Do foreign countries and cultures have superior cuisine and food culture than the US?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think America has the best food culture because it is a melting pot so brings flavors and techniques from all over the world plus it is incredibl rich with incredible distribution networks so you can get an amazing variety of foods in all seasons in almost all places.

That’s not to say that there’s not a lot of crap here. But if I had to pick one country in which to eat for my whole life, it would be the U.S. second pick would probably be Italy in part because I really like even causal fast food there (pizza, cured meats, etc.), and Italy does have a great range of food because it was the melting pot of the Middle Ages/rennaissance, bringing food from most of the world together.

What Americans don’t realize is that Italian food varies greatly by region. In southern Italy (Naples) you will not find any butter or cream based pasta sauces. They use strictly olive oil. If you ask for butter in a restaurant they will give
you a dismissive snort/shrug and tell you they have none. This idea that Italian food is one single cuisine is an American concept. Italy was, until quite recently, made up of several kingdoms. Northern Italy’s food is closely linked to Austrian/German food. America had a large number of Southern Italian immigrants which created the idea of “Italian American” food. It’s not a true representation of Italian food in Italy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think America has the best food culture because it is a melting pot so brings flavors and techniques from all over the world plus it is incredibl rich with incredible distribution networks so you can get an amazing variety of foods in all seasons in almost all places.

That’s not to say that there’s not a lot of crap here. But if I had to pick one country in which to eat for my whole life, it would be the U.S. second pick would probably be Italy in part because I really like even causal fast food there (pizza, cured meats, etc.), and Italy does have a great range of food because it was the melting pot of the Middle Ages/rennaissance, bringing food from most of the world together.

What Americans don’t realize is that Italian food varies greatly by region. In southern Italy (Naples) you will not find any butter or cream based pasta sauces. They use strictly olive oil. If you ask for butter in a restaurant they will give
you a dismissive snort/shrug and tell you they have none. This idea that Italian food is one single cuisine is an American concept. Italy was, until quite recently, made up of several kingdoms. Northern Italy’s food is closely linked to Austrian/German food. America had a large number of Southern Italian immigrants which created the idea of “Italian American” food. It’s not a true representation of Italian food in Italy.

DP. Reading comprehension matters. Pp clearly stated that Italy has a great range of foods. I guess if you are only posting to tear people down, you don't pay attention to anything else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think we have to take into the account that American food is the food of the people that live here, and the traditions they brought.
Hence German, Italian, Chinese, etc cuisines are all present here.
I can go for brunch to Italian restaurant or to that new Chinese brunch restaurant that opened in DC.
The U.S. was still a young country when industrialization and mass produced food occurred, and hence did not have centuries of kids shelling walnuts from their own tress, picking cherries for syrups, making your own tomato sauce for the winter, making jams with grandma, butchering your own cow and pig and curing meats.
These traditions were present and still are present in the U.S. but only on farms and very few families are still living like that.
This is because of urbanization too.
My grandma was a farmer, as was my grandpa, and my country did not urbanize until late 60s and 70s. So, how can you compare completely different histories of food?

Why do Americans think other countries don't have varied cuisine? Best Italian in my life? Thailand. Best French pastries and breads better than even France? South Korea. This might shock Americans, but other countries in the world have so much variety of cuisines as well. It is the year 2024, as if the US has a monopoly on diverse food culture. What a joke. I can go to Thailand and have Russian, Turkish, Mexican, Italian, French, Thai, every type of Asian, and virtually everything in the world there too. And they'll do it better for 1/4th the price. The US does not have a monopoly on food diversity because it is a melting pot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, and that's OK. The US is a very young country. It's still in the wild west stage, to all intents and purposes. One day, it will be considered culturally rich, with original cuisine.

Be patient.

I come from a country in the Americas so also young. I would say we have more traditional dishes and overall the quality is better. I think it’s because society isn’t as rushed and bc produce is much fresher.

All these countries that have such "great" food how does their GDP or national productivity or defense spending compare to the U.S.? Americans are busy. We often have to eat on the go and/or quickly in the evening after a long busy day.

