Zeamă

1. 1Broth must be actively soured — with borș (fermented wheat bran water) or lemon juice — tartness is non-negotiable
2. 2Noodles must be homemade egg-and-flour tăieței, never dried commercial pasta
3. 3Base protein is chicken, simmered whole or in pieces to produce a clear, fat-rich broth
4. 4Lovage (leuștean) is the canonical finishing herb, not dill or parsley alone
5. 5Broth remains clear — it is not thickened, creamed, or opaque
6. 6Souring agent is added after cooking, not simmered in from the start, to preserve brightness

Long cold-start chicken simmer

Beginning in cold water and skimming foam produces the characteristically clear, not cloudy, broth; rushing or boiling hard yields turbid stock

Late souring

Borș or lemon is added off-heat or at the very end; cooking the acid destroys the bright tartness and can turn the broth muddy

Separate noodle cook-and-add

Noodles cooked directly in the broth absorb liquid and cloud it; boiled separately and added to order keeps the broth clean

Tempered egg-cream enrichment (optional albire)

The egg and cream must be tempered with hot broth before adding to prevent curdling; skipping the temper results in egg strands

Served

In a deep bowl, broth ladled over noodles and shredded chicken, scattered with lovage and green onion

Temperature

Hot

Portion

Large single-bowl first course or light main

Pairs with

crusty white bread (franzelă) · sour cream on the side · hot peppers or chili paste

• borș (fermented wheat-bran liquid) → fresh lemon juiceadmissible

  Most common modern substitute; loses the complex fermented note but preserves tartness

• borș → white wine vinegaradmissible

  Sharp and one-dimensional; acceptable in a pinch but lacks depth

• lovage (leuștean) → celery leavesinadmissible

  Approximates the anise-celery aroma but is distinctly different; will not taste canonical

• homemade tăieței → dried egg noodles or vermicelliinadmissible

  Breaks the defining texture and identity of the dish; widely regarded as wrong

• chicken → turkeyadmissible

  Traditional and accepted; broth is richer and fattier

• parsley root → extra celery rootadmissible

  Acceptable substitution if parsley root is unavailable; slightly different sweetness profile

• Using commercial dried pasta instead of homemade egg noodles — the texture and identity are wrong
• Omitting the souring step entirely, producing a generic unseasoned chicken soup
• Adding borș or lemon at the beginning and simmering it, destroying the bright acidic note
• Substituting dill for lovage, which produces a different regional flavor character
• Cooking noodles directly in the broth, clouding the soup and making noodles starchy and heavy
• Skipping the foam-skimming step during chicken simmer, resulting in a turbid rather than clear broth
• Over-salting before souring — the acid perception changes the salt balance significantly

Zeamă is the national soup of Moldova and a cornerstone of Moldovan domestic cooking, rooted in the agricultural traditions of the historical Moldavian principality. It shares cultural and culinary lineage with Romanian cuisine, particularly the northeastern Moldavia region of Romania, where nearly identical versions are prepared. The dish's reliance on borș — fermented wheat-bran water — as a souring agent reflects pre-refrigeration preservation traditions common across the Carpathian and Danubian peasant foodways.

Shared by: Moldova, Romania

1. 1.Moldovan culinary tradition
2. 2.Ion Creangă literary references to zeamă as comfort food
3. 3.comparative Balkan soup typology

Confidence: high