Italy can be said to be the origin country of Western food culture, and it is one of the earliest countries that began to develop Western food culture in the early stage, so it is not unreasonable for the International Association for Gastronomy Research to establish a research institute for the study of Western food culture here.

The fifth floor is mainly responsible for coordinating the tasks to be carried out by the research institute every day, which is basically the classification and research of Western food culture, and the continuous improvement of the progress of a certain type of cuisine.

Western food, as the name suggests, is a meal in Western countries. Western countries are the white European world cultural circle relative to East Asia, and the accurate name of Western food should be European cuisine, or European cuisine. The cuisine is different from Chinese cuisine, which generally uses seasonings such as olive oil, butter, Heinz ketchup, and salad dressing.

Different staple foods are the same with some vegetables, such as tomatoes, broccoli, etc. The term Western food is due to its specific geographical location. "West" means west. Generally refers to European countries. A "meal" is a food dish. Western food is commonly referred to as Western food in the East, mainly including the dishes of Western European countries, of course, it also includes the dishes of Eastern European countries, Mediterranean coastal countries and some Latin American countries such as Mexico.

The dishes of Southeast Asian countries are generally referred to as Southeast Asian cuisine, but there are also unique cuisines, such as Indian cuisine. Western food generally uses knives and forks as tableware, bread as the staple food, and long tables as the table shape. The main characteristics of Western food are outstanding ingredients, beautiful shape, delicious taste, rich nutrition, and convenient supply.

A formal Western meal, as far as the reason is concerned, must include soup, appetizer, main course, dessert and drink, although many restaurants now simplify the order of meals for the sake of diners' wallets, guests can choose the dishes they want to taste according to their preferences and affordability, generally speaking, the main dish plus dessert after the meal is indispensable, after all, compared with the relatively high cost of the appetizer, the value of the main dish is more prominent.

Appetizers are the first course of the main meal and are served before the main course, serving as an appetizer and to pass the time. It is very common in Japanese cuisine.

It is important to note that appetizers are not the same as appetizers, and most of the appetizers are snacks, baked goods, or other acidic dishes, which are intended to stimulate the taste buds. In order to increase appetite and other functions. The amount or taste of these dishes is generally completely different from the main course, and the way of eating them can often be different.

The appetizer is a meat dish, usually with grilled scallops or lobster claws.

As for the definition of "Western", it is customary to refer to European countries and regions. and the vast regions of North America, South America and Oceania, where these countries and regions are the main immigrants, so Western food mainly refers to the food culture of the above regions.

Westerners call Chinese cuisine "Chinese cuisine", Japanese cuisine Japanese cuisine, Korean cuisine Korean cuisine, etc., but they do not call it "Oriental cuisine" in general, but divide it carefully and name it according to the specific name of the country.

In fact, the food culture of Western countries has its own characteristics, and the cuisine of each country is different, for example, the French will think that they cook French food, and the British people think that their food is British food. Westerners themselves do not have a clear concept of "Western food", this concept is the concept of Chinese and other Orientals.

This is because Chinese and other Easterners are not clear about what is Italian and what is French when they first come into contact with Western food. There can only be a general concept of British cuisine. At that time, the Chinese generally called it "fancai", which means Western. The ancient Chinese often thought that China was the center of the world, and they used to treat other countries and regions with a derogatory connotation, calling the East "Yi", the West "Fan", the North "Hu", and the South "Barbarian".

Therefore, the so-called "fan cai" refers to Western food.

In addition, as far as Western countries are concerned, due to the relatively close geographical location of European countries, there have been many great migrations of ethnic groups in history, and their cultures have long been infiltrated and integrated with each other. They have a lot in common with each other. In addition, the religious beliefs of Western countries are mainly Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant, which are all major branches of Christianity, so they are generally the same in terms of dietary taboos and dining customs. As for North and South America and Oceania. Its culture is also in line with European culture. Therefore, regardless of whether Westerners have a clear concept of "Western food", the Chinese and other Oriental people have roughly the same part of the Western food culture that is very different from the Eastern diet and is collectively called "Western food".

However, in recent years, with the continuous collision, penetration and integration of Eastern and Western cultures, Oriental people have gradually understood the different characteristics of various dishes in Western cuisine. And began to discriminate. Some high-end hotels have also opened French restaurants and Italian restaurants, and Western food as a general concept has gradually faded, but Western dining culture as a whole concept will continue to exist.