Yeah, busy bombing the rest of the world, spreading COVID due to antivax hysteria, and busy lobbying to prevent your own citizens from having affordable healthcare, education and childcare.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, and that's OK. The US is a very young country. It's still in the wild west stage, to all intents and purposes. One day, it will be considered culturally rich, with original cuisine.

Be patient.

I come from a country in the Americas so also young. I would say we have more traditional dishes and overall the quality is better. I think it’s because society isn’t as rushed and bc produce is much fresher.

All these countries that have such "great" food how does their GDP or national productivity or defense spending compare to the U.S.? Americans are busy. We often have to eat on the go and/or quickly in the evening after a long busy day.

What? Are you saying we have no time to cook because we are bombing and invading countries?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, and that's OK. The US is a very young country. It's still in the wild west stage, to all intents and purposes. One day, it will be considered culturally rich, with original cuisine.

Be patient.

I come from a country in the Americas so also young. I would say we have more traditional dishes and overall the quality is better. I think it’s because society isn’t as rushed and bc produce is much fresher.

All these countries that have such "great" food how does their GDP or national productivity or defense spending compare to the U.S.? Americans are busy. We often have to eat on the go and/or quickly in the evening after a long busy day.

What? Are you saying we have no time to cook because we are bombing and invading countries?

No we are are projecting force to prevent bombings and invasions on all sides. Look up force projection and "speak quietly and carry a big stick".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, and that's OK. The US is a very young country. It's still in the wild west stage, to all intents and purposes. One day, it will be considered culturally rich, with original cuisine.

Be patient.

I come from a country in the Americas so also young. I would say we have more traditional dishes and overall the quality is better. I think it’s because society isn’t as rushed and bc produce is much fresher.

All these countries that have such "great" food how does their GDP or national productivity or defense spending compare to the U.S.? Americans are busy. We often have to eat on the go and/or quickly in the evening after a long busy day.

Yeah, busy bombing the rest of the world, spreading COVID due to antivax hysteria, and busy lobbying to prevent your own citizens from having affordable healthcare, education and childcare.

Thank you RussianIranian/Chinese foreign actor for your continued hard work on the internet telling us Americans how awful our country is and that we should be in personal despair.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think we have to take into the account that American food is the food of the people that live here, and the traditions they brought.
Hence German, Italian, Chinese, etc cuisines are all present here.
I can go for brunch to Italian restaurant or to that new Chinese brunch restaurant that opened in DC.
The U.S. was still a young country when industrialization and mass produced food occurred, and hence did not have centuries of kids shelling walnuts from their own tress, picking cherries for syrups, making your own tomato sauce for the winter, making jams with grandma, butchering your own cow and pig and curing meats.
These traditions were present and still are present in the U.S. but only on farms and very few families are still living like that.
This is because of urbanization too.
My grandma was a farmer, as was my grandpa, and my country did not urbanize until late 60s and 70s. So, how can you compare completely different histories of food?

Why do Americans think other countries don't have varied cuisine? Best Italian in my life? Thailand. Best French pastries and breads better than even France? South Korea. This might shock Americans, but other countries in the world have so much variety of cuisines as well. It is the year 2024, as if the US has a monopoly on diverse food culture. What a joke. I can go to Thailand and have Russian, Turkish, Mexican, Italian, French, Thai, every type of Asian, and virtually everything in the world there too. And they'll do it better for 1/4th the price. The US does not have a monopoly on food diversity because it is a melting pot.

We don't think about it at all

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think we have to take into the account that American food is the food of the people that live here, and the traditions they brought.
Hence German, Italian, Chinese, etc cuisines are all present here.
I can go for brunch to Italian restaurant or to that new Chinese brunch restaurant that opened in DC.
The U.S. was still a young country when industrialization and mass produced food occurred, and hence did not have centuries of kids shelling walnuts from their own tress, picking cherries for syrups, making your own tomato sauce for the winter, making jams with grandma, butchering your own cow and pig and curing meats.
These traditions were present and still are present in the U.S. but only on farms and very few families are still living like that.
This is because of urbanization too.
My grandma was a farmer, as was my grandpa, and my country did not urbanize until late 60s and 70s. So, how can you compare completely different histories of food?

