Reviewing Festive Dinners from Around the World

Today we're tucking in to some fantastic festive food from across the globe!
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[@OrototMaign]

I did this last year, I'm doing it again this year, and will continue to do it every year for as long as I'm financially capable (and Sorted continues to pump out great contents) Thank you for the 24 days of contents. This is a little bit of token as a thank you from me to the Sorted friends, both in front and behind the camera! Happy holidays! And I wish you, your families, and everyone reading this a joyous and festive season!

[@teresanovotny2876]

So sweet. I don't work for them obviously but Merry Christmas to you! They do make great content. 💖🎄❄️

[@redeye1016]

What a lovely and generous gift ❤ Merry Christmas!

[@CsCharlese]

Happy Holidays

[@mrbear1302]

Toot.......

[@philoctetes_wordsworth]

They deserve every single penny.🤗

[@xanithdegroot5407]

I love that I saw that first dish and instantly went "Oh hey that's American it has collars greens and beans with ham" and I was right. Never knew it was a festive dish since really its the kind of thing you can find year round served as a side dish with any kind of southern cooking. Southerners just really love their collard greens.

[@MildredCady]

I thought about Hopin John until I realized there wasn’t any rice in it.

[@Brodysseus]

I thought of it as festive as eating them on New Year's Day is a tradition in the south. Black eyed peas for luck and collard greens for financial prosperity.

[@bernieburton6520]

That first dish where I grew up in Arkansas is basically the new years day meal. You can eat it whenever, but is definitely a new years day specialty.

[@alexsis1778]

Yeah its definitely a common dish year round but my family will usually eat it at new years. Black eyed peas are supposed to give you luck and the collard greens are for wealth in the new year. The ham just makes it yummy.

[@lilykep]

New Years in the south you have all of these. We have it every year in Louisiana.

[@rosyoung1760]

Being in Australia, I love that the last Advent Video falls on my Christmas morning. Happy Holidays to everyone at Sorted.

[@mellchiril]

Merry Christmas to you

[@racca1411]

Me too but today I've been blessed with sharing breakfast and lunch with different families so I'm watching at end of Christmas Day before I head to bed 😍

[@JackieCraft98]

As a Polish Jew, I almost cried when I saw the Kugel! My first time recognizing a dish from my own culture in this series & its one of my favorites! Love this channel for so many reasons, but that seriously made my day!💛

[@WarriorHeart2024]

@JackieCraft98 God Bless Mike's neighbor Brigitta... I love Kugel, but I am not good at cooking it. Mine ends up gummy. No idea why.

[@alexsis1778]

As an American with a lot of family from the Southern US, I totally knew where that first dish was from immediately too! While we often eat the individual components more as a soup rather than in a casserole like what they made, my family usually eats it for new years. The black eyed peas are supposed to be for luck and the collard greens for wealth. The ham/bacon just makes everything taste good.

[@giraffesinc.2193]

I am an American, but Polish/Catholic. Kugel is a huge favorite in my family, and I love to make it! Happy Hanukkah and G_d bless!

[@TxVoodoo_]

I'm a Sicilian-Irish American but I grew up in a neighborhood that was half Italian, have European Jewish. We'd exchanged dishes, especially at holidays, and I have such wonderful memories of my friends' mothers kugel!

[@qcvku]

As Polish i know a lot of pasta-cottage chesse dishes (like my most conforting food is pasta with twarog/white cheese and salt) but never saw this particular variation. For sure i will search for recipe and try it - it have to be awesome

[@glasswingbutterfly]

Baz was such a good sport applauding Mike's double spot on wins. Thanks to all for the terrific content this year. Love to all at Sorted and to all who enjoy watching their videos.

[@manaownsmysoul]

Boys, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for featuring other wintertime festivals that are not Christmas!

[@lazysunset442]

As a brazilian it fills me with so much joy that the brazilian dish you guys picked is one of the most OUT THERE stuff we have to offer

[@matthew5330]

Thank you for the once again INCREDIBLE work put into these 24 days, Merry Christmas to the whole Sorted team ❤

[@swissfoodie3542]

I totally agree ! Its been such a joy and pleasure and its so wonderful, to get so much great content for free. Merry Christmas to everybody !

[@lexica510]

As an American, hearing Barry describe black eyed peas with collard greens as a "cassoulet" sent me. 😂

[@commodusamericanus6322]

As an American, seeing these guys fall for the Kwanzaa nonsense is hilarious.

[@It-b-Blair]

@@commodusamericanus6322as an American, seeing your comment makes me remember why so many nations find us rude and obnoxious.

[@femaletrouble]

Col-lahd greens. Ooh, I beg your pahdon!

[@kg4wwn]

@@commodusamericanus6322 You sound white.

[@MrKeeganimal]

​@@commodusamericanus6322 as a non American, what Kwanzaa nonsense do you mean?

[@Angel-jj4zk]

I am from the southern USA, and I grew up having black eyed peas (jingle money), collard greens (folding money), fried smoked hog jowl (good luck) and corn bread to sop up all the pot liquor. Served with a tall glass of sweet tea. Best dinner ever.

