Culture and Cuisine
TM 202 Culture and cuisine syllabus
tm_202_culture_and_cuisine_obe-dized_syllabus_2015.pdf |
Creative Reporting Topics
PRE-MIDTERM: Introduction
How do we define culture?
According to Kitler and Sucher…
Culture is the values, beliefs, attitudes, and practices by members of a group or community
Culture is learned, not inherited.
It is passed from generation to generation through acquisition and socialization called enculturation.
Cuisine
How do we define food?
Food is defined as any substance that provides nutrients necessary to maintain life and growth when ingested.
Basic Concepts and Aspects of Food
Food is Multidimensional
aside from its nutrients, it contains non –nutritional components that gives color, texture, flavor, and other palatability factors which consumer look for when making choices.
Food should be satisfying and many meanings are attached to it according to:
- Availability of food due to geographical location, climate, topography and agricultural practices
Timeline of Food
Pre - Historic
The Effects of Conquests and Trading on Cultural Foods
Factors Affecting Food ways and Culinary Practices:
Geographical Location
e.g. North African nations with costal lines of the Mediterranean Sea have common food ways with the Greeks and Italians
Climate
Climate affects and dictates vegetation of a particular region.
Topography
Refers to the kind of terrain such as mountain ranges, fertile valleys, thick forests, rivers and lakes surrounding the islands
History
Current knowledge depends on existing documents or records about aborigines or the natives before foreigners came.
Latter the invaders, colonizers, and traders brought with them food and cooking tools among other artifacts, language, clothing, fashion, arts etc.
Religion
Worship of a single God or many Gods provide a person with an orderly relationship with himself and with other followers as they connect with spiritual or supernatural realm.
Five major religions in the world:
Other popular religions:
Buddhism
Existed for over 2,500 years
Founded by Sidharta Gautama or Buddha (the enlightened one) in 6th century BCE in India
Buddhism was a protestant revolt against orthodox Hinduism although it accepted some of its concepts such as the doctrine of Karma, spiritual liberation from the flesh, and wisdom from taming the appetite.
Many sects of Buddhism a variety of dietary laws:
Some Buddhist sects allow fish and others can consume meat provided they were not responsible for killing the animals
The eight spoke wheel stands for the Noble Eight-fold Path which illustrates the moral principle in which all Buddhist should practice:
The four basic teachings of Buddhism are found in the “Four Noble Truths”
Dietary Restrictions
Christianity
Branches of Christianity
The 3 dominant branches of Christianity are:
Eastern Orthodox
Roman Catholicism
Protestantism
Confucianism
Taoism
Taoist thought focuses on:
Hinduism
Islam
Dietary Laws
Judaism
Kinds of animal fit to eat:
Method of slaughtering animals:
Method of examining the slaughtered animal:
Laws of eating milk and meat:
A kosher kitchen has separate set of dishes, pans, pots for meats and for dairy products;
Ireland
Ireland is located in Western Europe in the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Great Britain.
Agriculture products include turnips, barley, potatoes, wheat, beef, and dairy products.
Popular ingredients
They are potatoes, cabbage, onions, lamb (or mutton), pork (cured and fresh), and fish (salmon, trout, cod) and shellfish (prawns, oysters, mussels).
Common Irish Cuisine
Bacon and Cabbage
Those two ingredients are stewed together.
Boxty
The Irish potato pancake. Grated potatoes are mixed with mashed potatoes, then fried.
Calcannon
One-pot dish of boiled potatoes, cabbage and onions.
Irish Seafood Plate
Fresh fish and crustaceans fresh from the long Irish seacoast.
Irish Stew
Lamb (or mutton) is simmered with potatoes and onions.
Soda Bread
Round soda-leavened bread loaf etched with a cross on top.
Irish Coffee
This whiskey, coffee, and whipped cream concoction was invented a half-century ago as a promotional tool for the whiskey industry.
Irish food is known for the quality and freshness of its ingredients. Most cooking is done without herbs or spices, except for salt and pepper. Foods are usually served without sauce or gravy.
source: http://www.foodbycountry.com/Germany-to-Japan/Ireland.html#ixzz3sCgIgAmn
Most traditional Irish foods use simple, basic and cheap ingredients, a reminder of the fact that they originated in a less affluent past. Many have been given a modern twist by a new generation of chefs or incorporated into dishes that better suit the tastes of a more widely travelled population.
source: http://www.dochara.com/the-irish/food-recipes/traditional-foods-of-ireland/
For most of the last two centuries, Irish cooking has been dominated by one terrible event: the dreadful famine of the mid-1840s, when the failure of the potato crop — on which the peasant population depended — led to a savage death toll and a global diaspora of Irish people.
source: http://www.epicurious.com/archive/cuisines/cuisineguides/irish
In Ireland, traditional dishes such as roast leg of lamb still form the centerpiece of weekend family dinners. Cooks still combine simple ingredients such as mashed carrots and parsnips and rich, golden butter to produce wholesome, delicious dishes free of elaborate sauces or exotic spices.
source: http://www.epicurious.com/archive/cuisines/cuisineguides/irish
A sheep in its first year is called a lamb, and its meat is also called lamb. The meat of a juvenile sheep older than one year is hogget. The meat of an adult sheep is mutton
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamb_and_mutton
Dining etiquette for eating potatoes
Bread is usually not served at the dinner party, and the little plate next to the big plate is the place to put the peelings from your boiled potatoes. The proper technique involves holding the potato down with your fork in one hand, and peel the skin with your knife in the other.
The process should be unobtrusive and deftly accomplished; avoid hacking noisily at the boiled potato with a knife.
Dining etiquette for your hands
Hands are expected to be in one's lap when not holding utensils at the dinner table (this is the reverse of the custom on the Continent, which is to keep hands above the table).
Dining etiquette for passing food
Pass all dishes to your left.
Dining etiquette for tipping
Restaurants usually include a service charge in the bill, so you will not be expected to leave an additional tip. When one has not beer, included, leave a tip of 10 to 15 percent.
source: http://www.etiquettescholar.com/dining_etiquette/table-etiquette/europe-w_table_manners/irish.html
As a predominantly Roman Catholic country, Ireland has preserved the tradition of abstaining from meat-eating on a Friday, usually replacing meat with fish as the main protein.
Diners should avoid placing elbows on the table, smoking at the table, or gesticulating wildly with utensils. In a restaurant, the host should offer to pay for the entire meal rather than suggesting a shared payment plan, and members of a group in a pub should offer to “stand a round” in a pub, where drinks are ordered at the bar.
source:http://traveltips.usatoday.com/everyday-eating-customs-ireland-109252.html
Irish Etiquette
Handshakes are important
Handshakes are an important factor upon meeting new people - be it businesspeople, family or friends. A firm handshake with eye contact is expected.
“Irish Time”
The Irish tend to not be very time-conscious and may not be punctual for business and social meetings. They have a relaxed sense of time and may be a little late for meetings. However, a foreigner should be on time for business meetings.
Drinks etiquette
One of the most touchy subjects in Irish culture is the notion of “rounds” while out at a pub or bar drinking. Everyone is expected to buy a round of drinks for everyone else, and turning down a drink can sometimes be understood as insulting.
Your best behavior
The Irish respect and expect polite and reserved behavior, and find pretentious behavior to be very off-putting.
Leave the lovey-dovey at home
The Irish aren’t too comfortable with public displays of affection and aren’t too physically demonstrative.
Dress the part
Traditional Irish garb isn’t flashy and gravitates toward tweed and wool. And - surprise! - it rains a lot in Ireland, so bring a raincoat.
Gift-giving
If invited to someone’s home for a meal, bring a small gift as a token of your appreciation. Flowers, a bottle of wine or chocolates usually do the trick. If giving flowers, do not give lilies as they are used at religious festivities. Do not give white flowers as they are used at funerals. Gifts are usually opened when received.
Mind the spuds
Small plates are sometimes offered alongside meal plates as a spot to discard potato peels. It’s considered polite to finish all the food you’re offered at a meal.
source:http://www.irishcentral.com/roots/top-ten-tips-on-irish-cultural-etiquette-cultural-differences-to-be-aware-of-before-you-travel-172842261-237792351.html
France
Seven Culinary Regions of France:
Classical French Cuisine - Capital City (Paris)
Haute cuisine, as it is also known, is one of France's greatest glories.
However, Classical French cuisine is NOT the only significant cuisine of France.
Far less than 1 percent of the dishes eaten by the French are prepared according to the dicta of classic French cuisine.
These rich and elaborate dishes are usually consumed in expensive gastronomic temples (restaurant) where the average French person simply cannot afford to dine.
Why is French Cuisine Important?
Because Classical French Cuisine is the symbol of fine dining in the Western world.
History of Classical French Cuisine
The traditional birth year of Classical French Cuisine is 1533, when Catherine de Medici moved from Florence to Paris to become the child-bride of the future King, Henry II. She was so disgusted by the qualities and manners of the French table that, as part of her marriage agreement, she was allowed to bring an entourage of chefs from her homeland, where fine cooking was an art form.
In due course, the imported talent introduced the Parisian courtiers to the glories that would soon develop into Classical French Cuisine.
Downward Trend
Today Classical French Cuisine is slowly disappearing because of the increasingly prohibitive costs of the required ingredients - and the growing reluctance of talented youths to undergo lengthy, slave-like, and financially unrewarding apprenticeships.
Essentials
According to its rules, nothing but the finest cooking ingredients, equipment, and talent should be employed. Recipes are exact and should be followed faithfully. Therefore, contrary to widespread opinion, being a haute-cuisine chef is not a truly creative profession.
It's best prepared in restaurants…
Because the preparation of many of the sauces requires an economy of scale and much time (measured in days), haute cuisine is better suited for well-staffed restaurants than to homes.
Alsace Lorraine
Vegetables
Be it white or red, cabbage is the most popular regional vegetable and is more often than not pickled into choucroute (sauerkraut), sometimes flavored with juniper berries. Other beloved vegetables include the potato and, in season, asparagus.
Both regions enjoy a variety of tasty freshwater fish such as trout, carp, and pike caught in the cool streams and lakes nearby.
Confectionaries
Both provinces boast of a rich supply of shops selling excellent cakes, macaroons, pastries, and chocolates, all designed to satisfy the traditional sweet tooth of the local citizenry.
German similarity
Alsatians and Lorrainers (especially the former) share a fondness with neighboring Germany for sauerkraut, pork, goose, sausages, and beer, among other hearty products. Even the Alsatian wines are close cousins to the Rhines and Mosels of Germany.
Cooking fat difference
The Alsatians tend to use pork and goose fat as cooking oil more so than do the Lorrainers. The reverse is true when it comes to butter.
Famous Alsatian preparation
Foie Gras
Delicate and light textured goose liver.
Bordeaux and Brittany
Why the cuisine of Bordeaux and Brittany special?
Bordeaux's food is normally prepared in a straightforward manner while Brittany is relatively simple fare without any attempt to reach gastronomic heights.
Bordeaux's cuisine has become well known to the world mainly due to the illustrious Bordeaux wines.
Lamb
It is also a treat in Bordeaux, especially when the animal was reared along the seashore and riverbanks. Like a number of other dishes in Bordeaux, it is often prepared with a light touch of garlic.
Seafood
The ultimate in seafood preparations is Lamproie a la Bordelaise, eel cooked in red wine. In addition to eels, the sizable Gironde estuary yields caviar of genuine sturgeon pedigree.
Oysters
They, too, are standouts in the Bordeaux region, but when ordering, you should request the superior-tasting indigenous gravette as opposed to the more common, transplanted Portuguese variety.
Burgundy
Why the culinary area of Burgundy is special?
Between the cities of Dijon in the north and Lyons in the south lies France's finest culinary area. The cooking of Burgundy is relatively uncomplicated. It relies principally on the high quality of the local cooking ingredients for which the countryside is famous.
Famous Burgundy meats include:
Chicken
Reared in the Bresse sub region.
Beef
From the white Charolais cattle
Wild Game
From nearby forests and streams
Famous Culinary Products
Wine-based Dijon mustard and the spiced gingerbread honeycake called Pain d'Epices.
Best of the Best
Some Burgundy wines rank at the pinnacle of world winedom.
Normandy
Why the cuisine of Normandy is special?
It is renowned for its rich butter and cream sauces - and for its apples, cider, and Calvados, an apple brandy much used in local cooking - and for its excellent coolwater fish and shellfish.
Normandy cheeses
Its cheeses excel and include the famous Camembert and Pont I'Eveque, both surface -ripened.
Provence
Why the cuisine of Provence is special?
The well seasoned dishes of sun drenched Provence refresh and uplift the spirit of the diner.
Garlic
This heady scented plant has been called the "truffle of Provence".
Other flavoring ingredients
Provence is known for its free-handed use of olive oil, tomatoes, and fresh aromatic herbs such as rosemary, basil, and fennel.
Seafood
It is abundant and popular. Other important edibles from the sea include octopus, squid, cuttlefish, mussel, langouste, langoustine, crab, and eel. River fish as well as preserved fish like sardines, anchovies, and salt cod often end up in the workingman's belly.
Ratatouille
A slow-cooked medley of eggplant, tomatoes, courgettes (think of zucchini), onions, garlic, and herbs.
