European cuisine, or alternatively Western cuisine, is a generalised term collectively referring to the cuisines of Europe and other Western countries, including (depending on the definition) that of Russia, as well as non-indigenous cuisines of Australasia, Latin America, North America, and Oceania, which derive substantial influence from European settlers in those regions. The term is used by East Asians to contrast with Asian styles of cooking. (This is analogous to Westerners' referring collectively to the cuisines of East Asian countries as Asian cuisine.) When used by Westerners, the term may sometimes refer more specifically to cuisine
in Europe; in this context, a synonym is Continental cuisine, especially in British English. The cuisines of Western countries are diverse by themselves, although
there are common characteristics that distinguish Western cooking from
cuisines of Asian countries
and others. Compared with traditional cooking of Asian countries, for
example, meat is more prominent and substantial in serving-size.
Steak in particular is a common dish across the West. Western cuisines also put substantial emphasis on grape wine
and on sauces as condiments, seasonings, or accompaniments (in part due
to the difficulty of seasonings penetrating the often larger pieces of
meat used in Western cooking). Many dairy products are utilised in the
cooking process, except in nouvelle cuisine. Wheat-flour bread has long been the most common source of starch in this cuisine, along with pasta, dumplings and pastries, although the potato has become a major starch plant in the diet of Europeans and their diaspora since the European colonisation of the Americas. Maize is much less common in most European diets than it is in the Americas; however corn meal, or polenta, is a major part of the cuisine of Italy and the Balkans.
No comments:
Post a Comment