World Regional Cuisine

The world is full of fabulous foods.  Different regional areas of the world carry all types of cuisines.  A nation’s cuisine is mostly based upon the types of crops, spices, and animals available to them.  It is the delicate mixture of these food items which gives each nation its own flavor of food.  Common foods are consumed all over the world, but are presented or eaten differently.  These differences are what gives us a wide variety of world regional cuisine.

The most consume food item in the world is rice.  Rice is an important part of many different world cuisines.  The Far East, Asia, and Africa all use rice as a staple to every meal because it easy to grow and very inexpensive.  The western countries have also adopted rice into many of their local dishes.  Rice is perhaps the world’s most popular and most consumed food.
 
Another common food consumed worldwide is bread.  Breads can vary from country to country from the type of grained used to how the break is prepared.  In India, naan breads are found in traditional Indian food.  China used bread that made from steaming the dough.  The typical United State’s bread is white and served in sliced loaves.  The main ingredient in bread dough is wheat.  Wheat not only produces bread, but also makes cakes, biscuits, and breakfast cereals which are also consumed worldwide.

Western nations are the main consumers of meat.  Meat is expensive and most people living in western nations are able to purchase it from local grocery stores.  In other developing parts of the world, fish is more commonly available and therefore more consumed.  Those who live in developing countries are able to provide for themselves by fishing locally in rivers, lakes, and oceans.  Regardless of the type of meat consumed, it is the influence on how it is prepared and the spices added to it that makes it a world cuisine.

The United States has always been considered a melting pot of the world’s ethnic groups.  This makes it the perfect place to sample the wide variety of foods from all over the world.  Immigrants who moved here from other nations brought with them their own cuisine cultures and spices and shared them with our nation.  Methods of cooking foods and mixing spices have given our country a flavorful cuisine.

In the Southwestern United States, Mexican food is very popular.  There are traditional Mexican corn and flour tortillas as well as a unique mixture of grains including rice and beans.  Mexican dishes are spiced with jalepenos, green chilles, and cilantro.  These spices are mixed with beef, chicken, and pork to create a delicious, spicy Mexican meal.  The meat is served up in a warm corn or flour tortilla and served with garnishes of refried beans and rice. 

Regardless of where you are in the United States, you are most likely able to find any type of world regional cuisine.  Each dish is prepared according to the traditions and cooking methods specific to that region of the world.