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A cuisine is a style of
cooking Cooking, cookery, or culinary arts is the art, science and craft of using heat to Outline of food preparation, prepare food for consumption. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely, from grilling food over an open fire to using electric ...
characterized by distinctive
ingredient An ingredient is a substance that forms part of a mixture (in a general sense). For example, in cooking, recipes specify which ingredients are used to prepare a specific dish. Many commercial product (business), products contain secret ingredie ...
s,
techniques Technique or techniques may refer to: Music * The Techniques, a Jamaican rocksteady vocal group of the 1960s *Technique (band), a British female synth pop band in the 1990s * ''Technique'' (album), by New Order, 1989 * ''Techniques'' (album), by M ...
and dishes, and usually associated with a specific culture or geographic region. Regional food preparation techniques, customs, and ingredients combine to enable dishes unique to a region. A cuisine is partly determined by ingredients that are available locally or through trade. Regional ingredients are developed and commonly contribute to a regional or national cuisine, such as Japanese rice in Japanese cuisine or New Mexico chile in New Mexican cuisine. Likewise, national dishes have variations, such as gyros in Greek cuisine and hamburger in American cuisine. Religious food laws can also exercise an influence on cuisine, such as Hinduism in Indian cuisine, Sikhism in Punjabi cuisine, Buddhism in East Asian cuisine, Christianity in
European cuisine European cuisine comprises the cuisines of Europe "European Cuisine."Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
in
Middle Eastern cuisine Middle Eastern cuisine or West Asian cuisine includes Arab, Armenian, Assyrian, Azerbaijani, Cypriot, Egyptian, Georgian, Iranian, Iraqi, Israeli, Kurdish, Lebanese, Palestinian and Turkish cuisines. Common ingredients include olives and ol ...
, and Judaism in Jewish and Israeli cuisine.


Etymology

Cuisine is borrowed from the French meaning cooking, culinary art and kitchen.


Factors that affect a cuisine

Some factors that have an influence on a region's cuisine include the area's climate, the trade among different countries, religious or
sumptuary Sumptuary laws (from Latin ''sūmptuāriae lēgēs'') are laws that try to regulate consumption. '' Black's Law Dictionary'' defines them as "Laws made for the purpose of restraining luxury or extravagance, particularly against inordinate expendi ...
laws and culinary culture exchange. For example, a tropical diet may be based more on fruits and vegetables, while a polar diet might rely more on meat and fish. The area's climate, in large measure, determines the native foods that are available. In addition, climate influences food preservation. For example, foods preserved for winter consumption by
smoking Smoking is a practice in which a substance is burned and the resulting smoke is typically breathed in to be tasted and absorbed into the bloodstream. Most commonly, the substance used is the dried leaves of the tobacco plant, which have bee ...
,
curing A cure is a completely effective treatment for a disease. Cure, or similar, may also refer to: Places * Cure (river), a river in France * Cures, Sabinum, an ancient Italian town * Cures, Sarthe, a commune in western France People * Curate or ...
, and pickling have remained significant in world cuisines for their altered gustatory properties. The trade among different countries also largely affects a region's cuisine. Dating back to the ancient spice trade, seasonings such as
cinnamon Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus ''Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, breakfa ...
, cassia, cardamom,
ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices ...
, and turmeric were important items of commerce in the earliest evolution of trade, and India was a global market for this. Cinnamon and cassia found their way to the Middle East at least 4,000 years ago. Certain foods and food preparations are required or proscribed by the religiousness or sumptuary laws, such as Islamic dietary laws and Jewish dietary laws. Culinary culture exchange is also an important factor for cuisine in many regions: Japan's first substantial and direct exposure to the West came with the arrival of European missionaries in the second half of the 16th century. At that time, the combination of Spanish and Portuguese game frying techniques with an East Asian method for cooking vegetables in oil led to the development of '' tempura'', the "popular Japanese dish in which seafood and many different types of vegetables are coated with batter and deep fried".


