with the Shaker settlements along Indiana's eastern border with Ohio. Sometimes called "desperation pie", the simple milk and sugar pie may be related to the Amish Bob Andy pie, Pennsylvania's shoo-fly pie and North Carolina's brown sugar pie. Persimmon pudding made with sweet, wild persimmons is a typical Thanksgiving dish in Indiana.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: A common Breakfast food found throughout Indiana is fried cornmeal mush, a dish consisting of cornmeal which is boiled, then cut into pieces and fried in oil. The dish is normally served with maple syrup or molasses on top.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: When French Icarians arrived in the 19th century their simple meals were put together using just a few basics: milk, butter, bacon and corn bread. The Amana Colony settled on the rich soils of Iowa and until the 1930s their meals were provided by communal kitchens supplied by the village orchards, communal gardens, vineyards, bakery, smokehouse and dairy.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Iowa's last communal meal was served in 1932. Traditional recipes from Amana's communal kitchens include radish salad, apple bread, strawberry rhubarb pie, and dumpling soup.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Danish immigrants brought apple cake and spherical "æbleskiver" pancakes. Dutch letters, pastries filled with almond paste and shaped like an 'S,' are also common in Iowa, although they were historically only made for Sinterklaas Day. Iowa's Dutch bakeries offer other baked goods like speculaas and boter koek.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Czech immigrants contributed pastry filled with sweetened fruit or cheese called "kolaches". "Kringla", "krumkake" and "lefse" are found at church suppers throughout the holiday season when a typical lutefisk dinner would include mashed potatoes, cranberry salad, corn, rutabaga, "rommegrot", meatballs with gravy, and Norwegian pastry for dessert.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Recipes compiled and published by the "Des Moines Register" include salmon mousse, fresh gazpacho, apple coleslaw, cabbage n' macaroni slaw, other slaws, soups, and dips, and various salads like turkey-melon, shrimp-yogurt and pasta-blackbean, including one gelatin-based salad made with 7Up, lemon-lime gelatin, crushed pineapple, marshmallow and bananas. Other gelatin based salads included blueberry salad and a "Good Salad" which included a mix of puddings, orange gelatin and citrus fruits.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Sliced pickle wraps or roll-ups made with dill pickles wrapped in cream cheese and ham may have derived from German cuisine.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Basic soups included cauliflower-cheddar garnished with scallions, cream of carrot made with milk and rice, and beef noodle soup made with frozen vegetables and beef bouillon.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Various beverage offerings included cool apple-mint tea, german beer, a citrus mix that included orange juice, lemonade powder and club soda, as well as coffee flavored with cinnamon.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: The state is the center for loose-meat sandwiches, also called tavern sandwiches and appearing on many menus by each restaurant's unique name for them. They originated in the region in the Ye Olde Tavern restaurant in 1934 before being popularized by Maid-Rite in 1936, which now has franchises in other Midwestern states. The original Maid Rite sandwich from the 1920s is a ground meat sandwich with pickles, ketchup, mustard, and onions. Hot beef sandwich is made with leftover pot roast topped with gravy and mashed potatoes.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Iowa is the leading pork producer in the United States. This is reflected in Iowan cuisine, which includes the pork tenderloin sandwich (or simply "pork tenderloin"), consisting of a lean section of boneless pork loin pounded flat, breaded, and deep fried before being served on a seeded hamburger bun with any or all of ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, and dill pickle slices. It is a popular "fair food" at the Iowa State Fair where the meat of a pork tenderloin sandwich is often far larger than the area of the bun. Burgers are made with local beef.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Iowa is the leader in corn production in the United States, also leading in production of eggs and pork. One well-known variety of sweet corn grown in Iowa is the bi-color peaches and cream.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Rhubarb grows well in Iowa and is used for sauces, jams, cakes and pies. Heirloom varieties like Green Moldovan tomatoes, St. Valery carrot and Cimarron lettuce are still grown at the Plum Grove Historic Site.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Potluck suppers, farmhouse meals and after-church Sunday dinners are part of the food culture of Kansas. Smoked brisket, pork shoulder, short ribs, hot wings, and fried chicken are served with sides like macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, string beans, jalapeno poppers, jello salads, and cheesy potatoes and some places still offer whole hog barbecue. Kansas is a cattle producing state so pot roasts and steak dinners are staples of the local diet.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Classic comfort foods like fried chicken and chicken fried steak are standard diner fare. Chili is served alongside cinnamon rolls in a commonly found but unlikely pairing. Breakfast burritos are filled with scrambled eggs and fillings like potatoes, salsa, cheese and tomatillos. Other offerings include pastor, carnitas, carne asada, pork rind and tinga.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: "Bierock" is a stuffed yeast bread filled with sausage, ground beef, cabbage and onion that was introduced by Volga Germans. It was a hearty, portable lunch for field laborers. Today, it can be found in varieties like garlic chicken or vegetable.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Similarly, the Czech pastry kolaches are yeast buns available with a range of fruit and cheese based fillings like prune, apricot, cottage cheese, cherry, apple, peach and poppy seed. Cake doughnuts like pumpkin spice, maple, and caramel apple are produced seasonally.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: As of November 2006, Kansas still has 29 dry counties and only 17 counties have passed liquor-by-the-drink without a food sales requirement. Today there are more than 2600 liquor and 4000 cereal malt beverage licensees in the state.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Michigan is a large producer of asparagus, a vegetable crop widespread in spring. Western and northern Michigan are notable in the production of apples, blueberries, and cherries. The Northwestern region of Michigan's Lower Peninsula accounts for approximately 75 percent of the U.S. crop of tart cherries, usually about 250 million pounds (11.3 Gg). A popular dish, Michigan chicken salad, includes cherries and often apples. Fruit salsas are also popular, with cherry salsa being especially prominent.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Michigan's wine and beer industries are substantial in the region. The Traverse City area is a popular destination to visit wineries and the state makes many varieties of wine, such as Rieslings, ice wines, and fruit wines. Micro-breweries continue to blossom, creating a wide range of unique beers. Grand Rapids was voted Beer City USA 2013 in the Beer City USA poll, with Founders being the largest of Grand Rapids' breweries. Bell's, another large Michigan craft brewery, is located further south in Kalamazoo.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Michigan is the home of both Post and Kellogg, with Battle Creek being called Cereal City. Vernor's ginger ale and Faygo pop also originate in Michigan. Vernor's ginger ale is often used as a home remedy for an upset stomach. Additionally, two of the three largest pizza companies in the world, Little Caesars and Domino's Pizza, both originate in Michigan.