European Cuisine


Food is not only important from health point of view but also from cultural point of view. You might not be aware but you can find more about the particular culture from the type of food they prepare and eat. Hence, cuisines or the specific set of cooking traditions and practices are often associated with a specific culture. A cuisine is primarily influenced by the ingredients that are available locally and through trade. Factors like religion can greatly influence the cuisine and hence the importance of cuisines cannot be ignored.

European cuisine is also known as Western cuisine and is a term collectively referring to all the local cuisines in Europe and other western countries. European cuisine includes delicacies from Russia and other interior parts of Europe. Astonishingly, European cuisine is also known as Continental cuisine especially in parts of the United Kingdom. The term European cuisine was first used by the East Asians to emphasize on the difference between European cuisine and Asian cuisine. However, Westerners from North America, Australia and Latin America who travelled to Europe made the word European cuisine more popular globally and from then, local dishes and delicacies in Europe were termed as European cuisine.

North European cuisine included Danish cuisine, Estonian cuisine, Finnish cuisine, Irish cuisine, Swedish cuisine, English cuisine, Scottish cuisine, Welsh cuisine and Anglo-Indian cuisine. On the other hand South European cuisine included Albanian cuisine, Croatian cuisine, Greek cuisine, Italian cuisine, Sicilian cuisine, Macedonian cuisine, Portuguese cuisine, Spanish cuisine, and Turkish cuisine. Western European cuisine included Austrian, Belgian, French, German and Swiss cuisine that were popular in Europe as well as in countries outside Europe. Eastern European cuisine is strongly influenced by climate and includes East German cuisine, Polish cuisine, Russian cuisine, Bulgarian cuisine, Slovak cuisine, Romanian cuisine, Ukrainian cuisine, and Hungarian cuisine.