History

Cuisine dates back to the
Antiquity Antiquity or Antiquities may refer to: Historical objects or periods Artifacts *Antiquities, objects or artifacts surviving from ancient cultures Eras Any period before the European Middle Ages (5th to 15th centuries) but still within the histo ...
. As food began to require more planning, there was an emergence of meals that situated around culture.


Evolution of cuisine

Cuisines evolve continually, and new cuisines are created by innovation and cultural interaction. One recent example is fusion cuisine, which combines elements of various
culinary Culinary arts are the cuisine arts of outline of food preparation, food preparation, cooking and food presentation, presentation of food, usually in the form of meals. People working in this field – especially in establishments such as res ...
traditions while not being categorized per any one cuisine style, and generally refers to the innovations in many contemporary restaurant cuisines since the 1970s. '' Nouvelle cuisine'' (New cuisine) is an approach to cooking and food presentation in French cuisine that was popularized in the 1960s by the food critics Henri Gault, who invented the phrase, and his colleagues André Gayot and Christian Millau in a new restaurant guide, the Gault-Millau, or ''Le Nouveau Guide''. Molecular cuisine, is a modern style of cooking which takes advantage of many technical innovations from the scientific disciplines (molecular cooking). The term was coined in 1999 by the
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
INRA chemist Hervé This because he wanted to distinguish it from the name Molecular gastronomy (a scientific activity) that was introduced by him and the late Oxford physicist Nicholas Kurti in 1988. It is also named as multi sensory cooking, modernist cuisine, culinary physics, and experimental cuisine by some chefs. Besides, international trade brings new foodstuffs including ingredients to existing cuisines and leads to changes. The introduction of hot pepper to China from South America around the end of the 17th century, greatly influencing
Sichuan cuisine Sichuan cuisine, alternatively romanized as Szechwan cuisine or Szechuan cuisine (, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), is a style of Chinese cuisine originating from Sichuan Province. It has bold flavours, particularly the pungency and spicin ...
, which combines the original taste (with use of Sichuan pepper) with the taste of newly introduced hot pepper and creates a unique mala () flavor that's mouth-numbingly spicy and pungent.


Global cuisine

A global cuisine is a cuisine that is practiced around the world, and can be categorized according to the common use of major foodstuffs, including
grain A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legum ...
s, produce and cooking fats.


Regional cuisines

Regional cuisines can vary based on availability and usage of specific ingredients, local cooking traditions and practices, as well as overall
cultural Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human Society, societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, and habits of the ...
differences."The American Food Revolutions: Cuisines in America."Eldrbarry.net
Accessed June 2011.
Such factors can be more-or-less uniform across wide swaths of territory, or vary intensely within individual regions. For example, in Central and North South America, corn ( maize), both fresh and dried, is a staple food, and is used in many different ways. In northern Europe, wheat,
rye Rye (''Secale cereale'') is a grass grown extensively as a grain, a cover crop and a forage crop. It is a member of the wheat tribe (Triticeae) and is closely related to both wheat (''Triticum'') and barley (genus ''Hordeum''). Rye grain is u ...
, and fats of animal origin predominate, while in southern Europe
olive oil Olive oil is a liquid fat obtained from olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea''; family Oleaceae), a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin, produced by pressing whole olives and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking: f ...
is ubiquitous and rice is more prevalent. In Italy, the cuisine of the north, featuring butter and rice, stands in contrast to that of the south, with its wheat pasta and olive oil. In some parts of China, rice is the staple, while in others this role is filled by noodles and
bread Bread is a staple food prepared from a dough of flour (usually wheat) and water, usually by baking. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cultures' diet. It is one of the oldest human-made f ...
. Throughout the Middle East and Mediterranean, common ingredients include lamb, olive oil, lemons, peppers, and rice. The
vegetarianism Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetarianism may ...
practiced in much of India has made pulses (crops harvested solely for the dry seed) such as
chickpea The chickpea or chick pea (''Cicer arietinum'') is an annual legume of the family Fabaceae, subfamily Faboideae. Its different types are variously known as gram" or Bengal gram, garbanzo or garbanzo bean, or Egyptian pea. Chickpea seeds are high ...
s and lentils as important as wheat or rice. From India to Indonesia, the extensive use of spices is characteristic;
coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family ( Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the ...
s and
seafood Seafood is any form of sea life regarded as food by humans, prominently including fish and shellfish. Shellfish include various species of molluscs (e.g. bivalve molluscs such as clams, oysters and mussels, and cephalopods such as octopus an ...
are also used throughout the region both as foodstuffs and as
seasoning Seasoning is the process of supplementing food via herbs, spices, salts, and/or sugar, intended to enhance a particular flavour. General meaning Seasonings include herbs and spices, which are themselves frequently referred to as "seasonings". Ho ...
s.


