Signature foods and dishes are often a reflection of the common ingredients that are prevalent in the area. These staple foods also involve unique cooking processes and techniques which are developed by the people in that region.
This combination of special ingredients and original cooking styles help create the various signature flavors we associate with different cultures around the world. Kitchen Cabinet Kings have put together a visual that highlights twenty of the most famous staple foods from across the globe.
For example, the most prominent ingredient in Egypt is samna, otherwise known as ghee. Which is pure butterfat that has been prepared to remove milk solids. In the Philippines, you can find coconut in many of their sweet and savoury dishes. And in Brazil, cassava has been used in the local cuisine for centuries. It’s a starchy root vegetable similar to a potato that can be baked, fried, boiled, and smashed.
Over in Pakistan, basmati rice is a primary ingredient in their cuisine. As well as a major export. And in Mexico, it’s no surprise that chiles are the most common ingredient in dishes, often incorporated in soups, moles, meats, salsas. There are many ways to include chiles in a dish whether it be whole, fresh, smoked, powdered, dried, and roasted.
These signature ingredients create the distinct flavors we know and love from around the world. Just as corn is a staple in many American dishes and meals, soy sauce is equally important to Japanese cuisine. These ingredients give the people of their respective cultures something to identify within their food as they grow up tasting these flavors and know when they’re eating authentic dishes.
Check out the visual below to learn more about these staple foods from around the world, and perhaps you’ll want to add a few of these signature flavors to your bucket list for foods to try!
20 Staple foods from around the world
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