Each country has its own food culture, cooking and serving style. Of these, some are known for the products they use…
Each country has a food culture that is unique to itself in terms of how they prepare and serve their food. Some of these cuisines are considered better than others because of the diversity of ingredients they use, the skills they apply while combining these products and the way they export their food to the world. The fame of these countries goes beyond the borders of the region where they are located and opens up to the world, becoming a world cuisine. In this article, we have prepared a list of 10 delicious cuisines of the world for you. Happy reading!
Table of Contents
1. Italian Cuisine
Pizzas, pasta, various cheeses… Italian cuisine is one of the most popular cuisines in the world. Certainly, Italy, being a Mediterranean country, plays an important role in the development of such a wonderful cuisine. We can say that Italians are innovative in presenting the abundance of the region’s products, including olives, olive oil and seafood. And the region’s grape abundance also allows the preparation of different types of delicious wines.
The most common pastry dishes are lasagna, ravioli, tortellini and spaghetti. Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese are the most essential ingredients for pasta. Tomatoes are frequently used in dishes, especially in sauces. Italian cuisine is natural, and fresh products are used, not frozen. Dinner is the most important meal for Italians, who have espresso and homemade bread for breakfast. During these long dinners, the kitchen table is also a place for sharing happiness, friendship and enjoyment.
If you want to learn more about Italian gastronomic delicatessen, A Taste Legend with a Mediterranean Spirit: Italian Cuisine, you can read our article.
2. French Cuisine
Another great example of a country that has made eating an art is France. The rule in this country is “to eat for pleasure”. We can say that its cuisine, which is rich enough to be acknowledged by UNESCO as a cultural heritage, is well known all across the world. French cuisine is known for its hams, game meats, shellfish, mushrooms and pastries. There are also other products, such as frog legs or snails, that you may not want to try.
Croissants for breakfast, filling croque madame, tiny macarons in various flavours, onion soup, crème caramel and eclairs, which are not unfamiliar to us, are examples of the most famous dishes of this cuisine.
Roxfor, Brie, Chèvre, Camembert, and Maroilles are only a few of the protected French cheeses. French chefs also make use of sauces. Dishes are flavoured with mayonnaise, béchamel, hollandaise and espagnole sauces. And, unlike Italian cuisine, French cuisine doesn’t contain many olives or olive oil. This is replaced by butter.
3. Greek Cuisine
Let’s visit the neighbour… We are intrigued by the similarity of Greek cuisine to Turkish cuisine. As people of the same geography and culture, it is inevitable that our dishes are similar. Greek kebab or souvlaki is one of the delicious meat dishes, served with pita bread. Kourabiedes is a type of flour cookie that we know as the Kavala cookie. You can find this cookie, which is consumed especially during Christmas, in most patisseries in Greece. Dolmadakia is an olive oil dish that we call leaf rolls. Caciki is a watery appetiser made with grated cucumber, yoghurt, and water. In Turkish cuisine, it is called cacık.
The Greeks are also known for mussel pilaf. Feta, the traditional cheese of Greece, is a cheese known all over the world and frequently used in cooking. In the country, which is also famous for the production of mastic gum, there are many dessert recipes using mastic gum. For instance, gum mastic custard. Spanakopita, otherwise known as spinach fritters, is another taste often used at home and in restaurants.
4. Japanese Cuisine
In the island country of Japan, fish is also often consumed. Spices and oils are used in low quantities. Vegetables are eaten in season. Food is cooked for as short a time as possible to preserve its natural nutritional value. Soybeans are an important product in Japanese cuisine. Soy sauce and tofu (we can also call it soy cheese) are two important products.
Japanese cuisine is essentially rice. Bread is replaced with rice made from a small grain. The globally known sushi is also a product of Japanese cuisine. Sushi is made of boiled rice and seafood. In recent years, with the establishment of sushi restaurants in many parts of the world, new varieties of sushi have been added to this cuisine. Shashimi, which is made with thin slices of raw seafood meat, miso soup, one of the basic soup varieties in the cuisine, and veggie gyoza, dumplings made by frying in sesame oil, can be listed as the main foods of this cuisine.
5. Indian Cuisine
Spices play an important role in Indian cuisine. Curry is one of the most common spices. Curry is a remedy made with many spices, including turmeric, cloves, coriander, cardamom and ginger. It may vary according to the dishes. There is no curry recipe.
Beef is not eaten much for religious purposes. Milk and cinnamon are common dessert items. Different kinds of cheese are eaten at all times. Bread culture is quite developed. Naan, paratha, chapati and papadam are just a few of the dozens of bread types. Tikka Masala is one of the most famous Indian dishes and is made from chicken. It is served with a sauce made of tomato puree, coriander and turmeric. Samosa is a street food prepared by stuffing a mixture of potatoes, onions and peas in dough and then deep frying it. Aloo gobi, also known as cauliflower with potatoes, is a hearty Indian dish flavoured with curry sauce, and can be served for vegetarian dinners.
