Which cuisines float your boat.

[Burt Blank]

Mine are.
1 French and Turkish both for me have a complete range from hor d'oeuvres through to deserts and patisserie.
3 Chinese a vast cuisine with massive regional and cultural diversity but lacking desserts or patisserie
4 Indian a vast cuisine with massive regional and cultural diversity but lacking desserts or patisserie. The best and most varied vegetarian dishes in the world.
5 Thai massive regional and cultural diversity but lacking desserts or patisserie rank highly for me for having some of the best street food in the world
6 Spanish massive regional and cultural diversity but lacking desserts or patisserie compared to 1 and 2. It rank highly for me for having some of the best seafood dishes from northern Spain.
7 Japan massive regional and cultural diversity but lacking desserts or patisserie My no 7 because of the skill of their Sushi chefs In Japan, becoming an itamae of sushi requires years of training and apprenticeship. Typically, after spending approximately five years working with a master itamae, the apprentice is given their first important task related to making sushi: preparation of the sushi rice.
8 Portugal massive regional and cultural diversity but lacking desserts or patisserie compared to 1 and 2. It rank highly for me for having some of the best seafood dishes from the Atlantic.
9 The UK massive regional and cultural diversity but lacking desserts or patisserie compared to 1 and 2. It rank highly for me for having some of the meat in the world.
10 ???????????

 

[Morning Glory]

You missed out number 2 but I guess French and Turkish count as 2. Are you ranking these in preference order or is it simply a list of 10 in no particular order??

 

[Morning Glory]

Lack of desserts and patisserie is not something that bothers me in the slightest as I've no interest in them.

I'm finding it too difficult to list 10 as I like 'fine dining' food in almost any country - but Indian would probably rank extremely high, fine dining or otherwise.

Japan would not feature.

 

[flyinglentris]

I'm not particular. I like diversity. It's the things I do or don't like, not their national or cultural roots.

I may have some favorites, fiesta foods, and those I might tag as Spanish American, Italian, Japanese and Greek.

 

[Burt Blank]

You missed out number 2 but I guess French and Turkish count as 2. Are you ranking these in preference order or is it simply a list of 10 in no particular order??

Morning Morning, as for me it's a dead heat for number 1 the number 2 position is void. Ergo ranking in order of preference.

 

[detroitdad]

I kind of like everything lol

 

[epicuric]

1. French
2. British
3. Mediterranean (All of Southern Europe, Turkey & Middle East)
4. Far Eastern

 

[TastyReuben]

Pretty easy for me, I'm a basic sort of fellow. In no particular order:

1. Italian, and by that, I largely mean Italian-American.
2. German
3. Tex-Mex
4. British, meaning Sunday roasts and sausages and the like.
5. American Midwest/South, as that's my family's heritage, so things like pork chops, and chicken and dumplings, and fried chicken, pork and sauerkraut, meatloaf, fried potatoes, corn on the cob, etc.

 

[Hemulen]

Mediterranean cuisine is my delight but I eat almost anything.

I like specific dishes, not that much distinct regional cuisines. In general, most Mediterranean/Aegean dishes taste good, although North-African (and Middle-Eastern) spice mixes/dishes with cinnamon, lamb, mint, chick peas (hummus), couscous, caraway, cardamon, nutmeg, clover, aniseed, dates and raisins don't float my boat. I use most of those spices/ingredients in baking or desserts.

French cuisine uses a looooot of butter and cream and German cuisine (in my mind) is based on pork and pickled veggies. In my opinion, e.g. East-Europeans, Italians, Spaniards, Portuguese, Greek and Turkish people know how to prepare tasty food with dairies, veggies, seafood, herbs and other healthy and affordable everyday ingredients. One of the best meals I've had was on a school choir tour in Bulgaria. The host family cooked red bell peppers filled with local cheese on an open fire for dinner. It was scrumptious. Finns (+ our neighboring countries) know how to utilize cow's milk (sour milk products), mushrooms, fish, game, rye and berries in cooking.

Extra spicy oriental dishes feel as if the main ingredient is contaminated and has to be covered with an explosion of flavors. I do love curries, some Chinese slime sauces and most Thai dishes with lime and chili, though.

