Cuba - Foods 2009

Portugal - Portuguese Cuisine 1996

Portugal - Portuguese Cuisine 1997

Croatia - Europa, Gastronomy 2005

Date of issue: 09 May 2005

Value: 3,5 Croatian Kuna

Author: Orsat Franković, Ivana Vučić, dizajneri iz Zagreba.

Size: 35,50 x 29,82 mm

Paper: white 102g, gummed

Perforation: 14, comb

Technique: Multicolor Offset Printing

Printed by: "Zrinski" - Čakovec

Quantity: 300000

A sketch on bread and wine If we were to make up a most inadequate list of wines and bread, every conversation covering such a small space would remain a mere catchword, If, on the other hand, we were to emphasize their deeper hidden meanings, in various parts of the world, in different civilizations, religions or simply in human history, the task would turn out to be impossible. In this case, along with a brilliant erudition one would almost need an encyclopaedia! The entry ‘bread’ in the lexicon states the following: “known from times immemorial as the well-known fundamental food of many peoples, made by baking dough from cereal flour and water, with the addition of leaven and salt”. In the same lexicon the entry on wine states “wine is a drink made by alcoholic fermentation of unfermented grape-juice. According to colour wines can be divided into white, rosé and red.” This is the most basic division in the framework of which there is a profusion and uncountable number of classifications and meanings to be found. Bread and wine are the two most important things in man’s life. The culture of cultivating cereal crops and the making of wine has grown from the needs of everyday life to cult and mystery. This is why bread and wine can be called victuals but also symbols full of mystical and symbolic meanings. Their spiritual communion is the foundation of the Eucharist, i.e. the sacrament of the sacrifice of the Lord’s body and blood. This is the reason that both bread and wine used to be divided, particularly in the Middle Ages, into the sacral and profane. If bread should be taken as the symbol of Jesus Christ’s body and his sacrifice, a loaf of bread is the attribute of Saint Dominic (with a snake it is also the attribute of Saint Benedict, while small loaves are symbols of Mary of Egypt, etc.). One should not completely disregard the fact that a dog took a loaf of bread to Saint Rock into the wilderness where God’s gift, the manna, fell from heaven. According to the Hebraic tradition leavened bread is a sin, and unleavened bread is used as ritual bread. Bread “must be baked from wheat flour and that means body, while wine as blood means the soul” (C.G.Jung, Psychology of Alchemy, p.320). Where would the story of bread and wine take us? Only the listing of their sorts, their tastes or colours, ways of their preparation and ingredients would endanger any effort that seeks to preserve and stay within the anticipated frame. It is the basic food both of the rich and the poor that puts the wealth and poverty on the same level and actually gives certain precedence to the poor. How come? While the poor feed on dark, brown, simpler and poorer but to all appearances wholesome bread, the rich eat “blindingly white” and presumably unwholesome bread. Enjoyment of food, particularly wine, recognizes moderation but also exaggeration, real bacchanalia and feasts where temperance and common sense were not highly appreciated. “Only no water” says an inscription on a Dionysian temple (1). This is supported by Jesus’ first miracle in Cana in Galilee but also the “sober intoxicating quality of wine” referred to by Saint Augustine. The Old Testament sages considered wine to be a liar. The Hebrews used to offer it to their enemies, there are some who sing praise to it (the Greeks), others consider it a mortal temptation, others yet think it is the “mirror of the soul” (Alcheius). Those who, since time immemorial, consider it to be the friend of truth actually sow the seeds of the later Latin proverb In vino veritas – or in a simpler, more sincere translation this means ‘what to say when drunk is what you think when sober’. Drinking wine according to this proverb means pave the way to sincerity and veracity. There is an underlying thought that sober persons worry too much about what they say, applying tactics, expressing themselves diplomatically and carefully (so you do not know what they think), while persons who have had a glass or two of wine are an open book. This sincerity is at its best the consequence of good wine. Along with good wine goes veracity, while after having imbibed bad wine one can only lie or talk incoherently. This is best expressed by Béla Hamvas who recognizes hybrid grapes as those from which you can only make reeking wine made by the devil himself. According to Hamvas it is the “drink of puritans, pious persons, spinsters, bachelors, predatory persons, misers, envious persons and mean bastards”. Differentiating between religious and atheist grapes, Hamvas mentions that “the devil envied the Lord’s art of making wine and decided to make wine himself”. There is an entire oenologist collection of newspapers and journals and library, symbolism and metaphors about bread, and particularly about wine. The book Philosophy of wine (Ceres, Zagreb 1993) is possibly the best book about wine (and bread), a small, concise catechism of the culture of drinking (how to drink, when, with whom, before or after which meal to drink, etc.), not as an instruction and catalogue of suggestions and expertise, but as a sign of corporeal and spiritual health. This work of a wise man and connoisseur also found a place for the social categorization of wine. So, for instance, he quotes wines for gala dances, engagements, weddings, ... for all the life’s events and awkward situations, the wine from Somlos is the “loners’ wine”, while the one from Kiskörös “suffers no loneliness”. Drink or victual? For Hamvas, wine likes to accompany fish which is “the wine’s best side dish”. The dilemma is a false one. For a clever person wine is food and a way to reach into one’s own soul. A clever person drinks in order to find oneself; an intemperate person drinks to lose oneself. (1) Dionysus is the son of Zeus and Semele, the Greek god of intoxication, vine and enjoyment, the friend and muse, a symbol of insobriety and unrestricted love. There are many festivals held in his honour, like the Dionysia, but also orgies and drunken feasts.