[@Lt.Commander_Data]

Grew up in the deep south as well and my mom's version was hambone + black eyed peas and rice during New Years for good luck. It's so interesting how food culture percolates through different families and ends up having so many combinations!

[@neil2796]

@@Lt.Commander_Data Our lucky New Years meal was black eyed peas (on rice) and cabbage. Another deep south person. Seeing the dish shown here, my immediate thought was I probably ate that growing up.

[@aimeem]

And nooo sugar in the cornbread. My aunt makes really good fried cornbread 😋

[@christineh14]

Eating collard greens and black-eyed peas has been a New Year’s custom in the Southern US for many generations. Collards are a fall and winter crop in the South and dried peas and beans are a winter staple.

[@amberf6275]

Also Southern, and when I saw that dish I was like "Oh, that looks like a version of hoppin john!"

[@donaldwert7137]

Black-eyed peas and collard greens, as a traditional New Years dish in the US South, predates Kwanza. However, as Mike pointed out, it's legacy goes way back in US history, so the roots likely do go back to Africa, even though the dish is eaten and relished by all races these days.

[@italiana626sc]

Yes!! Hoppin' John on New Year's Eve for good luck and collard greens for money/prosperity.

[@booyahinc]

Kwanza was made up by a communist and criminal woman beater, who was rebelling against the ‘whiteness of Christmas” (never mind that Christianity originated in the Middle east and Ethiopia.) Kwanza isn’t a holiday - it’s a troll of Christians and Christmas.

[@giraffesinc.2193]

Black eyes peas and collard greens are a MUST for New Years! May yours be bright and filled with blessings!

[@TxVoodoo_]

It's a food of the diaspora!

[@drakemandrake609]

as a joke, maybe for april fools, you should do an episode where all but one answer are the USA. Tons of diverse food scenes where there is heavy inspiration from other and far apart cultures to trick them. Then maybe throw in one random country that isnt the US for the fun of it

[@elz37]

I got the same idea. Three dishes from the same country and an odd one to throw them off

[@LtFoeHammer]

Navajo tacos, ciopinno, kālua puaʻa, then hit them with a Nanaimo bar or schmoo torte.

[@thananightshade]

This is a brilliant idea! Maybe have guess the state for extra points! Fun fact, there is more lutfisk eaten in the USA than all of Europe and its almost all in one state.

[@DancerMusicanActress]

Honestly if they did the same thing with Canada that would be hilarious

[@blippityblop2767]

Or they have to guess but they are completely made up dishes

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

14:39 Agreed with barry! Mike deserves an applause! 2 spot on in a single video?! That's amazing! 👏👏👏👏👏

[@Hydracat404]

Mike deserves a kiss on the neck. 🤣

[@enriquehirshfeltikov2395]

Awww Mike got his Christmas miracle. Merry Christmas guys. Looking forward to the next year with you all.

[@Getpojke]

Just want to say a huge thank you to all the Sorted team for another brilliant Advent calendar. Really enjoyed it. Been a great viewing year. Also the chats with other Sorted fans have kept me going, So a very Merry Christmas to you all & thank you. 🎄🎁

[@sarahr7890]

Happy Christmas to you.

[@swissfoodie3542]

I totally agree. Its such a pleasure to be a part of this great community. All the best to you as well, and Merry Christmas from Switzerland.

[@kenmarelove9176]

Lol, the way Ben is saying Collard is killing me. Mike was spot on and pronounced Kwanzaa correctly too, it's more Qua than Kwa. Merry Christmas from NY boys! xoxo

[@nixhixx]

@@kenmarelove9176 exactly!

[@JoelThomas-bf2ef]

Ben said it in such a posh way.

[@Puzzlesocks]

All true, but Kwanzaa itself is kind of a joke so who cares how it's said? As Ben said, it started out as a pet project from an activist in the 60's. Still better than so called "Juneteenth" which was an incredibly localized event pushed up to be a national holiday because of identity politics. If people want to make up traditions, go for it, but I own clothes older than and with more purpose than Kwanzaa.

[@nixhixx]

@Puzzlesocks you're a foul bigot

[@kenmarelove9176]

​@JoelThomas-bf2ef exactly and I love it, lol

[@lilibee_]

Been waiting for them to do brazilian food for so long then i see cuscuz paulista in the thumbnail and die inside 🫠 the most clowned on dish in the country, begging y’all to do mineiro or baiano cuisine now as redemption lmao

[@rafacst]

I was about to say that thank you 😂

[@lolazani]

Eu como paulista vou defender nosso cuscuz hahahahaha Um divo injustiçado

[@kuroon7553]

Minha reação: AH NÃO PRA QUE?!!?!

[@josealonsoneto]

Food from north region.

[@thgrotto]

As a Brazilian I'm ashamed...

[@pumpkin2362]

I'm Australian so this came like a Christmas present. It'll be a very quiet day on my own, so this adds some fun!! Thanks for a fantastic month!!

[@swissfoodie3542]

Is there a traditional Christmas meal in Australia, or in the part of Australia you are living in ?

[@pumpkin2362]

@swissfoodie3542 Australia is pretty multicultural (we're a baby as countries go). But as a family we would always do cold meats, cold salads and cold desserts like pavlova. No-one wants to turn on ovens if it's going to be boiling hot! Then if it's a cold Christmas, all the food is cold and that's a bit of a disappointment... What about you?

