Food culture and customs in Western countries

The West is a multi-national and multi-ethnic region with a long history. Due to the differences in natural conditions, natural resources, people’s living habits and economic and cultural development, each country has its own food culture, customs and styles, as well as distinctive production characteristics, forming a large number of flavor schools.Due to their initial nomadic way of life, most Westerners mainly rely on animal husbandry, supplemented by agriculture. They have higher animal breeding technology, a variety of animal raw materials, good quality, large output, relatively low price, and fewer varieties of agricultural products with unstable output, so they have been focusing on meat in their diet. When we hear Western food, we always think of steak, fried chicken, milk, butter and so on. However, with the continuous development of nutrition and Western farming, modern Westerners also eat a lot of vitamin-rich fruit and vegetable products. However, in order to maintain the nutrients of vegetables, Westerners eat many vegetables raw, green salad is an essential starter in the Western diet. The following is a study on the food culture and customs of Western countries from the key cuisines of several western countries.

First, French food.

French cuisine is praised as the “crown of European cuisine” in the West. French cooking technology has always been famous in the world, is one of the important representative schools of Western food. The French always pay attention to “eating”, regard food as art. Taste like fat, tender, bogey spicy. Ingredients like garlic, cloves, coriander and so on. In addition, French cuisine is very open and bold in the selection and application of raw materials. It chooses cow’s stomach, foie gras and chicken’s comb, which are rarely used in many other important schools, as cooking materials. It attaches great importance to the freshness and texture of raw materials, pays attention to the natural quality and taste of raw materials, pays attention to the heat, pays attention to the reasonable collocation of nutrition and color. Try your best to bring out the most natural and beautiful taste of the ingredients.

In French cooking, much attention is paid to the use of wine. There was a saying that French food “uses wine like water”. Commonly used are brandy, red wine, cider and so on. Make different dishes, to use different wine seasoning, in order to highlight the unique flavor of each dish.

French breakfast is generally bread, butter, jam, milk, strong coffee, some people like to drink Chinese black tea, British black tea; Lunch is generally all kinds of sandwiches, stewed chicken, stewed beef, stewed ham, coffee and so on; People pay more attention to dinner, mostly eat beef and mutton, pork, fish and shrimp, seafood, snails and so on. Dinner is very particular about wine, before the meal to drink aperitif; Red wine when eating meat and white wine when eating seafood; After the main course, cheese is served with red wine, butter and bread, followed by dessert, fruit, and finally coffee and tea.

Two, Italian food.

Through the ages, Italians have developed their own unique food customs. Italian cuisine has a long history, known as “the originator of European cuisine”, is one of the important representative schools of Western catering.

Italians usually have a simple breakfast, usually a cup of coffee, a piece of bread with ham. Lunch is the main meal of the day, based on pasta, with many choices. Dinner is usually served at 8 or 9 o ‘clock and is a condensed version of lunch. The main characteristics of Italian cuisine are:

1. Original features.

Italy is rich in products, and different regions often have their own representative raw materials, cooking methods and characteristic dishes. For example, Milan’s pork chop, Venice’s tomato seafood, etc., are well-known delicacies.

2. Seasoning characteristics.

Italian cuisine is characterized by the extensive use of olive oil and vinegar in seasoning, because Italy abounds in high-quality olive oil and vinegar, many Italian dishes rely on olive oil and vinegar to enhance the role of aroma.

3. Cooking characteristics.

Italian cuisine is characterized by simplicity and vividness in cooking techniques, highlighting the original taste. The ingredients are rich and delicious, which makes the dishes need not be overcooked, and the taste is very attractive.

Three, American food.

The reason why American cuisine stands out among many western flavor schools is that the vast land, abundant rainfall, fertile soil and numerous rivers and lakes are the material basis for the formation and development of American cuisine. Second, the United States is a multi-ethnic country, whose population consists of immigrants from other parts of the world as well as European countries, mainly Britain. People from different regions bring different food cultures and food customs.

The main characteristics of American cuisine are simple and simple materials, and the production process is not complicated. In the cooking method, the emphasis is on the simple and rapid production methods such as mixing, roasting, grilled, etc. For example, in the production of salad, vegetables and fruits are often mixed into sauce. Salads play an important role in American cuisine, serving as appetizers, main dishes, side dishes, beets, etc.

Western diet emphasizes science, pays attention to nutrition, and pays more attention to the original taste of raw materials, which reflects the individualism value of “highlighting individuality and focusing on self” in western culture. Western food dishes are made of rigorous materials. Generally, high-quality raw materials are selected. They do not use the viscera of animals, nor do they use the heads and PAWS of poultry to make dishes. We never hear Westerners eat western food while it is hot, which shows that Westerners do not care much about the taste of food, but they pay more attention to scientific nutrition combination, which can be said to be a rational diet.