3.50 Croatian Kuna - EUROPA – GASTRONOMY - BREAD

Bread and wine are the two most important things in man’s life. The culture of cultivating cereal crops and the making of wine has grown from the needs of everyday life to cult and mystery.

3.50 Croatian Kuna - EUROPA – GASTRONOMY - WINE

The entry ‘bread’ in the lexicon states the following: “known from times immemorial as the well-known fundamental food of many peoples, made by baking dough from cereal flour and water, with the addition of leaven and salt”. In the same lexicon the entry on wine states “wine is a drink made by alcoholic fermentation of unfermented grape-juice.

Greenland - Europa, Gastronomy 2005

Country/ Post: Greenland
Date of Issue: 17 January 2005
Primary theme: EUROPA
Subject: EUROPA - Gastronomy
Width: 28.5 mm
Height: 40.0 mm
Denomination: 11.75 DKK
Number in set: 1
Layout/Format: Sheet of 40
Perforations: 13 by 13
Stamp issuing authority: POST Greenland
Printer: POST Danmark

11.75 Danish Krone - Musk Ox Meat

Greenlandic Gastronomy:

Greenlandic foodstuffs are very popular, both in and outside Greenland. Many immediately associate foodstuffs from our outstretched land in the north with excellent seafood. In fact Greenlandic gastronomy is much more and something else than just savoury fish dishes or delicate shrimps of the brand »Royal Greenland«, of which Rune Collin is an exponent. Rune is joint owner and chef of the Restaurant Nipisa, one of the leading restaurants in Nuuk. Rune’s wife, Gitte, makes up the other half of the restaurateur couple. Rune Collin was born and grew up in Nuuk, but at the age of 12 he moved to Denmark. In 1991 he started an apprenticeship as a cook. In 1997 Rune and Gitte moved to Nuuk. By August 1999, after only two years, the couple were able to hold their opening reception at Nipisa, and it has been a huge success ever since. Below Rune elaborates on what is so special about Greenlandic gastronomy:

Up here nature itself is an eternal source of inspiration to us; we live in a huge country which at first glance seems inaccessible and harsh. But at a closer look nature offers infinite resources and possibilities. Reindeer, musk ox, ptarmigan, hare, lamb are some of the ingredients we most often work with. We experiment with compositions, often with some of the things we can find in the mountains: Thyme (tupaanat), juniper berries, mushrooms, harebells, blueberries, crowberries and much more. The possibilities are enormous, and this is only what we find on land. At sea we have just as great possibilities. Greenlandic raw materials constitute the basis, and our whole concept is built up around it. We like to work with and emphasise the pure taste of the individual raw material; style and preparation are very conventional and inspired by French gastronomy. Our cuisine is commonly known as »the Greenlandic fusion cuisine«, probably because we like to use Greenlandic raw materials together with things like truffles, foie gras, various hams etc.

