# The Core Set of Global Cuisine **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [January 26, 2025, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-core-set-of-global-cuisine/1013426 "2025-01-26T11:05:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2025, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-core-set-of-global-cuisine/1013426/41 "2025-01-28T14:37:59Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Grocery store sushi is different yet. I don’t know about Wal-Mart sushi, but I’ve gotten grocery store sushi from our local Kroger on a few occasions. They have a sushi station where they make it fresh, the turnover is good, and it’s perfectly…fine. But there’s something about it that does not measure up to a really good sushi place, where the sushi is sublime. IMHO it’s the temperature. Good sushi, at least based on my tastes, should be room temperature to slightly warm. Of course this isn’t possible for a food product with raw meat ingredients that might be sitting for a few to several hours before being consumed, and so they refrigerate it. That’s what lowers the quality. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2025, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-core-set-of-global-cuisine/1013426/42 "2025-01-28T14:48:14Z")
> [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > IMHO it’s the temperature. That may be part of it, but the main thing is freshness. Supermarket supply chains mean they just can’t process the fish in a timely enough way to make even decent sushi. TBH there isn’t a lot of fish I buy from supermarkets for the same reason. Salmon holds up ok but most fish is just way off its best because it’s taken too long to get instore. Sushi grade fish is chosen for its vibrant colour, texture and consistency, but above all else its freshness. Hence it doesn’t smell ‘fishy’ and is nice and firm. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2025, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-core-set-of-global-cuisine/1013426/43 "2025-01-28T15:17:47Z")
> [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > Why is that frustrating? Here in Corpus Christi, we have one Japanese restaurant owned and operated Japanese-Americans. It is authentic. They haven’t tried to modify their food for American tastes. But the food is terrible… Not intending to say that all Japanese restaurants owned/operated by Japanese/Japanese-Americans are awesome - but my experience has been that the food at Japanese restaurants owned/operated by other-than-Japanese folks is second-rate. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2025, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-core-set-of-global-cuisine/1013426/44 "2025-01-28T15:50:35Z")
> [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > IMHO it’s the temperature. Good sushi, at least based on my tastes, should be room temperature to slightly warm. That may be part of it. Next time I pick up some grocery store sushi, maybe I’ll try leaving it out at room temp for a bit before eating it. > [@SanVito](#): > > That may be part of it, but the main thing is freshness. Supermarket supply chains mean they just can’t process the fish in a timely enough way to make even decent sushi. Actually, and I only learned this a few years ago, several types of sushi fish are aged to obtain the best flavor and texture (though not all-- some do need to be ‘the fresher, the better’- especially shellfish). It’s a very controlled process of wet aging, and very different than sushi that’s gone off because it hasn’t sold and has been sitting around too long. But ironically, that may be why some grocery store sushi is good, but not as sublime as high-end restaurant sushi-- it’s maybe _too_ fresh. I know, this fact blew my mind when I learned it, but it’s true. > **[The science of ageing fish for sushi – The Japanese Food Lab](https://thejapanesefoodlab.com/fish-ageing-science/)** ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2025, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-core-set-of-global-cuisine/1013426/45 "2025-01-28T15:54:39Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > Sushi grade fish is chosen for its vibrant colour, texture and consistency, but above all else its freshness. True, but it is usually thawed from frozen even in the best places in the US. Grocery stores around here (California) use the same fish, but the time sitting in a cooler until the customer eats it is what makes it inferior to restaurant sushi. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2025, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-core-set-of-global-cuisine/1013426/46 "2025-01-28T16:47:31Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Actually, and I only learned this a few years ago, several types of sushi fish are aged to obtain the best flavor and texture (though not all-- some do need to be ‘the fresher, the better’- especially shellfish). It’s a very controlled process of wet aging, and very different than sushi that’s gone off because it hasn’t sold and has been sitting around too long. But ironically, that may be why some grocery store sushi is good, but not as sublime as high-end restaurant sushi-- it’s maybe _too_ fresh. I know, this fact blew my mind when I learned it, but it’s true. > > [The science of ageing fish for sushi – The Japanese Food Lab](https://thejapanesefoodlab.com/fish-ageing-science/) There’s also a preferred method for killing the fish that reportedly results in optimal flavor, and that method may or may not have been used for the fish supplied to any given sushi restaurant: > **[Ikejime](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ikejime)** > > Ikejime (活け締め) or ikijime (活き締め) is a method of killing fish that maintains the quality of its meat. The technique originated in Japan, but is now in widespread use. It involves the insertion of a spike quickly and directly into the hindbrain, usually located slightly behind and above the eye, thereby causing immediate brain death. After spiking the brain, a thin needle or piece of wire is inserted into the spinal column to prevent any further muscle movement. When spiked correctly, the It is ... ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2025, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-core-set-of-global-cuisine/1013426/47 "2025-01-28T19:17:57Z")
