Slava
The Slava is a Serbian Orthodox Christian tradition of the ritual glorification of one's family's patron saint. The family celebrates the Slava annually on the saint's feast day. Similar or identical traditions are found in different countries on the Balkans and not only among the Serbs, but among other Slavic and non-Slavic groups, including Catholics and Muslims. In November 2014 it was inscribed in UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists; the Slava is the family's annual ceremony and veneration of their patron saint, a social event in which the family is together at the house of the patriarch. The Slava brings friends to the house, regardless if they have the same Slava; the family saint is inherited from the patriarch – from father to son, while women do inherit the patron saint of their husbands upon leaving their families. As several patron saints are venerated twice a year, the main day is the Slava, while the secondary one is called preslava; some families may celebrate another patron saint in the case when the wife is the only left of her kin, in respect to her family.
In cases where the daughter's husband has joined household of the parents-in-law, the wife's father's slava is celebrated as the main one and the son-in-law's only as an additional lesser one. The tradition is an important ethnic marker of Serb identity. Serbs regard the Slava as their most significant and most solemn feast day; the tradition is very well preserved among the Serb worldwide. Besides present day Serbia, Slava is common in some of the territories where Serbian medieval state extended its rule and cultural influence, but not only there, it is celebrated in Macedonia, Montenegro and Herzegovina and some parts of Dalmatia. Besides Serbs and Macedonians, Slava can be found among Catholics from Boka Kotorska, Southern Herzegovina, Bosansko Grahovo, Christians in Northern Albania, Muslims among Gorani and some Bosniaks in Bosnia and Sandžak. A similar tradition is found in Western Bulgaria, but among some Vlachs, Aromanians etc; the tradition has its origin in the Medieval Serbia, connected to Saint Sava, the first Archbishop of the Serbs.
There are indications that the institution of the slava dates from Saint Sava, that "in his understanding and tactful approach to Serbian folk religion", he "seems to have found a compromise formula satisfactory to both his people's tradition and the requirements of Byzantine theology". The slava is a reinterpretation of a pagan rite: the ancestor-protector became a Christian saint St. Nicholas, with the pagan rite being reduced of many religious elements and frequent ceremonies and becoming a social event with the annual meeting of the family and friends. At the same time, there is an ongoing discussion in the Serbian historical and ethnological literature about the origin of the Slava, which has not yet been completed. According to some Serbian researchers, the thesis of how Slava is a purely Serbian fest is patriotic delusion of the romantic and patriotic citizenry; the increased effective geographic mobility brought about by the post World War II urbanization of a highly agrarian society, combined with the brutal suppression of Serbian Orthodox traditions under the Communist rule, has made some aspects of the custom more relaxed.
In particular, in the second half of the 20th century it became common to see traditional patriarchal families separated by great distances, so by necessity Slava came to be celebrated at more than one place by members of the same family. While the Slava kept something of a grassroots underground popularity during the Communist period, the post-Communist revival of Serbian Orthodox traditions has brought it a great resurgence, it is recognized as a distinctly Serbian custom, today it is quite common for nonobservant Christians or atheists to celebrate it in one form or another as a hereditary family holiday and a mark of ethnocultural identification. In November 2014 it was inscribed in UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists; the custom is helpful in genealogical studies as an indicator in kinship relations between families, tracing one's family to a specific region, etc. The ritual foods that are prepared for the feast are the slavski kolač = a ritual bread, koljivo, a dish of minced boiled wheat and sometimes mixed with chopped walnuts.
The top of the kolač is adorned with the Christian cross, the peace dove, other symbols. The koljivo is a symbol of partaken in memory of the dead; the rest of the feast consists of a meal, the contents of which depends on whether or not the celebration falls in a period of fasting. During a fast, the meal would not contain any meat other than fish or other seafood, would be unlikely to contain eggs or dairy products. Outside of a fasting period, these restrictions would not apply. Thus, slavas can be referred to as posna or mrsna. Appropriately-made sweets are consumed, as well; the family attends church partakes in Holy Communion on the feast day. Following the service, the parish priest is received in the family's home or the family brings the slavski kolač to the church; the parish priest performs a small service which entails venerating the patron saint's memory, blessing the kolač and koljivo, a
Ukrainian cuisine
Ukrainian cuisine is the collection of the various cooking traditions of the Ukrainian people accumulated over many years. The cuisine is influenced by the rich dark soil from which its ingredients come and involves many components; the national dish of Ukraine that undeniably originates from the country is borsch. However varenyky and holubtsi are considered national favourites of the Ukrainian people and are common meal in traditional Ukrainian restaurants. Referred to as the “breadbasket of Europe” the Ukrainian cuisine emphasises the importance of wheat and grain to the Ukrainian people and its tumultuous history with it; the majority of Ukrainian dishes descend from ancient peasant dishes based on plentiful grain resources such as rye as well as staple vegetables such as potato, cabbages and beetroots. Ukrainian dishes incorporate both traditional Slavic techniques as well as other European techniques, a by product of years of foreign jurisdiction and influence; the Ukrainian cuisine incorporates a variety of different food branches due to the large size of the country and the plentiful edible resources.
