Favorite Cuisines Of The World Poll: Round 9

[Rod1]

Yeah, I had read something like this and it blew my mind.

Apparently Northern Mexico is the only Latin American region whose food is generally known to be spicy?

Like, Argentina I would expect to have bland food because, from what I gather, they're a pretty bland people. But Venezuela and Brazil? I always assumed their food was as spicy as their politics.

Where did you heard that? actually in northern Mexico food tends to be less spicy (for Mexican standards).

I think spicy food remained popular in mesoamerica because the native culture there was pretty strong. In most of South America native cultures were erased and european style cuisine established.

 

[Trotsky]

Where did you heard that? actually in northern Mexico food tends to be less spicy (for Mexican standards).

Well fuck me, then. Idk, I thought that was what I had heard.

I think spicy food remained popular in mesoamerica because the native culture there was pretty strong. In most of South America native cultures were erased and european style cuisine established.

I don't think of Mexican food, though, as being spicy in itself - like, say, Indian food. I think of it being savory in itself.

But I've only been to Mexico once.

 

[Sir Galahad]

Are people really choosing burritos and tacos over Porthouse and Lobster? Tamales over BBQ ribs? Enchiladas over Shrimp P.O. Boys? Rice and beans over Bacon Cheeseburger? Sorry I love Mexican but fuck that. I would rather my Shrimp Cocktail, Ribeye, and Apple Pie.

Brother try some Cajun food. @I Am Legion

 

[Rod1]

I don't think of Mexican food, though, as being spicy in itself - like, say, Indian food. I think of it being savory in itself.

But I've only been to Mexico once.

Thats probably because in Mexican cuiside the salsas are served on the side, so while all dishes tend to have some level of spicy, most dishes wont be actually be spicy.

For example, you go for tacos al pastor, ask for three tacos and you get served this.

While the meat itself is marinated in a sauce that involves chili peppers its not actually spicy.

To make it spicy you either get up to the salsa bar or there will be salsas at the table.

 

[MikeMcMann]

Thats probably because in Mexican cuiside the salsas are served on the side, so while all dishes tend to have some level of spicy, most dishes wont be actually be spicy.

For example, you go for tacos al pastor, ask for three tacos and you get served this.



While the meat itself is marinated in a sauce that involves chili peppers its not actually spicy.

To make it spicy you either get up to the salsa bar or there will be salsas at the table.

Jamaican's tend to like spice. Indians tend to like spice. And i would say the spice levels are similar and generally not tolerable to most other westerners I have met save a small percent.

the only people I know who find Jamaican and Indian level spice mild are the Mexicans I have met. And I have met a lot of them and it seems all of them like heat levels well beyond what Jamaicans and Indian's like. As a person who loves a good spicy dish I have been shocked at the levels my Mexican friends eat foods at.

 

[Rod1]

Jamaican's tend to like spice. Indians tend to like spice. And i would say the spice levels are similar and generally not tolerable to most other westerners I have met save a small percent.

the only people I know who find Jamaican and Indian level spice mild are the Mexicans I have met. And I have met a lot of them and it seems all of them like heat levels well beyond what Jamaicans and Indian's like. As a person who loves a good spicy dish I have been shocked at the levels my Mexican friends eat foods at.

I have a theory as to why this happens.

As i said, most mexican dishes have you customizing how spicy it is, but a lot of times we miscalculate and go overboard with it.

But if you accidentally added too much spicy to a dish you arent going to throw it to the trash, since you already paid for it. So you suck it up and eat it through the pain, pushing your tolerance for capsaicin up.

 

[MikeMcMann]

I have a theory as to why this happens.

As i said, most mexican dishes have you customizing how spicy it is, but a lot of times we miscalculate and go overboard with it.

But if you accidentally added too much spicy to a dish you arent going to throw it to the trash, since you already paid for it. So you suck it up and eat it through the pain, pushing your tolerance for capsaicin up.

there are other theories re spice levels and why they seem higher in often poorer countries (India, Jamaica, Mexico) and that is because food quality at times is not as good and high levels of spice can hide 'off flavours' in food that is on the edge of potentially going bad and I've seen it said it can also kill some low levels of bacteria building in the foods making the foods safer.