Over the years we have participated in numerous projects, the purpose of which was to spread the knowledge of Greenlandic gastronomy, and we won the Greenlandic championships for professional chefs in 2002 and 2003.

Madeira - Europa, Gastronomy 2005

Country/ Post: Madeira
Date of Issue: 05 May 2005
Primary theme: EUROPA, Agriculture &Food (Food & Cooking)
Subject: EUROPA 2005 - Gastronomy
Width: 40.0 mm
Height: 30.0 mm
Denomination: 0.57 €
Number in set: 2 (show set)
Layout/Format: Sheet of 50; Miniature Sheet of 2
Perforations: 14 x 14.25
Stamp issuing authority: CTT Correios de Portugal SA
Printer: Joh Enschéde

0.57 Euro - Scabbard Fish Fillet

The "scabbard" is the black-skinned scabbard fish. Cut into portions and season with garlic, bay, salt, and pepper, adding, after a while, tomato and vinegar. After marinating for long enough, the pieces are dipped in flour and friend in olive oil. Drain well after frying. Take the frying pan off the heat and add the marinade to the olive oil used to fry the fish. Then back to the heat until it boils. Strain the sauce and pour over the fish. Accompany with boiled potatoes or fried corncakes.

Azores - Europa, Gastronomy 2005

Country/ Post: Azores
Date of Issue: 05 May 2005
Primary theme: EUROPA, Agriculture & Food (Food & Cooking)
Subject: EUROPA 2005 - Gastronomy
Width: 40.0 mm
Height: 30.0 mm
Denomination: 0.57 €
Number in set: 2 (show set); Miniature Sheet of 2
Layout/Format: Sheet of 50
Perforations: 14 x 14.25
Stamp issuing authority: CTT Correios de Portugal SA
Printer: Joh Enschéde

0.57 Euro - Stewed Octopus

Take an octopus and "thrash' it well (using a round stick on a flat surface), then wash and drain it.  Next, cut it into chunks put it to heat in a pain with a little olive oil, to cook slowly just in its own juices, stirring from time to time to prevent sticking.

Fry some onion in plenty of olive oil with garlic, bay, ground chilli paste and parsley.  When the this sauce is nicely cooked, add the octopus and the cooking juices.  When tender, gradually pour over light red wine.  The final seasoning is the salt.  If required, you can add cubed potatoes to the pan before the octopus is done.

Portugal - Europa, Gastronomy 2005

Country/ Post: Portugal
Date of Issue: 05 May 2005
Primary theme: EUROPA, Agriculture & Food (Food & Cooking)
Subject: EUROPA 2005 - Gastronomy
Width: 40.0 mm
Height: 30.0 mm
Denomination: 0.57 €
Number in set: 2 (show set); Miniature Sheet of 2
Layout/Format: Sheet of 50
Perforations: 14 x 14.25
Stamp issuing authority: CTT Correios de Portugal SA
Printer: Joh Enschéde

0.57 Euro - Baked Dried Cod with Baked Potatoes

Leave the cod to soak overnight, changing the water, then remove and dry. Next, charcoal grill the cod. When cooked, flake the fish and dip the flakes in olive oil heated with garlic and black pepper.

Choose potatoes of the same size, wash them and roll in coarse salt, then bake in the oven. When half cooked punch the potatoes to squash them a little. You can also bake some onions, with the skin on, which is removed when cooked.

This dish will be all the richer if accompanied by strips of charcoal-grilled green peppers.

Croatia - Croatian Gastronomy 2012

Issued on 02 July 2012 
Value: 4.6 Croatian Kuna
Author: Damir Fabijanic, Fotograf iz Zagreba
Size: 29,82mm x 35,50mm
Paper: White, 102g, gummed (selfadhesive: white, wood-free, 181g)
Perforation: Decorative Perforation
Technique: Multicolor Offset Printing
Printed by: "Zrinski" Cakovec
Quantity: 40000

4.6 Croatian Kuna - CROATIAN GASTRONOMY - SPIDER CRAB

Inside the shield of the spider crab there rests tender white pulp of extreme structure and exquisite taste, which is the reason why the spider crab is by many considered as the most tasty crab, especially in winter and early spring months when its size and taste are optimal.