[@swissfoodie3542]

@@pumpkin2362 We have some snow in Switzerland right now, and in our family we like to have something that we call "Fondue Chinoise". Which is basically a hotpot with broth, where you cook thin slices of meats, shrimps, scallops, mushrooms and veggies for a short time, before dipping them into different sauces, made of mayo and condiments & herbs.

[@pumpkin2362]

@@swissfoodie3542 oooh that sounds delicious! And very warming and social

[@Rebecca-dm5ul]

Merry Christmas.

[@Drnaynay]

This Jewish fan is very happy seeing the kugel! Weirdly, my Jewish grandma made rice and milk using leftover cooked rice with cinnamon, as a breakfast food for us kids! Happy holidays to everyone who celebrates all the different festivals. Best wishes for a happy New Year.

[@thundercookie3214]

Milchreis! Making it with milk, cinnamon and sugar is what my grandma used to do, too. Usually as a quick and easy treat for us kids.

[@Flawi]

How curious! In Finland we have a Christmas food that translates to rice porridge; starchy rice cooked in milk and served with sugar and cinnamon! Seems very similar, we just cook it longer and perhaps with more milk than the dish in the video. Hugely popular!

[@hannahm3126]

so excited to see kugel!!! Happy Hanukkah

[@Hydracat404]

Since Jews were almost all around the world, they influenced and got influenced, especially in cuisine. I am no wondering at all, that somewhere, somehow some dishes have connections to the Jewish communities. At the time Ben dropped the "Jewish" word, I pinpointed the first time my 3 points, for several reasons: Heathy, cheesy, Jewish in heritage and Yiddish by name. All hints were clearly pointing to Poland. @Sorted Food - How about doing that game with Jewish dishes around the world. I, for one, was some time ago blown away where Jewish communities were and still are.

[@MrAndinho1]

How pointy is your nose?

[@preciliahermanto5542]

Nooo... last Christmas video... 😭😭😭 I'm so sad that I've actually been watching re-runs of the older years festive vids. Merry Christmas to all the SortedFood team! Thank you for all your hard work this year, putting up such great content. I (like many thousands of others) truly truly appreciate it ❤

[@lazyonarainyday9151]

What are you talking about? Is this not the new studio?

[@preciliahermanto5542]

@@lazyonarainyday9151 Huh? What do you mean? This is a new video, in their new studio, yes

[@TheCardinalFang]

When Mike said "you have to kiss me tenderly on the neck" I suspect there were a lot of viewers going a Hunger Games style "I volunteer"!

[@HeWhoSlayethCain]

Drop the collard greens,but black eyed peas and ham with cornbread is what my family has had every year for a new years meal. We take the ham bone left over from Christmas and cook the black eyed peas with the bone over night.

[@Getpojke]

Sounds amazingly good! 🤤

[@giraffesinc.2193]

Absolutely right, and you call your ladies ma'am. Gosh I miss the South.

[@mineebhasin1214]

I love the pink on Mike, so fresh. I have been wearing pink a lot in December , don't know why? Maybe I am rebelling something, my beliefs, my stubbornness. but yes, I got my confirmation from Mike ( Thank you Mike) that I should be listening to my heart more often..lol Have a safe, healthy and loving Winter Season and a smiling New Year . Love you all. 😇💖🙏

[@celosy]

Mike played an absolute blinder today - very well done. (I did get the US one, the others eluded me). Many thanks for this year, and please keep doing new things - even if this one little watcher isn't entirely on board with the live audience, I'm so glad you went ahead with it. That's how the channel will keep growing, developing and evolving. May the new year be very, very kind to all of you, and to every member of the team, and the community.

[@sandragoodman2059]

Happy Whichever Holidays You Celebrate to everyone: Barry, Ben, Jamie, Mike, all the Sorted staff, and all fans and supporters around the world! It has been lovely spending the year with you.

[@philoctetes_wordsworth]

Merry merry, melekalikimaka, and happy Christmas, my lovely boys.💋💋💋💋💋🎄

[@euthehiro]

Cuscuz Paulista was elected the brazilian ugliest food and It bring a lot of arguments here in Brazil, I'm paulista and love it 😋Merry Christmas everyone

[@babiji7874]

I am Polish and I have never heard of Kugel. There's still quite a few jewish recipes in Polish cuisine but this one is totally new to me and I would have never guessed it correctly, well done Mike! :D

[@creativechaosify]

I recognized the pasta/cottage cheese/cinnamon combo, having grown up on it in kindergarden in the 1980s, but wasn't aware of its Jewish origin or the name "kugel".

[@giraffesinc.2193]

It's amazing. I make a 'bland' version with no cinnamon, etc, which is an amazing foil to a brisket, roast, etc. My mouth waters just thinking about it.

[@Svartalheiim]

I'm polish and I was half listening and then I heard Mike won that round and I was like "Whaaaaat?" I've never personally heard of it but perhaps because my family isn't of Jewish descent, at least not in recent generations

[@emilywagner6354]

My mom was from Alabama, so she grew up on southern food, including collard greens and that kind of thing, and she always insisted on having black-eyed peas and ham on New Year's Day for luck. But I've never seen the dish combined like that.