 

[Rod1]

Are people really choosing burritos and tacos over Porthouse and Lobster? Tamales over BBQ ribs? Enchiladas over Shrimp P.O. Boys? Rice and beans over Bacon Cheeseburger? Sorry I love Mexican but fuck that. I would rather my Shrimp Cocktail, Ribeye, and Apple Pie.

1.- Porterhouse and Lobster are ingredients not dishes. We have cows and seafood down here in Mexico too.

2.- You are comparing a cheap corn based dish with BBQ ribs, corndogs would be a more apt comparison to tamales. As a comparison to BBQ you can use Adobo.

Adobo ribs.

But in Mexico ribs are usually made into tacos.

4.- Again with the shitty comparison, shrimp is a great expensive ingredient compared to basically a fried tortilla with sauce.

Shrimp PO boy would be against shrimp tacos or shrimp quesadillas

2.- LOL at comparing rice and beans (not even Mexican) to bacon cheeseburger. Certainly i prefer a good cheeseburger over any individual piece of Mexican cuisine but i guess a bacon wrapped carne asada burrito would be the equivalent.

And if you really want to talk about shrimp cocktails i guess you have never visited the Mexican pacific.

 

[Rod1]

there are other theories re spice levels and why they seem higher in often poorer countries (India, Jamaica, Mexico) and that is because food quality at times is not as good and high levels of spice can hide 'off flavours' in food that is on the edge of potentially going bad and I've seen it said it can also kill some low levels of bacteria building in the foods making the foods safer.

Maybe, but i dont think the theory applies since spices do nothign to bacteria and you would see a lot more cured meats and vegetables if food was going bad all the time.

 

[MikeMcMann]

Maybe, but i dont think the theory applies since spices do nothign to bacteria and you would see a lot more cured meats and vegetables if food was going bad all the time.

I'm no food scientist but I have heard that said and my top google link when i searched just now was this.

Food bacteria-spice survey shows why some cultures like it hot

Fans of hot, spicy cuisine can thank nasty bacteria and other foodborne pathogens for the recipes that come -- not so coincidentally -- from countries with hot climates. Humans' use of antimicrobial spices developed in parallel with food-spoilage microorganisms, Cornell University biologists have demonstrated in a international survey of spice use in cooking.

The same chemical compounds that protect the spiciest spice plants from their natural enemies are at work today in foods from parts of the world where -- before refrigeration -- food-spoilage microbes were an even more serious threat to human health and survival than they are today, Jennifer Billing and Paul W. Sherman report in the March 1998 issue of the journal Quarterly Review of Biology.

"The proximate reason for spice use obviously is to enhance food palatability," says Sherman, an evolutionary biologist and professor of neurobiology and behavior at Cornell. "But why do spices taste good? Traits that are beneficial are transmitted both culturally and genetically, and that includes taste receptors in our mouths and our taste for certain flavors. People who enjoyed food with antibacterial spices probably were healthier, especially in hot climates. They lived longer and left more offspring. And they taught their offspring and others: 'This is how to cook a mastodon.' We believe the ultimate reason for using spices is to kill food-borne bacteria and fungi."...

 

[Rod1]

I'm no food scientist but I have heard that said and my top google link when i searched just now was this.

Food bacteria-spice survey shows why some cultures like it hot

Fans of hot, spicy cuisine can thank nasty bacteria and other foodborne pathogens for the recipes that come -- not so coincidentally -- from countries with hot climates. Humans' use of antimicrobial spices developed in parallel with food-spoilage microorganisms, Cornell University biologists have demonstrated in a international survey of spice use in cooking.

The same chemical compounds that protect the spiciest spice plants from their natural enemies are at work today in foods from parts of the world where -- before refrigeration -- food-spoilage microbes were an even more serious threat to human health and survival than they are today, Jennifer Billing and Paul W. Sherman report in the March 1998 issue of the journal Quarterly Review of Biology.

"The proximate reason for spice use obviously is to enhance food palatability," says Sherman, an evolutionary biologist and professor of neurobiology and behavior at Cornell. "But why do spices taste good? Traits that are beneficial are transmitted both culturally and genetically, and that includes taste receptors in our mouths and our taste for certain flavors. People who enjoyed food with antibacterial spices probably were healthier, especially in hot climates. They lived longer and left more offspring. And they taught their offspring and others: 'This is how to cook a mastodon.' We believe the ultimate reason for using spices is to kill food-borne bacteria and fungi."...

Chiles arent tropical plants but i think you may have a point.