Salade Nicoise
The ingredients, tossed in a garlic permeated oil dressing, could include lettuce, tuna chunks, tomatoes, hard-boiled eggs, olives, anchovy strips, potatoes, green beans, green peppers, capers, and what have you.
Wines
Red Wine Varieties
Cabernet Sauvignon
“Cab-er-nay Saw-vin-yawn”
Taste: Black Cherry, Black Currant, Baking Spices, Cedar
Style: Full-bodied Red Wine
Description: Cabernet Sauvignon is a full-bodied red wine that originated in France. Today, it’s the most popular wine variety in the world. Wines taste full-bodied with bold tannins and a long persistent black peppery finish.
Food Pairing: lamb, beef, smoked meats, French, American, firm cheeses like aged cheddar and hard cheeses like Pecorino
Syrah
“Sear-ah” (aka Shiraz)
Taste: Blueberry, Plum, Pepper, Chocolate, Tobacco
Style: Full-bodied Red Wine
Description: Syrah (aka Shiraz) is a full-bodied red wine that originated in France. Wines are full-bodied with bold fruit flavors and subtle tannin that drops off into a smooth finish. Syrah is commonly blended with Grenache and Mourvèdre to create the red Rhône blend.
Food Pairing: lamb, beef, smoked meats, Mediterranean, French, American, salty cheeses such as feta, firm cheeses like white cheddar, and hard cheeses like Manchego
Zinfandel
“Zin-fan-dell”
Taste: Strawberry, Blackberry, 5 Spice Powder, Sweet Tobacco
Style: Medium-bodied Red Wine
Description: Zinfandel (aka Primitivo) is a medium-bodied red wine that originated in Croatia. Wines are fruit-forward and spicy with a medium length finish. Zinfandel is a red grape that may be better known as the rosé wine White Zinfandel.
Food Pairing: chicken, pork, cured meat, lamb, beef, barbecue, Italian, American, Chinese, Thai, Indian, full-flavored like cheddar and firm cheeses such as Manchego.
Pinot Noir
“Pee-no Nwar”
Taste: Cherry, Cranberry, Clove, Mushroom
Style: Light-bodied Red Wine
Description: Pinot Noir is a dry light-bodied red wine that originated in France. Wines are somewhat tart with a burst of fruit that leads into a long soft finish.
Food Pairing: chicken, pork, veal, duck, cured meat, French, German, cream sauces, soft cheeses, nutty medium-firm cheeses like Gruyère
White Wine Variety
Chardonnay
“Shar-dun-nay”
Taste: Starfruit, Yellow Apple, Butter, Chalk
Style: Full-bodied White Wine
Description: Chardonnay is a dry full-bodied white wine that originated in France. When oak-aged, Chardonnay will taste creamy and buttery. Unoaked wines are lighter and zesty with apple and citrus flavors. Chardonnay is the white wine of Burgundy.
Food Pairing: lobster, crab, shrimp, chicken, pork, mushroom, French, cream sauces, soft cheeses such as triple cream brie, medium-firm cheeses like Gruyère
Sauvignon Blanc
“Saw-vin-yawn Blonk”
Taste: Gooseberry, Honeydew Melon, Passion Fruit, Grass
Style: Light-bodied White Wine
Description: Sauvignon Blanc is a dry light-bodied white wine that originated in France. Wines are zesty, typically with herbal green fruit flavors. Sauvignon Blanc is an older heritage grape, a parent grape of Cabernet Sauvignon.
Food Pairing: fish, chicken, pork, veal, Mexican, Vietnamese, French, herb-crusted goat cheese, nutty cheeses such as Gruyère
Pinot Gris
“Pee-no Gree” (aka Pinot Grigio)
Taste: Lemon Pith, Honeydew Melon, Nectarine, White Peach
Style: Light-bodied White Wine
Description: Pinot Gris is a dry light-bodied white wine that originated from Northern Italy and France. Wines are zesty, thirst-quenching and often lighter in alcohol (12% ABV) making them ideal for outdoor dining.
Riesling
“Reese-ling”
Taste: Lime, Apple, Beeswax, Honey
Style: Aromatic (sweet) White Wine
Description: Riesling is an off-dry aromatic white wine (dry styles also exist) that originated from Germany where it is the most important wine. Wines are mouth-watering and tart with a lemon-honey-like sweetness. Riesling is considered a low alcohol wine when it is sweet at around 9%–10% ABV.
Food Pairing: chicken, pork, duck, turkey, cured meat, Indian, Thai, Vietnamese, Moroccan, German, washed-rind cheeses and fondue
MIDTERM: ITALY
Italy's top 10 cuisine regions and their main cities:
Emilia Romagna’s famous specialty – PORK
Prosciutto
Parma's classic mountain-air cured ham.
Ragu
Pork is the chief meat ingredient in the famed ragu. It is a thick, rich, and complex tomato sauce ideally suited for pasta. The sauce is often called "Bolognese sauce", named after the region's leading city.
Pork fat
It rather than butter or olive oil is the principal cooking oil of the region (though the city of Bologna, like Rome, proves itself egalitarian by using all three).
Pasta
Emilia-Romagna's pasta creations are well known: Tortellini (small, stuffed ring shaped pasta), Tagliatelle (ribbon shaped pasta, the favorite base for a ragu), and the spinach-dyed pasta verde. Two noted pasta verde dishes are Lasagna Verde and Paglia e Fieno, literally Straw and Hay, referring to the look when green and yellowish noodles are combined.
Cooking style of Tuscany
Uncomplicated
The homeland of the ancient Etruscans offers simple, straightforward food without many embellishments.
Key Tuscany cooking ingredients:
Olive oil
It rather than butter is widely used in cooking. The Tuscan town of Lucca is considered one of the best if not the finest producer of that pale gold liquid.
Beans
Another characteristic cooking ingredient is the bean, which goes into many soups and stews. "Alla Toscana" on a menu usually suggests a side order of beans.
Beef
Although it is not true in the rest of Italy, beef is very popular in Tuscany.
Seafood
Along the Tuscan coast one finds seafood specialties. They include the well-seasoned soup-stew Cacciucco as well as dishes made with baby eel.
Famous Latium and Rome Specialties
Spaghetti alla Carbonara
One standard recipe calls for the pasta being tossed simply with a sauce comprising pancetta (a salted but unsmoked form of bacon) and raw egg yolks. Other equally popular versions add ingredients such as cream, butter and cheese.
Famous specialties of Lombardy and Milan
Minestrone
A soup, thick with rice and/or pasta and vegetables. (Liguria also claims credit for creating this specialty.)
Culinary preferences Three defining characteristics:
Butter
Generous use of butter is a hallmark of Milanese/Lombard cooking.
Rice and Polenta
Diners have a strong preference for rice or polenta over pasta.
Meat vs seafood
Being landlocked, Lombardy has few notable seafood specialties (one being the aquatic version of Frito Misto). Meat (especially veal) is king.
Piedmont cooking philosophy
Traditional
The region has Torino, Italy's most modern and industrialized metropolis. However, the approach to food in Piedmont remains reasonably loyal to yesteryear's principles of bringing out rather than masking the natural flavors of the cooking ingredients.
Major starch staples of Venice and Veneto
Rice reigns
Rice, not pasta, is the principal starch staple of Venice and is typically served combined with other ingredients. The most splendid application is in the vegetable dish Risi e Bisi, literally Rice and Peas.
Polenta
Outside Venice, in the Veneto region, the firm cornmeal-mush specialty, polenta, rivals and in some places supplants rice as the primary starch staple.
Pasta
Pasta, though in the third place in the starch popularity poll, has over the last century been steadily increasing its share of the market.
Cooking ingredients of Naples and Campania
Pasta
Spaghetti is a favorite, and is frequently served covered with seafood and meatless marinara tomato sauce.
Produce
The Campanian countryside produces superb fruits and vegetables, particularly tomatoes and eggplants.
Mozzarella
The bland mozzarella cheese that is made from water buffalo milk regularly finds its way to the table, often with tomatoes on a salad plate.
Other basic ingredients
They include garlic, onions, bread, olive oil, oregano and other heady herbs.
Seafood
It's the principal protein source and can be scungilli (conch), clams, mussels, octopus, squid, shrimp, or any of a wide variety of locally caught fish.
Popular Sicily food ingredients
Seafood
It's Sicily's leading protein source because of its abundance. Tuna, swordfish and sardines head the charts. Meat is usually tough and expensive, owing to a lack of suitable pasturage.
Produce
They are flavorful and well liked in Sicily.
Ricotta
Sicilians adore fruits and vegetables, especially tomato, eggplant, artichoke, citrus fruits, almonds, and olives.
Olive oil
It is Sicily's favorite cooking medium (except in Palermo, where cooks prefer butter).
Characteristics of Sardinian Cuisine
Distinctive
The cuisine of Sardinia is the most distinctive of Italy's regional cuisines, mainly due to the island's geographic isolation from Italy's mainland.
The two cuisines of Sardinia
The cuisine of Sardinia can be divided into two cooking styles:
Coastal cuisine
Defined by a broad variety of seafood.
Inland cuisine
It encompasses undulating farmland, pristine woodlands and rugged mountains in Sardinia's interior. The inland cuisine is especially renowned for spit-roasted meats. Wild mushrooms and game are also culinary stars.
For the best of each of the two Sardinian cuisines, eat their foods only within their respective geographical areas.
Fresh and simple
Sardinian cooks insist on fresh ingredients. And, their cooking style is less complex than in other regions, which suits Sardinian diners. They want their foods cooked relatively simple and straightforward so as not to overwhelm the food's natural flavor.
Liguria
Pesto is Liguria and Genoa'vs most famous specialty.
The region of Liguria is the birthplace of pesto, that fragrant, thick, green sauce that is now prepared by cooks around the world.
How pesto is authentically made
Pesto is made by pounding its ingredients together with a pestle (hence, the name) in a mortar. The essential ingredients are basil, garlic, Parmesan and Sardinian ewe's milk cheeses, along with pine nuts and olive oil. This last ingredient, olive oil, is Liguria's chief cooking oil and creates one of the several exceptions to the "butter in the north" rule.
How Ligurians use pesto
They have discovered many ways, including liberally adding a dollop on their trenette (egg noodles), as well as on their versions of minestrone (soup) and potato flour gnocchi dumplings.
Seafood
It plays a major role in the cooking of Genoa and Liguria. The regional cuisine is very dependent on the sea as Liguria is mostly mountainous, not ideally suited for farming and cattle grazing.
Herbs
Throughout Liguria, herbs are generally used with a free hand. In contrast, spices are added with constraint.
Wines
Although Ligurian wines are only fair in quality, the Cinque Terre sub-region of Liguria is a conversation piece. Some of its vineyards are reachable only by boat or cliff pathway along the steep, rugged coastline.
Germany
Popular German cooking ingredients
Meat and seafood
Pork is the favorite, though beef frequently appears on household tables.
Chicken and duck are popular, but it is the goose (traditionally cooked and served with apples and prunes) that captures the fancy of most German diners.
The country abounds with forests and, consequently, game like venison, wild boar, hare, pheasant, and river trout contribute to the national fine dining tradition.
Northern Germany has lengthy Baltic and North Sea coastlines. The cool waters yield abundant and flavorful seafood.
Vegetables, grains, and flavoring agents
The popular potato adds to Germany's high carbohydrate count, appearing either boiled, or shredded for pancakes or dumplings. Interestingly, these tubers are a relatively recent (mid-18th century) addition to the historical German larder.
The term "German cuisine" is difficult to define precisely because ...
The influx of Turkish and other foreign workers has accelerated the introduction of new flavors and menu items.
Still, there remains today a German cuisine with a distinct, time-honored character. And that character is defined largely by Germany's regional cuisines.
Foreign culinary influences on German cuisine
Crossroads location
Germany lies within the well-traveled crossroads of Europe and, as a result, German cuisine has been greatly influenced by its neighbors.
Spain
Spain's five famous regional cuisines:
Spanish cuisine tips and insights
Seasoning
Spanish cooks in general use few assertive seasonings, with the exception of garlic.
Most popular meat
Most Spaniards are not great beef consumers. Lean, rangy hogs yielding lean meat and sausage are more popular than beef cattle, which are more expensive to raise in Spain's relatively dry climate.
Seafood
However, this limited selection of meat is partially offset by the country's abundant fresh seafood, which in turn is supplemented by dried cod.
Olive oil
Spanish cooks greatly prefer olive oil to butter or other fats.
Tapas
A popular custom is to drop by a bar on the way home for a snack of tapas. They are, generally speaking, hors d'oeuvres. Tapas range from the simple combination of olives and almonds to an elaborate spread of hot and cold dishes. Seafood tapas are especially popular.
Andalucia’s most famous dish is gazpacho
The cold soup Gazpacho comes in many varieties in Andalucia and other parts of Spain. The Andalucia versions are particularly noteworthy. Most are made by adding ingredients like bread, green peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, raw eggs, and croutons to the basic garlic broth.
Basque
Famous Basque cuisine specialties
Bacalao al pil pil
Salt cod, garlic, onions and red peppers are slowly cooked in olive oil in a cazuela (a shallow earthenware pot).
Merluza la Vasca
Also cooked in a cazuela. Hake is the prime ingredient.