[@Lt.Commander_Data]

I literally just made a comment like 5 seconds ago detailing my mom's same New Years tradition lmaoo. I had no idea that that tradition was shared with so many others, it's amazing.

[@theoriginalwaterbaby]

Same here! These foods were NEVER mixed into a casserole...😊 Really great NYear's (and any other time actually!) foods to share with family 💕🌲💕

[@swissfoodie3542]

Can you please explain to me about collard greens ? Are those basically all kinds of cabbages ? Like savoy cabbage, green cabbage, "pointed cabbage" (I dont know how to translate this from german to english - in german its spitzkohl), kale etc. ? I hope that question doesnt sound too stupid, I have just wondered for some time now about those collard greens. P.S. I think its always great to see that a tradition from a late beloved family member, is taken on. Merry Christmas from Switzerland.

[@emilywagner6354]

@@swissfoodie3542 Collard greens aren't cabbage, but they're in the same family as cabbage. The Brassica family also includes broccoli and kale. It's similar to kale, I think. (I've never knowingly eaten it, lol, so I'm not sure how the flavor compares.)

[@hirozhen7475]

@@emilywagner6354 By itself collards are a bit on the bland side. I always simmer them down with a few pieces of salt pork.

[@lkshes6946]

as a brazilian I'm upset and deeply ashamed, of all of the beautiful cousine we have here you guys chose the memiest meme of our culinary LMAO

[@drpepperofevil]

My fave gift this year has been a sorted video everyday. Much better than socks!

[@shavonwalker2550]

Good job Mike! I'd never thought you'd get the right country for black eyed peas and collard greens!

[@adamdubin1276]

Ahh Black Eyed Peas and Greens and Noodle Kugel, as an Ashkenazic Jew who grew up in the American South, you have brought back some good memories, though I don't remember Noodle Kugel being served during Hanukkah, usually we ate fried foods, especially Latkes.

[@Karoline_g]

THANK YOU. LATKES AND SUFGANIOT. NOT FLIPPING KUGEL. kugel maybe at Chanukah but more like EVERY holiday and I don’t know why this is bothering me so much but I’m complaining about it to my sister in another window.😂

[@lizchesser1914]

Yes. My first reaction was WTF​@@Karoline_g

[@m.s.6586]

@@Karoline_g Because it’s a clear sign they didn’t even truly try, or even ask a Jew. Furthermore Jewish cuisine is soooo rich they could have gone for a Jerusalem Kugel, or any of the other diaspora groups. Instead this is just helping the cement the wrong notion that Jews are european and not native to Israel.

[@FakeGuthix01]

⁠@@m.s.6586Except it's a fact that it was specifically only European Jews who made Hanukkah into a big deal, and influence from Christmas was presumably a factor in why that was the case. If you look at the traditions of Jewish diaspora elsewhere, Hannukah is not really a major celebration and was more like something only the Rabbis kept track of.

[@MrAndinho1]

​@@m.s.6586Jews aren't native to the middle east. Stealing land and committing genocide doesn't make you a native. You are vermin.

[@trinabarnes8006]

Merry Christmas from across the pond 🇦🇺🎄🎁 Santa has already been and gone here 😊

[@giraffesinc.2193]

I hope he left you lots of wonderful things!

[@rher9124]

Thank you Sorted Team for these 24 amazing days of content! Appreciate the hard work that goes into every single video of yours. Wishing you and the Sorted Fam HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

[@dr.badguyreviews6785]

Even I knew about Kwanzaa! Thanks Futurama and Kwanzaa-Bot!

[@friedrichkarle1224]

yeah i didn't want to look ignorant but that is literally where i know it from.

[@gabrieldias3479]

When I saw the thumbnail I thought "Oh, that looks a lot like cuzcuz, but... Nah! They never ever mention Brazil in this show" I'm happy to see Brazil finally being mentioned, but kinda embarrassed by the dish chosen 😂😅

[@avitalshulman2738]

Love to see Hanukkah / Jewish representation, though I’m not sure cheese noodle Kugel is really a Hanukkah specific dish - it’s more a general part of the cuisine. Hanukkah specific food is mostly fried/oil, in large part b/c the miracle commemorated by the holiday was around oil burning for 8 days instead of 1. Latkes (grated and fried potato pancakes), and donuts (specifically jelly-filled ones called sufganiyot) are more holiday specific.

[@spirit__fox]

I'd think of noodle kugel as more of a Shavuot thing because dairy. For a dairy version for Hannukah there are fried cheese pancakes but I think they aren't as common these days.

[@becks1716]

Agreed! Definitely either Shavout or, in my family at least, the High Holidays.

[@sirleebutler]

the connection between cheese and the story of judith and holofernes used to be more prominent, but kugel is definitely not what any contemporary jew thinks of as hannukah food!

[@Booyakasha5]

as an Israeli jew i can say it has nothing to do with hanuka really.. kugel is eaten all year. mostly by religious people and not in this version. the kugel here is a lot more dense and dark, because it's made on a low heat for hours and it's usually very seasoned and not cheesecakey at all. the traditional hanuka food is sufganyot, which is basically a sweet fried dough(similar to donuts without the hole) and Levivot, which is like a lightly sweet ground potato with eggs.

