The Best Food To Start The New Year Eating - Magazine Article

This article is from our print magazine issued January 1st 2022. To order a copy of the magazine please do so here.

New Year’s is full of superstitious ideas about ways to start your year with good luck, strong relationships and self-improvement, and this thought process is evident in historically famous foods to eat on New Year’s.

This article will focus on the best foods and dishes to start the new year eating. Since the U.S. is a cultural hodge podge where different ways of life manifest through our diverse history, we will explain foods and dishes across various heritages.

1) Grapes

Grapes are one of the most famous New Year’s foods that is associated with good luck. This tradition originated from Spain and made its way into Latin American culture as well.

According to an article by Atlas Obscura, the tradition goes that you eat one grape on each chime of the clock on New Year’s, and you must finish all of the grapes before the clock stops chiming. Each grape represents a month in the year, so pay close attention to how they taste because a sour grape could mean a sour month!

2) Pork and sauerkraut

Pork and sauerkraut is another well-known dish said to be filled with New Year’s superstition. It is originally a German and Dutch tradition that found popularity in Dutch settled Pennsylvania.

Pigs symbolize various ideas throughout the world from greediness and stubbornness and filth to good fortune and destiny. In this case, the pig, or slow roasted pork to be exact, represents progress. And to go with your good luck the Dutch added pickled cabbage (sauerkraut) to represent money.

3) Black eyed peas and collard greens

According to an article by Southern Living, this is an ancient combination of simple foods that are said to have a profound effect on your upcoming year. It’s a Southern tradition that originated from Africa and is still popular throughout the American Southeast.

Black eyed peas are commonly eaten throughout the year and are staples in many Southern dishes, but they have always been thought of as a superfood that holds cryptic but powerful mysticism in the form of good luck. Collard greens are also a staple in Southern food, and of course they represent all that green money you’ll be getting in the new year.

4) Vasilopita cake

The vasilopita cake originates from Greece, and it is a round cake made simply with milk, eggs, butter, flour and sugar. It may not be as well known, but it plays a critical role in Greek households and Greek cuisine all over the world.

The tradition begins with the round shape of the cake that represents coins/money. After the cake is baked you are supposed to slip a coin in somewhere randomly, and the person who gets the coin in their slice is said to have good luck for the whole year.

Check out this vasilopita cake recipe.

5) Buñuelos

Buñuelos are traditionally popular in Oaxaca, Mexico, but they have since made their way into other Mexican and American cultures. They are crispy pastries usually drizzled with syrup or finished off with cinnamon or sugar on top.

The tradition goes that on New Year’s Day you eat your buñuelo, preferably on a ceramic plate, then smash your plate on a wall. It symbolizes leaving your past behind you and looking to the future with no distractions. The perfect way to start off the new year!

Here is a great recipe if you want to try your hand at making some buñuelos.

6) Lentils

Lentils are beloved around the world, the main ingredient in many soups and dishes and are also thought to be a good luck charm. They are popular in Italy but have since gained notoriety around South America, specifically Venezuela.

According to an article by Venezuelan Cooking, eating lentils on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day will bring a year of good fortune and wealth. They can be prepared in a soup or simply by eating a spoonful of dry lentils on the 12th chime at midnight. Venezuelan tradition also goes on to say that you can pass the good luck by giving friends and family a bag of lentils on New Year’s.

While so much of the world is based on logic and reasoning we often forget that we have age long traditions that no one can explain anymore. These foods and dishes are living proof that the world might not be as complicated as we think, and luck and prosperity can be created by yourself with no reasoning behind it. As you prepare your New Year’s resolutions for 2022 don’t forget to include some of these mystical foods to start your year off right. Another fabulous meal to share with you wonderful people. Happy Eating.

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Content writer for this article is Quintin Mills

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