Chiperones en su tinta
Basque version of the popular Spanish dish. Name translates as "squid in its ink".
Cooking style
It's straightforward. Nothing fancy, just perfect ingredients perfectly cooked.
Male culinary clubs
Men are devoted to the art of cooking. Some form private culinary clubs where they prepare and eat tempting local specialties. Women are not allowed to join the cooking and dining feasts.
Occupational influences
Many citizens are sheepherders, so roast baby lamb has become a specialty. Many are also fishermen, so seafood dishes are quite popular.
Catalonia
Culinary reputation
Many Spanish food connoisseurs consider Catalan cuisine (along with the Basque cuisine) to have the finest regional cooking of Spain.
Differences
Not only is the cooking style distinct from the rest of Spain, the citizens speak a different language (Catalan).
Seasonal
The fare is more seasonal than elsewhere in Spain.
Wild game
It is often on the menu, especially in the fall.
The French connection
Some cooking aspects are more French than Spanish (Catalonia lies directly south of France).
Madrid and Environs
Famous specialties of Madrid and environs
Callos
A tripe stew enlivened with smoked pork and a smidgen of wine and brandy.
Famous specialties of the Old and New Castile regions
"Castile" encompasses Old Castile north and New Castile south of Madrid.
Suckling Pig
Tiny whole pig (no more than several weeks old) is roasted on a revolving spit until its skin becomes crispy brown. The culinary pride of Old Castile.
Valencia
The most famous Valencia dish
Paella
It is Valencia's best known dish - and has endless variations, changing from town to town. To compound the confusion, a dish of saffron rice, chicken, sausage, seafood, peas, and peppers, cooked in a large round pan with a flat bottom and two handles, is called Paella a la Valenciana outside Spain.
The Paella Valencianos love most
Arroz con Pollo
This is a more austere but splendid version of the Paella - and is known locally simply as arroz con pollo ("rice with chicken").
The essence of the dish
Saffron flavored and colored rice is mixed, often with chicken but without sausages and pimientos.
Greek Cuisine
Not sophisticated
Most globe-trotting gourmets don't give high marks to Greek cuisine in terms of culinary sophistication. But Greek food becomes captivating when the meal is leisurely eaten and shared with family or friends in a convivial restaurant or taverna, or at home in a shaded outdoor patio. Without those ambiances, the pleasure of eating Greek food drops a notch or two.
Early influences
Greek cooking is a fusion of early Greek cuisine blended with foreign influences dating back to Roman times.
Ottoman Empire
The greatest influence was the cooking style of the Ottoman Empire, which ruled Greece in the 14th to 18th centuries.
Greek and Turkish cuisines
The Ottoman impact explains why Greece and Turkey share many dishes. However, the two styles differ in, for instance, seasoning. The Turkish tend to use herbs and spices more intricately, the Greeks, more simply.
Seafood
Fish was one of the popular mainstays of the Greek diet during my first visit in the 1960s. Today, fresh seafood is scarce and expensive due to severe overfishing. Much of the supply is now frozen and imported.
Baklava
Dessert. Layers of phyllo pastry and nuts are drenched with honey syrup.
Greek salad
Lettuce mixed with feta cheese, tomatoes, olives, scallions, and green peppers, then tossed with a lemony olive oil dressing.
Moussaka
A casserole composed of layers of eggplant and minced lamb crowned with a white sauce.
America's 7 most famous regional cuisines
Split personalities
American cuisine has both a dull and exciting side:
Dull = Fast foods and overly processed grocery-store foods
Exciting = Regional and ethnic cooking - and steaks
The 3 great aspects of American cuisine.
Regional and ethnic cooking:
Innovation
American cuisine is the most innovative major cuisine on our planet. This is not because Americans cooks are naturally more creative than their counterparts abroad. They're not. A prime reason is the nation's cuisine is relatively new. It is not as encumbered by ironbound culinary rules as in, say, the French and Chinese cuisines. The Americans have more freedom to experiment.
This has been particularly true with the regional Southwestern, Californian, and Hawaiian cuisines.
Land of plenty
America has so much land suitable for farming that it could support twice its population.
The arable land that could be used for agriculture is not wasted. Much of it is used by the cattle industry (which requires extensive grazing land). This has allowed meat eating to become a significant factor in American cuisine.
California
Why California cuisine is special?
California cuisine is an energizing, relatively new cooking style that has influenced cooks and diners around the nation.
Founder: Alice Waters
The birth year of California cuisine was 1971 when chef Alice Waters opened her now legendary Chez Panisse restaurant (see photo) in Berkeley. She was the first restaurateur known to emphasize all of the pillars mentioned below.
The six pillars that collectively define California cuisine
Fresh quality ingredients
California cuisine chefs use ingredients that are fresh and from trusted, quality local farmers and ranchers.
Innovative
Cooks are encouraged to try new combinations of ingredients, even if it seems odd to mainstream America.
Unbound by written recipes
One seldom prepares anything exactly the same way twice. Because of this, it is difficult to create a meaningful compendium of truly iconic California cuisine recipes.
Preserving character
Cooks try to maintain an ingredient's look and natural flavor. In doing the latter, they avoid using too many ingredients in the same dish.
Presentation
Presentation and taste are on equal footing - colors, shapes and other visuals count highly.
Quick and easy
Backyard grilling is a California passion and cooks prefer fast, not slow cooking. This explains why grilling is far more popular than roasting or charcoal-barbecuing meats.
Vegetables are more likely to be quickly steamed or parboiled than braised or stewed (and may seem undercooked by national values. Sauces tend to be simple, not involved.
Bountiful California
Diverse ethnicity
California's 35-million-plus people come from many cultures and countries. This helped foster a fusion cuisine.
Not everyone
Of course, it would be a mistake to suggest that everyone is a bona fide California cuisiner. Most citizens are not. This is the land of fast food, where many of the nation's leading chains - including McDonalds and Taco Bell - were started.
Why Creole Cuisine and Cajun Cuisine are special
Creole and Cajun are two of America's most original cuisines. They are also two of its best.
Jambalaya
A seasoned mélange of meat (pork, seafood and/or sausage), vegetables and rice are cooked in one pan. Jambalaya is similar to and was influenced by Spain's paella.
Location
New Orleans is the home of Creole cuisine. Just east lies the heart of the secluded bayous, Cajun territory.
How Creole and Cajun cuisines differ
Originally, the neighboring Creole and Cajun cuisines were markedly different. Over the centuries, the distinctions between the two blurred as cooks on both sides adopted each other's dishes.
However, food mavens can spot the unique qualities because the cooks of each cuisine modified the borrowed dishes in keeping with their culinary heritage.
Generally, Creole cuisine is urbane while Cajun cuisine is country style. Take Jambalaya as an illustration. The Creole version is more citified and complex, the Cajun, more down-home and straightforward. Both are delicious.
Origin
Creole cuisine was fashioned by early French and Spanish immigrants, and by African slaves. Cajun cuisine was created by the French Acadians (later shortened to Cajuns) and by major contributions from Native Americans.
Different lifestyles
Creole cuisine materialized in New Orleans, a city with sophisticated tastes inherited from its refined French and Spanish immigrants. Black slave cooks added their creative touches. Elaborate sauces and complex cooking methods ensued.
In contrast, Cajun cuisine emerged among a people who lived a hard life in the bayous, with a limited variety of cooking ingredients. They had to make do with what they had. An unfussy, down-home style of cooking emerged, without culinary bells and whistles. Yet, like New Orleans residents, they developed a splendid cuisine because they loved and demanded good cooking.
Why Hawaiian cuisine is special
Hawaiian cuisine is one of the best and oldest examples of fusion cuisine. Polynesian, Asian, European and mainland American culinary heritages have profoundly influenced it.
The four branches Hawaiian cuisine has four distinct culinary personalities:
Traditional Polynesian
This is the cooking style most people associate with Hawaiian cuisine. The seafaring Polynesians first landed on uninhabited Hawaii about 700 A.D., bringing their plants, pigs and cooking techniques. Their most celebrated contribution was the luau, a communal feast.
Kalua Pig
The whole animal is slow-cooked in an imu (an underground pit oven).
Poi
Mashed cook taro root. Used as the starch staple.
Lau Lau Foods
Foods wrapped in Ti leaves and steamed in the imu.
Lomi Salmon
Seasoned diced raw fish.
Haupia
Coconut cream pudding-like dessert.
Modern Luau
The luaus orchestrated today are popular with residents and (especially) tourists. They serve the above-mentioned Polynesian luau dishes. However, the cooks use many shortcuts. And, the events are more commercial than communal. But like in the old days, they can be fun.
Local Hawaiian cuisine
Chinese, Europeans, Filipinos, Japanese, Koreans, mainland Americans, and Pacific Islanders settled in droves in Hawaii beginning in the mid-19th century. Although some held fast to their culinary traditions, many merged aspects of their cooking styles to create multi-culture Hawaiian cuisine dishes.
Regional Hawaiian cuisine
Hawaiian regional cuisine, as it is called, was founded in the early 1990s by a dozen accomplished local chefs. They were obviously influenced by the California cuisine movement because the Hawaiian regional cuisine approach includes using fresh local ingredients, creatively combining foods, and presenting dishes attractively.
New England Cuisine
Culinary history in brief
The early colonists gave birth to New England cuisine, which was significantly influenced by the Narragansett Indian cuisine. This New England cooking style continued to mutate into the 19th century as waves of immigrants came from Ireland, Italy and Portugal.
Native American influence
The England-reared pilgrims brought their culinary traditions, but some were ill-suited for their new environment. The American Indians introduced them to many essentials including how to grow corn and harvest molasses, both indigenous to the New World. Without their help, the initial settlers might not have survived the first winter.
A plain and simple cuisine
The cooked foods of the Puritan settlers were relatively bland and uncreative. This reflected not only their religious tenets, but also the frugality forced upon them by the challenging environment. They had to deal with rocky-soiled farms and a short growing season. Their cooking conservatism was passed down from generation to generation.
Seafood
The ocean was bountiful in cod, haddock, clams and lobsters. The last was so abundant that it was considered among the people to be a low-status food. Times have certainly changed.
Soulfood and Southern Cuisine
Why Soul Food is special
Soul Food cuisine was created by Black slave woman cooks in the Old South. Its culinary roots are West African. Like other ethnic comfort foods in our world, Soul Food cuisine is hearty and filling - and evokes a satisfying emotional response to one's cultural heritage.
Soul Food Cuisine compared to Southern Cuisine
How they differ
A sampling of dishes shared by both cuisines
The preparations listed below are mainstays on the Soul Food Cuisine table. They are also part of the overall Southern Cuisine repertoire. Click the "Southern" button on the left for brief insights on them:
Name
Soul Food goes back centuries, but didn't receive its "Soul Food" appellation until the 1960s.
How it began
Soul Food was born of hard times. Slaves received the culinary undesirables from their masters, who reserved the choice portions of the animals and vegetables for themselves. The slaves had to make do with animal parts like pig's feet, jowls, ears, and intestines - and vegetable parts like the fibrous green tops of turnips.
Nutrition
The vegetable-dominated diet of the slaves was often a healthier one than that of their oft-sedentary masters. The latter typically ate meals high in fat, sugar and calories. Slaves also consumed substantial calories, but they worked them off performing their strenuous, long-hour jobs.
Mexican Cuisine
National Characteristics of Mexican Cuisine:
Stimulating
Mexican dishes stimulate the taste buds in exciting ways.
Chili
Mexican cuisine wouldn't be the same without the chili, a native New World fruit.
Other popular flavoring agents
They include cumin, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, oregano, onions, garlic, and lemon or lime juice.
More favorites
Red and green tomatoes, avocados, plantains, bananas, and other fruits play a prominent role in Mexico's cuisine.
Other Mexican cuisine favorites include:
Eggs
They are widely used in cooking. Huevos rancheros ("ranch eggs") is a popular dish.
Tortillas
They are the bread of Mexico - and appear in almost every meal. Tortillas can be made of wheat or corn.
Moroccan Cuisine
Couscous
It's the most internationally known Moroccan (and Magreb) preparation. Simply described, couscous is small pellet-sized "pasta" made from semolina flour. Couscous is plated under (or as a side to) a main dish.
Turkish Cuisine
Why Turkish cuisine is special?
Turkish cuisine is a Middle Eastern culinary marriage - and the nation has some of the most dedicated and talented cooks on earth.
Outbound influences
Turkish cuisine has had a great influence on the cooking of many Middle Eastern countries - especially Greece.
- - - FINAL EXAM COVERAGE - 2nd Semester, Academic Year 2016 2017 - - -
Chinese Cuisine
The two pillars of Chinese cooking philosophy:
Harmony
Chinese cuisine stresses a harmonious blending of foods - a dynamic balance between sweet and sour, rich and lean, bright-colored and neutral, smooth and crunchy.
Preparation
Skilled Chinese chefs and knowledgeable diners insist that each food ingredient should be at its peak of flavor and quality - and seasoned, cooked, and sauced properly.
Traditional Chinese Family Dinners
Communal dishes
They equal the number of diners at the table.
Dish positioning
All dishes are set in the middle of the table at the same time.
Serving
The diners help themselves, using chopsticks to transfer small morsels from the communal serving dishes to the top of their rice in their individual rice bowls.