[@Booyakasha5]

​@@spirit__fox shavuot is the most free styled holiday when you talk about food. there no "rules". the dairy thing is 100% a tradition. mostly cheesecakes, fresh homemade cheeses and basically everything you can put cheese in/on/on the side lol we use to call it the diarrhea holiday when we were kids 😂 dairy overdose lol

[@alexdavis5766]

Merry Christmas Sorted Team! Thanks for another year of amazing videos!

[@jacobrich7785]

Noodle kugel is one of favorites! And my mom usually made it for any large family gathering not only Hanukkah 😊

[@laurahubbard6906]

Noodle kugel-both sweet and savory versions-were a mainstay in our house. Definitely not an official Chanukah food.

[@beatriceojea]

after 3 decades of seeing it every year I can say that putting the lid back on is the right reaction to cuscuz paulista

[@EverlastingTorr]

DOUBLE BULLY?! Merry Christmas to Mike!

[@princess84r]

The way Ben is saying Collard Greens is making my Christmas Eve even better. I say this in a respectful way. Happy Holidays!!

[@elarpea4102]

Black-eyed peas with collard greens and ham hocks is a popular New Year's Day dinner in the south (that I prepare every year for my family). I think the peas represent pennies and the greens represent paper money, with the ham for flavoring.

[@martynaszczepanska3841]

I'm Polish and I got so surprised seeing a sweet kugel! My grandpa, who generally didn't cook at all, used to make potato kugel with onion and bacon. You should try it! And Happy Holidays to everyone 🥰

[@JaySay]

Merry Christmas Eve, guys!🎄 HUGE thanks once again for this advent calendar of videos yinz put out for us. It's always a bright spot for people to look forward to, and it's greatly appreciated & loved!❤ Hope each of yinz have a wonderful holiday, and a fantastic New Years! Love you guys, and take care!❤🤙

[@chriswhite4999]

The way he pronounces collard!! Love it! 😂😂😂😂

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

This Years advent month was amazing guys! Thanks!❤

[@AaKkisa]

As a Jewish New Yorker, I’m proud that I got the USA and Poland right.

[@Karoline_g]

This Jewish New Yorker got USA and Hungary. 😂. Close enough. But maybe you’ll appreciate - I’m currently complaining to my sister about kugel being for Chanukah. Have you ever seen a holiday aside from pesach where kugel isn’t served?

[@someguy6158]

Thanks for this year's Advent Video Calendar, it's been amazing. Happy Christmas to everyone who celebrates and good vibes to everyone everywhere!

[@WarriorHeart2024]

I will miss my 12 noon appointment video watching with you all...this has been fantastic. However, getting all of this together, along with the Live, had to have taken a gargantuan effort and many hours. As always, this Vlogmas from Sorted has been my favorite of all the ten or so I follow (an eclectic list, I will admit). Happy Christmas and to all, a happy and blessed New Year. May 2025 be the very best year for everyone. After a sort of chaotic 2024, we all deserve it!

[@blendedchaitea645]

Delighted to see Jewish food representation! That being said, if I had to assign kugel a holiday, it would be Shavuot (dairy harvest festival), not Channukah. We eat fried food on Channukah. Also, lol to Ben saying Channukah is a communal food holiday, like that differentiates it from any of our other holidays except Yom Kippur.

[@anicabroer3705]

Merry Xmas everybody. We celebrate to day in Sweden. Lots of love 🎄🎄🎄

[@TheDiplomancer]

THE WAY I GASPED WHEN THE LOKSHEN KUGEL CAME OUT! I HAVE BEEN DYING FOR YOU GUYS TO SHOWCASE JEWISH FOOD! Also, big ups to Ebbers for getting the name of the month very nearly correct, though it's pronounced more like keess-lev

[@MrAndinho1]

They probably don't have any dead babies to cook

[@marie-christinekirouack5985]

Kugel is definitely an Ashkenazi food (not Sephardic). As a rule as Jews we will have fried food ( outlining the miracle of the lamps) usually latkes during Chanukah. I will be cooking them tomorrow night after having friends over for xmas eve tonight Happy Holidays from cosmopolitan Montreal 🎉

[@bethhauge5044]

I hope everyone at sorted has a wonderful Holliday season. No matter what you celebrate, this is the holiday for Sorted, good food and good friends.

[@arothmanmusic]

Kugel was around long before Israel. :) In our family, it always has golden raisins, baked apples, or apricot pieces in it. I could absolutely destroy a baking dish of that stuff.

[@laurahubbard6906]

Yes. It's more of an Ashkenazi European Jewish dish, found in Israel because it was brought there by Jews who made aliyah.

[@m.s.6586]

While the modern state is only 76 young, Jews and our existence and sovereignty in the land is 3500 years old. With some gaps due to exile.

[@louisejeffrey1043]

Thank you to everyone at sorted food! Merry Christmas xx

[@vezokpiraka]

We have the same rice and milk dish. We call "griș cu lapte" ans we also do it with random spices and stuff usually during winter time, but not specifically Christmas time. I'm talking about Romania. We also have the Polish noodle dish as well although it is not very popular.