Traditional Ukrainian dishes experience a complex heating process - "at first they are fried or boiled, stewed or baked. This is the most distinctive feature of Ukrainian cuisine". Borscht is a vegetable soup made out of beets, potatoes, carrots, garlic, dill. There are about 30 varieties of Ukrainian borscht, it may include fish. Kapusnyak: soup made with pork, salo and served with smetana. Rosolnyk: soup with pickled cucumbers. Solyanka: thick and sour soup made with meat, fish or mushrooms and various vegetables and pickles. Yushka: clear soup, made from various types of fish such as carp, wels catfish, or ruffe. Zelenyj borshch or shchavlevyj borshch: water or broth based soup with sorrel and various vegetables, served with chopped hard boiled egg and sour cream. Kovbasa: various kinds of smoked or boiled pork, beef or chicken sausage. Salo: cured fatback. Kholodets: aspic made with meat or fish. Olivier: salad made out of cooked and chopped potatoes, dill pickles, boiled chopped eggs and chopped chicken or ham, chopped onions, canned peas, mixed with mayonnaise.
Vinigret: salad with cooked and shredded beets, sauerkraut and chopped potatoes and carrots, sometimes pickles mixed with some sunflower oil and salt. Bread and wheat products are important to Ukrainian cuisine. Decorations on the top can be elaborate for celebrations. Babka: Easter bread a sweet dough with raisins and other dried fruit, it is baked in a tall, cylindrical form. Bublik: ring-shaped bread roll made from dough, boiled before baking, it is similar to bagel, but somewhat bigger and with a wider hole. Kalach: ring-shaped bread served at Christmas and funerals; the dough is braided with three strands representing the Holy Trinity. The braid is shaped into a circle representing the circle of life and family. Korovai: a round, braided bread, similar to the kalach, it is most baked for weddings and its top decorated with birds and periwinkle. Palyanytsya: regular baked bread. Pampushky: soft, fluffy bread portions topped with garlic butter. Paska: traditional rich pastry. Varenyky: dumplings made with fillings, such as mashed potatoes and fried onions, boiled ground meat and fried onions and fried onions, fried cabbage with fried onions, quark and strawberries.
Served with sour cream and butter or sugar, when filled with fruits. Pyrizhky: baked buns stuffed with different fillings, such as ground meat, eggs, onions, fried cabbage or sauerkraut, cherries etc. Pyrih: a big pie with various fillings. Holubtsi: cabbage or vine leaves rolled with rice filling and may contain meat, baked in oil and caramelized onions and may contain as a baking sauce tomato soup, cream or sour cream, bacon drippings or roasted with bacon strips on top. Mlyntsi or nalisnyky: thin pancakes filled with quark, cabbage, served with sour cream. Stuffed duck or goose with apples. Roast meat: pork, beef or lamb roast. Fish: fried in egg and flour. Guliash: refers to stew in general, or Hungarian goulash. Kotlety/Sichenyky: minced meat or fish mixed with eggs, garlic and milk, fried in oil and sometimes rolled in breadcrumbs. Kotleta po-kyivsky: chicken Kiev. Kruchenyky or Zavyvantsi: pork or beef rolls with various stuffing: mushrooms, eggs, sauerkraut, etc. Kasha hrechana zi shkvarkamy: buckwheat cereal with pork rinds and onion.