Major cooking ingredients:
Rice
In south China, rice is the main food. In north China, cereal grains, such as wheat (in the form of noodles, dumplings and steamed buns) reign in the north.
Meat
Pork and chicken are the two leading meats in China, though in the north, lamb is very popular.
Vegetarian
Buddhist monks, forbidden to eat meat, evolved a rich and diversified vegetarian cuisine. They developed recipes for bean curd and wheat gluten (developed from wheat flour). These mimic meat or simply provide
Seasonings
Chinese cooks makes use of comparatively few herbs. Spices, condiments and dried foods are used more frequently.
China's top 4 Regional Cuisines
Cantonese
Mandarin
Shanghai
Sichuan
Other Main Regional Cuisines
Fukien
Hunan
Jiangsu
Shandong
Tibetan
Yunnan
Why Cantonese Cuisine is special?
Three reasons
Famous Cantonese Cuisine Specialties:
Dim Sum
A Cantonese cuisine institution.
Dim sums are midday treats served on small plates.
Hundreds of dim sum varieties exist.
They can be hot or cold, savory or sweet.
Popular favorites include steamed dumplings, deep fried spring rolls, baked meat filled pastries and stuffed crab claws.
Diners make their selections off carts pushed through the dining room.
Tea is the traditional beverage.
Famous Mandarin Cuisine Specialties
Peking Duck
The succulently crisp skin of Peking (Beijing) duck is the most precious part of the dish. The diner smears a sweet bean paste with a scallion onto a thin flour pancake (or steamed bun), then rolls and eats the preparation using his hand.
Bird's Nest Soup
The nest of swallow is simmered to extract its gelatinous substance, which flavors and thickens the soup.
Famous Shanghai Cuisine Specialties
Sweet and Sour Pork
Generally sweeter and more sour than the Cantonese version.
Yangchow Fried Rice
Leftover rice stir-fried with an especially rich mixture of foods.
Sichuan Cuisine
Known as China's Hot and Spicy cuisine. Pseudo Sichuan cooking
Many non-Chinese Sichuan restaurant-goers (especially in America) relish the monotonous everything-as-hot-as-possible approach.
Making one dish hotter than another is not a measure of a chef's talent. All it takes is the addition of extra chili, a feat that could be performed by a trained monkey.
Epicures judge a Sichuan chef by the subtly complex overtones of his sauces and whether they complement the other ingredients in his dishes.
Not everything is hot
The people prefer the dishes on the table to have degrees of hotness varying from mild to fiery.
Japanese Cuisine
Why Japanese Cuisine is Special?
Though more complex cuisines exist, none comes close to matching Japan's culinary aesthetics.
Sushi
Even sushi varies by region. In Tokyo the fish is pressed onto two-inch oblong rice balls (the style followed by virtually all sushi bars outside Japan), but in Osaka the fish is pressed onto rice in a mold, then usually cut into squares or rectangles.
Rice
It is usually steamed and served at the end of a meal. Rice is the main starch staple in Japanese cuisine.
Presentation
Ingredients are artistically cut and arranged not merely to please the senses but to conform to elaborate systems of cultural symbolism.
The 4 Principal Cooking Methods of Japanese Cuisine:
Agemono
These are fried foods. Famous dishes include Tempura, Kagiage
Mushimono
Steamed foods: The celebrated dish is Chawan Mushi, an egg custard containing chicken and vegetables.
Nimono
These foods are boiled. The best-known subcategory is Nabemono, one-pot tabletop cookery in which the ingredients are simmered in a lightly seasoned broth, then usually dipped into a flavorful sauce.
Nabemono's best-known dishes are:
Sukiyaki Shabu Shabu
Beef, vegetables, and bean curd
Mizutaki
Somewhat like Shabu Shabu, but with chicken instead of beef
Yosenabe
Fish, shellfish, and vegetables
Yudofo
Uncomplicated bean curd preparation
Yakimono
Foods that are broiled. Some of the best-known dishes are Yakitori (marinated skewer-broiled chicken), Teriyaki (broiled meat or fish first marinated in a sweetened sake and soy-sauce mixture), Shioyaki (fish salted for an hour or two, then skewer-broiled), and Teppan Yaki (food cooked on a small tabletop grill).
Indian Cuisine
Indian cuisine consists of thousands of regional cuisines which date back thousands of years. The dishes of India are characterized by the extensive use of various Indian spices, herbs, vegetables and fruits.
Indian cuisine is also known for the widespread practice of vegetarianism in Indian society. Each family of Indian cuisine includes a wide assortment of dishes and cooking techniques.
Hindu beliefs and culture have played an influential role in the evolution of Indian cuisine.
However, cuisine across India also evolved as a result of the subcontinent's large-scale cultural interactions with the Mongols and the British, making it a unique blend of some various cuisines.
Six Famous Regional Cuisines of India
Mumbai Cuisine
Kashmir Cuisine
Goa
Kerala
Punjab
Tamil Nadu
Mumbai Cuisine
Mumbai is famous worldwide for its delectable traditional dishes as well as for road side spicy food.
Kashmir Cuisine
It is the home of the elaborate wazwan wedding feast - and complexly seasoned dishes like Roghan Josh.
Goa
Both local and European culinary cultures influenced the cooking style of Goa, a former colony of Portugal.
Curries incorporating a combination of hot chili peppers and coconut milk or cream are popular in Goa.
Kerala
Kerala is widely praised for flavorful fish and prawns freshly caught along its tropical palm-fringed sea coast.
Punjab
Many gourmets believe that the Punjab is India's land of milk and honey - and that it has the best cooks in the nation. The food is rich, creamy and robust. Subtlety is not a priority.
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu cooks produce some of the world's tastiest vegetarian dishes - and, for meat eaters, there's the highly touted Chettinad cuisine.
Five More Well-Known Indian Regional and City Cuisines
Andhra Pradesh state
Known as the "Hottest Cuisine in India" title.
Karnataka
Has India's second highest percentage of vegetarians.
New Delhi
Its core Indian cuisine is a fusion of Persian, Punjab and Mughal cooking.
Rajasthan
Rajasthani cooking was influenced by both the war-like lifestyles of its inhabitants and the availability of ingredients in this arid region.
Food that could last for several days and could be eaten without heating was preferred. Scarcity of water and fresh green vegetables have all had their effect on the cooking
Rajasthan is known for tough people and tough food.
West Bengal
Cuisine revolves around fish, rice and lentils.
Indonesian Cuisine
Why Indonesian cuisine is special?
The food is chili hot and complexly seasoned with aromatic herbs and spices. "Bland" is not in an Indonesian chef's vocabulary. Freshness and taste are.
These four Indonesian cuisine dishes
are widely popular:
Satay
Meat or prawns charcoal-grilled on mini-skewers
Nasi Goreng
A fried rice mixture with finely chopped vegetables and either meat or prawns
Mei Goreng
Same as Nasi Goreng except noodles are substituted for rice
Gado Gado
Parboiled fresh vegetables flavored with a spicy peanut sauce
Alcohol
It is more widely available in Bali than in Indonesia in general because over 90% of Balinese are not Muslims.
Thai Cuisine
The Thai cuisine relies on five primary flavors:
The secret to all Thai food lies in the subtle differences in the proportions of ingredients used which can add layers of flavor and aroma.
Chilies
There are many cuisines in the world that freely use hot chili peppers, but few can match the level of Thailand's culinary sophistication.
Thai cooks are particularly fond of flavoring agents, particularly:
Rice
As with most other parts of tropical and semitropical Asia, meals in Thailand center on rice.
Some of the world-renowned Thai dishes include:
Tom Yum Goong (Spicy Shrimp Soup)
Som Tum (Spicy Green Papaya Salad)
Pad Thai (Thai style Fried Noodles)
Khao Pad (Fried Rice)
Vietnamese Cuisine
Regional differences in Vietnamese food:
Northern region
Hanoi is the principal city in this area of Vietnam.
Seasoning
The cooks season their foods more mildly than their central and southern counterparts.
Central region
Hue and Hoi An are the principal cities in central Vietnam.
Royal cuisine
The Central region has absorbed the culinary style of the royal cuisine of the ancient Kingdom that once ruled from Hue.
Seasoning
Dishes are spicier and more complex than in the south and particularly in the north.
Southern region
Ho Chi Minh City (formally Saigon) is the major city.
Seafood
Diners in the south eat more seafood, less beef than northerners.
Produce
They also eat more fresh fruits and vegetables.
Popular flavoring agents
Nuoc Nam (sauce made with salty, fermented fish) and Nuoc Cham (garlicky chili paste) play a major role in Vietnamese cuisine. The two are used both in the kitchen and at the table. The same is for fresh herbs like mint, basil, and coriander.
Rice
It is the main starch staple in Vietnam. Most is grown in the southern Mekong River delta.
Culinary legacies
The Chinese culinary influence is more apparent in the north while the French colonial heritage has left a stronger imprint in central region and especially in the southern region.
How do we define culture?
According to Kitler and Sucher…
Culture is the values, beliefs, attitudes, and practices by members of a group or community
Culture is learned, not inherited.
It is passed from generation to generation through acquisition and socialization called enculturation.
Cuisine
- style of cooking, especially one that is notable for high quality.
- the range of food prepared by a restaurant, country or person.
How do we define food?
Food is defined as any substance that provides nutrients necessary to maintain life and growth when ingested.
Basic Concepts and Aspects of Food
Food is Multidimensional
aside from its nutrients, it contains non –nutritional components that gives color, texture, flavor, and other palatability factors which consumer look for when making choices.
Food should be satisfying and many meanings are attached to it according to:
- Health
- Religion
- Safety
- Socio - Economic
- Availability of food due to geographical location, climate, topography and agricultural practices
- Emotional Factors
Timeline of Food
Pre - Historic
- Water and Ice – believed to be the first form of food
- In 10,000 BC, Agriculture began and in 9,000 BC sheep, cattle and goat were then domesticated.
- Farming was introduced in China and Peru by 6000 BC.
The Effects of Conquests and Trading on Cultural Foods
- Propagation of different agricultural produce all over the world;
- Introduction of different practices, beliefs and methods of food preparation;
- Cultural interchanges;
Factors Affecting Food ways and Culinary Practices:
Geographical Location
e.g. North African nations with costal lines of the Mediterranean Sea have common food ways with the Greeks and Italians
Climate
Climate affects and dictates vegetation of a particular region.
Topography
Refers to the kind of terrain such as mountain ranges, fertile valleys, thick forests, rivers and lakes surrounding the islands
History
Current knowledge depends on existing documents or records about aborigines or the natives before foreigners came.
Latter the invaders, colonizers, and traders brought with them food and cooking tools among other artifacts, language, clothing, fashion, arts etc.
Religion
Worship of a single God or many Gods provide a person with an orderly relationship with himself and with other followers as they connect with spiritual or supernatural realm.
Five major religions in the world:
- Buddhism;
- Christianity;
- Islam;
- Confucianism;
- Hinduism;
Other popular religions:
- Judaism;
- Shintoism;
- Seventh Day Adventist
Buddhism
Existed for over 2,500 years
Founded by Sidharta Gautama or Buddha (the enlightened one) in 6th century BCE in India
Buddhism was a protestant revolt against orthodox Hinduism although it accepted some of its concepts such as the doctrine of Karma, spiritual liberation from the flesh, and wisdom from taming the appetite.
Many sects of Buddhism a variety of dietary laws:
- No meat is allowed;
- Taking of life is forbidden;
Some Buddhist sects allow fish and others can consume meat provided they were not responsible for killing the animals
The eight spoke wheel stands for the Noble Eight-fold Path which illustrates the moral principle in which all Buddhist should practice:
- Right Knowledge;
- Right Thinking;
- Right Speech;
- Right Conduct;
- Right Livelihood;
- Right Effort;
- Right Mindfulness;
- Right Concentration;
The four basic teachings of Buddhism are found in the “Four Noble Truths”
- Life as we know it ultimately is or leads to suffering (dukkha) in one way or another.
- Suffering is caused by craving or attachments to worldly pleasures of all kinds. This is often expressed as a deluded clinging to a certain sense of existence, to selfhood, or to the things or people that we consider the cause of happiness or unhappiness.
- Suffering ends when craving ends, when one is freed from desire. This is achieved by eliminating all delusion, thereby reaching a liberated state of Enlightenment (bodhi);
- Reaching this liberated state is achieved by following the path laid out by the Buddha.
Dietary Restrictions
- There are no set dietary laws in Buddhism.
- There is no such clear distinction between permitted and forbidden foods in Buddhism.
- Therefore, there is a great deal of diversity in Buddhist practice.
- Meat and fish are not eaten by many people in the Theravada and Mahayana schools of Buddhism.
- Some particularly from China and Vietnam do not eat onion, garlic or leek either - referring to these as the ‘five pungent spices.’
- Buddha advised the monks to avoid eating ten kinds of meat for their self-respect and protection: humans, elephants, horses, dogs, snakes, lions, tigers, boars and hyenas.
- In the time of the Buddha, the monks were expected to eat everything that was put in their begging bowl without discrimination, including meat or rotten food.
Christianity
- The most number of followers around the globe
- Christianity was founded according to the life of Christ recognized as the Son of God and the Messiah.
