How and why did Asia supplant Europe at being better at pastries and bread making?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Asians had bread making way before europe, so they had many centuries to perfect. Stop making flour western.

But also there are Asian flavor and texture concepts like really complement pastries like QQ and umami.

But we aren't just talking about rustic bread making. Europeans clearly introduced the art of making pastries with ton of fat content and invented the methods for layering dough to get products like croissants. Making croissants is entirely a western concept. Yet in Asian now you can find so many places that make far better croissants, scones with clotted cream, tarts, cakes and pastries overall than what you get in Europe. How and why did Asia take it over?

Again, the Vietnam War.

Same reason Algerians also make insanely good pastries.

Also adding: Koreans and Vietnamese make really good wings because of our GIs/war

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Asians had bread making way before europe, so they had many centuries to perfect. Stop making flour western.

But also there are Asian flavor and texture concepts like really complement pastries like QQ and umami.

But we aren't just talking about rustic bread making. Europeans clearly introduced the art of making pastries with ton of fat content and invented the methods for layering dough to get products like croissants. Making croissants is entirely a western concept. Yet in Asian now you can find so many places that make far better croissants, scones with clotted cream, tarts, cakes and pastries overall than what you get in Europe. How and why did Asia take it over?

Again, the Vietnam War.

Same reason Algerians also make insanely good pastries.

Also adding: Koreans and Vietnamese make really good wings because of our GIs/war

For real, they never had chicken before we introduced it to them!

[Anonymous]

I've been to Japan and China many times, but not other countries. In both those cultures, food is a big obsession and it's a highly competitive market, so I can see people being focused on perfecting it. That's my only guess.

[Anonymous]

It's news to me that Asia has better bread than Europe or the US. I like the milk bread of East Asia but is someone seriously claiming there's better sourdough and artisanal bread in Asia now?

I do like and even prefer Japanese style French patisseries as it's less rich and less sweet but not sure if I'd ever call it "better." It's just a different interpretation.

[Anonymous]

I am shocked people think Asian pastries are too sweet! Is this a joke? American desserts and pastries are so sweet they are mostly inedible for anyone over 10.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am shocked people think Asian pastries are too sweet! Is this a joke? American desserts and pastries are so sweet they are mostly inedible for anyone over 10.

yeah, asian cakes and pastries are noticeably LESS sweet and lighter in texture than Western desserts. That is the reason we prefer buying cakes from Asian bakeries. The western style ones at least in America are so sweet and dense I can only take one bite before I have to stop. Cheesecake? those ridiculous fancy cupcake shops with three inches of frosting? Gives me a toothache just thinking about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am shocked people think Asian pastries are too sweet! Is this a joke? American desserts and pastries are so sweet they are mostly inedible for anyone over 10.

Asia also encompasses South Asia and outside the US people commonly think of India as well, and that may be the place with the sweetest pastries in the world. Otherwise agree that East Asian desserts are significantly less sweet than American desserts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's news to me that Asia has better bread than Europe or the US. I like the milk bread of East Asia but is someone seriously claiming there's better sourdough and artisanal bread in Asia now?

I do like and even prefer Japanese style French patisseries as it's less rich and less sweet but not sure if I'd ever call it "better." It's just a different interpretation.

Nah fam. You need go travel more. Literally the best breads I've had in my life were in Japan and South Korea. And I've been all over Europe. I don't think you truly understand the extreme to which people in Japan, for example, will take their craft. These kinds of places are all over Japan and South Korea now:

And yes, without question they're better at making bread than the US. No, we aren't talking about stereotypical milk breads etc. We are talking about rustic sourdough to baguettes.

God, it is so obvious Americans don't travel much outside the western world. It may shock people to learn that the world huge, and that yes, people in Asia eat fantastic western foods too and that they are capable of making it even better than westerners themselves because they put tons of effort into honing the craft once they learn western techniques and dishes.

[Anonymous]

Look at the precision of this Japanese baker on youtube.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's news to me that Asia has better bread than Europe or the US. I like the milk bread of East Asia but is someone seriously claiming there's better sourdough and artisanal bread in Asia now?

I do like and even prefer Japanese style French patisseries as it's less rich and less sweet but not sure if I'd ever call it "better." It's just a different interpretation.

Nah fam. You need go travel more. Literally the best breads I've had in my life were in Japan and South Korea. And I've been all over Europe. I don't think you truly understand the extreme to which people in Japan, for example, will take their craft. These kinds of places are all over Japan and South Korea now:

And yes, without question they're better at making bread than the US. No, we aren't talking about stereotypical milk breads etc. We are talking about rustic sourdough to baguettes.

God, it is so obvious Americans don't travel much outside the western world. It may shock people to learn that the world huge, and that yes, people in Asia eat fantastic western foods too and that they are capable of making it even better than westerners themselves because they put tons of effort into honing the craft once they learn western techniques and dishes.

Most Americans never travel outside of North America, actually, and the primary reasons are that it's very expensive. If they travel internationally, Europe and South and Central America are far closer and more affordable than Asia. Traveling to Asia for most Americans is simply an impossibility. It's not a lack of interest. Keep in mind Americans get a tiny amount of vacation time (and are discouraged from using all of it), must pay for college themselves, must save for their own retirement, and have some of the highest individual healthcare costs in the world. Scoffing that such people aren't hopping on planes to Japan is far more ignorant than an American not knowing about the bread-making skills of certain bakers in Asia.

When you travel in Asia, do you mock the many, many people there who have never traveled outside their home country? I bet they love it when you leave.

[Anonymous]

Krispy kreme is better than Europe or Asia

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am shocked people think Asian pastries are too sweet! Is this a joke? American desserts and pastries are so sweet they are mostly inedible for anyone over 10.

Asia also encompasses South Asia and outside the US people commonly think of India as well, and that may be the place with the sweetest pastries in the world. Otherwise agree that East Asian desserts are significantly less sweet than American desserts.

It doesn't make any sense in this context though; South Asia doesn't really have a huge bread/baking culture, it's a relatively new phenomenon. I don't know why anyone would say that Asian pastries are too sweet, when they eat American buttercream.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am shocked people think Asian pastries are too sweet! Is this a joke? American desserts and pastries are so sweet they are mostly inedible for anyone over 10.

Asia also encompasses South Asia and outside the US people commonly think of India as well, and that may be the place with the sweetest pastries in the world. Otherwise agree that East Asian desserts are significantly less sweet than American desserts.

It doesn't make any sense in this context though; South Asia doesn't really have a huge bread/baking culture, it's a relatively new phenomenon. I don't know why anyone would say that Asian pastries are too sweet, when they eat American buttercream.

The thread was about Asian bread and pastry versus that in Europe, not the US.

I don't think anyone is arguing that the US is better at this than either place.

This is just a silly conversation that some people are using to try and brag about their world travels or refined culinary tastes. There's no good reason to try and compare all bread and pastry in Europe to all bread and pastry in Asia, it's a dumb proposition.

[Anonymous]

While we’re on the subject of vast generalizations, why is the bread so bad in Latin America? There are bakeries on every corner making inedible bread. What makes it taste so flat compared to European bread?

[Anonymous]

It's a merit based society

The West has DEI so our products suck, our planes crash and our hospitals are a highway to death.

Totally predictable