Potato: young or peeled, served with sour cream, dill. Deruny: potato pancakes served with rich servings of sour cream. Kutia: traditional Christmas dish, made of poppy seeds, nuts and delicacies. Pampushky: sweet dough similar to doughnut holes. Tossed with sugar. Traditionally filled with rose preserve, but can be filled with poppy seed or other sweet fillings. Syrnyky: fried quark fritters, sometimes with raisins, served with sour cream, honey or apple sauce. Torte: many varieties of cakes, from moist to puffy, most typical ones being Kyjivskyj and Trufelnyj, they are mad
Russia
Russia the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country in Eastern Europe and North Asia. At 17,125,200 square kilometres, Russia is by far or by a considerable margin the largest country in the world by area, covering more than one-eighth of the Earth's inhabited land area, the ninth most populous, with about 146.77 million people as of 2019, including Crimea. About 77 % of the population live in the European part of the country. Russia's capital, Moscow, is one of the largest cities in the world and the second largest city in Europe. Extending across the entirety of Northern Asia and much of Eastern Europe, Russia spans eleven time zones and incorporates a wide range of environments and landforms. From northwest to southeast, Russia shares land borders with Norway, Estonia, Latvia and Poland, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, China and North Korea, it shares maritime borders with Japan by the Sea of Okhotsk and the U. S. state of Alaska across the Bering Strait. However, Russia recognises two more countries that border it, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, both of which are internationally recognized as parts of Georgia.
The East Slavs emerged as a recognizable group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries AD. Founded and ruled by a Varangian warrior elite and their descendants, the medieval state of Rus arose in the 9th century. In 988 it adopted Orthodox Christianity from the Byzantine Empire, beginning the synthesis of Byzantine and Slavic cultures that defined Russian culture for the next millennium. Rus' disintegrated into a number of smaller states; the Grand Duchy of Moscow reunified the surrounding Russian principalities and achieved independence from the Golden Horde. By the 18th century, the nation had expanded through conquest and exploration to become the Russian Empire, the third largest empire in history, stretching from Poland on the west to Alaska on the east. Following the Russian Revolution, the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic became the largest and leading constituent of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the world's first constitutionally socialist state; the Soviet Union played a decisive role in the Allied victory in World War II, emerged as a recognized superpower and rival to the United States during the Cold War.
The Soviet era saw some of the most significant technological achievements of the 20th century, including the world's first human-made satellite and the launching of the first humans in space. By the end of 1990, the Soviet Union had the world's second largest economy, largest standing military in the world and the largest stockpile of weapons of mass destruction. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, twelve independent republics emerged from the USSR: Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and the Baltic states regained independence: Estonia, Lithuania, it is governed as a federal semi-presidential republic. Russia's economy ranks as the twelfth largest by nominal GDP and sixth largest by purchasing power parity in 2018. Russia's extensive mineral and energy resources are the largest such reserves in the world, making it one of the leading producers of oil and natural gas globally; the country is one of the five recognized nuclear weapons states and possesses the largest stockpile of weapons of mass destruction.
Russia is a great power as well as a regional power and has been characterised as a potential superpower. It is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and an active global partner of ASEAN, as well as a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, the G20, the Council of Europe, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the World Trade Organization, as well as being the leading member of the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Collective Security Treaty Organization and one of the five members of the Eurasian Economic Union, along with Armenia, Belarus and Kyrgyzstan; the name Russia is derived from Rus', a medieval state populated by the East Slavs. However, this proper name became more prominent in the history, the country was called by its inhabitants "Русская Земля", which can be translated as "Russian Land" or "Land of Rus'". In order to distinguish this state from other states derived from it, it is denoted as Kievan Rus' by modern historiography.
The name Rus itself comes from the early medieval Rus' people, Swedish merchants and warriors who relocated from across the Baltic Sea and founded a state centered on Novgorod that became Kievan Rus. An old Latin version of the name Rus' was Ruthenia applied to the western and southern regions of Rus' that were adjacent to Catholic Europe; the current name of the country, Россия, comes from the Byzantine Greek designation of the Rus', Ρωσσία Rossía—spelled Ρωσία in Modern Greek. The standard way to refer to citizens of Russia is rossiyane in Russian. There are two Russian words which are commonly
Ukraine
Ukraine, sometimes called the Ukraine, is a country in Eastern Europe. Excluding Crimea, Ukraine has a population of about 42.5 million, making it the 32nd most populous country in the world. Its capital and largest city is Kiev. Ukrainian is the official language and its alphabet is Cyrillic; the dominant religions in the country are Greek Catholicism. Ukraine is in a territorial dispute with Russia over the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014. Including Crimea, Ukraine has an area of 603,628 km2, making it the largest country within Europe and the 46th largest country in the world; the territory of modern Ukraine has been inhabited since 32,000 BC. During the Middle Ages, the area was a key centre of East Slavic culture, with the powerful state of Kievan Rus' forming the basis of Ukrainian identity. Following its fragmentation in the 13th century, the territory was contested and divided by a variety of powers, including Lithuania, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire and Russia. A Cossack republic emerged and prospered during the 17th and 18th centuries, but its territory was split between Poland and the Russian Empire, merged into the Russian-dominated Soviet Union in the late 1940s as the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.