African cuisine

African cuisines use a combination of locally available fruits,
cereal A cereal is any Poaceae, grass cultivated for the edible components of its grain (botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis), composed of the endosperm, Cereal germ, germ, and bran. Cereal Grain, grain crops are grown in greater quantit ...
s and vegetables, as well as milk and
meat Meat is animal flesh that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted, farmed, and scavenged animals for meat since prehistoric times. The establishment of settlements in the Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of animals such as chic ...
products. In some parts of the continent, the traditional diet features a preponderance of milk, curd and whey products. In much of tropical Africa, however, cow's milk is rare and cannot be produced locally (owing to various diseases that affect livestock). The continent's diverse demographic makeup is reflected in the many different eating and drinking habits, dishes, and preparation techniques of its manifold populations. File:Alicha 1.jpg, Typical Ethiopian and Eritrean cuisine: '' Injera'' (thin pancake-like bread) and several kinds of ''wat'' (stew) File:Iftar.jpg, A
Ramadan , type = islam , longtype = Religious , image = Ramadan montage.jpg , caption=From top, left to right: A crescent moon over Sarıçam, Turkey, marking the beginning of the Islamic month of Ramadan. Ramadan Quran reading in Bandar Torkaman, Iran. ...
dinner in Tanzania File:Yassapoulet.JPG, Yassa is a popular dish throughout West Africa prepared with chicken or fish. Chicken yassa is pictured. File:Spices1.jpg, Spices at central market in Agadir, Morocco