Why do Americans think other countries don't have varied cuisine? Best Italian in my life? Thailand. Best French pastries and breads better than even France? South Korea. This might shock Americans, but other countries in the world have so much variety of cuisines as well. It is the year 2024, as if the US has a monopoly on diverse food culture. What a joke. I can go to Thailand and have Russian, Turkish, Mexican, Italian, French, Thai, every type of Asian, and virtually everything in the world there too. And they'll do it better for 1/4th the price. The US does not have a monopoly on food diversity because it is a melting pot.

Korean American here.

While I think Paris Baguette is better than most other bakeries, South Korea doesn't have a large array of different ethnic cuisines compared to the US. Of course, they do have different ethnic foods there, but not as many as here in the US.

I think your standard "American fare" is boring, but the fact that the US is one of the most diverse countries in the world does lend itself to having more diverse and better ethnic foods compared to other countries, in quantity and breadth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think America has the best food culture because it is a melting pot so brings flavors and techniques from all over the world plus it is incredibl rich with incredible distribution networks so you can get an amazing variety of foods in all seasons in almost all places.

That’s not to say that there’s not a lot of crap here. But if I had to pick one country in which to eat for my whole life, it would be the U.S. second pick would probably be Italy in part because I really like even causal fast food there (pizza, cured meats, etc.), and Italy does have a great range of food because it was the melting pot of the Middle Ages/rennaissance, bringing food from most of the world together.

What Americans don’t realize is that Italian food varies greatly by region. In southern Italy (Naples) you will not find any butter or cream based pasta sauces. They use strictly olive oil. If you ask for butter in a restaurant they will give
you a dismissive snort/shrug and tell you they have none. This idea that Italian food is one single cuisine is an American concept. Italy was, until quite recently, made up of several kingdoms. Northern Italy’s food is closely linked to Austrian/German food. America had a large number of Southern Italian immigrants which created the idea of “Italian American” food. It’s not a true representation of Italian food in Italy.

Ironically if you go to good Italian restaurants in large US cities (not limited to NY/LA/SF but also smaller cities like DC, Philly, Boston, etc.) you will discover many Italian restaurants reflecting different regions of Italy and where the chefs understand the distinctions you are making and know even more than you.

There are also restaurants that celebrate Italian-American cuisine, which is distinct as it is an adaptation of Italian dishes by multiple generations of families and influenced by American culture. It can also be phenomenally good. Caruso's Grocery in DC is my favorite example right now.

Trying to pretend there is a single version of Italian cuisine in the US and that "Americans" are totally ignorant if distinctions in Italian cuisine based on region, is so weird given both the large number of Italian immigrant communities in the US and the unusually strong interest that the US has in Italian culture (as compared to other European cultures in particular).

Meanwhile, go get Mexican food literally anywhere in the world outside Mexico or the US and count the myriad ways they just fundamentally get it wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:America is a very young country. Of course it's culinary history will be very truncated. Compare that to a lot of other cultures, like China, which has over 5,000 years of culinary development.

The US draws on every great world cuisine and frequently blends the best of every tradition. US food culture and cuisine is the best in the world.

Not at all. Not even close. I’m guessing you’ve never left the country or own a passport?

Maybe a little off topic, but a good difference is that the food in many countries does not have so many additives and preservatives. If I am in many countries, after a few days I feel better, am not bloated, and sleep better. I eat far more overseas than I do here and I usually lose weight because the food is just better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:America is a very young country. Of course it's culinary history will be very truncated. Compare that to a lot of other cultures, like China, which has over 5,000 years of culinary development.

We have all their history too! American cuisine is the BSST!!! We import everyone else's and make modifications that are super delicious. I lived in several countries in Europe for 10 years. The Brits are quick to tell me that they invented the sandwich from "Earl of Sandwich". I'm quick to point out that their sandwiches suck and although they invented it, we perfected it. Same with hamburgers - Roman's invented them, we perfected them. Mexican food, same. I LOVE my healthy burritos from trendy places. I can go on and on. Immigration has been good to our culinary scene!!! Everything is American, because we have such a rich cultural fabric of people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think America has the best food culture because it is a melting pot so brings flavors and techniques from all over the world plus it is incredibl rich with incredible distribution networks so you can get an amazing variety of foods in all seasons in almost all places.

