KnowSoda
Life & LeisureFood & Cuisine
World Cuisines: fun facts and quiz
The essentials in 7 ideas, with fun facts, an illustrated story and a quiz to see how much you know.
The essentials
Italian Cuisine
Italian cooking is built on simple, quality ingredients: pasta, olive oil, tomatoes, cheese and herbs. Pizza comes from Naples.
Key fact
The art of Neapolitan pizza-making is on UNESCO’s heritage list.
Japanese Cuisine
Japanese cuisine, or washoku, values seasonal ingredients and beautiful presentation. Sushi, ramen and tempura are world favourites.
Key fact
Washoku is on UNESCO’s list of intangible cultural heritage.
Mexican Cuisine
Mexican cooking is built on corn, beans and chilli, with dishes like tacos, mole and tamales. Chocolate, vanilla and tomatoes all come from the region.
Key fact
Traditional Mexican cuisine is on UNESCO’s heritage list.
Indian Cuisine
Indian cooking varies hugely by region, from coconut curries in the south to breads in the north, blending spices like cumin, turmeric and cardamom.
Key fact
India is the world’s largest producer of spices.
French Cuisine
French cooking shaped professional kitchens worldwide, from sauces to the brigade system of chefs. The French gastronomic meal is on UNESCO’s heritage list.
Key fact
Michelin began rating restaurants in 1926.
Street Food
Street food feeds billions of people every day, from Bangkok’s pad thai to Istanbul’s simit and Mexico City’s tacos al pastor.
Key fact
Singapore’s hawker culture is on UNESCO’s heritage list.
Fusion Food
Cuisines mix when people move. Chicken tikka masala was probably created in Britain, and Peru’s chifa blends Chinese and Peruvian cooking.
Key fact
Ramen came to Japan from China.
Fun facts
Carbonara is surprisingly young: it probably only appeared in the 1940s or 1950s.
Onigiri, Japanese rice balls, are sold in clever wrappers that keep the seaweed crisp until you open them.
Mole poblano can contain over 20 ingredients, including chilli and chocolate.
Chilli peppers only reached India in the 1500s, brought by Portuguese traders from the Americas.
A chef’s tall toque is said to have 100 pleats, one for each way to cook an egg.
Bangkok street cook Jay Fai, famous for her ski goggles, won a Michelin star in 2017.
The California roll, with avocado and crab, was created outside Japan for diners unused to raw fish.
Story: A Pizza for the Queen
A Pizza for the Queen
Naples, 1889. Queen Margherita of Italy is in town, and pizza maker Raffaele Esposito is asked to bake for her.
One of his pizzas has tomato, mozzarella and basil: red, white and green, the colours of Italy’s flag. The queen loves it, so the story goes.
He named it the Margherita, after her. Historians doubt parts of the tale, but the Margherita is now Naples’s classic pizza.
True or false?
Tap your answer to see if you got it, and why.
-
Question 1 of 10
Pizza comes from Naples.
Show the answer
True. In southern Italy.
-
Question 2 of 10
Washoku is on UNESCO’s heritage list.
Show the answer
True. Since 2013.
-
Question 3 of 10
Chocolate originally comes from the Americas.
Show the answer
True. From cacao grown in Mesoamerica.
-
Question 4 of 10
India is the world’s largest spice producer.
Show the answer
True. And a huge spice consumer.
-
Question 5 of 10
The French gastronomic meal is on UNESCO’s list.
Show the answer
True. Since 2010.
-
Question 6 of 10
Some street-food stalls have Michelin stars.
Show the answer
True. In Singapore, for example.
-
Question 7 of 10
Ramen came to Japan from China.
Show the answer
True. In the late 1800s and early 1900s.
-
Question 8 of 10
Tomatoes have grown in Italy since ancient Rome.
Show the answer
False. They arrived from the Americas in the 1500s.
-
Question 9 of 10
Sushi always means raw fish.
Show the answer
False. Sushi means vinegared rice; the topping varies.
-
Question 10 of 10
Corn was first grown in Europe.
Show the answer
False. It was first grown in Mexico.
Keep going in the app
KnowSoda learns what you know and brings back what you’re about to forget. World Cuisines has 6 more ideas at the Advanced and Expert levels.
Sources
- UNESCO — Intangible Cultural Heritage: Neapolitan pizzaiuolo, washoku, traditional Mexican cuisine, gastronomic meal of the French, hawker culture in Singapore
- Michelin Guide — History of the guide
- Encyclopaedia Britannica — Italian, Japanese, Mexican, Indian and French cuisine
- Spices Board India — Production statistics
- UNESCO — Kimjang
- International Potato Center (CIP) — Potato diversity in Peru
- Encyclopaedia Britannica — injera, ceviche, pad thai, mezze, tapas