The oily and crispy flour batter and its spices - regardless of whether the main ingredient is savory/salty or sweet - is the main thing that tastes in deep fried dishes. Smoky BBQ flavors and sesame oil are not my thing either: I've grown up eating smoked fish - that's smoke enough for one lifetime. In Japan, most dishes tasted salty, fishy and acerbic or were tasteless (sushi), spiced with fermented soy, wasabi and ginger. Even chicken soup was salty and based on miso paste, sea/fish flavors and fermented soy. Japanese (Portuguese import) "everything-tastes-the-same" tempura is terrible and sweet corn/matcha tasting desserts are rather bland.

This said, I might end up craving for salmon sushi with the regular accompaniments, fish & chips, deep fried banana, Ras al Hanout -spiced lamb skewers, sausage and sauerkraut or a large portion of rice kebab with a chili sauce which makes my nose and eyes run. Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose... (The more it changes, the more it's the same thing).

 

[Windigo]

Well Burt Blank that's a hard question. I just love food so like Morning Glory I would say ( just about) anything that's well prepared. However, if I must choose:

1) Indian food. I love the rich use of spices, heat, color the whole shebang. And I love their sweets too jalebi are fab . And the nan bread is delicious.

2) Indonesian food. Mainly because I grew up with it and it's incredibly diverse.

3) Italian food. I love a good pizza ( sadly hard to find unless homemade) and spaghetti belongs in my top 10 favorite foods. The sausages and cheeses, plus Gelato are things I adore too.

4) French food. It's the basic standard for all things fine dining, and I love classic French food.

5) Dutch and British food. If you know both well, they have a lot in common. I love hearty stews , dishes with all kinds of potatoes and cheese and sweets from both countries.

6) Turkish food. I love their breads, sweets, and sSalads . Am still getting to know their food.

7) Sushi. I can't say Japanese food, because I am too unfamiliar with the rest of their cuisine.

 

[mjd]

Same as flyinglentris. It's the dish, not the origin that makes it or breaks it for me. My palate has changed considerably since I was a kid, though, so I'm more open to trying new things. The one thing that I can't have is seafood so I have to live vicariously through people that can eat it. Many of the dishes sound amazing.

 

[Burt Blank]

I should have added from the countries you have visited. For me as I stated in the competition, I judge food simply would I pay hard earned money to eat it. I am not bothered if it's a cafe or a "fine dining" restaurant. In either if I don't like the standard I am offered I will pay for what I have eaten and leave.
When I was single I would take the relevant Michelin red book and choose hotels and restaurant from it. The book never failed even if it was a simple 1 fork and spoon rating. It is very hard to get a bad meal in France and Turkey.
We used to drive to Croatia twice a year using different routes through Europe. The channel tunnel was the only norm, we planned the journey not for speed but interest. The last return trip the weather was foul through the alps so we arrival at the channel would have been to late to eat lunch. We pulled of the main road into a little town, stopped at a cafe in an industrial area and had the most magnificent fried foi gras that was on the special's board as part of a set meal. The place was full of truck drivers and local workers.

 

[Morning Glory]

I should have added from the countries you have visited.

Many folk here may never have travelled outside their country. I've been to France, Italy, Egypt. That's it. I used to think French food was the best and when I first went to France in my early 20's I was amazed. I now realise this was largely because at the time I had only eaten the blandest of British foods (other than curry in Indian restaurants) and couldn't cook to save my life. Last time I went to France (about 6 years ago) I was really disappointed. The food seemed bland! I realised then how much I had learned about cooking since those early days.

 

[flyinglentris]

Many folk here may never have travelled outside their country. I've been to France, Italy, Egypt. That's it.

Of course, I have been to Canada and Mexico. But while in the US Navy, I visited The Philippines, Hong Kong (when it was under British Administration), Australia and Singapore. I got close enough to Guam to see it from the flight deck, sat off Pakistan and East Africa, near Kenya. I've been in all 50 states of the US, as well.

I have to say that I was not out to specifically try different national cuisines, during those years, but of course, certainly at different stuff in those places. You could not beat the food aboard ship though.

 

[JAS_OH1]

Same as flyinglentris. It's the dish, not the origin that makes it or breaks it for me. My palate has changed considerably since I was a kid, though, so I'm more open to trying new things. The one thing that I can't have is seafood so I have to live vicariously through people that can eat it. Many of the dishes sound amazing.

But you eat salmon?