In 1991 Ukraine gained its independence from the Soviet Union in the aftermath of its dissolution at the end of the Cold War. Before its independence, Ukraine was referred to in English as "The Ukraine", but most sources have since moved to drop "the" from the name of Ukraine in all uses. Following its independence, Ukraine declared itself a neutral state. In 2013, after the government of President Viktor Yanukovych had decided to suspend the Ukraine-European Union Association Agreement and seek closer economic ties with Russia, a several-months-long wave of demonstrations and protests known as the Euromaidan began, which escalated into the 2014 Ukrainian revolution that led to the overthrow of Yanukovych and the establishment of a new government; these events formed the background for the annexation of Crimea by Russia in March 2014, the War in Donbass in April 2014. On 1 January 2016, Ukraine applied the economic component of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area with the European Union.
Ukraine is ranks 88th on the Human Development Index. As of 2018, Ukraine has the second lowest GDP per capita in Europe. At US$40, it has the lowest median wealth per adult in the world, it suffers from a high poverty rate and severe corruption. However, because of its extensive fertile farmlands, Ukraine is one of the world's largest grain exporters. Ukraine maintains the second-largest military in Europe after that of Russia; the country is home to a multi-ethnic population, 77.8 percent of whom are Ukrainians, followed by a large Russian minority, as well as Georgians, Belarusians, Crimean Tatars, Jews and Hungarians. Ukraine is a unitary republic under a semi-presidential system with separate powers: legislative and judicial branches; the country is a member of the United Nations, the Council of Europe, the OSCE, the GUAM organization, one of the founding states of the Commonwealth of Independent States. There are different hypotheses as to the etymology of the name Ukraine. According to the older widespread hypothesis, it means "borderland", while some more recent linguistic studies claim a different meaning: "homeland" or "region, country"."The Ukraine" used to be the usual form in English, but since the Declaration of Independence of Ukraine, "the Ukraine" has become less common in the English-speaking world, style-guides recommend not using the definite article.
"The Ukraine" now implies disregard for the country's sovereignty, according to U. S. ambassador William Taylor. The Ukrainian position is that the usage of "'The Ukraine' is incorrect both grammatically and politically." Neanderthal settlement in Ukraine is seen in the Molodova archaeological sites which include a mammoth bone dwelling. The territory is considered to be the location for the human domestication of the horse. Modern human settlement in Ukraine and its vicinity dates back to 32,000 BC, with evidence of the Gravettian culture in the Crimean Mountains. By 4,500 BC, the Neolithic Cucuteni–Trypillia culture flourished in wide areas of modern Ukraine including Trypillia and the entire Dnieper-Dniester region. During the Iron Age, the land was inhabited by Cimmerians and Sarmatians. Between 700 BC and 200 BC it was Scythia. Beginning in the sixth century BC, colonies of Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome and the Byzantine Empire, such as Tyras and Chersonesus, were founded on the northeastern shore of the Black Sea.
These colonies thrived well into the 6th century AD. The Goths stayed in the area but came under the sway of the Huns from the 370s AD. In the 7th century AD, the territory of eastern Ukraine was the centre of Old Great Bulgaria. At the end of the century, the majority of Bulgar tribes migrated in different directions, the Khazars took over much of the land. In the 5th and 6th centuries, the Antes were located in the territory of; the Antes were the ancestors of Ukrainians: White Croats, Polans, Dulebes and Tiverians. Migrations from Ukraine throughout the Balkans established many Southern Slavic nations. Northern migrations, reaching to the Ilmen l
Baptism of Jesus
The baptism of Jesus is described in the gospels of Matthew and Luke. John's gospel does not directly describe Jesus' baptism. Most modern theologians view the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist as a historical event to which a high degree of certainty can be assigned. Along with the crucifixion of Jesus, most biblical scholars view it as one of the two certain facts about him, use it as the starting point for the study of the historical Jesus; the baptism is one of the five major milestones in the gospel narrative of the life of Jesus, the others being the Transfiguration, Crucifixion and Ascension. Most Christian denominations view the baptism of Jesus as an important event and a basis for the Christian rite of baptism. In Eastern Christianity, Jesus' baptism is commemorated on the feast of Epiphany. In the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, the Lutheran Churches and some other Western denominations, it is recalled on a day within the following week, the feast of the baptism of the Lord.