[@manon_9430]

In the Netherlands we also have the same rice and milk dish! More milk though (porridge fibes) with brown sugar on top (it melds into the dish) and cinnamon! Delish. Its called 'rijstepap'.

[@mihaid1985]

It's called "orez cu lapte" in romanian, not "gris". "Gris" means semolina, and it's a different desert

[@vezokpiraka]

@@mihaid1985 you are correct. We just called both as gris as that was the more well known food.

[@michellehelenekvisthansen]

In Denmark we have a similar dish called risengrød aswell with cinnamon and sugar and butter on top eaten especially for christmas.

[@MustachioFurioso9134]

Similarly in Mexico, arroz con leche. We basically make it into a rice pudding, but it's delicious. Milk, rice, cinnamon and sugar, cooked down into a pudding basically

[@Debspeegs]

I’ve never had kugel at Chanukkah, more for other holidays. It’s also always been part of the main portion of dinner not dessert but LOVE the representation ♥️♥️ thanks Sorted Food!

[@maih600]

This is the best I’ve ever done on one of these at 9 pts! Missed on Japan, I drew a blank and picked Tibet so they were both closer. It was the 16th/17th century pathfinder’s comment that pushed me to South America since corn wouldn’t have migrated yet and then Rio stands out as highly Christian with the statue. Gonna miss getting a new video every afternoon. Merry Christmas, Chag Hanukkah sameach, Heri za Kwanzaa, an auspicious and blessed Bohdi Day, and greetings of joy and togetherness to all.

[@cathleenst2443]

You and I think (and scored alike). I considered Japan on the rice dish, but discarded the idea on the basis of the presence of the milk, as historically Japan wasn’t a dairy country. So I guessed Nepal, as they traditionally consumed dairy. 🤷‍♀️

[@swissfoodie3542]

@@cathleenst2443 I went for Nepal or Bhutan. And discarded Japan, because of the milk. Which is really only a part of japanese food in Hokkaido and Tohoku.

[@GomushinGirl]

You're not wrong though, about Japan - tradition holds that kheer was offered to the Buddha, but it's just not part of Japanese culinary tradition, including for Rohatsu.

[@MrElliottDuran]

Smashed it out the park all month (all year actually)! Merry Christmas to everyone at Sorted!

[@nanasguy]

im Japanese and i've never heard of this rice and milk thing....lol I thought it was from India 😅

[@GomushinGirl]

I suspect their research here is off - the only sources I can find for milk and rice pudding is an AP article that leads to an article in Tricycle, the American Buddhist Magazine and a decidedly bad resource in many ways for actual cultural practice in Asia. Even on the face of it, it's very odd - dairy simply wasn't part of the diet, the vast majority of Japanese people were and are lactose intolerant, and Buddhist prohibitions on the consumption of meat combined with land scarcity meant there weren't many cows in the first place in premodern Japan. My guess is that this is a Tibetan/Nepalese/Indian food that was adopted within America by American Buddhists, which is how it gets into Tricycle and then reported as a Buddhist tradition. The descriptions of it that I can find in English are primarily of monastic practices (like week-long sesshin and overnight meditations) which makes me think this is filtered heavily through the lens of American Buddhism.

[@nanasguy]

Perhaps you're right. As said, I had even assumed India during the video especially with the use of cardamom (which as far as i know isnt really used traditionally in Japanese foods). I've tried searching for Rice and Milk in japanese but only hits i get is more western style puddings and such.

[@GomushinGirl]

@@nanasguy I'm going to go out on a limb and say that they're completely wrong here. I can't find any sources supporting this in English or Japanese. Within Japan, Rohatsu is rarely celebrated outside monastic communities, which wouldn't have had access to milk or cardamom. I found an older French documentary set in a zen monastery during Rohatsu, and there was absolutely no mention of a milk pudding (just regular rice porridge, pickles, miso soup, and a mildly alcoholic rice drink) and an emphasis on their strict vegetarianism. It's a clear reference to the kheer offered to Prince Siddhartha by Sujātā/Nandabala that ends his ascetic meditation and preparing him for enlightenment. But that's a South Asian dish, and there's just no evidence for its use in pre-modern Japan or its use for celebrations of Rohatsu within modern Japan. The place where I *do* see it mentioned are basically Western Buddhists in North American practice. It's just not a thing in Japan, and I really wish they'd engage in a little bit more depth with their research of Asian foods in general.

[@spenserchen5926]

Thank you for the wonderful 24 videos for the Holidays and Merry Christmas to everyone and all!

[@ktmerlin775]

The first one was very interesting. I am a white person from Southern USA and we eat Black eyed peas and greens on New Year's Day for good luck. It must be (yet another) aspect of Southern food culture borrowed from African American traditions

[@WarriorHeart2024]

Yes, and Kwanzaa borrowed it from the South, after we borrowed it from the workers

[@jadespider7526]

Kwanzaa is not a "traditional" event, it was imagined up from nothing by one of the co-founders of the black power movement of the 60s to keep blacks culturally segregated from their fellow countrymen.