 

[I Am Legion]

1.- Porterhouse and Lobster are ingredients not dishes. We have cows and seafood down here in Mexico too.

2.- You are comparing a cheap corn based dish with BBQ ribs, corndogs would be a more apt comparison to tamales. As a comparison to BBQ you can use Adobo.

Adobo ribs.

But in Mexico ribs are usually made into tacos.

4.- Again with the shitty comparison, shrimp is a great expensive ingredient compared to basically a fried tortilla with sauce.

Shrimp PO boy would be against shrimp tacos or shrimp quesadillas

2.- LOL at comparing rice and beans (not even Mexican) to bacon cheeseburger. Certainly i prefer a good cheeseburger over any individual piece of Mexican cuisine but i guess a bacon wrapped carne asada burrito would be the equivalent.

And if you really want to talk about shrimp cocktails i guess you have never visited the Mexican pacific.

Dude I get what you are saying. I live in NY by the city and eat great Mexican all the time. I have been to Mexico over a dozen times. BUT let me address your points:

Ingredients are what makes food good. The marinades and way steaks are cooked makes them American. Mexican food spices and often over spices the shit out of things because the quality of ingredients, on avg, isn’t as good. Let’s be honest, skirt steak tastes good, but it’s a shitty cut, and is what Mexico is famous for.
The best Seafood I have ever had was in Portugal, But American seafood is top notch. I have been to the Mexican Pacific. Funny thing is, the top spots were owned by Americans.

Mexican can be high end, but really it’s street food is it’s stregnth. The flavor profiles are still similar and it’s. Fraction of the cost. Most people don’t want to pay big bucks for Mexican. That is why most Mexican resorts have expensive Italian, French, and Steakhouses in them, and serve the Local cuisine at the buffets and snack bars.

I stand by my comments....I think Cajun and BBQ is better, as is standard American Steak/Grills. And with the exception of Italian, the best restraints of any culture are in America, when a chef takes his home culture and adds American flare. God bless you my friend, and stay thirsty.

 

[Sir Galahad]

that's what I was wondering.

So I voted Italian

 

[Sir Galahad]

Next time you're in Nola try this restaurant. @AgonyandIrony

 

[AgonyandIrony]

Next time you're in Nola try this restaurant. @AgonyandIrony

I walk or drive past it every time. I want those quarter martinis and that turtle soup.

 

[Rod1]

Ingredients are what makes food good. The marinades and way steaks are cooked makes them American. Mexican food spices and often over spices the shit out of things because the quality of ingredients, on avg, isn’t as good. Let’s be honest, skirt steak tastes good, but it’s a shitty cut, and is what Mexico is famous for.

And what i am saying is that these ingredients are also available in Mexico. We also have steak houses you know and our cows also have tender cuts.

Its also kind of contradictory isnt? you first say that Mexican spices the shit out of food then claim that marinades is what makes steaks American.

The best Seafood I have ever had was in Portugal, But American seafood is top notch. I have been to the Mexican Pacific. Funny thing is, the top spots were owned by Americans.

Weird because in this very forum when we were talking about seafood and i mentioned octopus i was treated as if i said i liked eating rat.

I think most Americans would not eat an average cocktail that its sold at a lot of corners in my city. And Sonora isnt even close to being a great seafood state.

Mexican can be high end, but really it’s street food is it’s stregnth. The flavor profiles are still similar and it’s. Fraction of the cost. Most people don’t want to pay big bucks for Mexican. That is why most Mexican resorts have expensive Italian, French, and Steakhouses in them, and serve the Local cuisine at the buffets and snack bars.

I agree, Mexican food isnt conductive to being "high end" just like Chinese food, but that doesnt takes away from it in any sense.

What i disagree with is to claim that things that "arent known to be Mexican" are less Mexican simply because they arent as popular.

I stand by my comments....I think Cajun and BBQ is better, as is standard American Steak/Grills. And with the exception of Italian, the best restraints of any culture are in America, when a chef takes his home culture and adds American flare. God bless you my friend, and stay thirsty.

I agree that you can find better food in America due to immigration from so many culture and money.

 

[Midnighter]

Did anyone ever say what American was?

 

[Sir Galahad]

Did anyone ever say what American was?

​

 

[HaulParris]

‘Merica !!!

 

[Hoof Hearted]

What exactly is American?

hot dog.