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Coney Islands, a diner originating with Greek immigrants in Detroit, are fairly common throughout the state. A coney is a natural-casing hot dog on a bun, topped with raw onion, mustard, and coney sauce, a type of chili. Cheese may be added as well and variations are found throughout the state, with each city claiming theirs is the best.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: These diners usually also have gyros served with cucumber or honey-mustard sauce, as well as hamburgers, sandwiches, breakfast, and dinner entrees. Most Coney Islands are open 24 hours and are a popular place to get a late or early coffee.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: In Polish communities throughout the state, "pączki" can be found every year on Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras) in a wide assortment of flavors including lemon, blueberry, prune, and custard. Pierogis, goulash, and Polish-style sausage are common specialties in many restaurants.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Fish fries are common on Fridays and during Lent, usually set up buffet-style with items including rolls, potatoes (typically in the form of french fries and mashed), salad, coleslaw, apple sauce, deep-fried fish, and sometimes fried shrimp and baked fish.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Fish is generally popular throughout the state due to the state's location on four of the Great Lakes. Trout, walleye, perch, and catfish are common. Whitefish is a regional specialty usually offered along the coast, with smoked whitefish and whitefish dip being noteworthy.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Cornish immigrant miners introduced the pasty to Michigan's Upper Peninsula (U.P.) as a convenient meal to take to work in the numerous copper, silver, and nickel mines of that region. The pasty is today considered iconic of the U.P.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Fudge is commonly sold in tourist areas, with Mackinac Island being most famous for its fudge, traditionally chocolate, but there is a wide variety of flavors from mint to maple and may include nuts, fruit, or other candy pieces.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Minnesota is known for its church potlucks, where hotdish is often served. Hotdish is any of a variety of casserole dishes, which are popular throughout the United States, although the term "hotdish" is used mainly in Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Hotdishes are filling comfort foods that are convenient and easy to make. "Tater Tot Hotdish" is a popular dish, and as Minnesota is one of the leading producers of wild rice, wild rice hotdishes are quite popular. Dessert bars are the second of the two essentials for potlucks in Minnesota. Other dishes include glorified rice, German baked apples and cookie salad.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Walleye, trout, herring, crappie, lutefisk, wild rice, raspberry, blueberry and strawberry are preferred ingredients in modern Minnesotan cuisine. Typical sides include mashed potatoes, pickles, jello salad, locally grown boiled new potatoes seasoned with fresh herbs or horseradish, baked beans, and vegetables like sweet corn on the cob, or buttered peas, carrots and green beans. Preferred to rice or pasta, potatoes are often served alongside buttered rolls and homemade strawberry jam.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Food selections served at the annual Minnesota State Fair in past years have included watermelon pickles, baked beans, hot dogs, buffalo burgers, deep-fried cheese curds, glazed ham and homemade apple pie New foods for 2019 included fried tacos on a stick, Turkish pizza, stuffed cabbage rolls, feta bites, shrimp and grits fritters, blueberry key lime pie and assorted other dessert selections.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Scandinavian cuisine has had a significant impact on the cuisine of Minnesota. The cafe at the American Swedish Institute serves Swedish dishes like gravlax with dill, potato dumplings and Swedish meatballs with lingonberry jam. Among the state's most iconic dishes are "lefse" and "lutefisk". Made from stockfish (air-dried whitefish) and soda lye ("lut"), the dish was brought to the state by Scandinavian immigrants. "Lefse" is a Norwegian flatbread made from flour, potatoes, cream and butter, and in Minnesota it is commonly prepared for Christmas dinner. Scandinavian rice pudding is also served during the holidays.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: In northern Minnesota, along the North Shore of Lake Superior, commercial fishing has been practiced for generations. Settlers were used to the cold, rugged work as many of these immigrants came directly from the coastal fishing villages of Norway. Ciscoes (also known as lake herring), lake trout, lake whitefish, and rainbow smelt are still commercially fished today. Smoked or sugar-cured trout is prepared from local fish in areas along the North Shore like Duluth. Walleye is the state fish of Minnesota and it is common to find it on restaurant menus. Battered and deep-fried is a popular preparation for walleye, as is grilling. Many restaurants feature walleye on their Friday night fish fry.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Letters and household accounts of Minnesota residents give details of mid-19th century frontier cuisine. A farmer's wife writes to her cousin about harvest in Rochester, Minnesota "My hand is so tired perhaps you'll excuse penciling", explaining she woke before four to skim milk, churn butter and bake "6 loaves of bread & seven pumpkin pies". In the 1850s supplies couldn't keep pace with settlement, though steamboats regularly brought in sugar-cured hams, oysters, herring, sardines, alcohol, salt pork and other supplies. In those days a full multi-course meal served for a special occasions would have started with a typical soup followed by a choice of local fish and the so-called "boiled dishes" like chicken with egg sauce, ham or corned beef. Entrees were followed by assorted roast meats served with cranberry sauce. Early Minnesotans used cranberries in pies, molded desserts and frozen confections.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Arriving in the 19th century, immigrants from Eastern Europe opened delicatessens, bakeries and restaurants, and introduced dishes like "varenyky", "krakowski", poppy seed roll, "kluski", kolaches and stuffed cabbage rolls to the Midwest. German immigrants brought kohlrabi with them. Slovenian and Croatian immigrants brought the honey-nut bread called "potica" to the Iron Range region, which is also known for Cornish pasties. Porketta, a pork roast seasoned with fennel and garlic and served with either sliced or shredded like a pulled pork sandwich was brought to Minnesota and the Iron Range region by Italian immigrants.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Minnesota's Black Diaspora is the most diverse in the United States, New halal butchers and African restaurants opened in Minneapolis after tens of thousands of African Americans arrived in Minnesota from other cities in the 1990s. The Safari Express is a Somali cuisine fast food spot that serves camel burgers and fries. Halaal Hotdogs is a not for profit providing employment and job training to new immigrants.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: In the Ozarks you will find that country ham, fried chicken, catfish, and frog legs are popular entree choices served with fried potatoes, baked beans and biscuits.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Mid-Missouri and Northern Missourians eat a lot of beef (steaks, hamburgers, meatloaf, and roasts) and pork (steak, roasts, chops, and BBQ); sides often include potatoes (baked, mashed, cheesy, fried) and green vegetables (green beans, asparagus, zucchini).