Spider Crab (Lat. Maja squinado) In the group of arthropods, in a huge family of crabs, the spider crab (in Croatia also called grancigula from Italian granseola) has a special place. Protected by a very hard, rough shield of spiny surface, it leaves an impression of a shielded medieval knight always ready for fighting. The spider crab is of a heart-like shape and on each side there are seven longer spines, while on the shield there is scattered tiny hair. It has got four pairs of dotty, red, long legs and in front also pincers. It can grow up to 25 cm in diameter and the biggest specimen weight up to 1.5 kg. Most often it dwells at the depth of 10-30 meters but sometimes also at the depth of more than hundred meters. It feeds on other arthropods, small fish and decayed organisms supplemented also by sea flora. At the time of coupling it migrates to shallower parts of the sea; catching spider crab is prohibited from June until November. Inside the shield of the spider crab there is a pulp of exceptional structure and exquisite taste - the reason why its tender, fibrous texture is by many considered as the most tasty crab food, especially in winter and in early spring months when its size and taste are optimal. It is most often found off the west coast of Istria and in Kvarner Bay; it is caught by special gillnets and drift nets. It can also be caught by divers who simply catch it by hand while it slowly moves along sea floor. The female spider crab is considered more tasty, especially when full of roe. The spider crab is cooked for about fifteen minutes in water, with the shield facing up and its jointed legs tied. When cooked and left to get cold it is cut on the lower side of the shield, the meat is taken out by a fork, also the meat from the legs, and the roe it taken out by a small spoon. It is served in the simplest way - on salad – seasoned with olive oil, salt, pepper, lemon juice and parsley. Some of the recipes also allow (according to taste) adding of stone leek and the most spectacular way of serving spider crab is on salad and in its own shield. It is also excellent when prepared with pasta and with just a small quantity of tomato sauce so that it does not prevent sensing the refined taste of crab meat. According to a traditional recipe from Šibenik the crab meat can be put into a pan with several slices of fried onion and some bread crumbs. All is stirred, parsley and olive oil, salt and pepper are added and the spider crab is served in its reddish-pinkish shield.

4.6 Croatian Kuna - GASTRONOMY - OYSTER

Experts and gourmands agree in their view that in all gastronomic spectrum, including the best known sea titbits nothing can compare with the delicacy of the taste of raw oyster sprinkled with some drops of home-grown lemon

Oyster (Lat. Ostrea edulis) When an expert with a knowing grip and just one precisely measured hand movement opens an oyster from Ston, lays it on a bed of smashed ice and then in a couple of minutes fills the whole tray decorated with lemon with these raw sea delicacies in stone shell, everything is ready for a gastronomic ritual unique on world scale. This is because the Ostrea edulis, a rarity sort of oyster from Stone, that in its silky texture appears nude in front of the excited consumer, is extinct in other areas and survives only in Morocco and in the Bay of Mali Ston, Croatia. The talk is here about a world gastronomic phenomenon of unique taste - an oyster achieving its full size and richness of taste in the time of winter-to-spring transition period. Because of its biodynamic characteristics the Bay of Mali Ston has been declared a zone A or sea with the highest level of cleanliness and the oyster from Mali Ston is by its quality unmatched with its ocean kin. Experts and gourmands agree in their view that in all gastronomic spectrum, including the best known sea titbits nothing can compare with the delicacy of the taste of raw oyster sprinkled with some drops of home-grown lemon and - which is of no less importance – consumed in the vicinity of its natural source, in the opulence of the ambience of the Croatian south littoral. The Bay of Mali Ston is exposed to the influence of the river Neretva, the mixing of salty sea and fresh-water of the river, strong currents, high and low tides, all of which favour the breeding of sea shells of exceptional quality. The enthusiasts and lovers of Stone oysters served in the most natural way are aware that they enjoy the unique natural treasure that only the well-balanced co-existence of sea and fresh-water can offer. Maybe sometimes we are even not aware that such gastronomic rarity is not available to milliards of people, that the oyster from Ston would be sufficient for gastronomic branding of the whole Adriatic and that by its consuming our senses experience highest delights. One experienced grip, a drop of lemon-juice and the ritual can start. I am not quite sure whether it is better to say that the oyster is eaten or still „ drank“, or slurped from its stone shell, but I believe that at that moment the essence of the best from the Adriatic sea is transfused into our organism.

