World cuisines

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How many of these
26 major world cuisines
do you know well?

Top 10
influences on
world cuisines

Geography,
geology & climate

They play a major role in world cuisines. Certain crops demand heavy rains, or sandy soil, or hot summers, or whatever. All this helps determine which raw materials will be available to the cook. Example: Southern Indians eat rice, northern Indians eat wheat.

Seasonal
food shortages
in world cuisines

Example: Lands with frigid winters need to preserve foods and incorporate them into their cold season diets.

Religion
and custom

Certain foods or combinations of foods in many world cuisines  are forbidden by religion or deplored by custom.

Wars

World cuisines are altered by invasions and  other martial actions. Initially, there is an aversion to the enemy's food. Eventually, assimilation occurs.

Technology

I've observed many times in my travels the obvious but telling difference in the agricultural results between a farmer using an animal-pulled plow and a modern tractor.

Fuel availability

This affects cooking styles. Take wood. It is ideal for slow, brick oven cooking. It is plentiful in forested lands like Eastern Europe but is scarce in countries like India and China.

World cuisine influencers - Page 2

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