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Barbecue, mainly pork and beef, is popular in both St. Louis and Kansas City, as well as in much of the southern half of the state.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: In Southern Missouri, sweet tea is commonly available at restaurants, while in Northern Missouri most citizens prefer unsweetened tea. Missourians also love beer and bacon, with many businesses that specializing in these Missouri staples.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: St. Louis features toasted ravioli, St. Louis-style pizza, and gooey butter cake. Kansas City is known for their K.C.-style BBQ-sauced burnt ends.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Another region is the Missouri Rhineland along the valley of the Missouri River, known for its wineries. Missourians love their regional wines and often eat summer sausage, cheese, and crackers while enjoying.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Fishing is popular throughout the state, and fish fries are regular social events, often feature catfish, largemouth bass, and crappie. Fried potatoes, morel mushrooms (when in season), and onion rings are commonly fried as well at these social gatherings.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: For breakfast, Missourians enjoy bacon, country ham, and breakfast sausage with eggs, hash browns, and toast or biscuits. Biscuits and gravy, pancakes, and breakfast casseroles are also some favorites.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: A significant population of Germans from Russia settled in Nebraska, leading to one of the state's most iconic dishes, the Runza sandwich.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Large numbers of Czech immigrants, especially in southeastern Nebraska, influenced the culture and cuisine of the area. Wilber, Nebraska is the self-designated Czech Capital of the US and celebrates an annual Czech Days festival at which Czech food, such as kolaches, roast duck, and pork and dumplings, is served.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: In 2015, Nebraska resettled the largest number of refugees per capita in the United States, and Lincoln, Nebraska has been a significant resettlement location for refugees since the 1980s, particularly Vietnamese-Americans.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: A large Vietnamese-American population in Lincoln has created Vietnamese markets—which sell ingredients, such as fresh persimmon, not typically found in Midwestern grocery store chains—and Vietnamese restaurants which sell foods such as "pho" and "bánh mì."