4.6 Croatian Kuna - CROATIAN GASTRONOMY - OCTOPUS

Octopus has passed a long way from a national, almost poor-people's food to the high-quality delicacy dish offered in many restaurants alongside with white fish and other sea delicacies, approaching them also in price

Octopus (Lat. Octopus vulgaris) Octopus has passed a long way from a national, almost poor-people’s food to the high-quality delicacy dish offered in many restaurants alongside with white fish and other sea delicacies, approaching them also in price. This mollusc with eight tentacles with round suckers that the Dalmatian people call “botuni” (buttons) owes its way into high society to its always smaller catch but also to many inventive recipes for its preparation and to its always more appreciated taste in combination with other tastes. Somewhat bigger octopuses, regularly those that weight more than 1 kg should be made softer according to ancient custom by battering it 99 times against rock or with meat beater. It is also recommended to put it for several days into fridge so that its generally tough structure would soften, which is very convenient for the restaurant owner who thus can always have it in frozen condition independent of the daily offer in the market or conditions at sea. Octopus lives on stony sea floor, hiding itself in openings which it closes with flat stones in order to protect itself from the assault of sea predators. It is most easy to catch it when it leaves its shelter in search for food and ends as prey of knowing fishermen armed with gaffs and underwater fishing gun or in their fishing nets. It is prepared in a simple way and in different manners. Cleaned octopus is put in cold, salted water with head facing the bottom of the dish into which - for faster cooking and softening many people put two corks. When the skin detaches from the body, we can test whether it is cooked or still though by punching it with fork. The octopus is in principle cooked after about twenty minutes to half an hour and for the simplest dish – octopus on salad – it is necessary to first cut it into slices and then season it with olive oil or vinegar or - at wish - balsamic vinegar. To salad also capers, pepper and at wish stone leek or onion, or instead of onion also chives are added. Often, potato is added cut in pieces or slices. Octopus can also be prepared with young fava beans and pasta so that the cooked octopus cut in slices is shortly stewed on onion together with cooked fava beans and pasta. Recently very popular is octopus backed under the bell with potatoes and seasoned with rosemary and laurel. The melting of these foods results in an excellent taste of the dish. Octopus - once common people’s dish – has thus turned into a widely accepted sea titbit and an important part of restaurant offer, from entree to the main dish.

4.6 Croatian Kuna - GASTRONOMY - GILTHEAD SEA BREAM

Gilthead sea bream grows up to the weight of 10 kg and like other „fish of stone“ that mostly dwell in deeper sea, counts among the best fish titbits and is sold at high price in markets.