In Roman Catholicism, the baptism of Jesus is one of the Luminous Mysteries sometimes added to the Rosary. It is a Trinitarian feast in the Eastern Orthodox Churches. Mark and Luke depict the baptism in parallel passages. In all three gospels, the Holy spirit is depicted as descending upon Jesus after his baptism accompanied by a voice from Heaven, but the accounts of Luke and Mark record the voice as addressing Jesus by saying "You are my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased", while in Matthew the voice addresses the crowd "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased". After the baptism, the Synoptic gospels describe the temptation of Jesus, where Jesus withdrew to the Judean desert to fast for forty days and nights. MatthewIn Matthew 3:14, upon meeting Jesus, John said: "I have need to be baptized of thee, comest thou to me?" However, Jesus convinces John to baptize him nonetheless. Matthew uniquely records that the voice from heaven addresses the crowd, rather than addressing Jesus himself as in Mark and Luke.
MarkMark's account is parallel to that of Matthew, except for Matthew 3:14-15 describing John's initial reluctance and eventual consent to baptize Jesus, not described by Mark. Luke Luke 1 begins with the birth of John the Baptist, heralded to his father Zacharias by the angel Gabriel. Six months Gabriel appears to the Virgin Mary with an announcement of the birth of Jesus, at the Annunciation. At the same, Gabriel announces to Mary the coming birth of John the Baptist, to her kinswoman Elizabeth, the wife of Zacharias. Mary sets out to visit her kinswoman Elizabeth, stays with her until John's birth. Luke contrasts the reactions of Zacharias and Mary to these two respective births. Luke uniquely depicts John as showing public kindness to tax collectors and encouraging the giving of alms to the poor. Luke records that Jesus was praying when Heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him. Luke clarifies that the spirit descended in the "bodily form" of a dove, as opposed to "descending like" a dove.
In Acts 10:37–38, the ministry of Jesus is described as following "the baptism which John preached". In John 1:29–33 rather than a direct narrative, John the Baptist bears witness to the spirit descending like a dove; the Gospel of John specifies "Bethabara beyond Jordan", i.e. Bethany in Perea as the location where John was baptizing when Jesus began choosing disciples, in John 3:23 there is mention of further baptisms in Ænon "because there was much water there". John 1:35–37 narrates an encounter, between Jesus and two of his future disciples, who were disciples of John the Baptist; the episode in John 1:35–37 forms the start of the relationship between Jesus and his future disciples. When John the Baptist called Jesus the Lamb of God, the "two disciples heard him speak, they followed Jesus". One of the disciples is named Andrew, but the other remains unnamed, Raymond E. Brown raises the question of his being the author of the Gospel of John himself. In the Gospel of John, the disciples follow Jesus thereafter, bring other disciples to him, Acts 18:24–19:6 portrays the disciples of John as merging with the followers of Jesus.
According to the non-canonical Gospel of the Nazarenes, the idea of being baptized by John came from the mother and brothers of Jesus, Jesus himself opposed, reluctantly accepted it. Benjamin Urrutia avers that this version is supported by the Criterion of Embarrassment, since followers of Jesus would not have invented an episode in which Jesus changes his mind and comes to accept someone else's plan. Plus, the story came from the community that included the family of Jesus, who would have guaranteed the authenticity of the narrative; the Gospel of John refers to Enon near Salim as one place where John the Baptist baptized people, "because there was much water there". Separately, John 1:28 states that John the Baptist was baptizing in "Bethany beyond the Jordan"; this is not the village Bethany just east of Jerusalem, but is considered to be the town Bethany called Bethabara in Perea on the Eastern bank of the Jordan near Jericho. In the 3rd century Origen, who moved to the area from Alexandria, suggested Bethabara as the location.