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Nebraska is also known as the Cornhusker State in reference to the abundance of corn grown in the state. Corn is a common part of late-summer and autumnal meals in Nebraska in dishes such as corn souffle, corn chowder, cornbread, and corn on the cob. Early pioneers relied heavily on corn and cornmeal in everything from breads, (cornbread, corn mush rolls), to soups, (corn soup, Indian meal mush), and desserts, (green corn pudding, popcorn pudding, sweet corn cake).


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: The cheese frenchee, a deep-fried cheese sandwich, was invented in Lincoln, Nebraska at a King's Food Host Restaurant in the 1950s. It went on to become a regional favorite.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Cuisine in North Dakota has been heavily influenced by both Norwegians and Germans from Russia, ethnic groups that have historically accounted for a large portion of North Dakota's population. Norwegian contributions to the state include lefse, lutefisk, krumkake, and rosettes.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Much of the Norwegian-influenced cuisine is also common in Minnesota and other states where Norwegians and their descendants lived, although it may be the greater in North Dakota than any other state.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Norwegians played a large role in settling the area, and nearly one-third of North Dakotans claim Norwegian ancestry. Norwegian ancestry was historically more widespread throughout the northern half and eastern third of North Dakota, and therefore plays a stronger role in local cuisine in those parts of the state.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: German-Russian cuisine is primarily influenced by that of the "Schwarzmeerdeutsche", or Black Sea Germans, who heavily populated south-central and southwestern North Dakota (an area known as the German-Russian Triangle), as well as areas of South Dakota.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: While large numbers of "Wolgadeutsche", Germans from Russia who lived near the Volga River in Russia (several hundred miles away from the Black Sea), also settled in the United States, they did not settle in large numbers in the Dakotas.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Popular German-Russian cuisine includes "kuchen", a thin, cheesecake-like custard pastry often filled with fruit such as cherries, apricot, prunes, and sometimes cottage cheese.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: "Fleischkuekle" (or "fleischkuechle") is a popular meat-filled thin flatbread that is deep-fried and served hot. Another German-Russian specialty in the area is "knoephla", a dumpling soup that almost always includes potatoes, and to a lesser extent, celery.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Buckeye candy is a confection popular in the state of Ohio; it is the local variation of a peanut butter cup. Coated in chocolate, with a partially exposed center of peanut butter fudge, in appearance the candy resembles the chestnut that grows on the state tree, commonly known as the Buckeye.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Cincinnati-style chili is a Greek-inspired meat sauce, (ground beef seasoned with cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, bay leaf, cumin, chili powder, and in some home recipes, chocolate), used as a topping for spaghetti or hot dogs. Additionally, red beans, chopped onions, and shredded cheese are offered as extra toppings referred to as "ways."


