Ethnic foods from all over the world: The tasty, the gross, the bland (Part 1)

Food is what keeps humans running. It is our fuel. Many cultures around the world have invented their own recipes and types of food. Some cultures have even made their own unique dishes. The people from these cultures have created them throughout the history. Globalization has made it so, that you can eat Sushi in Helsinki. Or hamburgers in Tokyo. Most of those more popular ethnic foods are more accessible in people’s everyday lives. You can basically experience the foods without going to the country of origin. Forms of ethnic food are made by these factors: Resources, Climate, and Culture.

Picture: Wanderlust Designer

Let’s start our culinary adventure across the world from the western fence of America, to the eastern fence of Japan. Let’s start with the country who doesn’t need any introduction, the Yankees or ’Murica. America is a melting pot of food cultures, due to the history of immigrants and different pilgrims coming to America. After the fast-food companies spread their wings across the world, many people have eaten hamburgers. European food culture has largely influenced American food culture, and it’s not surprising. Germans bringed hamburgers to America, Italians bringed pizza. Since corn was growing in America, many corn dishes are made. Cajun food, which was mostly enjoyed in the Louisiana, is influenced by Caribbean food culture. Also steaks and meatloafes are enjoyed a lot in America. Italians also bringed pasta to the America, and the Americans invented their own casserole-like dish called mac and cheese, which consisted of macaroni and cheese. This is pretty basic, but tasty. Many types of sandwiches are popular in America, like peanut butter and jelly sandwich or it’s acronym PB&J. It even has it’s own day, April the 2nd. Bagels are like a donut-shaped sandwich. Grilled cheese sandwiches are also a very common American sandwich food. Philly cheesesteak bread is a steak version of hot dog. Hot dogs are also a very popular fast food, where a sausage is put between two breads, and some mustard on top. You can add other toppings according to your taste. Submarine sandwiches or subs are those long sandwiches, which are like baguettes. S’mores are thoses cookie sandwiches eaten by child scouts by campfire. Speaking of which, chocolate chip cookies originated from America. Arnold Reuben is the inventor of American cheesecake, and a meaty Reuben sandwich. German chocolate cake is also an American cake, althrough you may think ”Shouldn’t it be German?” well, the creator’s surname was German, so the the name for that chocolate cake came from him. America isn’t all fatty foods, since they have their own salads. Like Cobb salad, and Americans have invented a good dressing for a salad, Ranch sauce.

American food culture is vast, and also anything besides hamburgers. But let’s move on to America’s northern neighbour, Canada. The country that wins almost every time in it’s own sport. Canada has a lot of maple trees, where they make some maple syrup from, which is a delicious sauce Canada is mostly known for. They usually serve the syrup with some Canadian pancakes. Poutine is a popular unhealthy dish, where they slammed together cheese curds and french fries. Since Canada was a British colony, the British fish and chips found it’s way to Canada. Also many American foods are enjoyed by Canadians. Spruce beer is a Canadian beer made from shoots of the spruce trees. It is also a flavour for a soda. Since Canada is located in the north, many Canadian foods are pretty bland. That is a huge problem in the northern countries, where the resources are limited due to the cold climate.

Speaking of which, let’s move on to the Nordic cuisine. Seafood plays a big part in the Nordic cuisine, and many fish dishes are pretty common. Salmon is a pretty popular fish dish, and it is best enjoyed with boiled new potatoes, or as a soup. Swedes have invented the smelliest fish in the world, Surströmming. There are many videos where people vomit to the fish. Lobsters are also popular amongst Swedes. You can finds fried vendace fish in the most Finnish outdoor markets, where you can buy and eat them. Kalakukko (Fish cock :D) is a pretty known rye pie with fish baked inside. Meat also plays a pretty good role in the Nordic food culture, and sausages and meatballs are a very popular foods in Nordic countries. Meatballs were my favourite food when I was a little boy. Reindeer is also a very significant dish, and sauteéd reindeer is a very known reindeer dish. Rye bread is a very popular form of bread, and hard flatbread is also a very popular breads in the Nordic countries. Berries and mushrooms are picked an enjoyed a lot by Nordic people. Sour yoghurt is a very common dairy product in the Nordic countries. Pea soup is a very popular vegetable soup in the Nordic countries, especially in Finland and Sweden, where it is mostly enjoyed in Thursdays. Nordic countries are a huge coffee drinkers. Mead or Sima (See-muh) is a very good mildly alcoholic beverage enjoyed mostly in springtime. There are a lot of more Nordic dishes, but I will not cover them all, because this article would be longer than the bible. (I’m not religious, I’m using it as a metaphor.)