In the 4th century, Eusebius of Caesarea stated that the location was on the west bank of the Jordan, following him, the early Byzantine Madaba Map shows Bethabara as. The biblical baptising is related to springs and a Wadi close to the
Raisin
A raisin is a dried grape. Raisins are produced in many regions of the world and may be eaten raw or used in cooking and brewing. In the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, the word "raisin" is reserved for the dark-colored dried large grape, with "sultana" being a golden-colored dried grape, "currant" being a dried small Black Corinth seedless grape; the word "raisin" is a loanword from Old French. The Old French word, in turn, developed from the Latin word racemus, "a bunch of grapes". Raisin varieties depend on the type of grape used and are made in a variety of sizes and colors including green, brown, blue and yellow. Seedless varieties include the Greek currants and Flame grapes. Raisins are traditionally sun-dried, but may be water-dipped and artificially dehydrated. "Golden raisins" are dried in dehydrators with controlled temperature and humidity, which allows them to retain a lighter color and more moisture. They are treated with sulfur dioxide after drying. Black Corinth or Zante currant are miniature, sometimes seedless raisins that are much darker and have a tart, tangy flavor.
They are called currants. Muscat raisins are large compared to other varieties, sweeter. Several varieties of raisins produced in Asia are available in the West only at ethnic grocers. Monukka grapes are used for some of these. Raisins can contain up to 72% sugars by weight, most of, fructose and glucose – forming sucrose when combined in a single molecule, they contain about 3% protein and 3.7%–6.8% dietary fiber. Raisins, like prunes and apricots, are high in certain antioxidants, but have a lower vitamin C content than fresh grapes. Raisins contain no cholesterol. Data presented at the American College of Cardiology's 61st Annual Scientific Session in 2012 suggest that, among individuals with mild increases in blood pressure, the routine consumption of raisins may lower blood pressure when compared to eating other common snacks. Raisins can cause renal failure in dogs; the cause of this is not known. Raisins are sweet due to their high concentration of sugars; the sugars can crystallise inside the fruit when stored after a long period, making the dry raisins gritty, but that does not affect their usability.
These sugar grains can be dissolved by blanching the fruit in other liquids. Global production in 2016 was 1.2 million metric tons, with the US as the top producer contributing 24% of the global harvest. Raisins are produced commercially by drying harvested grape berries. For a grape berry to dry, water inside the grape must be removed from the interior of the cells onto the surface of the grape where the water droplets can evaporate. However, this diffusion process is difficult because the grape skin contains wax in its cuticle, which prevents the water from passing through. In addition to this, the physical and chemical mechanisms located on the outer layers of the grape are adapted to prevent water loss; the three steps to commercial raisin production include pre-treatment and post-drying processes. Pre-treatment is a necessary step in raisin production to ensure the increased rate of water removal during the drying process. A faster water removal rate decreases the rate of browning and helps to produce more desirable raisins.
The historical method of completing this process was developed in the Mediterranean and Asia Minor areas by using a dry emulsion cold dip made of potassium carbonate and ethyl esters of fatty acids. This dip was shown to increase the rate of water loss by two- to three-fold. New methods have been developed such as exposing the grapes to oil emulsions or dilute alkaline solutions; these methods can encourage water transfer to the outer surface of grapes which helps to increase the efficiency of the drying process. The three types of drying methods are: sun drying, shade drying, mechanical drying. Sun drying is an inexpensive process. Additionally, sun drying is a slow process and may not produce the most desirable raisins. Mechanical drying can be done in a safer and more controlled environment where rapid drying is guaranteed. One type of mechanical drying is to use microwave heating. Water molecules in the grapes absorb microwave energy resulting in rapid evaporation. Microwave heating produces puffy raisins.