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: A local specialty of Ohio are sauerkraut balls, meatball-sized fritter containing sauerkraut and some combination of ham, bacon, and pork. The recipe was invented in the late 1950s by two brothers, Max and Roman Gruber for their five-star restaurant, Gruber's, located in Shaker Heights, Ohio. These were a derivative of the various ethnic cultures of Northeast Ohio, which includes Akron and Greater Cleveland.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: An annual Sauerkraut Festival is held in Waynesville, Ohio. at which sauerkraut balls, along with other sauerkraut specialities, are served.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Clam bakes are very popular in Northeast Ohio. The region, which was originally part of the Connecticut Western Reserve, was initially settled by people from Connecticut and other New England states. A typical Northeast Ohio clam bake typically includes clams, chicken, sweet potatoes, corn, and other side dishes. Unlike in New England, seaweed is not used and the clams, chicken, and sweet potatoes are all steamed together in a large pot.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Barberton, Ohio, part of the greater Akron area, is a small industrial city and home of Barberton Chicken, a dish of chicken deep fried in lard that was created by Serbian immigrants. It is usually accompanied by a hot rice dish, vinegar coleslaw and french fries.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: One of the most notable dishes being Rocky Mountain oysters, a dish made from bull testicles. Another dish is known as bierock, which is similar to meat-pie dishes of Central and Eastern Europe.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Many South Dakotan desserts show their European influences. Kuchen, originating from Germany, has found a home amongst South Dakotans. Another dish, more tied to Native Americans, is "wojapi", a berry sauce from the Lakota tribes. "Wojapi" sometimes accompanies frybread, which is associated with another dish known as Navajo tacos, where meat is served atop it.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Wisconsin is "America's Dairyland," and is home to numerous frozen custard stands, particularly around Milwaukee and along the Lake Michigan corridor. The state also has a special relationship with Blue Moon ice cream, being one of the only places the flavor can be found. While the flavor's origins are not well documented, it was most likely developed by flavor chemist Bill "Doc" Sidon of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The state is also well known as a home to many cheesemakers. Colby cheese was created here in 1885.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Arguably the most universal Wisconsin dessert would be the cream puff, a type of profiterole that is a famous treat at the Wisconsin State Fair. The southeastern Wisconsin city of Racine is known for its Danish kringle, a sweet flaky pastry often served as a dessert.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: The Friday night fish fry, often battered and fried perch or walleye, is traditional throughout Wisconsin, while in northeast Wisconsin along Lake Michigan, the Door County fish boil holds sway.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Besides its "Cheesehead" status, Wisconsin has a reputation for alcohol consumption. Common traits of "drinking culture" are embedded in Wisconsin traditions, from festivals and holidays to everyday life. Many large breweries were founded in Wisconsin, largely in Milwaukee, which gained the epithet "Brew City" before the turn of the century: Miller, Pabst, Schlitz (all from and originally based in Milwaukee) and Leinenkugel all began as local favorites before entering the national and international markets.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: "Booyah" is another common and hearty Wisconsin meal, found especially in the Northeast region of the state. The origins of this dish are disputed, but the Wisconsin origin contends that the word is a vernacular Flemish or Walloon Belgian spelling of the French word "bouillon", in this context meaning "broth."


