Flavors from Around the World
What Does Flavor Mean to You?
The Melting Pot of American cultures brings together a plethora of cuisines. Depending on which part of America you grew up, will also determine which food you ate growing up. Depending what side of the city you grew up in, little neighborhoods you can find bodegas, Mexican grocery stores packed with produce, Indian stores stocked with spices, Chinese offering whole fish, Soul Food gas stations with the best greens and rib tips…We could keep going - It also comes down to what the main cook in the family had growing up.
I was sitting at a generic table of white, looking down on a plate of rough scrambled eggs, has browns, fruit and yogurt. I looked back to the breakfast bar offered from the hotel and saw cereal, oatmeal, toast, waffles - WHERE’S THE FLAVOR - I looked helplessly at the salt and pepper and decided on Tabasco. For most American households, this is the common breakfast. But, begs the question, where’s the flavor?
Around the world, breakfast is brought to the table in some different, and flavorful ways: different cultures use what’s available and what’s local; Spices found in the fields are used with a local fat/oil bringing bountiful flavor to a bowl of rice and vegetables. Complex broths give way to fish soup; wheat is raised with specific strains of yeast; noodles mixed with heat, sweet, salt and acidity.
What does flavor mean to you? What did you grow up eating at your table? What was your first favorite meal you can remember?
Exploring flavor can be a very personable journey. Which ever way you take, remember to stop and take it all in.
