LUCRĂRI ŞTIINŢIFICE, SERIA I, VOL.XXIII (1) 240 THE INFLUENCE OF THE CUISINE OF ETHNIC COMMUNITIES ON THE BANATIANS’ EATING HABITS RABA DIANA NICOLETA 1 , CASSIAN ANDRADA GABRIELA 1 , DINCU ANA MARIANA* 1 , PIRVULESCU LUMINITA CORNELIA 1 , DUMBRAVA DELIA- GABRIELA 2 , POPA VIORICA-MIRELA 2 , MOLDOVAN CAMELIA 2 , BOROZAN AURICA BREICA 3 1 Banat’s University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine”King Michael I of Romania” from Timisoara, Faculty of Management and Rural Tourism 2 Banat’s University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine”King Michael I of Romania” from Timisoara, Faculty of Food Engineering 3 Banat’s University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine”King Michael I of Romania” from Timisoara, Faculty of Horticulture, Forestry and Biotechnology *Corresponding author’s e-mail: anamariadincu@usab-tm.ro Abstract: Traditions, habits, folklore, traditional costume and cuisine are priceless treasures that define a people making it unique, steady and immortal in time. The aim of this study is to present the heritage which the ethnic communities that lived in the Banat area left to the local gastronomy. The traditional Banat cuisine is fascinating in its richness and variety, due to the influence of the nationalities living in this multiethnic area: Swabians, Hungarians, Serbs, Russians, Bulgarians, Ruthenians etc. Banat has a rich cuisine, with some peculiarities: sweetened sauces and soups, savory steaks and pilaf straightened with greens and paprika, strongly influenced by the cuisine of the cohabiting nationalities. The studied literature showed that the most dishes borrowed from the cohabiting ethnic groups are in the category of desserts (10), followed by liquids preparation (8) and main dishes (5). The strongest influence had the Hungarian gastronomy, followed by the German one, but also, Serbian and Slovak dishes greatly determined Banatians' eating habits. Keywords: culinary traditions, ethnic communities, Banat area, cuisine INTRODUCTION The traditional Banat cuisine is complex and very attractive due to its diversity and opulence, being strongly influenced by the eating habits of the coexisting nationalities in this multiethnic area: Swabians, Hungarians, Serbs, Russians, Bulgarians, Ruthenians, Roma, etc. Banat cuisine is characterized by fatty, nutritious and tasty dishes and was strongly influenced by Austro-Hungarian cuisine, but also largely by Greek, Italian or French cuisine [17]. The culinary feature of the area is the souring of soups wtith lemon and the addition of plenty of cream. Dishes prepared in Banat are mostly made from pork, chicken or beef, with vegetables fried in lard or oil, with flour sauces, to make them more consistent, seasoned with pepper, thyme, paprika or cumin. [22,10,8]. As famous in the western area are ”sarmales„ made of minced meat, "as big as a cat's head", very consistent so that no more than one or two can be eaten at a meal [17,3,34,35]. Among the Hungarian soups, which won the hearts of gourmets around the world, including those taken over by Banatians, are: bográcsgulyás - goulash soup and halászlé - fish soup. Goulash soup can be prepared both as gulyásleves - at home and as bográcsgulyás - on the hearth in a special bowl suspended over the fire. Other typical dishes of Hungarian cuisine are, of course, lecsó - steamed vegetables served as a side dish with meat, csipetke - dumplings served with goulash and soups or Lángos - a pie fried in oil, served with cream or garlic [2]. In the top recipes of Banat, borrowed from Hungarian cuisine is the dish "Varga Beleș", which is a homemade noodle pudding with cottage cheese and raisins, wrapped in pie sheet and baked in the oven. Dumplings, ”crofnele”- donuts, ”scovergile”- pancakes, boiled meat with bone ”rasol”, steaks, paprika, ”taschetele” with different fillings, ”zupa”- soup, pies