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Wisconsin cuisine also features a large amount of sausage, or "wurst". The state is also a major producer and consumer of summer sausage, as well as the nation's top producer and consumer of brats.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Dark ales have been consumed in America since Colonial times, while light-colored German lager was a mid-19th-century arrival. The beer hall did not become established in the United States until the arrival of German immigrants in the mid-19th century. Taverns were generally seen as rough places with an exclusively male clientele.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: The beer hall, on the other hand, was in German culture views as a place where working-class families drank and ate together in groups at large tables. It was well-lit and served traditional fare like sausages, "sauerbraten", "rollmops", sauerkraut and pickled herring. Beer halls continued in the Midwest after Prohibition. German potato salad and the potato dumplings commonly served in local pubs in present times.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: The origin of "fast food" is uncertain, but one possibility is a hamburger stand that was founded by Walter Anderson in Wichita, Kansas. Known today as White Castle, the fast-food chain began to spread throughout the Midwest, offering a simple menu with hamburgers, Coca-Cola and coffee. By the 1920s White Castle had become a nationally recognized chain, and until the 1940s White Castle-style architecture was standard for fast-food hamburger outlets throughout the United States. Other local burger chains include Winstead's, Max & Erma's and Schoop's Hamburgers.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Cities like New York did not want fast food to compete with local establishments, but the expansion of suburbs in the 1950s allowed fast-food franchises to grow into areas that lacked restaurants. The popularity of Midwestern fast food like the iconic pizza and burgers started as a rejection of the drive-in model. "Car hops" were replaced by the franchise model, including McDonald's, Wendy's, Domino's and Pizza Hut. (McDonald's was originally founded in California in 1940, but purchased by Ray Kroc and moved to Des Plaines, Illinois in 1955.) The growth of these franchises was bolstered by the development of interstate roads through the Midwest.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Several restaurant chains have roots in the Minneapolis-St.Paul area, including Famous Dave's, and the now defunct Chi-Chi's and Buca di Beppo, which was started out of a small Minneapolis basement in 1993. Portillo's Restaurants is another Midwestern fast-food chain known for its hot dogs. Lion's Choice is best known for its roast beef sandwiches. The chain is based mostly in Missouri, with locations in Kansas and Illinois. Wisconsin chain Culver's is known for its frozen custard and root beer. Culver's has been recognized for their use of local dairy products like cheese and butter. Happy Joe's is known for its taco pizza and has restaurants in several Midwestern states. Other notable chains include Harold's Chicken Shack, Skyline Chili, Spangles, Big John Steak & Onion, Graeter's, Maid-Rite and Cousins Subs.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Pizzerias serving deep-dish pizza include Gino's East, Giordano's Pizzeria and Buddy's Pizza, though the latter only has stores in Michigan. Papa John's started by selling pizzas out of a Jeffersonville, Indiana pub.


title: Cuisine of the Midwestern United States

text: Ingredients commonly used in the Midwestern states include beef, pork, potatoes and corn. While not all exclusive to the Midwest, these dishes are typical of Midwestern foods, and often feature uniquely Midwestern preparation styles.


title: Cellulose fiber

text: Cellulose fibers () are fibers made with ethers or esters of cellulose, which can be obtained from the bark, wood or leaves of plants, or from other plant-based material. In addition to cellulose, the fibers may also contain hemicellulose and lignin, with different percentages of these components altering the mechanical properties of the fibers.


title: Cellulose fiber

text: The main applications of cellulose fibers are in the textile industry, as chemical filters, and as fiber-reinforcement composites, due to their similar properties to engineered fibers, being another option for biocomposites and polymer composites.


title: Cellulose fiber

text: Cellulose was discovered in 1838 by the French chemist Anselme Payen, who isolated it from plant matter and determined its chemical formula. Cellulose was used to produce the first successful thermoplastic polymer, celluloid, by Hyatt Manufacturing Company in 1870. Production of rayon ("artificial silk") from cellulose began in the 1890s, and cellophane was invented in 1912. In 1893, Arthur D. Little of Boston, invented yet another cellulosic product, acetate, and developed it as a film. The first commercial textile uses for acetate in fiber form were developed by the Celanese Company in 1924. Hermann Staudinger determined the polymer structure of cellulose in 1920. The compound was first chemically synthesized (without the use of any biologically derived enzymes) in 1992, by Kobayashi and Shoda.