- The bible is the source of documentation about the life of Christ. The Old Testament is accepted as the record of important events while Christ’s teachings are recorded in the New Testament
Branches of Christianity
The 3 dominant branches of Christianity are:
- Eastern Orthodox;
- Roman Catholicism;
- Protestantism;
Eastern Orthodox
- It differed from the Roman Catholic Church on the interpretation of the bible and the governing of the church.
- It uses unleavened bread for communion and the clergy are allowed to marry before becoming priests. They do not consider the pope as their leader
Roman Catholicism
- The Roman Catholic Church was developed during the roman times with the Vatican as its headquarters and the pope as its spiritual leader who define faith and moral practices;
- The Bible is the source of documentation about the life of Christ. The Old Testament is accepted as a record of important events while Christ’s teachings are recorded in the New Testament
Protestantism
- Protestantism was established in the 16th century when a religious movement known as reformation questioned the practices of the Catholic Church;
- Martin Luther was a German Augustinian Monk who taught Theology initiated and led the movement listing 95 protests;
- Many believers of Martin Luther’s teachings were organized: the first one was the Protestant Lutheran Church;
- They put more emphasis on direct responsibility of worshippers to god and not by intercessions through priests, saints or indirect means;
- The individuals is encouraged to read the bible and interpret the scriptures;
Confucianism
- Confucianism is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system developed from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius (Kǒng Fūzǐ, or K'ung-fu-tzu, lit. "Master Kung", 551–479 BCE).
- It focuses on human morality and right action. Confucianism is a complex system of moral, social, political, philosophical, and quasi-religious thought that has had tremendous influence on the culture and history of East Asia.
Taoism
- Taoism (refers to a variety of related philosophical and religious traditions and concepts.
- The Chinese character Tao 道 means "path" or "way", although in Chinese religion and philosophy it has taken on more abstract meanings.Taoist propriety and ethics emphasize the Three Jewels of the Tao:
Taoist thought focuses on:
- Health;
- Longevity;
- Immortality;
- wu wei (non-action);
- and spontaneity;
Hinduism
- Considered to be the oldest of religions;
- Originated in India, its goal is to make humans one with the Supreme Being or the Universal Spirit;
- The Brahmin is the only supreme being and all other gods are partial manifestations;
- The Vedas are the scriptures considered as the supreme authority of Hinduism
- Many Hindus are vegetarians because of the belief not to inflict pain on an animal;
- The cow is considered sacred neither slaughtered nor eaten;
- Pork is also avoided and eating fish with ugly forms are forbidden
- The heads of fowl, ducks, camels, boars, snails, crabs and snakes are not eaten;
Islam
- Islam is the world’s second most followed religion;
- Islam means submission to the will of God;
- The religion as founded by Mohammed who is not a savior nor messiah but a prophet through whom God or Allah delivered his messages;
- The Qur’an is Islam’s sacred writing
Dietary Laws
- Forbidden foods are called Baram;Baram foods according to their Qur’an includes:
- Swine;
- Four – footed animals that catch their prey with their mouths;
- Birds of prey;
- Improperly slaughtered animals
- The person who does the slaughtering must repeat “In the name of God, God is great;
- Exemptions are fish and seafood;
- Alcohol is prohibited;
- Combination of dairy products and allowed meats and fish are permitted;
Judaism
- The Jewish religion is about 4,000 years old;
- It began when Abraham receives God’s earliest covenant with the Jews;
- Many Jews attend a synagogue led by a rabbi who is the teacher and spiritual leader;
- All orthodox Jews follow the dietary law in Torah
Kinds of animal fit to eat:
- Clean animals have completely cloven feet and chew the cud to be eaten are allowed;
- Unclean animals are carnivorous animals, rabbits and swine;
- Pork products like animal shortening and gelatin are not allowed;
- Clean birds are those with a crop, gizzard, and extra talon, such as chickens, ducks, geese and turkeys;
- Birds of prey and their eggs are not allowed;
- All fishes with fins and scales are allowed but not catfish, eels, rays, sharks and shellfish;
- Amphibians, invertebrates, and reptiles are considered unclean and not fit to eat;
Method of slaughtering animals:
- A special process called shehitah is performed by a trained and license person;
- Slaughtering is done by slitting the neck with a sharp knife that cuts the jugular vein and trachea;
- Any other method or if the animal dies a natural death is not acceptable;
Method of examining the slaughtered animal:
- The shochet ( a person licensed to slaughter the anima) examines the carcass for any blemish in the organs or muscle meat;
- Blood from the carcass is discarded;
- Fatty tissue not intermingled with the flesh and forms a separate layer with membrane or skin is discarded;
- The butcher or a Jewish housewife can prepare koshered meat by soaking water within 72 hours after the slaughter and then cover it with koshered salt;
- Then the meat is rinsed several times before cooking or storing;
Laws of eating milk and meat:
- These foods are not eaten together;
- However, it is acceptable to drink milk or consume dairy products six hours after eating meat;
- If dairy products are eaten first; only one hour is needed after which meat can be consumed;
A kosher kitchen has separate set of dishes, pans, pots for meats and for dairy products;
Ireland
Ireland is located in Western Europe in the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Great Britain.
Agriculture products include turnips, barley, potatoes, wheat, beef, and dairy products.
Popular ingredients
They are potatoes, cabbage, onions, lamb (or mutton), pork (cured and fresh), and fish (salmon, trout, cod) and shellfish (prawns, oysters, mussels).
Common Irish Cuisine
Bacon and Cabbage
Those two ingredients are stewed together.
Boxty
The Irish potato pancake. Grated potatoes are mixed with mashed potatoes, then fried.
Calcannon
One-pot dish of boiled potatoes, cabbage and onions.
Irish Seafood Plate
Fresh fish and crustaceans fresh from the long Irish seacoast.
Irish Stew
Lamb (or mutton) is simmered with potatoes and onions.
Soda Bread
Round soda-leavened bread loaf etched with a cross on top.
Irish Coffee
This whiskey, coffee, and whipped cream concoction was invented a half-century ago as a promotional tool for the whiskey industry.
Irish food is known for the quality and freshness of its ingredients. Most cooking is done without herbs or spices, except for salt and pepper. Foods are usually served without sauce or gravy.
source: http://www.foodbycountry.com/Germany-to-Japan/Ireland.html#ixzz3sCgIgAmn
Most traditional Irish foods use simple, basic and cheap ingredients, a reminder of the fact that they originated in a less affluent past. Many have been given a modern twist by a new generation of chefs or incorporated into dishes that better suit the tastes of a more widely travelled population.
source: http://www.dochara.com/the-irish/food-recipes/traditional-foods-of-ireland/
For most of the last two centuries, Irish cooking has been dominated by one terrible event: the dreadful famine of the mid-1840s, when the failure of the potato crop — on which the peasant population depended — led to a savage death toll and a global diaspora of Irish people.
source: http://www.epicurious.com/archive/cuisines/cuisineguides/irish
In Ireland, traditional dishes such as roast leg of lamb still form the centerpiece of weekend family dinners. Cooks still combine simple ingredients such as mashed carrots and parsnips and rich, golden butter to produce wholesome, delicious dishes free of elaborate sauces or exotic spices.
source: http://www.epicurious.com/archive/cuisines/cuisineguides/irish
A sheep in its first year is called a lamb, and its meat is also called lamb. The meat of a juvenile sheep older than one year is hogget. The meat of an adult sheep is mutton
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamb_and_mutton
Dining etiquette for eating potatoes
Bread is usually not served at the dinner party, and the little plate next to the big plate is the place to put the peelings from your boiled potatoes. The proper technique involves holding the potato down with your fork in one hand, and peel the skin with your knife in the other.
The process should be unobtrusive and deftly accomplished; avoid hacking noisily at the boiled potato with a knife.
Dining etiquette for your hands
Hands are expected to be in one's lap when not holding utensils at the dinner table (this is the reverse of the custom on the Continent, which is to keep hands above the table).
Dining etiquette for passing food
Pass all dishes to your left.
Dining etiquette for tipping
Restaurants usually include a service charge in the bill, so you will not be expected to leave an additional tip. When one has not beer, included, leave a tip of 10 to 15 percent.
source: http://www.etiquettescholar.com/dining_etiquette/table-etiquette/europe-w_table_manners/irish.html
As a predominantly Roman Catholic country, Ireland has preserved the tradition of abstaining from meat-eating on a Friday, usually replacing meat with fish as the main protein.
Diners should avoid placing elbows on the table, smoking at the table, or gesticulating wildly with utensils. In a restaurant, the host should offer to pay for the entire meal rather than suggesting a shared payment plan, and members of a group in a pub should offer to “stand a round” in a pub, where drinks are ordered at the bar.
source:http://traveltips.usatoday.com/everyday-eating-customs-ireland-109252.html
Irish Etiquette
Handshakes are important
Handshakes are an important factor upon meeting new people - be it businesspeople, family or friends. A firm handshake with eye contact is expected.
“Irish Time”
The Irish tend to not be very time-conscious and may not be punctual for business and social meetings. They have a relaxed sense of time and may be a little late for meetings. However, a foreigner should be on time for business meetings.
Drinks etiquette
One of the most touchy subjects in Irish culture is the notion of “rounds” while out at a pub or bar drinking. Everyone is expected to buy a round of drinks for everyone else, and turning down a drink can sometimes be understood as insulting.
Your best behavior
The Irish respect and expect polite and reserved behavior, and find pretentious behavior to be very off-putting.
Leave the lovey-dovey at home
The Irish aren’t too comfortable with public displays of affection and aren’t too physically demonstrative.
Dress the part
Traditional Irish garb isn’t flashy and gravitates toward tweed and wool. And - surprise! - it rains a lot in Ireland, so bring a raincoat.
Gift-giving
If invited to someone’s home for a meal, bring a small gift as a token of your appreciation. Flowers, a bottle of wine or chocolates usually do the trick. If giving flowers, do not give lilies as they are used at religious festivities. Do not give white flowers as they are used at funerals. Gifts are usually opened when received.
Mind the spuds
Small plates are sometimes offered alongside meal plates as a spot to discard potato peels. It’s considered polite to finish all the food you’re offered at a meal.
source:http://www.irishcentral.com/roots/top-ten-tips-on-irish-cultural-etiquette-cultural-differences-to-be-aware-of-before-you-travel-172842261-237792351.html
France
Seven Culinary Regions of France:
- Classical
- Alsace Lorraine
- Bordeaux
- Brittany
- Burgundy
- Normandy
- Provence
Classical French Cuisine - Capital City (Paris)
Haute cuisine, as it is also known, is one of France's greatest glories.
However, Classical French cuisine is NOT the only significant cuisine of France.
Far less than 1 percent of the dishes eaten by the French are prepared according to the dicta of classic French cuisine.
These rich and elaborate dishes are usually consumed in expensive gastronomic temples (restaurant) where the average French person simply cannot afford to dine.
Why is French Cuisine Important?
Because Classical French Cuisine is the symbol of fine dining in the Western world.
History of Classical French Cuisine
The traditional birth year of Classical French Cuisine is 1533, when Catherine de Medici moved from Florence to Paris to become the child-bride of the future King, Henry II. She was so disgusted by the qualities and manners of the French table that, as part of her marriage agreement, she was allowed to bring an entourage of chefs from her homeland, where fine cooking was an art form.
In due course, the imported talent introduced the Parisian courtiers to the glories that would soon develop into Classical French Cuisine.
Downward Trend
Today Classical French Cuisine is slowly disappearing because of the increasingly prohibitive costs of the required ingredients - and the growing reluctance of talented youths to undergo lengthy, slave-like, and financially unrewarding apprenticeships.
Essentials
According to its rules, nothing but the finest cooking ingredients, equipment, and talent should be employed. Recipes are exact and should be followed faithfully. Therefore, contrary to widespread opinion, being a haute-cuisine chef is not a truly creative profession.
It's best prepared in restaurants…
Because the preparation of many of the sauces requires an economy of scale and much time (measured in days), haute cuisine is better suited for well-staffed restaurants than to homes.
Alsace Lorraine
Vegetables
Be it white or red, cabbage is the most popular regional vegetable and is more often than not pickled into choucroute (sauerkraut), sometimes flavored with juniper berries. Other beloved vegetables include the potato and, in season, asparagus.
Both regions enjoy a variety of tasty freshwater fish such as trout, carp, and pike caught in the cool streams and lakes nearby.
Confectionaries
Both provinces boast of a rich supply of shops selling excellent cakes, macaroons, pastries, and chocolates, all designed to satisfy the traditional sweet tooth of the local citizenry.
German similarity
Alsatians and Lorrainers (especially the former) share a fondness with neighboring Germany for sauerkraut, pork, goose, sausages, and beer, among other hearty products. Even the Alsatian wines are close cousins to the Rhines and Mosels of Germany.
Cooking fat difference
The Alsatians tend to use pork and goose fat as cooking oil more so than do the Lorrainers. The reverse is true when it comes to butter.
Famous Alsatian preparation
Foie Gras
Delicate and light textured goose liver.
Bordeaux and Brittany
Why the cuisine of Bordeaux and Brittany special?
Bordeaux's food is normally prepared in a straightforward manner while Brittany is relatively simple fare without any attempt to reach gastronomic heights.
Bordeaux's cuisine has become well known to the world mainly due to the illustrious Bordeaux wines.