Gilthead Sea Bream (Lat. Sparus aurata) Gilthead sea bream is among the most appreciated Adriatic white fish. In local dialect it is also called different other names: komarča, lovrata and podlanica. Bigger gilthead sea breams have strong jaws and sharp front predator‘s teeth while the second row of teeth consists of „crusher“ teeth (molars) apt for most though morsels. During recent years gilthead sea bream has been causing a lot of damage in the bay of Mali Ston, devastating oysters: the leader of the shawl crushes shells threaded on a string and the rest of the shawl collects the remains and feeds on meat of oysters and mussels. Gilthead sea bream grows up to the weight of 10 kg and like other „fish of stone“ that mostly dwell in deeper sea, counts among the best fish titbits and reaches high price in markets. Together with dentex, grooper, John Dory (the fish of St. Peter/St. Pierre), sea bass, sole, greater amberjack and other “excellencies” of the Adriatic underwater, gilthead sea bream is prepared in two basic ways: cooked (in Dalmatian dialect: “na lešo”) or grilled in open air or in oven. The way of preparing depends mostly on the weight of the fish and the lovers of this fish appreciate it most when it weight less than 1 kg. Special delicacy is the head of the gilthead sea bream, regularly served to food experts. In order to prepare the larger gilthead sea bream in one piece on grill, a lot of skill and experience is needed. Sometimes a bigger fish of more than several kilograms is cut at its length into two halves and then the halves are grilled on slow fire in order to be put together and served as fish grilled in one piece. It is important that gilthead sea bream is grilled on highly caloric holm-oak wood of special fragrance that ennobles the fish during grilling; preparation procedure ends with olive oil seasoning. Any fish served with olive oil poured over it and mixed together with finely-cut garlic and parsley is considered a gastronomic indecency and it is a very unapt way to hide that the fish is not sufficiently fresh. Although it is not wise to play with superlatives, for the Adriatic wild gilthead sea bream one can easily conclude that it is in the mere top of the world gastronomy; anyone who has ever tasted ocean fish from warmer seas with sandy bottoms, seasoned with all kinds of oils and dressings, can attest to it. It is important to bear in mind that the gilthead sea bream is in our country widely available, since together with dentex it is also offered in the market as bread species of solid quality. Still, for those who can tell the key difference in quality between the wild and bred gilthead sea bream, skilled cooks will find a witty solution to that problem in their ingenious dish preparation. Bred filleted gilthead sea bream e.g. on the bed of lentil and with fennel foam can be turned into a titbit that will satisfy even the most sensitive palate.

North Korea - National Korean Foods 2007

Issued on 05 November 2007

12 North Korean Won - Potato Glutinous Rica Cake
50 North Korean Won - Yongchae Kimchi
70 North Korean Won - Fermented Flatfish
110 North Korean Won - Frozen Potato Cake

North Korea - National Korean Foods 2006

Issued on 12 August 2006

3 North Korean Won - Wrapped-up Kimchi
12 North Korean Won - Umegi
130 North Korean Won - Rice Cake dumpling Covered with Bean Pasta
200 North Korean Won - Sweet Rice Dish

North Korea - National Korean Dishes 2003

Issued on 01 May 2003

3 North Korean Won - Glutinous Rice Cake
30 North Korean Won - Thong Kimchi
70 North Korean Won - Sinsollo
120 North Korean Won - Pyongyang Cold Noodle

South Korea - Korean Cuisine 2001

Issued on 15 June 2001

170 South Korean Won - Baechu Kimchi
170 South Korean Won - Bossam Kimchi
170 South Korean Won - Dongchimi
170 South Korean Won - Kkakdugi

South Korea - Korean Cuisine 2002

Issued on 15 June 2002

190 South Korean Won - Jeolpyeon (blue background)
190 South Korean Won - Shirutteok (red background)
190 South Korean Won - Injeolmi (tan background)
190 South Korean Won - Songpyeon (green background)

South Korea - Korean Cuisine 2003

Issued on 13 June 2003

190 South Korean Won - Yakgwa
190 South Korean Won - Yeot Gangjeong
190 South Korean Won - Yugwa
190 South Korean Won - Dasik

South Korea - Korean Cuisine 2004

Issued on 15 June 2004

190 South Korean Won - Sinseollo (blue background)
190 South Korean Won - Hwayangjeok (green background)
190 South Korean Won - Bibimbap (pink background)
190 South Korean Won - Gujeolpan (orange background)

South Korea - Korean Cuisine 2005

Issued on 15 June 2005

220 South Korean Won - Neobani (Broiled Beef)
220 South Korean Won - Bindaetteok (Fried Ground Mung Beans)
220 South Korean Won - Jeongol (Stew)
220 South Korean Won - Hwajeon (Fried Rice Cakes and Flower Petals)

Tunisia - Meals of Tunisia 2009

Country / Post: Tunisia

Date of Issue: 26 December 2009

Primary theme: Agriculture & Food (Food & Cooking) 

Subject: Tunisian Cooking

Width: 36.0 mm

Height: 36.0 mm

Denomination: 1.00 TND 

Number in set: 4 (show set)

Layout/Format: sheet of 35

Perforations: 13.5 by 13.5

Stamp issuing authority: Office National des Postes Tunisie

Printer: Imprimerie des timbres-poste de la Tunisie

As part of its contribution to making better known the diversity of the Tunisian tourism product, the Tunisian Post has issued a set of four stamps dedicated to the culinary tradition.