[@theoriginalwaterbaby]

But it is NEVER mixed in American Soul Food, traditionally, for New Year's, for good luck. 💕

[@lilykep]

It's always fun for me to see dishes from the USA because it really showcases the huge variety in our regional cuisines.

[@aconomika]

Love it that Ben tries to pronounce Kislev. The original Kugel is either potato or noodles with caramel and eggs (and loads of black pepper if comes from Jerusalem) sometimes with raisins and cooked slowly over night on Sabbath on low heat (though there is a shortcut version). The cheesy version is not popular in Israel but with American Jews.

[@yjk1037]

I believe it's 2 separate kugels. You seem to describe yerushalmi kugels as the more peppery kugel, where as they have something I think is lukshen kugel.

[@aconomika]

@yjk1037 the difference between the Polish version that is popular in Israel to the Yerushalmi is the use of black pepper in the Yerushalmi. Most times the Kugel is Parve ( non dairy and no meat).

[@yjk1037]

@@aconomika I'll be honest, I didn't like either growing up, so it's more based on what I remember.

[@aconomika]

@ My grandma on my mom’s side had like a pancake version of the sweet Lokshen Kugel, on my father’s side we had potato Kugel, I make both :)

[@margowsky]

Happy Holidays to all at Sorted!! Thanks for an AMAZING Dec. I appreciate all your hard work. I'm rewatching Traitor to catch all the little bits I missed. What a show!! Well worth my $$. Looking forward to what you cook up in 2025! I promise to continue to smash that thumbs up!

[@Serenity_Dee]

The way Ben is pronouncing "collard" is sending me 😂 EDIT: "Bod High" 😂😂 EDIT²: 49 miles? I've had commutes shorter than that. EDIT³: I have never had a sweet kugel before, but I've heard of them. I would have said Germany because that's the origin of most Ashkenazi cuisine, but the sugar beets really confused me.

[@gregorio5360]

For me it was Kwanzaa

[@Serenity_Dee]

​@@gregorio5360That was also hilarious but I kinda expected that.

[@mary-ruthflores4107]

I’m from North Carolina and Texas, love his accent, especially “collard” !

[@WarriorHeart2024]

Ben pronunciation of Collard makes me suddenly see the Hoppin john (blackeyed peas and Collards) in a but of a more posh light.. 😊

[@WarriorHeart2024]

​@mary-ruthflores4107 I am from NC, too. It's great to see a fellow Tarheel on here (doubg the Tarheel for the state, not for UNC, as I know some are fans, some are not). Merry Christmas!

[@Swede-m7q]

A December to remember! Thanks for a lovely year of entertainment.

[@linannsingh6165]

❤Have a wonderful Holiday, Sorted & Friends.

[@stapuft]

Thanks for all the videos this month, I've been home watching them all day, only got to see a few when they were new.

[@itsmikehayden]

As a northern US citizen, that first dish, just as guess, has collards, bacon, and buckeyes, so it must be from the south, but still the good ol' USA! Edit - quite proud of myself on this one! Hot damn!

[@nanoflower1]

Yeah, as a long time Southerner I didn't even need them to say anything about the dish before guessing USA. I could identify many of the ingredients just on the appearance. Not something I can ever do but this was just so common in the South, especially at this time. Even the grocery stores yesterday were packed with black eyed peas ready for the meals.

[@itsmikehayden]

@nanoflower1 absolutely. I saw collards and buckeyes and just knew it off rip. And in so north, it's Taylor Ham

[@thaisstone5192]

Nothing to be proud of when you confuse buckeye nuts with black-eyed peas.

[@lisapop5219]

I was thinking hoppin John at first

[@markevans9188]

buckeyes are a nut from ohio. Blackeye peas are actually beans from africa. common mistake.

[@NicksGotBeef]

Thanks for all these great videos, yet again this year. What makes my Christmas. Hope you all have a lovely Christmas. To each and everyone of the team. And to everyone watching and reading this. Happy festive period to all.

[@AadaMatrix]

Mike Always gets an invite to the barbecues. lol

[@heidirose6051]

Merry Christmas to the entire Sorted team! Thank you for all of the fun videos this year. ❤❤❤

[@cool2bars]

Thanks for including kugel and for the attempt at a nuanced conversation about its origins - Barry's guess is of course understandable since Israel is the only majority Jewish country in the world, and Mike is of course largely correct due to the fact that most traditional Ashkenazi Jewish foods hail from European countries which at one point or another persecuted Jews into leaving... which of course is also tied in with the story of Hanukkah, which is about triumph over Greek persecution of Jews. A long-winded way of saying Happy Hanukkah and peace and good food to all.

[@aimeeparrott9204]

Happy holidays and thank you so much for the 24 days of videos!!!

[@BG......]

It would be fun if one of these episodes was all America, just different regions

[@jono6379]

South and North America? 😛

[@AnnieLongGone]

@@jono6379 Not to mention Central America. An episode covering all three American regions would indeed be interesting. One on North America alone would be far less so for those of us from culinariiy rich and diverse regions. Sorry North Americans.

[@MariCrossman-jo7qb]

Watching your content always brightens my mood.

