A national cuisine is the type of cooking that is strongly associated with a country. A cuisine is a set of cooking traditions and practices. There are nations that have very strong national cuisines that are well-known and loved in the whole world. Sometimes certain foods or drinks become popular worldwide in connection with a certain nation, although we cannot be always sure about their origins.
When we talk about a national cuisine, we usually think of food preparation in a particular style, different types of food and drink, and certain meals that are a favourite in that country. The national cuisine of a country is always influenced by the ingredients that are available in that place. Spices, different types of meat, certain fruits and vegetables can be associated with a national cuisine.
Restaurants very often compile their menus based on one certain national cuisine. Among the most well-known and popular ones in the Western world are the Italian, Mexican, Chinese, Spanish, French, Japanese and Indian restaurants. If the style of cooking combines elements of different culinary traditions, it is called fusion cuisine. A fusion restaurant combines either the cooking styles of different regions or the cooking traditions of different nations.
One of the most popular national cuisines is the Italian. Italian recipes use lots of different spices, mostly pepper, basil, oregano and rosemary. Italian cuisine uses lots of seasonal vegetables, tomatoes, olive oil and of course different types of pasta. Mexican cuisine is very spicy, its basic staples are corn, beans and chili peppers. Chinese cuisine is very varied, but the staple foods are rice, noodles, vegetables, sauces and seasonings.
Traditional Hungarian dishes are based on meats, vegetables, dairy products, cheeses and fresh bread. Hungarian food is often very spicy, it uses paprika, onions, pepper, caraway, marjoram, rosemary and bay leaf among others. Typical Hungarian dishes include soups (fish soup, goulash soup, clear chicken soup) and meat dishes (roast goose, roast turkey and duck, cabbage rolls, meat stew, sausages), and delicious sweets and cakes.
Vocabulary
| cuisine | konyha |
| associated with | valamihez kapcsolt |
| practice | gyakorlat |
| worldwide | világszerte |
| origin | eredet |
| preparation | elkészítés |
| certain | bizonyos |
| influenced by | hatott rá valami |
| ingredient | összetevő |
| spice | fűszer |
| to compile | összeállítani |
| culinary | kulináris |
| fusion cuisine | fúziós konyha |
| basil | bazsalikom |
| rosemary | rozmaring |
| staple | alapanyag, hozzávaló |
| seasoning | ízesítés, fűszerezés |
| dairy | tejtermék |
| caraway | kömény |
| marjoram | majoranna |
| bay leaf | babérlevél |
| cabbage rolls | töltött káposzta |
| meat stew | pörkölt |