Asian cuisines

Due to Asia's vast size and extremely diverse geography and demographics, Asian cuisines are many and varied, and include East Asian cuisine, South Asian cuisine, Southeast Asian cuisine, Central Asian cuisine and West Asian cuisine. Ingredients common to East Asia and Southeast Asia (due to
overseas Chinese Overseas Chinese () refers to people of Chinese birth or ethnicity who reside outside Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. As of 2011, there were over 40.3 million overseas Chinese. Terminology () or ''Hoan-kheh'' () in Hokkien, refe ...
influence) include rice, ginger, garlic, sesame seeds, chilies, dried onions, soy, and tofu, with
stir frying Stir frying () is a cooking technique in which ingredients are fried in a small amount of very hot oil while being stirred or tossed in a wok. The technique originated in China and in recent centuries has spread into other parts of Asia and th ...
, steaming, and
deep frying Deep frying (also referred to as deep fat frying) is a cooking method in which food is submerged in hot fat, traditionally lard but today most commonly oil, as opposed to the shallow oil used in conventional frying done in a frying pan. Norm ...
being common cooking methods. While rice is common to most regional cuisines in Asia, different varieties are popular in the different regions: Basmati rice is popular in South Asia, Jasmine rice in Southeast Asia, and long-grain rice in China and short-grain rice in Japan and Korea. Curry is also a common ingredient found in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and East Asia (notably Japanese curry); however, they are not popular in West Asian and Central Asian cuisines. Those curry dishes with origins in South Asia usually have a yogurt base, with origins in Southeast Asia a
coconut milk Coconut milk is an opaque, milky-white liquid extracted from the grated pulp of mature coconuts. The opacity and rich taste of coconut milk are due to its high oil content, most of which is saturated fat. Coconut milk is a traditional food i ...
base, and in East Asia a stewed meat and vegetable base. South Asian cuisine and Southeast Asian cuisine are often characterized by their extensive use of spices and
herbs In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...
native to the tropical regions of Asia. File:CantoneseRestaurantSeafood.jpg, Due to Guangdong's location on the southern coast of China, fresh live seafood is a specialty in
Cantonese cuisine Cantonese or Guangdong cuisine, also known as Yue cuisine ( or ) is the cuisine of Guangdong province of China, particularly the provincial capital Guangzhou, and the surrounding regions in the Pearl River Delta including Hong Kong and Maca ...
. Such markets selling seafood are found across East Asia. File:Vegetarian Curry.jpeg, Traditional North Indian vegetarian thali with various curries from India. Various curry dishes are found across South Asia. File:Thai market food 01.jpg, A market stall at Thanin market in
Chiang Mai Chiang Mai (, from th, เชียงใหม่ , nod, , เจียงใหม่ ), sometimes written as Chiengmai or Chiangmai, is the largest city in northern Thailand, the capital of Chiang Mai province and the second largest city in ...
, Thailand, selling ready-cooked food. Market stalls selling food are found across Southeast Asia. File:Tajik dastarkhan meal.jpg, A
Tajik Tajik, Tadjik, Tadzhik or Tajikistani may refer to: * Someone or something related to Tajikistan * Tajiks, an ethnic group in Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan * Tajik language, the official language of Tajikistan * Tajik (surname) * Tajik cu ...
feast. A large feast is commonly associated with cultures of Central Asia. File:Assyriancusiene.jpg, Typical Assyrian cuisine; an example of a type of meal found in West Asia.


European cuisine

European cuisine European cuisine comprises the cuisines of Europe "European Cuisine."Europe and other Western countries. European cuisine includes non- indigenous cuisines of
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
, Australasia, Oceania, and Latin America as well. The term is used by East Asians to contrast with
East Asian East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea a ...
styles of cooking.Leung Man-tao (12 February 2007), "Eating and Cultural Stereotypes", ''Eat and Travel Weekly'', no. 312, p. 76. Hong Kong When used in English, the term may refer more specifically to cuisine ''in'' ( Continental) Europe; in this context, a synonym is Continental cuisine. File:Sunday roast - roast beef 1.jpg, An English Sunday roast with roast beef, roast potatoes, vegetables and Yorkshire pudding File:Flickr - cyclonebill - Tapas.jpg, A variety of tapas: appetizers or snacks in Spanish cuisine File:German sausages and cheese.jpg, German sausages and
cheese Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During production, ...
File:-2020-09-14 Beef stroganoff, Trimingham.JPG, Beef Stroganoff, a Russian dish.


Oceanian cuisine

Oceanian cuisines include Australian cuisine, New Zealand cuisine, and the cuisines from many other islands or island groups throughout Oceania. Australian cuisine consists of immigrant Anglo-Celtic derived cuisine, and Bushfood prepared and eaten by native Aboriginal Australian peoples, and various newer Asian influences. New Zealand cuisine also consists of European inspired dishes, such as Pavlova, and native
Maori cuisine New Zealand cuisine is largely driven by local ingredients and seasonal variations. An island nation with a primarily agricultural economy, New Zealand yields produce from land and sea. Similar to the cuisine of Australia, the cuisine of New Z ...
. Across Oceania, staples include the Kumura (
Sweet potato The sweet potato or sweetpotato (''Ipomoea batatas'') is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the Convolvulus, bindweed or morning glory family (biology), family, Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting tuberous roots are used as a r ...
) and Taro, which was/is a staple from Papua New Guinea to the South Pacific. On most islands in the south pacific, fish are widely consumed because of the proximity to the ocean. File:Australian bush tucker, Alice Springs.jpg, '' Bush Tucker'' (bush foods) harvested at Alice Springs Desert Park in
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
File:Hangi prepare.jpg, A Hāngi being prepared, a New Zealand Māori method of cooking food for special occasions using hot rocks buried in a pit oven. File:Pig on the Samoan Umu.jpg, Samoan ''
umu Umu may refer to: * A variety of earth ovens in Polynesia, including: ** Māori umu tī, used to cook ''Cordyline australis'' and other varieties of Cordyline with similar large tap roots. ** Māori hāngi, also called umu in Samoa, especially in o ...
'', an oven of hot rocks above ground