In the Central Europe, food culture is getting more diverse, but not too diverse. It would be a buffer zone between the more rich Southern Europe, and more bland Northern Europe. Potato salad is a pretty unique form of salad, which originated from Germany in the early 1900s. Sauerkraut originated from Germany, and is a more healthier alternative to mashed potatoes. You can enjoy some bratwurst with them. Germans have also a big appetite for pastries. Pretzels, Zwiebelkuchens, Apfelstrudels, Pfannkuchens, and many others. Döner Kebab is a fusion dish of Turkish kebab and German flatbreads. Czech food is also mainly vegetable soups, fried meats, and others. It is influenced by both German, and Hungarian cuisines. Austrian food is mainly like a German cuisine. Swiss cuisine is of a blend of German, Italian, and French cuisines. Speaking of which, the French cuisine is the most known European cuisines. French cuisine has a lot of meat, seafood, soups, salads, pies, pastries, tarts, crepes, baguettes, pots, and even escargoes. French people probably ran out of ideas, when making a new dish.

Let’s move on to the Iberian peninsula. Starting with Spain. Seafood is pretty popular in Spain, and also soups, stews, potatoes, meats, croquettes, dairies, salads, crumbs and many others. Due to Southern European climate, the food is getting more diverse, and more colourful. Portuguese food has more seafood than the Spanish food. Let’s move on to the Italian food. Italian food doesn’t really need any introduction. Italian food is pretty diverse, from risottos to pizzas. Italians are sometimes pretty salty when it comes to pizza toppings, like the controversial pineapple. Spaghetti and pasta are pretty popular Italian foods. Also pestos, lasagnes, tortellinis, focaccias, cheeses, truffles, meats, omelettes, and many others are in the Italian cuisine. Italians have invented their own form of ice cream, gelato.

Let’s move on out of the Europe, and to the Latin America. Latin American food is influenced by Spanish and Portuguese foods. There are also meats, pastries, tamales, rolls, stews, sauces, platter-style meals, seafood, rice and many others. Tropical ingredients are used with those foods usually, and the food is usually pretty spicy and tasty.

Now we are heading to the birth home of the human species, Africa. Many people in the west usually think that there are no food in Africa. Well, that’s a half-lie, since Africa has some food too, althrough not that much of it. Rice, barbecued meats, soups, curry, seafood, stews, biryanis, medames, kosharis, pots, and couscous dishes. African foods usually have a modest amount of spices. I will talk a little about my experiences with African food. When I was in the 6th grade, a Somalian student bringed some Sambusas to the school market day. They were kind of pastries. I read about an African restaurant opening in Helsinki, and I would go there someday.

Let’s move on back to Europe, specifically in the Netherlands. I was pretty surprised, when I heard that the Dutch herring is the most popular Dutch food. There are a lot of Dutch waffles, krokets, fries, bitterballen, small pancakes, licorice, cheese, chocolate sprinkled sandwiches, buns, soups, veggie dishes, regural pancakes, fish and chips, and sausages. You may find those coffee shops, where they enjoy weed. The Netherlands are those countries, where cannabis is legal. Well, it is decriminalized. Let’s move on to Belgium, where there are more waffles. Belgium is like a buffer state between the Netherlands and France. Belgian fries are their type of French fries, which is mostly debated, are they French or Belgian? They were discovered during the WW2, when some American soldiers found them.

Now it’s the time for the Eastern Europe. Potato is a pretty common ingredient used in the Eastern European food. You can even enjoy them as a liquid. They enjoy that red borscht soup, which also symbolizes their communist history. They do enjoy other vegetable and meat soups as well. Goulash is also a well-known dish. Eastern European food is surely a meaty diet, so not a very good food for vegans. Dumplings aren’t only enjoyed in China, they are also enjoyed in Eastern Europe in a form of pelmeni. Most of the vegetables are pickled. Luckily there are some salad for the vegans, and health concious people. Meat is also enjoyed in a jelly form, and salami in a chocolate form. They can even make a cake in a shape of a tree! Those were some weird Eastern European foods.

It’s time to go to the Middle East, the part of Asia, which doesn’t look Asian. Due to the Middle Eastern cuisine being influenced by the Islamic culture, and pork is not on the menu. Hummus is the mashed potato, but the potato is replaced by chickpeas. Manakeesh is the other form of pizza, but there is less cheese. Halloumi is the other form of goat and sheep cheese, and it’s delicious. I have tasted it in a burger. Vegetables are pretty common in the Middle Eastern cuisine, but meat is also present too. Shawarma is like an other form of Kebab. There is also an other form of curry, Quwarmah Al Dajaj. Baklava is a pretty common pasty in the Middle Eastern countries. Khafeh is another cheesecake eaten in Palestine, Syria and Lebanon. There are also some seafood on the list.

You can read more about those ethnic foods online, since I just put some examples about those foods. I will cover the rest of the world in the Part II, which will come later. In the meantime, you can try those foods I mentioned. World is a large place, and humanity has invented many different dishes. There are still some unmade dishes that weren’t invented yet, like there are still some plant species not found yet. You can also travel to those places where the food is originated from, but you need to be cautious, since some countries are bloodthirsty dictatorships, or unsafe to travel. You can also try your luck, but be careful, since we only live once.