[@theamitgurbani]

i was waiting for your video. its the last one of this long ride. thank you guys ❤️

[@willdoxtna]

Thank you for including kugel! Happy hannukah to everyone celebrating. Kugel is life!

[@alduval]

i agree, although i am surprised that Latkes were not the Hanukkah dish, as we eat Kugel throughout the year. Also of note, many of the sweet kugel recipes include fruit. There are also versions that sub out the noodles for potatoes (especially around Passover). It can also be eaten hot or cold.

[@cool2bars]

@@alduval True, although it's probably even harder to pin latkes down to one country in the way they did the sweet noodle kugel, which was already a bit of a stretch to call Polish... of course within the complicated nature of Jewish foods and countries.

[@giraffesinc.2193]

MERRY CHRISTMAS, SORTED!!! Thanks for our Advent calendar of videos, we love it! I knew the first one straight off; it's just a DELICIOUS Southern dish! I will probably make it soon because we love it. OOOH Kugel! I make that as well, wow, you are finding all sorts of delicious things (as usual). It's sweet of you to find foods for holidays outside the Christian tradition that we should all try!

[@nafi.j]

Mike is back on track!

[@aoibhee]

my mom is from the southern US and always makes something that looks very similar to the first dish for christmas/new year's -- she does hoppin' john with ham hock and black eyed peas and serves it with rice and collard greens or turnip tops. it's soooo savory and comforting. the amount of flavor you can impart into greens by cooking them low and slow with bacon or ham is WILD. i'm very excited to eat it this year!

[@PokhrajRoy.]

‘Isreal’ is truly quite the interesting version of the word I’ve come across 😂

[@EmmaOnATangent]

SO many correct answers in this game recently! The boys are getting better at this.

[@annette069]

Although black eyed peas and collard greens might have been adopted as part of Kwanzaa celebrations it most certainly did not originate there. I know people in their 80's who talk about the tradition of eating this at new year's in their childhood.

[@icecreamrollscraze]

I loved watching the hosts try to guess the origins of these festive dishes! The Quanza Festival sounds fascinating, and I'm intrigued by the idea of a dish that's meant to bring good fortune. The food reviews were also super fun, especially the one with the cuscus ring - I've never seen anything like it!

[@laurahubbard6906]

Kwanzaa

[@PokhrajRoy.]

On the twenty-first day of Sortedmas, my true love gave to me: 3 Merry Men, 8 different guesses and 10 times everyone declares they had the answer at the tip of their tongue. Also, I have a surprise for everyone tomorrow (Hint: It’s something I’ve made)

[@Dog1818YT]

twenty-first?

[@PokhrajRoy.]

@@Dog1818YTThere were 2 videos that were not part of the new lineup and maybe there was a counting mixup

[@yawa8435]

As a Japanese I can guarantee that the rice pudding is not Japanese by any stretch, for two reasons. 1. Cardamom is not really used in Japanese cuisine. It is available in Japanese supermarkets, but only to make exotic dishes. 2. Sweet rice desserts, especially with milk, are often treated with disgust or met with confusion by many Japanese, who see rice solely as a savoury part of the meal. People have become more accepting recently, but when I was living in the UK 20 years ago, one of the Japanese expats’ most hated British desserts was the rice pudding. I don’t know where you got the recipe, but if it was from a Japanese website, they were probably trying to introduce an exotic dessert to the audience.

[@GomushinGirl]

I don't think they got it from a Japanese website - I think they found an old AP article that mentions Rohatsu and links to a Tricycle article. Tricycle is a magazine run by and for western Buddhists, and is not a good source of info on East Asian practice and culture. The dish they're thinking of is the kheer offered by Sujata, where it's within an Indian/Nepalese context and totally appropriate. But yeah, kheer definitely didn't make it into Japanese Rohatsu celebrations.

[@ncz2]

Don't look up the guy who invented Kwanzaa... that is a wildly disturbing ride.

[@ZombieJig]

Maybe do look him up before promoting this nonsense again actually.

[@kasgrieve9741]

I loved this Sorted Food advent calendar and I also loved it this year, gave me something fun to watch and enjoy every day, Thank you and I hope everyone at the Sorted Crew have an amazing Christmas tomorrow

[@thedj9553]

Very appreciative of the Hanukkah and Kugel mention!🕎✡️

[@jeanettefuller6354]

Thank you for another great year of Sorted, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Western Australia 🦘🐨🦘🐨😃

[@chris2tea]

Great addition of a Kwanzaa celebratory dish! Wonderful to cross multiple celebrations.

[@ZombieJig]

Racism is never a good addition

[@matthewomeara3537]

This was heart warming, thank you guys for a great year!

[@danielsantiagourtado3430]

Merry Christmas everyone!

[@jeannine1739]

And Merry Christmas to you, as well!

[@ttoctam3]

I'm sure their job is plenty stressful, content making isn't a picnic and it's constant production and effort. But damn is there a hell of a bright side for the normals. This being a relatively frequent work day is amazing. I'm truly glad for them.

[@rosebush252]

Thank you for including Kugel! ✡️🕎

[@MrAndinho1]

Thank you for your pointy nose. Shabbat Shallots.