Christmas foods

At Calcutta's famous New Market, vendors do brisk business in fruitcake as Christmas approaches.

Arts

A Punch Line In The U.S., Christmas Fruitcake Is Big In Calcutta

7:00am December 25, 2014

by Sandip Roy

Seen as indestructible in the West, fruitcakes are indispensable in the bustling Hindu city. Bakers of all faiths have the ovens running round the clock to feed Calcutta's appetite for the cakes.

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Australian Christmas today is characterized by gastronomic eclecticism. Many of us have abandoned the old British customs — except for the rich and alcoholic Christmas pudding.

For Australian Christmas, Everything's Overturned But The Pudding

11:58am December 23, 2014

by Barbara Santich

Cooking in 100-degree weather is no fun, which is why many Australians ditched roasts and other holiday mainstays long ago. Except for Christmas pudding, a tradition steeped in history — and alcohol.

Panamanian tamales stuffed with chicken and wrapped in bijao leaves — one of hundreds of interpretations of the dish found throughout Latin America.

Pride And Prejudice: For Latinos, Tamales Can Taste Of Both

1:05pm December 22, 2014

by Maria Godoy

Tamales are a Christmas Eve tradition throughout Latin America, but there are hundreds of different versions. Whose is best? That's a question likely to elicit a fiercely partisan response.

The author, Dr. Gavin Francis, arrived at Halley base on Christmas Eve 2002, at the height of the Antarctic midsummer, when 24-hour sunlight illuminates the vast swathes of empty ice.

Antarctic Holiday: A Christmas Feast In The Loneliest Spot On Earth

5:17am December 20, 2014

by Gavin Francis

For Dr. Gavin Francis, Christmas Eve marked the start of a year-long stay in an icy research base 8,700 miles from home. In this "empire of ice and isolation," he says, food is essential to morale.

Tourtiere is a savory, spiced meat pie, which both French- and English-speaking Canadians love to serve around the holidays.

Tourtiere: A French-Canadian Twist On Christmas Pie

4:21pm December 18, 2014

by Lynn Neary

On Christmas Eve, many French-Canadians will gather after midnight Mass for reveillon, a lavish dinner party that lasts into the wee hours. The traditional centerpiece is a savory, spiced meat pie.

A customer picks up a block of butter at a food store in Tokyo on Nov. 10. Japanese shoppers are up in arms over a serious butter shortage that has forced Tokyo to resort to emergency imports, as some grocers limit sales to one block per customer.

World News

Japan's Butter Shortage Whips Its Cake Makers Into A Frenzy

11:21am December 18, 2014

by NPR Staff

For the Japanese, Christmastime means sponge cake. But a nationwide butter shortage has led to mandatory butter rationing, forcing cake bakers to seek out substitutes.

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