10 Most popular food in the World

06:49 | 22/06/2022

10 Most popular food in the World

10. Spaghetti Italy

In its most basic form, this popular type of pasta consists of durum flour and water. The word spaghetti means a small string, and this long, string-shaped pasta was originally rolled by hand. Originally known as itryya, it was invented in 12th century Arab-ruled Sicily, the home of the first dried pastas.

Today, like most modern pastas, spaghetti is made by being extruded through a die. The types and names of spaghetti vary according to the diameter of the pasta and the region where they’re produced. Today, the name spaghetti is synonymous with “made in Italy”, and in the 20th century, Italian immigrants became the largest importers of spaghetti and other Sicilian and Neapolitan pastas to the United States.

The flexibility of spaghetti and its ability to accommodate to a wide range of ingredients makes it one of the most popular Italian foods worldwide.

09. Mexico Flatbred.

Tortilla, originally a corn flatbread, is one of the essential bread varieties that has been present in Mexican culture for thousands of years. The first tortilla was created out of the staple ingredient of indigenous cultures, the ubiquitous corn.

It was an ingredient used by the ancient Mesoamerican people, who would store the corn kernels and later process them to create masa, which was then formed into balls and hand pressed to create the familiar, round and thin tortilla. This ancient tradition is still present among some native Indian groups, who are excessively trained to perfect the art of making authentic tortillas.

The narrative of the tortilla has been inadvertently changed after the arrival of Spanish conquistadors to the area in the 15th century. The conquistadors brought their different culinary traditions, in which wheat played a crucial role, while the authentic corn was regarded as food of the plebeians.

However, the tradition of growing and cooking with corn remained popular in rural areas among the indigenous Indians. The emergence of the wheat tortilla is believed to have happened during the colonial time, but what caused its appearance is not quite clear.

Some theories claim that it grew out of the European tradition, some that it was an intentional invention of Indians to please the palates of European conquistadors, and some even say that the exiled Spanish Jews created it since they believed corn was not kosher.

Regardless of the reason, wheat tortilla has first spread around the area of the Rio Grande River and continued to gain popularity following the agricultural production and advancement. Today, tortillas are not only a Mexican favorite: due to proximity, historical influence, and large Hispanic influx, tortillas have stopped being regarded as an ethnic bread in the United States, and have thoroughly been immersed as a part of the American culinary heritage.

Today, tortillas are usually used as a foundation and a wrapper to numerous dishes such as tacos, burritos, enchiladas, and quesadillas. They are also commonly served alongside stews and chilies, where they are often used as an accompaniment and a utensil used to scoop the dish.

Whether made with corn or wheat, this ancient Mexican product has gained followers around the world and has become one of the most common bread varieties in the world.

08. Sweet pastry Croissant, France

These flaky, golden-colored, crescent-shaped pastries are best made with pure butter and a slightly sweet yeast dough. If made properly, the yellow-white interior should be just the slightest bit elastic when pulled from the center, ready to be covered with a pad of butter or some fresh jam.

Experts agree that the croissant was heavily influenced by Austrian kipfels. This pastry originated in 1683 as a celebration of the Austrian victory over the Ottoman Empire, its shape supposedly mimicking the crescent moon found on the Turkish flag.

However, the croissant became French the moment people began to make it with puff pastry, a French innovation. Today, French croissants come filled with chocolate, jam, raisins, or even cream cheese. Sold fresh at numerous French boulangeries, they are mainly consumed as a breakfast item.

07. Soy product. Tofu, Jlangsu. China.

Tofu is a unique vegan product, similar to cheese in texture, and made out of coagulated soy milk. The process of coagulation separates the curd from the whey, which results in the formation of protein-packed soy curds which are stored in containers to retain a rectangular shape, making it readily available for further use.

Most tofu varieties are created by the process of coagulation, but might differ in how hey are stored and drained, which affects the texture of the final product. The primary distinction is made between firm and soft tofu, which are used according to their composition and characteristics.

Firm tofu has a dense texture, but easily absorbs new flavors, is suitable to be used in numerous dishes, and can withstand various cooking techniques. It is usually cubed or sliced, marinated, and can be grilled, fried, barbecued, boiled, and used in a seemingly limitless variety of dishes.

Soft tofu, often referred as the silken tofu, has a higher percentage of moisture and is usually not drained. Its consistency is smooth and tender, and it is often eaten on its own, accompanied by a variety of sweet and savory condiments.

The origin of tofu is said to have happened in China, and the man who is usually associated with its invention is the prince Liu An of the Han dynasty, who presided over the prefecture Huai’an. This theory has been widely disputed, but the fact remains that tofu has been consumed in ancient China as early as the 2nd century BC.