Cuisines of the Americas

The cuisines of the Americas are found across North and South America, and are based on the cuisines of the countries from which the
immigrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...
people came, primarily Europe. However, the traditional European cuisine has been adapted by the addition of many local and native ingredients, and many techniques have been added to traditional foods as well. Native American cuisine is prepared by indigenous populations across the continent, and its influences can be seen on multi-ethnic Latin American cuisine. Many staple foods eaten across the continent, such as
corn Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...
(maize), beans, and
potatoes The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern United ...
have native origins. The regional cuisines are North American cuisine,
Mexican cuisine Mexican cuisine consists of the cooking cuisines and traditions of the modern country of Mexico. Its earliest roots lie in Mesoamerican cuisine. Its ingredients and methods begin with the first agricultural communities such as the Olmec and M ...
, Central American cuisine, South American cuisine, and Caribbean cuisine. File:Bandeja paisa 30062011.jpg, Bandeja paisa from Peñól de Guatapé in
Antioquia Antioquia is the Spanish form of Antioch. Antioquia may also refer to: * Antioquia Department, Colombia * Antioquia State, Colombia (defunct) * Antioquia District, Peru * Antioquia Railway The Antioquia Railway ( es, Ferrocarril de Antioquia) i ...
,
Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
. File:Coco bread wrapped beef patty.jpg, A Jamaican patty wrapped in coco bread. File:Buffalo - Wings at Airport Anchor Bar.jpg, Buffalo wings with blue cheese dressing, served with lager beer. File:001 Tacos de carnitas, carne asada y al pastor.jpg, Tacos filled with several meat types, mainly beef, chicken and pork.


See also

*
Culinary art Culinary arts are the cuisine arts of food preparation, cooking and presentation of food, usually in the form of meals. People working in this field – especially in establishments such as restaurants – are commonly called chefs ...
* Diet food * Dish (food) * Food group * Food photography * Food preparation * Food presentation * Foodpairing * Haute cuisine * Kitchen * List of cuisines * List of foods * List of nutrition guides * Meal * Outline of cuisines * Outline of food preparation *
Portion size A serving size or portion size is the amount of a food or drink that is generally served. A distinction is made between a portion size as determined by an external agent, such as a food manufacturer, chef, or restaurant, and a 'self selected p ...
*
Recipe A recipe is a set of instructions that describes how to prepare or make something, especially a dish of prepared food. A sub-recipe or subrecipe is a recipe for an ingredient that will be called for in the instructions for the main recipe. His ...
*
Restaurant A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...
* Traditional food * Whole food


References


Further reading

* Albala, Ken (2011)
''Food Cultures of the World Encyclopedia''
Greenwood. * California Culinary Academy (2001). ''In the World Kitchen: Global Cuisine from California Culinary Academy''. Bay Books (CA). . * Laudan, Rachel (2013)
''Cuisine and Empire: Cooking in World History''
University of California Press. * MacVeigh, Jeremy (2008). ''International Cuisine''. Delmar Cengage Learning; 1st edition. . * Nenes, Michael F; Robbins, Joe (2008). ''International Cuisine''. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley, John & Sons; 1st edition. . * Scarparto, Rosario (2000)
''New global cuisine: the perspective of postmodern gastronomy studies''.
Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. * Zobel, Myron (1962)
''Global cuisine: being the unique recipes of the 84 top restaurants of the world''.
Patron Press.


External links



at the Library of Congress has many volumes on the topic of cuisine. {{Authority control Cooking