This initiative focuses on four national meals: 

250 Tunisian Dinars - Tagine

Tagine consists mainly of eggs, cheese, and minced meat to which seasonings are added.

700 Tunisian Dinars - Mechouia Salad

Mechouia salad consists of roasted vegetables (green peppers, tomatoes, onions and garlic), then skinned and roughly chopped. The dish is served with slices of boiled eggs, chunks of tuna and capers, and seasoned with olive oil.

1000 Tunisian Dinars - Grilled Fish 

Grilled fish is seasoned with condiments, brushed with oil and roasted. It is served with lemon slices and accompanied with “tastira” (fried or steamed vegetables seasoned with condiments) or green salad.

1100 Tunisian Dinars - Couscous with Meat

Couscous, the most popular among these dishes, is made of semolina steamed and basted with a sauce made mainly with meat, vegetables and chickpeas.

Curacao - Food Series, Cakes 2011

Technical data:

Date of Issue: 11 September 2011

Issue: Food Series - Cakes

Designer: Richmond Gijsbertha

Face Value: 63 Cent, 81 Cent, 112 Cent, 145 Cent, 166 Cent, 172 Cent, 195 Cent, 285 Cent, 405 Cent, 630 Cent.

Size of Stamps: 36mm x 25mm

Size of Image: 33mm x 22mm

Perforation of Stamps: 13 1/4 x 12 3/4

Printing: Offset Coated Stamp Paper No Watermark

Printer: Johan Enschede Stamps Security Printers, Haarlem, The Netherlands

Cakes represent a very special food-item, that is served mostly during special occasions, family and friends gatherings, weddings, birthdays, graduations and anniversaries. In honor of those happy moments, Nieuwe Post is presenting an issue of 10 stamps depicting several kinds of cakes. The history of cakes dates back to ancient times. The first cakes were very different from what we have today. The first modern cakes (round ones with icing) were first baked in Europe in the mid-17th century.

63 Cent - Almond Cake

This moist-textured cake is best the day after it is made. Served with whipped cream or fruit, perhaps a berry compote, it also goes perfectly with fruits and berries or chocolate frosting. Its is an easy recipe for a classic cake.

81 Cent - Apple Pie

An apple pie is a fruit pie (or tart) of which the principal filling ingredient is apples. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, apple pie became a symbol of American prosperity and national pride.

112 Cent - Blueberry Pancake

A pancake is a thin, flat, round cake prepared from a batter, and cooked on a hot griddle or in a frying pan. Most pancakes are quick breads; some are yeast-raised or fermented. Archaeological evidence suggests that varieties of pancakes are probably the earliest and most widespread types of cereal food eaten in prehistoric societies.

145 Cent - Broken Glass Cake (Crown Jewel Cake)

Its not really a "cake" but a great colorful dessert. It is also called "Crown Jewel Cake". This cake is based on a recipe that ran on the back of Jello boxes during the late 1950's. Long gone are the days when Crown Jewel Cake (a.k.a Broken Glass Cake) was made with powdered, processed, dream whip. The hydrogenated stuff has since been replaced with real cream, which makes it much tastier.

166 Cent - Lemon Cake

A lemon cake is sweet and buttery with a moist yet dense texture. This cake is similar to a pound cake and as its name implies, it has a tangy lemon flavor that comes from adding both lemon zest and lemon juice to the cake. The lemon flavor is also found in the lemon flavoured frosting, made with confectioners sugar and lemon juice, that dries to a hard and crusty glaze. A lovely cake to serve in the afternoon with a hot cup of tea. Making friends and influencing people can usually be best achieved by sharing a slice of the moist and refreshing cake.