6. Lebanese Cuisine
The two main products of the world-famous Lebanese cuisine are chickpeas and parsley. Appetisers are also very important and will surprise you with their deliciousness. Appetisers include tabbouleh salad with bulgur, cucumber and tomato. Another popular one is falafel prepared with mashed chickpeas and onions and seasoned with spices and fried like meatballs. The other dish using chickpeas as the main ingredient is hummus. Hummus can also be described as a dip sauce. It is also called hummus with meat if the centre is hollowed out and meat is stuffed into it.
Lebanese cuisine is a mixed cuisine with influences from Arabic, French and Mediterranean cuisines. Lentil is eaten in large quantities, and lamb is the preferred meat. It is the country consuming the most yoghurt after Turkey. Spices are also given importance. Zahter is a favourite spice. It has a similar smell to thyme, and fresh leaves are added to salads.
Kibbe lebeniye, a kind of yoghurt rice soup with meatballs, is an excellent main course. Soft bread called pita bread is a type of bread. Mamoul cookie is a special dessert of Lebanese cuisine and is made of rose and orange blossom water, filled with pistachios and cinnamon.
7. Mexican Cuisine
Another famous cuisine is Mexican cuisine… This cuisine is influenced by Arab, French and Spanish cuisines and has its own style. The most important meal of the day in this cuisine is noon. At this time, soup, fried eggs and rice are commonly eaten. Dinner is less heavy than lunch. Fruits have replaced desserts.
The most popular ingredients in Mexican food are pumpkin, tomatoes, beans, corn and garlic. The use of lots of spices is common. Pepper is an essential in almost all dishes. Margarine and solid fats are not used; oils are preferred.
The Mexican dish, the taco, is one of the most popular and is already well known outside of North America. This dish is made by stuffing tortilla bread with a mixture of vegetables and minced meat. It can also be stuffed with various fillings. The burrito is similar to the taco. It is distinguished from a taco by its special folding. The most popular tortilla soup is made of corn, corn tortillas and chicken. Tomato sauce rice, which is served at lunch and dinner, is also very popular. If we look at the most popular beverages, we can find tequila and margarita.
8. Chinese Cuisine
It is an old cuisine. There are as many dislikes as there are lovers. China has different types of cuisines. Meat, which is cooked with sweet-sour sauces and seafood, is prominent in the north. In the West, there are bitter and spicy foods. Goose and chicken dishes are preferred in the south, and light dishes in the east. Greasy oils are not favoured in order to enhance the taste of the food. Fish, rice, soy, eggs and seafood are common ingredients. Rice is replaced with Chinese noodles in the north.
Peking duck, spring rolls and dumplings are examples of popular dishes from this cuisine. The Chinese have a cooking technique in pans with a cavity called “wok”. They use this in most of their food. They prefer to eat small pieces and use special chopsticks for this. The Chinese consider soup a beverage, so they drink it using glasses. They do not like dairy products. But teas are widely known. Large amounts of green tea, jasmine tea, ginseng and lotus tea are drunk. Chinese people like honey sesame chicken, black rice pilaf and mapo tofu very much.
9. Spanish Cuisine
It also has Arabic, Roman and Greek influences in its cuisine. As a typical Mediterranean country, Spain uses a lot of olive oil. In addition, we often encounter spicy dishes. In the interior of the country, fish dishes are more common. Snacks include tapas, which is also eaten hot or cold at any time of the day. Paella, one of the most important dishes of the cuisine, is a type of rice made from shellfish. It can also be prepared using chicken or game.
Gazpacho is the most popular soup. It is served cold. It’s a thick tomato, onion and cucumber soup. A fried pastry dessert known as a churro is also very popular in this cuisine. San Sebastian cheesecake is another dessert. Made with cream cheese and plenty of eggs, the dessert is also very popular in our country. Another cold popular drink during the summer period is horchata, which contains milk and almonds.
10. Ve…. Turkish Cuisine
The last kitchen on our list is dedicated to us, to our own cuisine. With all seven regions of Turkey having their own specialities, we can wholly understand why Turkish food is one of the best in the world. Turkish cuisine has been influenced by both Balkan and Middle Eastern cuisines, and has also influenced them. Turkish cuisine has soups, meat, pastry and other types of food.
There are soups like tarhana, lentil, ezogelin and tripe; meaty dishes like kebabs, meatballs, lahmacun and pita bread; and vegetable dishes like dolmas, wraps, the well-known olive oil-based dishes of the Aegean region and the cabbage-based dishes of the Black Sea. Legumes play an important role. Chickpeas, lentils, dried beans and peas are examples of legumes that are frequently cooked at home.
Desserts have an important place in Turkish cuisine. The dessert, which is famous all around the world, is the dessert king, baklava. It’s made by sandwiching walnuts, peanuts or hazelnuts in thin rolled phyllo dough. The best baklava is found in the city of Gaziantep. Other popular desserts are syrupy desserts like Hatay’s künefesi and İzmir’s lokması; milk desserts like rice pudding, kazandibi, keşkül; and aşure, prepared and shared at particular times of the year.
Turkish coffee (prepared in a special way) and Turkish tea (prepared in a special way) are the most popular drinks.