That’s not to say that there’s not a lot of crap here. But if I had to pick one country in which to eat for my whole life, it would be the U.S. second pick would probably be Italy in part because I really like even causal fast food there (pizza, cured meats, etc.), and Italy does have a great range of food because it was the melting pot of the Middle Ages/rennaissance, bringing food from most of the world together.

What Americans don’t realize is that Italian food varies greatly by region. In southern Italy (Naples) you will not find any butter or cream based pasta sauces. They use strictly olive oil. If you ask for butter in a restaurant they will give
you a dismissive snort/shrug and tell you they have none. This idea that Italian food is one single cuisine is an American concept. Italy was, until quite recently, made up of several kingdoms. Northern Italy’s food is closely linked to Austrian/German food. America had a large number of Southern Italian immigrants which created the idea of “Italian American” food. It’s not a true representation of Italian food in Italy.

True, but it doesn't have to be authentic to be delicious or made even more delicious by adding something not native to Italy. I love adding Green Belly green hot sauce to many Italian dishes. It comes from Colorado and adds an earthy punch to an already delicious pasta bolognase.

[Anonymous]

I posted defending American cuisine, but looking at the thread about what are you making for Christmas, I now agree that Americans have no concept of a feast and food celebration.
Where is the whole roasted pig or lamb? Where are the tortes, where are under the pig potatoes and seven salads, where are the pies and anti-pasti plates? Where are the pickled veggies and simple tomatoes with feta cheese salads? Where is the starter soup?
Where are cookies?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think America has the best food culture because it is a melting pot so brings flavors and techniques from all over the world plus it is incredibl rich with incredible distribution networks so you can get an amazing variety of foods in all seasons in almost all places.

That’s not to say that there’s not a lot of crap here. But if I had to pick one country in which to eat for my whole life, it would be the U.S. second pick would probably be Italy in part because I really like even causal fast food there (pizza, cured meats, etc.), and Italy does have a great range of food because it was the melting pot of the Middle Ages/rennaissance, bringing food from most of the world together.

What Americans don’t realize is that Italian food varies greatly by region. In southern Italy (Naples) you will not find any butter or cream based pasta sauces. They use strictly olive oil. If you ask for butter in a restaurant they will give
you a dismissive snort/shrug and tell you they have none. This idea that Italian food is one single cuisine is an American concept. Italy was, until quite recently, made up of several kingdoms. Northern Italy’s food is closely linked to Austrian/German food. America had a large number of Southern Italian immigrants which created the idea of “Italian American” food. It’s not a true representation of Italian food in Italy.

Ironically if you go to good Italian restaurants in large US cities (not limited to NY/LA/SF but also smaller cities like DC, Philly, Boston, etc.) you will discover many Italian restaurants reflecting different regions of Italy and where the chefs understand the distinctions you are making and know even more than you.

There are also restaurants that celebrate Italian-American cuisine, which is distinct as it is an adaptation of Italian dishes by multiple generations of families and influenced by American culture. It can also be phenomenally good. Caruso's Grocery in DC is my favorite example right now.

Trying to pretend there is a single version of Italian cuisine in the US and that "Americans" are totally ignorant if distinctions in Italian cuisine based on region, is so weird given both the large number of Italian immigrant communities in the US and the unusually strong interest that the US has in Italian culture (as compared to other European cultures in particular).

Meanwhile, go get Mexican food literally anywhere in the world outside Mexico or the US and count the myriad ways they just fundamentally get it wrong.

DH is from the UK, and we go there often. I have jokingly stated that the UK needs more Mexican immigrants so they can have better Mexican food options. We went to a Mexican restaurant around London, and it was like an El Torito, but everyone there seemed to love it. We went with some UK friends who were well traveled (as Brits tend to be), but not well traveled to Mexico.

Maybe it's gotten better in the past 10 years, but I refuse to try another Mexican restaurant in the UK. I'm originally from CA, where you can find a plethora of great Mexican dives.