Lamb
It is also a treat in Bordeaux, especially when the animal was reared along the seashore and riverbanks. Like a number of other dishes in Bordeaux, it is often prepared with a light touch of garlic.
Seafood
The ultimate in seafood preparations is Lamproie a la Bordelaise, eel cooked in red wine. In addition to eels, the sizable Gironde estuary yields caviar of genuine sturgeon pedigree.
Oysters
They, too, are standouts in the Bordeaux region, but when ordering, you should request the superior-tasting indigenous gravette as opposed to the more common, transplanted Portuguese variety.
Burgundy
Why the culinary area of Burgundy is special?
Between the cities of Dijon in the north and Lyons in the south lies France's finest culinary area. The cooking of Burgundy is relatively uncomplicated. It relies principally on the high quality of the local cooking ingredients for which the countryside is famous.
Famous Burgundy meats include:
Chicken
Reared in the Bresse sub region.
Beef
From the white Charolais cattle
Wild Game
From nearby forests and streams
Famous Culinary Products
Wine-based Dijon mustard and the spiced gingerbread honeycake called Pain d'Epices.
Best of the Best
Some Burgundy wines rank at the pinnacle of world winedom.
Normandy
Why the cuisine of Normandy is special?
It is renowned for its rich butter and cream sauces - and for its apples, cider, and Calvados, an apple brandy much used in local cooking - and for its excellent coolwater fish and shellfish.
Normandy cheeses
Its cheeses excel and include the famous Camembert and Pont I'Eveque, both surface -ripened.
Provence
Why the cuisine of Provence is special?
The well seasoned dishes of sun drenched Provence refresh and uplift the spirit of the diner.
Garlic
This heady scented plant has been called the "truffle of Provence".
Other flavoring ingredients
Provence is known for its free-handed use of olive oil, tomatoes, and fresh aromatic herbs such as rosemary, basil, and fennel.
Seafood
It is abundant and popular. Other important edibles from the sea include octopus, squid, cuttlefish, mussel, langouste, langoustine, crab, and eel. River fish as well as preserved fish like sardines, anchovies, and salt cod often end up in the workingman's belly.
Ratatouille
A slow-cooked medley of eggplant, tomatoes, courgettes (think of zucchini), onions, garlic, and herbs.
Salade Nicoise
The ingredients, tossed in a garlic permeated oil dressing, could include lettuce, tuna chunks, tomatoes, hard-boiled eggs, olives, anchovy strips, potatoes, green beans, green peppers, capers, and what have you.
Wines
Red Wine Varieties
Cabernet Sauvignon
“Cab-er-nay Saw-vin-yawn”
Taste: Black Cherry, Black Currant, Baking Spices, Cedar
Style: Full-bodied Red Wine
Description: Cabernet Sauvignon is a full-bodied red wine that originated in France. Today, it’s the most popular wine variety in the world. Wines taste full-bodied with bold tannins and a long persistent black peppery finish.
Food Pairing: lamb, beef, smoked meats, French, American, firm cheeses like aged cheddar and hard cheeses like Pecorino
Syrah
“Sear-ah” (aka Shiraz)
Taste: Blueberry, Plum, Pepper, Chocolate, Tobacco
Style: Full-bodied Red Wine
Description: Syrah (aka Shiraz) is a full-bodied red wine that originated in France. Wines are full-bodied with bold fruit flavors and subtle tannin that drops off into a smooth finish. Syrah is commonly blended with Grenache and Mourvèdre to create the red Rhône blend.
Food Pairing: lamb, beef, smoked meats, Mediterranean, French, American, salty cheeses such as feta, firm cheeses like white cheddar, and hard cheeses like Manchego
Zinfandel
“Zin-fan-dell”
Taste: Strawberry, Blackberry, 5 Spice Powder, Sweet Tobacco
Style: Medium-bodied Red Wine
Description: Zinfandel (aka Primitivo) is a medium-bodied red wine that originated in Croatia. Wines are fruit-forward and spicy with a medium length finish. Zinfandel is a red grape that may be better known as the rosé wine White Zinfandel.
Food Pairing: chicken, pork, cured meat, lamb, beef, barbecue, Italian, American, Chinese, Thai, Indian, full-flavored like cheddar and firm cheeses such as Manchego.
Pinot Noir
“Pee-no Nwar”
Taste: Cherry, Cranberry, Clove, Mushroom
Style: Light-bodied Red Wine
Description: Pinot Noir is a dry light-bodied red wine that originated in France. Wines are somewhat tart with a burst of fruit that leads into a long soft finish.
Food Pairing: chicken, pork, veal, duck, cured meat, French, German, cream sauces, soft cheeses, nutty medium-firm cheeses like Gruyère
White Wine Variety
Chardonnay
“Shar-dun-nay”
Taste: Starfruit, Yellow Apple, Butter, Chalk
Style: Full-bodied White Wine
Description: Chardonnay is a dry full-bodied white wine that originated in France. When oak-aged, Chardonnay will taste creamy and buttery. Unoaked wines are lighter and zesty with apple and citrus flavors. Chardonnay is the white wine of Burgundy.
Food Pairing: lobster, crab, shrimp, chicken, pork, mushroom, French, cream sauces, soft cheeses such as triple cream brie, medium-firm cheeses like Gruyère
Sauvignon Blanc
“Saw-vin-yawn Blonk”
Taste: Gooseberry, Honeydew Melon, Passion Fruit, Grass
Style: Light-bodied White Wine
Description: Sauvignon Blanc is a dry light-bodied white wine that originated in France. Wines are zesty, typically with herbal green fruit flavors. Sauvignon Blanc is an older heritage grape, a parent grape of Cabernet Sauvignon.
Food Pairing: fish, chicken, pork, veal, Mexican, Vietnamese, French, herb-crusted goat cheese, nutty cheeses such as Gruyère
Pinot Gris
“Pee-no Gree” (aka Pinot Grigio)
Taste: Lemon Pith, Honeydew Melon, Nectarine, White Peach
Style: Light-bodied White Wine
Description: Pinot Gris is a dry light-bodied white wine that originated from Northern Italy and France. Wines are zesty, thirst-quenching and often lighter in alcohol (12% ABV) making them ideal for outdoor dining.
Riesling
“Reese-ling”
Taste: Lime, Apple, Beeswax, Honey
Style: Aromatic (sweet) White Wine
Description: Riesling is an off-dry aromatic white wine (dry styles also exist) that originated from Germany where it is the most important wine. Wines are mouth-watering and tart with a lemon-honey-like sweetness. Riesling is considered a low alcohol wine when it is sweet at around 9%–10% ABV.
Food Pairing: chicken, pork, duck, turkey, cured meat, Indian, Thai, Vietnamese, Moroccan, German, washed-rind cheeses and fondue
MIDTERM: ITALY
Italy's top 10 cuisine regions and their main cities:
- Emilia Romagna - Bologna
- Tuscany - Florence
- Latium - Rome
- Lombard - Milan
- Piedmont - Torino
- Veneto - Venice
- Campania - Naples
- Sicily - Palermo
- Sardinia - Cagliari
- Liguria – Genoa
Emilia Romagna’s famous specialty – PORK
Prosciutto
Parma's classic mountain-air cured ham.
Ragu
Pork is the chief meat ingredient in the famed ragu. It is a thick, rich, and complex tomato sauce ideally suited for pasta. The sauce is often called "Bolognese sauce", named after the region's leading city.
Pork fat
It rather than butter or olive oil is the principal cooking oil of the region (though the city of Bologna, like Rome, proves itself egalitarian by using all three).
Pasta
Emilia-Romagna's pasta creations are well known: Tortellini (small, stuffed ring shaped pasta), Tagliatelle (ribbon shaped pasta, the favorite base for a ragu), and the spinach-dyed pasta verde. Two noted pasta verde dishes are Lasagna Verde and Paglia e Fieno, literally Straw and Hay, referring to the look when green and yellowish noodles are combined.
Cooking style of Tuscany
Uncomplicated
The homeland of the ancient Etruscans offers simple, straightforward food without many embellishments.
Key Tuscany cooking ingredients:
Olive oil
It rather than butter is widely used in cooking. The Tuscan town of Lucca is considered one of the best if not the finest producer of that pale gold liquid.
Beans
Another characteristic cooking ingredient is the bean, which goes into many soups and stews. "Alla Toscana" on a menu usually suggests a side order of beans.
Beef
Although it is not true in the rest of Italy, beef is very popular in Tuscany.
Seafood
Along the Tuscan coast one finds seafood specialties. They include the well-seasoned soup-stew Cacciucco as well as dishes made with baby eel.
Famous Latium and Rome Specialties
Spaghetti alla Carbonara
One standard recipe calls for the pasta being tossed simply with a sauce comprising pancetta (a salted but unsmoked form of bacon) and raw egg yolks. Other equally popular versions add ingredients such as cream, butter and cheese.
Famous specialties of Lombardy and Milan
Minestrone
A soup, thick with rice and/or pasta and vegetables. (Liguria also claims credit for creating this specialty.)
Culinary preferences Three defining characteristics:
Butter
Generous use of butter is a hallmark of Milanese/Lombard cooking.
Rice and Polenta
Diners have a strong preference for rice or polenta over pasta.
Meat vs seafood
Being landlocked, Lombardy has few notable seafood specialties (one being the aquatic version of Frito Misto). Meat (especially veal) is king.
Piedmont cooking philosophy
Traditional
The region has Torino, Italy's most modern and industrialized metropolis. However, the approach to food in Piedmont remains reasonably loyal to yesteryear's principles of bringing out rather than masking the natural flavors of the cooking ingredients.
Major starch staples of Venice and Veneto
Rice reigns
Rice, not pasta, is the principal starch staple of Venice and is typically served combined with other ingredients. The most splendid application is in the vegetable dish Risi e Bisi, literally Rice and Peas.
Polenta
Outside Venice, in the Veneto region, the firm cornmeal-mush specialty, polenta, rivals and in some places supplants rice as the primary starch staple.
Pasta
Pasta, though in the third place in the starch popularity poll, has over the last century been steadily increasing its share of the market.
Cooking ingredients of Naples and Campania
Pasta
Spaghetti is a favorite, and is frequently served covered with seafood and meatless marinara tomato sauce.
Produce
The Campanian countryside produces superb fruits and vegetables, particularly tomatoes and eggplants.
Mozzarella
The bland mozzarella cheese that is made from water buffalo milk regularly finds its way to the table, often with tomatoes on a salad plate.
Other basic ingredients
They include garlic, onions, bread, olive oil, oregano and other heady herbs.
Seafood
It's the principal protein source and can be scungilli (conch), clams, mussels, octopus, squid, shrimp, or any of a wide variety of locally caught fish.
Popular Sicily food ingredients
Seafood
It's Sicily's leading protein source because of its abundance. Tuna, swordfish and sardines head the charts. Meat is usually tough and expensive, owing to a lack of suitable pasturage.
Produce
They are flavorful and well liked in Sicily.
Ricotta
Sicilians adore fruits and vegetables, especially tomato, eggplant, artichoke, citrus fruits, almonds, and olives.
Olive oil
It is Sicily's favorite cooking medium (except in Palermo, where cooks prefer butter).
Characteristics of Sardinian Cuisine
Distinctive
The cuisine of Sardinia is the most distinctive of Italy's regional cuisines, mainly due to the island's geographic isolation from Italy's mainland.
The two cuisines of Sardinia
The cuisine of Sardinia can be divided into two cooking styles:
Coastal cuisine
Defined by a broad variety of seafood.
Inland cuisine
It encompasses undulating farmland, pristine woodlands and rugged mountains in Sardinia's interior. The inland cuisine is especially renowned for spit-roasted meats. Wild mushrooms and game are also culinary stars.
For the best of each of the two Sardinian cuisines, eat their foods only within their respective geographical areas.
Fresh and simple
Sardinian cooks insist on fresh ingredients. And, their cooking style is less complex than in other regions, which suits Sardinian diners. They want their foods cooked relatively simple and straightforward so as not to overwhelm the food's natural flavor.
Liguria
Pesto is Liguria and Genoa'vs most famous specialty.
The region of Liguria is the birthplace of pesto, that fragrant, thick, green sauce that is now prepared by cooks around the world.
How pesto is authentically made
Pesto is made by pounding its ingredients together with a pestle (hence, the name) in a mortar. The essential ingredients are basil, garlic, Parmesan and Sardinian ewe's milk cheeses, along with pine nuts and olive oil. This last ingredient, olive oil, is Liguria's chief cooking oil and creates one of the several exceptions to the "butter in the north" rule.
How Ligurians use pesto
They have discovered many ways, including liberally adding a dollop on their trenette (egg noodles), as well as on their versions of minestrone (soup) and potato flour gnocchi dumplings.
Seafood
It plays a major role in the cooking of Genoa and Liguria. The regional cuisine is very dependent on the sea as Liguria is mostly mountainous, not ideally suited for farming and cattle grazing.
Herbs
Throughout Liguria, herbs are generally used with a free hand. In contrast, spices are added with constraint.
Wines
Although Ligurian wines are only fair in quality, the Cinque Terre sub-region of Liguria is a conversation piece. Some of its vineyards are reachable only by boat or cliff pathway along the steep, rugged coastline.