> [@scudsucker](#): > > After all, we are responsible for the global trend of over-boiled corn starch, the home-grown cuisine of fire-roasted whole field mice, dried termites, chicken feet, flying ants and more. -looks uncomfortable- I believe the proper thread for this is riiiiight next door! > [@Worst things that Andrew Zimmern (or you) tried to eat](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-things-that-andrew-zimmern-or-you-tried-to-eat/1013391): > > Andrew, of Bizarre Foods fame, tried a heck of a lot of things I wouldn’t even want to be in the same room with. He ate most of them, including the very ripe cheese with maggots. But I have fond memories of when he tried iguana - in Mexico, maybe? The recipe? Hold the whole iguana over flames until the skin is burnt off. Boil. Eat. “That’s just awful” [Mostly for the comparison and the lolz, I’d at least try a few of those, and shouldn’t slam anyone’s national/cultural food choices, because they’re interconnected with culture and so often desperate need. But figured a gentle poking fun (which I feel there was in the quoted section as well!) was fair game.] ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2025, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-core-set-of-global-cuisine/1013426/48 "2025-01-28T19:37:35Z")
How could you leave off the mopane worms? ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2025, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-core-set-of-global-cuisine/1013426/49 "2025-01-28T22:25:49Z")
I try not to remember the mopane worms. The last one I had left a disturbing taste in my mouth for hours. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2025, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-core-set-of-global-cuisine/1013426/50 "2025-01-28T22:56:43Z")
My read of the OP is that it’s asking what cuisines you’re likely to be able to easily find, if you’re traveling to the largest cities, around the world. Mexican - despite the current vote - is not on that list. I don’t believe that Thai is particularly common either. This isn’t to say that you can’t find them, given a hard enough look, but you’re unlikely to bump into one, randomly. Italian and Indian are fairly common, as well as something Middle-Eastern/Mediterranean. After that, maybe sushi and Chinese. French cuisine, I’d gauge, is at a fairly even level of omnipresent rareness, everywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2025, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-core-set-of-global-cuisine/1013426/51 "2025-01-28T23:09:34Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Italian and Indian are fairly common, as well as something Middle-Eastern/Mediterranean. After that, maybe sushi and Chinese. And American. Most cities have more than a few places that sell hamburgers - and not just international chains. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2025, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-core-set-of-global-cuisine/1013426/52 "2025-01-28T23:19:48Z")
From what I’ve heard, the most ubiquitous American chain, worldwide, is KFC. Chicken doesn’t hit any cultural taboos the way that beef or pork would, and apparently fried chicken is simple enough that nobody considers it “too foreign”. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2025, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-core-set-of-global-cuisine/1013426/53 "2025-01-28T23:35:35Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Mexican - despite the current vote - is not on that list. It’s extremely difficult to find decent Mexican food outside of Mexico and the US. And there are places in the US (I’m looking at you, Seattle) where it’s nigh on impossible. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2025, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-core-set-of-global-cuisine/1013426/54 "2025-01-29T00:07:16Z")
Tacos Chukis. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2025, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-core-set-of-global-cuisine/1013426/55 "2025-01-29T05:13:43Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Mexican - despite the current vote - is not on that list. I have _never_ been in a large international city, from Helsinki to Kuala Lumpur to Venice to Paris to Berlin to Amsterdam to frigging _Jubail_, that didn’t have Mexican restaurants (and TexMex is a kind of Mexican). Apartheid-era Cape Town had several. I _strongly_ disagree on this one. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2025, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-core-set-of-global-cuisine/1013426/56 "2025-01-29T05:21:25Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > From what I’ve heard, the most ubiquitous American chain, worldwide, is KFC Naah, McDonalds is bigger I’d say. They adapt to food taboos - a lot of veggie burger options in India, for instance (and they tried lamb but I believe they don’t currently). And beef is OK _everywhere_ else. ---
**Author:** ![Moonrise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moonrise/32/14764_2.png) [@Moonrise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonrise)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2025, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-core-set-of-global-cuisine/1013426/57 "2025-01-29T09:50:27Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > @SanVito raises an interesting point I had not considered. Namely that interest in non-local cuisines is raised by tourism _to_ the places the cuisine is local, rather than being promoted by immigrants _from_ the places the cuisine is local. So more demand pull than supply push. And, like the Vietnamese-Thai combo, if there aren’t enough immigrants from a particular cuisine area (yet), folks from culinarily-adjacent areas will learn to fake it well enough to satisfy the demand. I’m willing to bet there are many more Vietnamese than Thai immigrants around here, so that explanation makes sense. Come to think of it, there are probably more restaurants that are 100% Vietnamese than 100% Thai, and there were already half a dozen of the former and only one of the latter in my neighbourhood when I moved here in 1992. By the late 90s Vietnamese food was very familiar to me while Thai still felt like a novelty. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2025, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-core-set-of-global-cuisine/1013426/58 "2025-01-29T13:29:28Z")
> [@Moonrise](#): > > I’m willing to bet there are many more Vietnamese than Thai immigrants around here, so that explanation makes sense. > > Come to think of it, there are probably more restaurants that are 100% Vietnamese than 100% Thai, and there were already half a dozen of the former and only one of the latter in my neighbourhood when I moved here in 1992. By the late 90s Vietnamese food was very familiar to me while Thai still felt like a novelty. That applies to where I live as well. The Thai, Japanese, and Korean places are almost all run and staffed by people of Vietnamese, Chinese, or even Filipino ancestry simply because there are a lot more or them living around there than there are people of Thai, Japanese, or Korean ancestry. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-core-set-of-global-cuisine/1013426.md?page=2)