Koliva is a boiled wheat dish used in Eastern Orthodox religious ceremonies, funerals, and Lent. It can include nuts, dried fruit, sweeteners, and parsley, and is sometimes topped with powdered sugar in a cross shape. It can also be made with rice and is similar to other wheat-based dishes around the world.
Koliva is a boiled wheat dish known for its use in religious ceremonies in the Eastern Orthodox Church. Food is also sometimes eaten within the region outside of a religious context. Eastern Orthodox congregations often use it as part of a memorial service for the dead.
Specific koliva dishes are common at funerals in areas where the Greek Orthodox or Eastern Orthodox religion is practiced. Congregations also use this food at certain times during Lent. It is also sometimes used at Christmas as part of the religious holiday traditions.
To make koliva, the maker will boil the seeds of wheat, adding other ingredients to provide varied texture and taste. Nuts such as Jordan almonds can be added to the mix. Some will add raisins or other similar dried fruit items.
In addition to these ingredients, many will use sweeteners like cinnamon or sugar with this dish. In some religious presentations, powdered sugar is poured over a koliva mound, which symbolizes the grave site. In some cultures, preparers create screens on the surface of the dish with powdered sugar, chocolate, or other components. These commonly include a cross shape, as well as the initials of the deceased.
Other elements for this dish include parsley or other greens, usually finely chopped. Sesame seeds are added frequently. When koliva is consumed outside a religious context, those who consume it often top the cream, where this addition might conflict with the aforementioned preparations for commemorative events.
Occasionally, koliva makers use rice instead of wheat. This custom evolved from historical periods of famine. Wheat is still the most common element for this dish.
In many ways, this dish is no different from other foods enjoyed around the world. Experts cite a Lebanese variety that bears different names. Elsewhere in the Middle East, a cold salad called tabouleh also uses wheat—in this case, cracked wheat—served alongside other chopped items. Out West, oatmeal is perhaps the closest approximation; oatmeal and koliva share the same “glue” consistency. The distinguishing factor of koliva is its liturgical use, which makes it part of a rather rare category of foods: foods used in religious ceremonies.
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