Germany
Popular German cooking ingredients
Meat and seafood
Pork is the favorite, though beef frequently appears on household tables.
Chicken and duck are popular, but it is the goose (traditionally cooked and served with apples and prunes) that captures the fancy of most German diners.
The country abounds with forests and, consequently, game like venison, wild boar, hare, pheasant, and river trout contribute to the national fine dining tradition.
Northern Germany has lengthy Baltic and North Sea coastlines. The cool waters yield abundant and flavorful seafood.
Vegetables, grains, and flavoring agents
The popular potato adds to Germany's high carbohydrate count, appearing either boiled, or shredded for pancakes or dumplings. Interestingly, these tubers are a relatively recent (mid-18th century) addition to the historical German larder.
The term "German cuisine" is difficult to define precisely because ...
- Germany is more of a land of regional cuisines than a unified national cuisine.
- Food preferences among many Germans are changing:
- An increasing number of Germans are preferring lighter over heavier traditional fare.
- More Germans take vacations abroad. They bring home foreign culinary concepts and adopt them into their cooking and eating styles.
The influx of Turkish and other foreign workers has accelerated the introduction of new flavors and menu items.
Still, there remains today a German cuisine with a distinct, time-honored character. And that character is defined largely by Germany's regional cuisines.
Foreign culinary influences on German cuisine
Crossroads location
Germany lies within the well-traveled crossroads of Europe and, as a result, German cuisine has been greatly influenced by its neighbors.
Spain
Spain's five famous regional cuisines:
- Andalucia
- Basque
- Catalonia
- Madrid and environs
- Valencia
Spanish cuisine tips and insights
Seasoning
Spanish cooks in general use few assertive seasonings, with the exception of garlic.
Most popular meat
Most Spaniards are not great beef consumers. Lean, rangy hogs yielding lean meat and sausage are more popular than beef cattle, which are more expensive to raise in Spain's relatively dry climate.
Seafood
However, this limited selection of meat is partially offset by the country's abundant fresh seafood, which in turn is supplemented by dried cod.
Olive oil
Spanish cooks greatly prefer olive oil to butter or other fats.
Tapas
A popular custom is to drop by a bar on the way home for a snack of tapas. They are, generally speaking, hors d'oeuvres. Tapas range from the simple combination of olives and almonds to an elaborate spread of hot and cold dishes. Seafood tapas are especially popular.
Andalucia’s most famous dish is gazpacho
The cold soup Gazpacho comes in many varieties in Andalucia and other parts of Spain. The Andalucia versions are particularly noteworthy. Most are made by adding ingredients like bread, green peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, raw eggs, and croutons to the basic garlic broth.
Basque
Famous Basque cuisine specialties
Bacalao al pil pil
Salt cod, garlic, onions and red peppers are slowly cooked in olive oil in a cazuela (a shallow earthenware pot).
Merluza la Vasca
Also cooked in a cazuela. Hake is the prime ingredient.
Chiperones en su tinta
Basque version of the popular Spanish dish. Name translates as "squid in its ink".
Cooking style
It's straightforward. Nothing fancy, just perfect ingredients perfectly cooked.
Male culinary clubs
Men are devoted to the art of cooking. Some form private culinary clubs where they prepare and eat tempting local specialties. Women are not allowed to join the cooking and dining feasts.
Occupational influences
Many citizens are sheepherders, so roast baby lamb has become a specialty. Many are also fishermen, so seafood dishes are quite popular.
Catalonia
Culinary reputation
Many Spanish food connoisseurs consider Catalan cuisine (along with the Basque cuisine) to have the finest regional cooking of Spain.
Differences
Not only is the cooking style distinct from the rest of Spain, the citizens speak a different language (Catalan).
Seasonal
The fare is more seasonal than elsewhere in Spain.
Wild game
It is often on the menu, especially in the fall.
The French connection
Some cooking aspects are more French than Spanish (Catalonia lies directly south of France).
Madrid and Environs
Famous specialties of Madrid and environs
Callos
A tripe stew enlivened with smoked pork and a smidgen of wine and brandy.
Famous specialties of the Old and New Castile regions
"Castile" encompasses Old Castile north and New Castile south of Madrid.
Suckling Pig
Tiny whole pig (no more than several weeks old) is roasted on a revolving spit until its skin becomes crispy brown. The culinary pride of Old Castile.
Valencia
The most famous Valencia dish
Paella
It is Valencia's best known dish - and has endless variations, changing from town to town. To compound the confusion, a dish of saffron rice, chicken, sausage, seafood, peas, and peppers, cooked in a large round pan with a flat bottom and two handles, is called Paella a la Valenciana outside Spain.
The Paella Valencianos love most
Arroz con Pollo
This is a more austere but splendid version of the Paella - and is known locally simply as arroz con pollo ("rice with chicken").
The essence of the dish
Saffron flavored and colored rice is mixed, often with chicken but without sausages and pimientos.
Greek Cuisine
Not sophisticated
Most globe-trotting gourmets don't give high marks to Greek cuisine in terms of culinary sophistication. But Greek food becomes captivating when the meal is leisurely eaten and shared with family or friends in a convivial restaurant or taverna, or at home in a shaded outdoor patio. Without those ambiances, the pleasure of eating Greek food drops a notch or two.
Early influences
Greek cooking is a fusion of early Greek cuisine blended with foreign influences dating back to Roman times.
Ottoman Empire
The greatest influence was the cooking style of the Ottoman Empire, which ruled Greece in the 14th to 18th centuries.
Greek and Turkish cuisines
The Ottoman impact explains why Greece and Turkey share many dishes. However, the two styles differ in, for instance, seasoning. The Turkish tend to use herbs and spices more intricately, the Greeks, more simply.
Seafood
Fish was one of the popular mainstays of the Greek diet during my first visit in the 1960s. Today, fresh seafood is scarce and expensive due to severe overfishing. Much of the supply is now frozen and imported.
Baklava
Dessert. Layers of phyllo pastry and nuts are drenched with honey syrup.
Greek salad
Lettuce mixed with feta cheese, tomatoes, olives, scallions, and green peppers, then tossed with a lemony olive oil dressing.
Moussaka
A casserole composed of layers of eggplant and minced lamb crowned with a white sauce.
America's 7 most famous regional cuisines
- California
- Creole & Cajun
- Hawaiian
- New England
- Soul Food
- Southern
- Southwestern
Split personalities
American cuisine has both a dull and exciting side:
Dull = Fast foods and overly processed grocery-store foods
Exciting = Regional and ethnic cooking - and steaks
The 3 great aspects of American cuisine.
Regional and ethnic cooking:
Innovation
American cuisine is the most innovative major cuisine on our planet. This is not because Americans cooks are naturally more creative than their counterparts abroad. They're not. A prime reason is the nation's cuisine is relatively new. It is not as encumbered by ironbound culinary rules as in, say, the French and Chinese cuisines. The Americans have more freedom to experiment.
This has been particularly true with the regional Southwestern, Californian, and Hawaiian cuisines.
Land of plenty
America has so much land suitable for farming that it could support twice its population.
The arable land that could be used for agriculture is not wasted. Much of it is used by the cattle industry (which requires extensive grazing land). This has allowed meat eating to become a significant factor in American cuisine.
California
Why California cuisine is special?
California cuisine is an energizing, relatively new cooking style that has influenced cooks and diners around the nation.
Founder: Alice Waters
The birth year of California cuisine was 1971 when chef Alice Waters opened her now legendary Chez Panisse restaurant (see photo) in Berkeley. She was the first restaurateur known to emphasize all of the pillars mentioned below.
The six pillars that collectively define California cuisine
Fresh quality ingredients
California cuisine chefs use ingredients that are fresh and from trusted, quality local farmers and ranchers.
Innovative
Cooks are encouraged to try new combinations of ingredients, even if it seems odd to mainstream America.
Unbound by written recipes
One seldom prepares anything exactly the same way twice. Because of this, it is difficult to create a meaningful compendium of truly iconic California cuisine recipes.
Preserving character
Cooks try to maintain an ingredient's look and natural flavor. In doing the latter, they avoid using too many ingredients in the same dish.
Presentation
Presentation and taste are on equal footing - colors, shapes and other visuals count highly.
Quick and easy
Backyard grilling is a California passion and cooks prefer fast, not slow cooking. This explains why grilling is far more popular than roasting or charcoal-barbecuing meats.
Vegetables are more likely to be quickly steamed or parboiled than braised or stewed (and may seem undercooked by national values. Sauces tend to be simple, not involved.
Bountiful California
- Consider its culinary blessings:
- California has magnificent edible gifts from both land and sea.
- Its climate and soil enable it to grow most of the nation's vegetables.
- It has a 1350- kilometer (840-mile) coastline kissed by a seafood-rich ocean current.
- It has some of the world's best wine growing regions.
- The list goes on and on.
Diverse ethnicity
California's 35-million-plus people come from many cultures and countries. This helped foster a fusion cuisine.
Not everyone
Of course, it would be a mistake to suggest that everyone is a bona fide California cuisiner. Most citizens are not. This is the land of fast food, where many of the nation's leading chains - including McDonalds and Taco Bell - were started.
Why Creole Cuisine and Cajun Cuisine are special
Creole and Cajun are two of America's most original cuisines. They are also two of its best.
Jambalaya
A seasoned mélange of meat (pork, seafood and/or sausage), vegetables and rice are cooked in one pan. Jambalaya is similar to and was influenced by Spain's paella.
Location
New Orleans is the home of Creole cuisine. Just east lies the heart of the secluded bayous, Cajun territory.
How Creole and Cajun cuisines differ
Originally, the neighboring Creole and Cajun cuisines were markedly different. Over the centuries, the distinctions between the two blurred as cooks on both sides adopted each other's dishes.
However, food mavens can spot the unique qualities because the cooks of each cuisine modified the borrowed dishes in keeping with their culinary heritage.
Generally, Creole cuisine is urbane while Cajun cuisine is country style. Take Jambalaya as an illustration. The Creole version is more citified and complex, the Cajun, more down-home and straightforward. Both are delicious.
Origin
Creole cuisine was fashioned by early French and Spanish immigrants, and by African slaves. Cajun cuisine was created by the French Acadians (later shortened to Cajuns) and by major contributions from Native Americans.
Different lifestyles
Creole cuisine materialized in New Orleans, a city with sophisticated tastes inherited from its refined French and Spanish immigrants. Black slave cooks added their creative touches. Elaborate sauces and complex cooking methods ensued.
In contrast, Cajun cuisine emerged among a people who lived a hard life in the bayous, with a limited variety of cooking ingredients. They had to make do with what they had. An unfussy, down-home style of cooking emerged, without culinary bells and whistles. Yet, like New Orleans residents, they developed a splendid cuisine because they loved and demanded good cooking.
Why Hawaiian cuisine is special
Hawaiian cuisine is one of the best and oldest examples of fusion cuisine. Polynesian, Asian, European and mainland American culinary heritages have profoundly influenced it.
The four branches Hawaiian cuisine has four distinct culinary personalities:
Traditional Polynesian
This is the cooking style most people associate with Hawaiian cuisine. The seafaring Polynesians first landed on uninhabited Hawaii about 700 A.D., bringing their plants, pigs and cooking techniques. Their most celebrated contribution was the luau, a communal feast.
Kalua Pig
The whole animal is slow-cooked in an imu (an underground pit oven).
Poi
Mashed cook taro root. Used as the starch staple.
Lau Lau Foods
Foods wrapped in Ti leaves and steamed in the imu.
Lomi Salmon
Seasoned diced raw fish.
Haupia
Coconut cream pudding-like dessert.
Modern Luau
The luaus orchestrated today are popular with residents and (especially) tourists. They serve the above-mentioned Polynesian luau dishes. However, the cooks use many shortcuts. And, the events are more commercial than communal. But like in the old days, they can be fun.
Local Hawaiian cuisine
Chinese, Europeans, Filipinos, Japanese, Koreans, mainland Americans, and Pacific Islanders settled in droves in Hawaii beginning in the mid-19th century. Although some held fast to their culinary traditions, many merged aspects of their cooking styles to create multi-culture Hawaiian cuisine dishes.
Regional Hawaiian cuisine
Hawaiian regional cuisine, as it is called, was founded in the early 1990s by a dozen accomplished local chefs. They were obviously influenced by the California cuisine movement because the Hawaiian regional cuisine approach includes using fresh local ingredients, creatively combining foods, and presenting dishes attractively.
New England Cuisine
Culinary history in brief
The early colonists gave birth to New England cuisine, which was significantly influenced by the Narragansett Indian cuisine. This New England cooking style continued to mutate into the 19th century as waves of immigrants came from Ireland, Italy and Portugal.
Native American influence
The England-reared pilgrims brought their culinary traditions, but some were ill-suited for their new environment. The American Indians introduced them to many essentials including how to grow corn and harvest molasses, both indigenous to the New World. Without their help, the initial settlers might not have survived the first winter.
A plain and simple cuisine
The cooked foods of the Puritan settlers were relatively bland and uncreative. This reflected not only their religious tenets, but also the frugality forced upon them by the challenging environment. They had to deal with rocky-soiled farms and a short growing season. Their cooking conservatism was passed down from generation to generation.