After the drying process is complete, raisins are sent to processing plants where they are cleaned with water to remove any foreign objects that may have become embedded during the drying process. Stems and off-grade raisins are removed; the washing process may cause rehydration, so another drying step is completed after washing to ensure that the added moisture has been removed. All steps in the production of raisins are important in determining the quality of raisins. Sometimes, sulfur dioxide is applied to raisins after the pre treatment step and before drying to decrease the rate of browning caused by the reaction between polyphenol oxidase and phenolic compounds. Sulfur dioxide helps to preserve flavor and prevent the loss of certain vitamins during the drying process. Raisins are rich in dietary fiber, carbohydrates with a low glycemic index, minerals like copper and iron, with a low fat content. Raisins are recommended as a snack for weight control bec
Serbia
Serbia the Republic of Serbia, is a country situated at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe in the southern Pannonian Plain and the central Balkans. The sovereign state borders Hungary to the north, Romania to the northeast, Bulgaria to the southeast, North Macedonia to the south and Bosnia and Herzegovina to the west, Montenegro to the southwest; the country claims a border with Albania through the disputed territory of Kosovo. Serbia's population is about seven million, its capital, ranks among the oldest and largest citiеs in southeastern Europe. Inhabited since the Paleolithic Age, the territory of modern-day Serbia faced Slavic migrations to the Balkans in the 6th century, establishing several sovereign states in the early Middle Ages at times recognized as tributaries to the Byzantine and Hungarian kingdoms; the Serbian Kingdom obtained recognition by the Vatican and Constantinople in 1217, reaching its territorial apex in 1346 as the short-lived Serbian Empire. By the mid-16th century, the entirety of modern-day Serbia was annexed by the Ottomans, their rule was at times interrupted by the Habsburg Empire, which started expanding towards Central Serbia from the end of the 17th century while maintaining a foothold in the north of the country.
In the early 19th century, the Serbian Revolution established the nation-state as the region's first constitutional monarchy, which subsequently expanded its territory. Following disastrous casualties in World War I, the subsequent unification of the former Habsburg crownland of Vojvodina with Serbia, the country co-founded Yugoslavia with other South Slavic peoples, which would exist in various political formations until the Yugoslav Wars of the 1990s. During the breakup of Yugoslavia, Serbia formed a union with Montenegro, peacefully dissolved in 2006. In 2008, the parliament of the province of Kosovo unilaterally declared independence, with mixed responses from the international community. Serbia is a member of the UN, CoE, CERN, OSCE, PfP, BSEC, CEFTA, is acceding to the WTO. Since 2014 the country has been negotiating its EU accession with perspective of joining the European Union by 2025. Serbia dropped in ranking from Free to Partly Free in the 2019 Freedom House report. Since 2007, Serbia formally adheres to the policy of military neutrality.
An upper-middle income economy with a dominant service sector followed by the industrial sector and agriculture, the country ranks high on the Human Development Index, Social Progress Index as well as the Global Peace Index. The origin of the name, "Serbia" is unclear. Various authors mentioned names of Serbs and Sorbs in different variants: Surbii, Serbloi, Sorabi, Sarbi, Serboi, Surbi, etc; these authors used these names to refer to Serbs and Sorbs in areas where their historical presence was/is not disputed, but there are sources that mention same or similar names in other parts of the World. Theoretically, the root *sъrbъ has been variously connected with Russian paserb, Ukrainian pryserbytysia, Old Indic sarbh-, Latin sero, Greek siro. However, Polish linguist Stanisław Rospond derived the denomination of Srb from srbati. Sorbian scholar H. Schuster-Šewc suggested a connection with the Proto-Slavic verb for "to slurp" *sьrb-, with cognates such as сёрбать, сьорбати, сёрбаць, srbati, сърбам and серебати.
From 1945 to 1963, the official name for Serbia was the People's Republic of Serbia, which became the Socialist Republic of Serbia from 1963 to 1990. Since 1990, the official name of the country is the "Republic of Serbia". However, between the period from 1992 to 2006, the official names of the country were the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro. Archeological evidence of Paleolithic settlements on the territory of present-day Serbia are scarce. A fragment of a human jaw was believed to be up to 525,000 -- 397,000 years old. Around 6,500 years BC, during the Neolithic, the Starčevo and Vinča cultures existed in or near modern-day Belgrade and dominated much of Southeastern Europe. Two important local archeological sites from this era, Lepenski Vir and Vinča-Belo Brdo, still exist near the banks of the Danube. During the Iron Age, Thracians and Illyrians were encountered by the Ancient Greeks during their expansion into the south of modern Serbia in the 4th century BC.
The Celtic tribe of Scordisci settled throughout the area in the 3rd century BC and formed a tribal state, building several fortifications, including their capital at Singidunum and Naissos. The Romans conquered much of the territory in the 2nd century BC. In 167 BC the Roman province of Illyricum was established; as a result of this, contemporary Serbia extends or over several former Roman provinces, including Moesia, Praevalitana, Dalmatia and Macedoni