The mission of this branch research institute is to conduct research on the Western food culture in various places, and subdivide the system to separate the Western food culture independently, and the results achieved so far by the research institute are to divide Western food into French, British, Italian, Russian, American, and Mediterranean schools.

The fifth floor is the laboratory of each cuisine, and the sixth floor is mainly concerned with Italian cuisine, as the ancestor of Western cuisine, in the era of the Roman Empire, Italy was the political, economic and cultural center of Europe, although later Italy fell behind, but in terms of Western cooking, Italy is the ancestor, comparable to France and Britain.

The jury member explained: "Italian cuisine is characterized by its original flavor and is known for its strong flavor. Cooking focuses on frying, smoking, etc., and is known for frying, frying, frying, and stewing. ”

Italians love pasta and eat it in many ways. There are at least dozens of noodles of various shapes, colors, and flavors, such as alphabet, shell, solid noodles, macaroni noodles, etc. Italians also like to eat ravioli, tortellini, etc., and the more famous dishes are macaroni and vegetarian soup, baked ravioli, cheese baked macaroni, minced macaroni, pizza, etc.

On the ninth floor is the laboratory of French cuisine, in addition to desserts, France is also famous for its staple food, the French have always been known for being good at eating and good at eating, and French cuisine is still the first in the world of Western cuisine.

French cuisine is characterized by a wide selection of ingredients, fine processing, exquisite cooking, strong and light taste, and many varieties of colors, such as snails and foie gras.

French cuisine is also more particular about eating half-cooked or raw food, such as steak and lamb leg are characterized by half-cooked and tender, seafood oysters can also be eaten raw, and roasted wild duck is generally eaten at six ripe levels.

French cuisine that attaches great importance to seasoning, there are many kinds of seasoning, the most common is the use of wine for seasoning, what kind of dishes and what kind of wine have strict regulations, such as wine for clear soup, brandy for seafood, dessert with all kinds of dessert or brandy, etc.; French cuisine and cheese with a wide variety. The French are very fond of cheese, fruit and a variety of fresh vegetables.

In addition to the top dishes such as foie gras steak, famous French dishes include Marseille fish soup, Paris lobster, pheasant in red wine, chicken shafoulo, chicken liver steak and many more.

If British food only has baked mashed potatoes, the British will definitely be angry, although they love potatoes, but it does not mean that they only eat potatoes, in the institute, Sikong Yao also saw the unique cultural charm of British cuisine.

British cuisine, which is both simple and polite, is known as a family delicacy. With the exception of the crazy potatoes, British cuisine is characterized by less oil, lighter food, less wine used for seasoning, and most of the condiments are placed on the table for the guests to choose from.

The cooking is fresh and tender, the taste is light, the selection of ingredients pays attention to seafood and all kinds of vegetables, and the amount of dishes is small and refined. British cuisine is often prepared by steaming, boiling, roasting, smoking, and frying.

Sikong Yao saw several British dishes in the laboratory, but they were very tempting, such as chicken salad, grilled prawn sufri, potato stewed mutton, roast lamb saddle, winter solstice pudding, Meiji steak, etc.

Of course, potatoes are also one of the key research objects, and the potato recipes developed by the chefs are estimated to be as high as hundreds, and there is even a floor dedicated to the study of potatoes.

On the twelfth floor, the neighbors of British cuisine are studied, that is, American Western food that pays attention to nutrition and speed.

The reason why it is said to be a neighbor is because American cuisine was originally developed on the basis of British cuisine, and it inherited the simple and light characteristics of British cuisine, with a salty and sweet taste.

Americans are generally not interested in spicy flavors, such as Sichuan cuisine, which is difficult for them to accept, they prefer iron grilled dishes, and often use fruit as an ingredient to cook with dishes, such as pineapple table ham and roast duck with vegetable fruit. I like to eat a variety of fresh vegetables and fruits.

Americans do not have high dietary requirements, as long as they are nutritious and fast, and they pay attention to the original juice and umami.

However, they have high requirements for meat quality, such as roast beef tenderloin with lobster, they must choose beef from Angus in the United States, and only half-raw beef has a wonderful beef juice.

Compared to the cumbersome etiquette of traditional Western food, the food culture of Americans is much simpler.

There weren't many knives, forks, plates, and plates on the dining table, just a basic knife, fork and spoon. It is said that there are more rules and procedures only when there is a very formal banquet or family dinner.

Famous dishes of American cuisine include roast turkey, roasted duck with oranges, American steak, apple salad, pancakes with sugar sauce, etc., while dessert culture, various pies are the main focus of American food. (To be continued.) )