Seafood
The ocean was bountiful in cod, haddock, clams and lobsters. The last was so abundant that it was considered among the people to be a low-status food. Times have certainly changed.
Soulfood and Southern Cuisine
Why Soul Food is special
Soul Food cuisine was created by Black slave woman cooks in the Old South. Its culinary roots are West African. Like other ethnic comfort foods in our world, Soul Food cuisine is hearty and filling - and evokes a satisfying emotional response to one's cultural heritage.
Soul Food Cuisine compared to Southern Cuisine
How they differ
- The first is a subcategory of the second.
- Both were substantially inspired by inventive Black slave woman cooks.
- Some critical differences: Soul Food is more assertively seasoned, simpler in technique, and relies on more basic, less expensive cooking ingredients.
A sampling of dishes shared by both cuisines
The preparations listed below are mainstays on the Soul Food Cuisine table. They are also part of the overall Southern Cuisine repertoire. Click the "Southern" button on the left for brief insights on them:
- Barbecued Ribs
- Biscuits
- Chicken-Fried Steak
- Cornbread
- Country Ham
- Fried Catfish
- Fried Green Tomatoes
- Game Meat
- Grits
- Pies and Cobblers
- Southern Fried Chicken
Name
Soul Food goes back centuries, but didn't receive its "Soul Food" appellation until the 1960s.
How it began
Soul Food was born of hard times. Slaves received the culinary undesirables from their masters, who reserved the choice portions of the animals and vegetables for themselves. The slaves had to make do with animal parts like pig's feet, jowls, ears, and intestines - and vegetable parts like the fibrous green tops of turnips.
Nutrition
The vegetable-dominated diet of the slaves was often a healthier one than that of their oft-sedentary masters. The latter typically ate meals high in fat, sugar and calories. Slaves also consumed substantial calories, but they worked them off performing their strenuous, long-hour jobs.
Mexican Cuisine
National Characteristics of Mexican Cuisine:
Stimulating
Mexican dishes stimulate the taste buds in exciting ways.
Chili
Mexican cuisine wouldn't be the same without the chili, a native New World fruit.
Other popular flavoring agents
They include cumin, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, oregano, onions, garlic, and lemon or lime juice.
More favorites
Red and green tomatoes, avocados, plantains, bananas, and other fruits play a prominent role in Mexico's cuisine.
Other Mexican cuisine favorites include:
- chayote (a large, sweet squash often served as a fruit),
- nopales (an edible cactus leaves),
- jicama (a starchy vegetable),
- cherimoya (often eaten raw with cinnamon and lime juice).
Eggs
They are widely used in cooking. Huevos rancheros ("ranch eggs") is a popular dish.
Tortillas
They are the bread of Mexico - and appear in almost every meal. Tortillas can be made of wheat or corn.
Moroccan Cuisine
Couscous
It's the most internationally known Moroccan (and Magreb) preparation. Simply described, couscous is small pellet-sized "pasta" made from semolina flour. Couscous is plated under (or as a side to) a main dish.
Turkish Cuisine
Why Turkish cuisine is special?
Turkish cuisine is a Middle Eastern culinary marriage - and the nation has some of the most dedicated and talented cooks on earth.
Outbound influences
Turkish cuisine has had a great influence on the cooking of many Middle Eastern countries - especially Greece.
- - - FINAL EXAM COVERAGE - 2nd Semester, Academic Year 2016 2017 - - -
Chinese Cuisine
The two pillars of Chinese cooking philosophy:
Harmony
Chinese cuisine stresses a harmonious blending of foods - a dynamic balance between sweet and sour, rich and lean, bright-colored and neutral, smooth and crunchy.
Preparation
Skilled Chinese chefs and knowledgeable diners insist that each food ingredient should be at its peak of flavor and quality - and seasoned, cooked, and sauced properly.
Traditional Chinese Family Dinners
Communal dishes
They equal the number of diners at the table.
Dish positioning
All dishes are set in the middle of the table at the same time.
Serving
The diners help themselves, using chopsticks to transfer small morsels from the communal serving dishes to the top of their rice in their individual rice bowls.
Major cooking ingredients:
Rice
In south China, rice is the main food. In north China, cereal grains, such as wheat (in the form of noodles, dumplings and steamed buns) reign in the north.
Meat
Pork and chicken are the two leading meats in China, though in the north, lamb is very popular.
Vegetarian
Buddhist monks, forbidden to eat meat, evolved a rich and diversified vegetarian cuisine. They developed recipes for bean curd and wheat gluten (developed from wheat flour). These mimic meat or simply provide
Seasonings
Chinese cooks makes use of comparatively few herbs. Spices, condiments and dried foods are used more frequently.
China's top 4 Regional Cuisines
Cantonese
Mandarin
Shanghai
Sichuan
Other Main Regional Cuisines
Fukien
Hunan
Jiangsu
Shandong
Tibetan
Yunnan
Why Cantonese Cuisine is special?
Three reasons
- Cantonese cuisine is generally considered by gourmets to be China's best all-around regional cuisine.
- It's cooking is the most diversified and subtly seasoned in China.
- Collectively, Cantonese diners have the most educated palates on earth.
Famous Cantonese Cuisine Specialties:
Dim Sum
A Cantonese cuisine institution.
Dim sums are midday treats served on small plates.
Hundreds of dim sum varieties exist.
They can be hot or cold, savory or sweet.
Popular favorites include steamed dumplings, deep fried spring rolls, baked meat filled pastries and stuffed crab claws.
Diners make their selections off carts pushed through the dining room.
Tea is the traditional beverage.
Famous Mandarin Cuisine Specialties
Peking Duck
The succulently crisp skin of Peking (Beijing) duck is the most precious part of the dish. The diner smears a sweet bean paste with a scallion onto a thin flour pancake (or steamed bun), then rolls and eats the preparation using his hand.
Bird's Nest Soup
The nest of swallow is simmered to extract its gelatinous substance, which flavors and thickens the soup.
Famous Shanghai Cuisine Specialties
Sweet and Sour Pork
Generally sweeter and more sour than the Cantonese version.
Yangchow Fried Rice
Leftover rice stir-fried with an especially rich mixture of foods.
Sichuan Cuisine
Known as China's Hot and Spicy cuisine. Pseudo Sichuan cooking
Many non-Chinese Sichuan restaurant-goers (especially in America) relish the monotonous everything-as-hot-as-possible approach.
Making one dish hotter than another is not a measure of a chef's talent. All it takes is the addition of extra chili, a feat that could be performed by a trained monkey.
Epicures judge a Sichuan chef by the subtly complex overtones of his sauces and whether they complement the other ingredients in his dishes.
Not everything is hot
The people prefer the dishes on the table to have degrees of hotness varying from mild to fiery.
Japanese Cuisine
Why Japanese Cuisine is Special?
Though more complex cuisines exist, none comes close to matching Japan's culinary aesthetics.
Sushi
Even sushi varies by region. In Tokyo the fish is pressed onto two-inch oblong rice balls (the style followed by virtually all sushi bars outside Japan), but in Osaka the fish is pressed onto rice in a mold, then usually cut into squares or rectangles.
Rice
It is usually steamed and served at the end of a meal. Rice is the main starch staple in Japanese cuisine.
Presentation
Ingredients are artistically cut and arranged not merely to please the senses but to conform to elaborate systems of cultural symbolism.
The 4 Principal Cooking Methods of Japanese Cuisine:
Agemono
These are fried foods. Famous dishes include Tempura, Kagiage
Mushimono
Steamed foods: The celebrated dish is Chawan Mushi, an egg custard containing chicken and vegetables.
Nimono
These foods are boiled. The best-known subcategory is Nabemono, one-pot tabletop cookery in which the ingredients are simmered in a lightly seasoned broth, then usually dipped into a flavorful sauce.
Nabemono's best-known dishes are:
Sukiyaki Shabu Shabu
Beef, vegetables, and bean curd
Mizutaki
Somewhat like Shabu Shabu, but with chicken instead of beef
Yosenabe
Fish, shellfish, and vegetables
Yudofo
Uncomplicated bean curd preparation
Yakimono
Foods that are broiled. Some of the best-known dishes are Yakitori (marinated skewer-broiled chicken), Teriyaki (broiled meat or fish first marinated in a sweetened sake and soy-sauce mixture), Shioyaki (fish salted for an hour or two, then skewer-broiled), and Teppan Yaki (food cooked on a small tabletop grill).
Indian Cuisine
Indian cuisine consists of thousands of regional cuisines which date back thousands of years. The dishes of India are characterized by the extensive use of various Indian spices, herbs, vegetables and fruits.
Indian cuisine is also known for the widespread practice of vegetarianism in Indian society. Each family of Indian cuisine includes a wide assortment of dishes and cooking techniques.
Hindu beliefs and culture have played an influential role in the evolution of Indian cuisine.
However, cuisine across India also evolved as a result of the subcontinent's large-scale cultural interactions with the Mongols and the British, making it a unique blend of some various cuisines.
Six Famous Regional Cuisines of India
Mumbai Cuisine
Kashmir Cuisine
Goa
Kerala
Punjab
Tamil Nadu
Mumbai Cuisine
Mumbai is famous worldwide for its delectable traditional dishes as well as for road side spicy food.
Kashmir Cuisine
It is the home of the elaborate wazwan wedding feast - and complexly seasoned dishes like Roghan Josh.
Goa
Both local and European culinary cultures influenced the cooking style of Goa, a former colony of Portugal.
Curries incorporating a combination of hot chili peppers and coconut milk or cream are popular in Goa.
Kerala
Kerala is widely praised for flavorful fish and prawns freshly caught along its tropical palm-fringed sea coast.
Punjab
Many gourmets believe that the Punjab is India's land of milk and honey - and that it has the best cooks in the nation. The food is rich, creamy and robust. Subtlety is not a priority.
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu cooks produce some of the world's tastiest vegetarian dishes - and, for meat eaters, there's the highly touted Chettinad cuisine.
Five More Well-Known Indian Regional and City Cuisines
Andhra Pradesh state
Known as the "Hottest Cuisine in India" title.
Karnataka
Has India's second highest percentage of vegetarians.
New Delhi
Its core Indian cuisine is a fusion of Persian, Punjab and Mughal cooking.
Rajasthan
Rajasthani cooking was influenced by both the war-like lifestyles of its inhabitants and the availability of ingredients in this arid region.
Food that could last for several days and could be eaten without heating was preferred. Scarcity of water and fresh green vegetables have all had their effect on the cooking
Rajasthan is known for tough people and tough food.
West Bengal
Cuisine revolves around fish, rice and lentils.
Indonesian Cuisine
Why Indonesian cuisine is special?
The food is chili hot and complexly seasoned with aromatic herbs and spices. "Bland" is not in an Indonesian chef's vocabulary. Freshness and taste are.
These four Indonesian cuisine dishes
are widely popular:
Satay
Meat or prawns charcoal-grilled on mini-skewers
Nasi Goreng
A fried rice mixture with finely chopped vegetables and either meat or prawns
Mei Goreng
Same as Nasi Goreng except noodles are substituted for rice
Gado Gado
Parboiled fresh vegetables flavored with a spicy peanut sauce
Alcohol
It is more widely available in Bali than in Indonesia in general because over 90% of Balinese are not Muslims.
Thai Cuisine
The Thai cuisine relies on five primary flavors:
- hot (spicy)
- sour
- sweet
- salty
- bitter
The secret to all Thai food lies in the subtle differences in the proportions of ingredients used which can add layers of flavor and aroma.
Chilies
There are many cuisines in the world that freely use hot chili peppers, but few can match the level of Thailand's culinary sophistication.
Thai cooks are particularly fond of flavoring agents, particularly:
- Lemon grass
- Coriander leaves
- Nam Pla (fish sauce)
- Kapi (shrimp paste)
- Java root
- Chilies
Rice
As with most other parts of tropical and semitropical Asia, meals in Thailand center on rice.
Some of the world-renowned Thai dishes include:
Tom Yum Goong (Spicy Shrimp Soup)
Som Tum (Spicy Green Papaya Salad)
Pad Thai (Thai style Fried Noodles)
Khao Pad (Fried Rice)
Vietnamese Cuisine
Regional differences in Vietnamese food:
Northern region
Hanoi is the principal city in this area of Vietnam.
Seasoning
The cooks season their foods more mildly than their central and southern counterparts.
Central region
Hue and Hoi An are the principal cities in central Vietnam.
Royal cuisine
The Central region has absorbed the culinary style of the royal cuisine of the ancient Kingdom that once ruled from Hue.
Seasoning
Dishes are spicier and more complex than in the south and particularly in the north.
Southern region
Ho Chi Minh City (formally Saigon) is the major city.
Seafood
Diners in the south eat more seafood, less beef than northerners.
Produce
They also eat more fresh fruits and vegetables.
Popular flavoring agents
Nuoc Nam (sauce made with salty, fermented fish) and Nuoc Cham (garlicky chili paste) play a major role in Vietnamese cuisine. The two are used both in the kitchen and at the table. The same is for fresh herbs like mint, basil, and coriander.
Rice
It is the main starch staple in Vietnam. Most is grown in the southern Mekong River delta.
Culinary legacies
The Chinese culinary influence is more apparent in the north while the French colonial heritage has left a stronger imprint in central region and especially in the southern region.