From China, it has spread throughout Asian countries, primarily Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and Thailand, where it became a staple ingredient. Recently, due to its beneficial nutritional values, it has gained popularity in the Western hemisphere, where it is especially favored among vegans and vegetarians.

Today it represents an international food product included in numerous standard and modern dishes, and it is available at most well-equipped supermarkets around the world.

06. Cellophane Noodles, China

Also known as Chinese vermicelli and glass noodles, these thin noodles are made from water and starch extracted from mung beans, yams, cassava, or potato. They are characterized by their translucent appearance and extremely mild flavor. Cellophane noodles are often used in soups and stir-fries, but can also be served cold in salads.

They tend to soften quickly when used in soups, while they remain al dente and soak up the flavors of other ingredients when used in stir-fries. The noodles are commonly flavored with vinegar, fish sauce, soy sauce, or chili oil.

Apart from China, cellophane noodles are popular in numerous other countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Japan, Tibet, India, Pakistan, Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, and Hawaii.

05. Noodle dish Ramen. Japan

Ramen is a noodle soup that first appeared in Japan in 1910, when Chinese cooks combined the noodles with a salty broth. These curly noodles were of bright yellow color and more elastic than the Japanese noodles prepared at the time – the dough was kneaded with a sodium carbonate-infused mineral water called kansui.

In 1958, its name was derived from the pronunciation of the Chinese word lamian (pulled noodles), and that same year, Nissin Foods produced the first-ever instant version of noodles with a chicken-flavored broth called Chickin Ramen.

Shortly after, the dish started to be exported around the world. Ramen should be cooked al dente and eaten quickly while it is still hot. It is not recommended to leave the noodles sitting in the broth for too long, as they tend to become too soft and mushy.

The dish can be either kotteri (rich) or assari/paitan (light), depending on the opaqueness and the heaviness of the broth which is usually made using animal bones or dried seafood mixed with onions, garlic, ginger, leeks, and mushrooms.

Two most famous types of ramen are ramen of Kyushu, prepared with a boiled pork bone broth called tonkotsu, and ramen of Hokkaido, made with a traditional seasoning called red miso.

04. Street food Tacos

Tacos are the national dish of Mexico, dating back to the Mexican silver mines of the 18th century, when the word taco referred to gunpowder that was wrapped in a piece of paper and inserted into rocks. It was used to excavate the precious ore from mines and was called tacos de minero or miner’s tacos. Today, the word is widely known to signify the leading street food and fast food item in Mexico – thin, flat griddle-baked tortillas topped with numerous fillings, folded and eaten without any utensils.

A taco is basically anything eaten on a soft tortilla, and there is an infinite variety of them. In Sonora, in the north of Mexico, they eat the classic carne asada – thinly sliced meat grilled over coals and topped with salsa, onions, guacamole, and a lime wedge.

In Baja, the topping consists of fried fish with cabbage and an acidic mayonnaise sauce. In Mexico City, sudados (sweated tacos) are the most popular option, filled with cooked and steamed meat. In Jalisco and Michoacan, they prepare carnitas, eaten in the morning or in the early afternoon, filled with deep fried pieces of pork that are sliced according to preference.

Similar is the taco de cabeza, filled with pieces of cow’s head that was steamed for a long time, and the customers can choose from slices of eyes, brains, tongue, lips, cheek, or ears. Tacos are mainly made of corn, except in the north, where wheat flour is used more often.

They also differ in size, from the tiniest white tacos (blancas) to bigger ones, often made with blue corn. Most tacos come in pairs of two, in order to be able to hold all the flavorful and slightly wet ingredients. Some of them are fried until they become crispy and crunchy, in which case they’re called tostadas.

As anything can be a filling, there is a version made with fried veins from dried chiles, usually accompanied by salt, a tasty treat called tacos de venas. However, the standard is ground or shredded meat, cheese, potatoes, or vegetables and a topping of onions and coriander.

Eaten at all times of day and night, one can find them on every corner in Mexico, in restaurants known as taquerias. Alternatively, they can be bought from numerous street vendors.

3. Burger

A quintessential American food, burger evolved from the German Deutsches beefsteak, according to the New York Times food critic Mimi Sheraton. Its other name (hamburger) is a result of the fact that many German immigrants originally came from the port of Hamburg.

Burger is a succulent dish consisting of, ideally, medium-rare seared beef patties tucked in fresh, lightly toasted buns, accompanied by onion slices and ketchup or Dijon mustard. Of course, there is a variety of other condiments and vegetables such as salad greens and tomatoes, but they tend to turn the meat cold, according to Mrs. Sheraton.

If cheese is added, it should be mozzarella, Gruyere or Cheddar, slightly melting and mildly pungent. It is yet unclear who first thought to encase the beef patties with buns. Giovanni Ballarini, a food historian, says that the immigrants were given grilled meat between sliced of bread, so there would be no plates involved, and no water was wasted for washing the dishes.