172 Cent - Polenta Cake (Bola di Funchi)

Polenta is made with a type of flour, boiled cornmeal paste. Polenta looks like mashed potatoes nut yellowish generally heavy and hearty. In Curacao main dishes such as fried fish, stewed goat, okra and cactus stew are served with polenta cake, "funchi" in our native language. Polenta with beans and sugar becomes also one of our traditional, flavourful and sweet side dish called "Tutu".

195 Cent - Chocolate Cake

Chocolate cake is a cake flavoured with melted chocolate or cocoa powder. The history of chocolate cake goes back to 1764, when Dr.James Baker discovered how to make chocolate by grinding cocoa beans between two massive circular millstones. In 1828, Conrad Van Houten of the Netherlands developed a mechanical extration method for extracting the fat from cacao, a liquor resulting in cacao butter and the partly defatted cacao, a compacted mass of solids that could be sold as it was "rock cacao" or ground into powder. Most popular variants of chocolate cakes are: Chocolate Layer Cake, Black Forrest Cake and Devils Food Cake.

285 Cent - Fruit Cake

In the 16th century, it was discovered that fruit could be preserved by soaking it in successively greater concentrations of sugar, intensifying color and flavor. Having so much sugar-laced fruit engendered the need to dispose of it in some way - thus the fruitcake. By the early 19th century, the typical recipe was heavy as lead woth citrus peel, pinneapples, plums, dates, pears, nuts, and cherries. The expression "nutty as a fruitcake" was coined in 1935.

405 Cent - Cheese Cake

Cheesecake is a dessert consisting of a topping made of soft, fresh cheese, usually on a crust or base made from biscuit, pastry or sponge cake. They may be baked or unbaked. Cheesecake are frequently sweetened with sugar and may be flavoured or topped with fruits, nuts, fruit sauce and/or chocolate. The earliest attested mention of a cheesecake is by the Greek physician Aegimus in 2000 BC. Later on in 1992, James Kraft invented a form of this cream cheese, but pasteurized it; this is now the most commonly used cheese for cheesecake. Cheesecake is a food rich in history, culture, tradition and ceremony. It is not the invention of a single person but a result of culinary evolution.

630 Cent - Pumpkin Cake

The name pumpkin originated from the Greek word for "large melon" which is "Pepon". :Pepon" was changed by the French into "Pompon". The English termed it "Pumpion" or "Pompion". Pumpkin cake is very moist and delicious cake served during two of the more important American celebrations Halloween and Thanksgiving.

Curacao - December Stamps 2011

Technical Data:
Date of Issue: 11 November 2011
Issue: December Stamps
Designer: Randy Maurera
Face Value of Stamps: 63c, 112c, 145c, 166c, 172c, 250c, 405c
Size of Stamps: 25mm x 36mm
Size of Image: 22mm x 33mm
Perforations of Stamps: 12 3/4 x 13 1/4
Printing: Offset coated stamp paper no watermark
Printer: Johan Enschede Stamps Security Printers, Haarlem, Te Netherlands

Like most Christians all over the world, many Curacao residents consider Christmas a joyful time of faith and they put their own unique spin on the celebration of Christ's birth.

The culture in Curacao around Christmas and New Year's season is to cook, bake, prepare dishes such as the "Bolo di Pasku", "Ayaka", "Pandushi di Pasku", "Ham di Pasku", "Salmou di Baru", "Nechi", and "Sult".

Family and friends come together during the holidays to share and eat these special food.

Nieuwe Post is proud to share with you in this 7 stamp issue, a piece of Curacao holiday culinary culture.

We also want to wish you in our native language Papiamentu "Bon Pasku i Felis Ana Nobo" - Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

63 Cent - "Bolo di Pasku"
Translated it menas christmas cake, it is a dark fruit cake.

112 Cent - "Ayaka"
Chicken tamales wrapped in banana leaves.

145 Cent - "Pandushi di Pasku"
Sweet Rolls (raisin bread filled with almond paste).

166 Cent - "Ham di Pasku"
Holiday baked ham.

172 Cent - "Salmou di Baru"
Salted, dried salmon, pickled in vinegar and onions.

250 Cent - "Nechi"
Nuts.

405 Cent - "Sult"
Pickled pigs ears and feet.