Hannah Glasse first mentioned a Hamburg “sausage” in her 1747 cookbook The Art of Cookery, Made Plain and Easy, defining it as a chopped mixture of beef and spices that should be served with toast. Or maybe it was Charlie Nagreen, a meatball seller from Wisconsin, who, in 1885, decided to put meatballs between bread so the consumers could eat them while walking at a country fair where he worked.

Today, toppings and accompaniments vary from region to region, but for an original version one should visit Louis’ Lunch in New Haven, Connecticut, serving the burgers since 1900, and claiming to be the oldest burger joint in the United States.

Whatever the theories about the origin of burgers may be, and there are a lot of them, it is a convenient, simple and hearty meal that most meat lovers will gladly indulge in.

02. Sushi. Japan

Sushi is Japan’s most famous culinary representative, typically made with rice and fillings which have been rolled inside a a sheet of dry seaweed. However, the term sushi is actually an umbrella term covering a wide range of subvarieties which can be made with a myriad of different ingredients and in as many forms and presentations.

Although the dish has become wrongly synonymous with raw fish, the primary ingredient of every type of sushi is only vinegared rice. Originally, sushi was only a method of preserving fish – first developed in Southeast Asia, but it reached Japan in the 8th century.

Over time, the dish slowly transformed. Rice was no longer fermented but vinegared and eaten together with fish, and by the 19th century, sushi as we know it today was invented. Besides rice, which can be white or brown, other ingredients include seafood, meat, and vegetables that can be either raw or cooked.

Termed as the original type of sushi, nigirizushi is prepared by draping a mound of rice with a sliced topping, frequently with some wasabi in between or on the side, while probably the most popular type of sushi known worldwide is makizushi; small, usually bite-sized cylindrical pieces most commonly wrapped in nori — a sheet of dry seaweed.

Other best-known types of sushi include chirashizushi, served as a bowl of rice topped with a selection of raw ingredients; the pressed variety called oshizushi; inarizushi – deep-fried tofu sacs containing a filling; the traditional narezushi made with fermented rice; and temaki, cone-shaped pieces of seaweed filled with ingredients.

Sushi can be eaten with chopsticks or fingers, and it is typically served on a platter or in a bento box with a compartment for dips (usually soy sauce). Due to the worldwide popularity of sushi, many variations of the dish developed outside of Japan.

01. Pizza. Naples, Italy

The story of the invention of this everyday household name changes depending on how you define it. If you think a pizza is an oven-baked flatbread, its origins lie in the ancient Middle East. If pizza must have toppings, its origins date back to the ancient Romans and Greeks, who baked flatbreads and topped them with available, local spices and olive oil.

But the pizza we all know today, made with tomato sauce, cheese, and numerous toppings, originated in Italy. It became popular in Naples in the 18th century as a cheap, nourishing food that was consumed mainly by peasants. The modern pizza as we know it today evolved from early Neapolitan flatbreads topped with lard, salt, and garlic.

No one knows when or why the tomato first began being used in the preparation of pizza, but it is known that they were first recorded in Italy in 1544. While most Europeans initially disparaged them as poisonous, the southern Italians embraced them, giving them the name pomi d’oro (golden apples).

Although some say that tomatoes have been used on pizza marinara since 1734, others claim that they were not used until the early 19th century. The Italians credit Raffaele Esposito of Pizzeria Brandi as having invented the first modern pizza in 1889.

He was supposed to make a variety of pizzas for the queen, so he made one with lard, cheese, and basil, one with fish, and one with mozzarella, basil, and tomatoes. Known as pizza alla mozzarella at the time, this last pizza later became known as pizza margherita, once the queen declared it as her favorite.

Interestingly enough, the colors of the margherita are the same as those found on the Italian flag. Pizza crossed over the Italian border shortly thereafter, to Spain, France, England, and the United States, where it was introduced by Italian immigrants.

However, it didn’t gain much popularity until after World War II. In the United States, the first pizzeria was opened in New York City by Gennaro Lombardi in 1905, and since then it has become one of the most popular food items in the United States.

In an ironic twist of fate, American-style pizza has been re-exported back to Italy, where it is has also gained in popularity today. In 2008, two Italian associations called Real Pizza and the Association of Neapolitan Pizza-makers introduced new regulations on what constitutes a true Neapolitan pizza.

According to them, the real, legally-protected Neapolitan margherita should be made with exact amounts of mozzarella, salt, and tomatoes, and it should be baked in a wood-fired oven at 485°C. Today, there are numerous variations of this beloved dish throughout the world, from those with simple toppings such as ham, prosciutto, onions, and bell peppers, to unusual variations such as hot dog or hamburger pizza or decadent toppings such as white truffles, edible gold, lobster, and caviar.

10 Most popular food in the World

10 Most popular food in the World

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