# What do you consider "ethnic" food? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 6, 2010, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-consider-ethnic-food/556249 "2010-10-06T13:40:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-consider-ethnic-food/556249/1 "2010-10-06T13:40:56Z")
In [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=580855) the OP mentions Italian food when running off a list of “ethnic” cuisines he/she is interested in learning to cook. That struck me as a bit odd since I’ve never thought of Italian food as “ethnic” cuisine. I’m American BTW. I’d imagine that may have some bearing on my perception. Poll coming. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-consider-ethnic-food/556249/2 "2010-10-06T13:45:32Z")
Just about **all** cooking is ethnic cooking, at least in part. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-consider-ethnic-food/556249/3 "2010-10-06T13:47:30Z")
For me, ethnic food is any food identified with a country, region, or any other kind of ethnic group, especially when it’s prepared outside its home region. So, for example, soul food is ethnic food, and Italian food anywhere outside Italy is ethnic food. ---
**Author:** ![justrob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9adbd/32.png) [@justrob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justrob)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-consider-ethnic-food/556249/4 "2010-10-06T13:53:32Z")
**Giles** pretty much summed up my thoughts. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-consider-ethnic-food/556249/5 "2010-10-06T14:03:43Z")
I’m an “other” and in agreement with **Giles**. I consider ethnic food any food which can be pointed to have a specific geographic origin and/or linked to a specific geographic origin/ethnicity even if it’s not really “from there” (such as “Chinese” dishes which aren’t really from China but were invented by the cook of a Chinese restaurant elsewhere). “Nouvelle cuisine” is not ethnic, but bacalao al pilpil, paella or gorrín asado are. Whether a particular ethnic cuisine happens to be common in a given area doesn’t make it less ethnic. Spanish cuisine has been absorbing Italian dishes for centuries to the extreme that some of our own ethnic dishes are pasta-based, but spaghetti bolognese are still ethnic Italian; fideuà is ethnic Spanish (and if you want to get picky, ethnic Valenciano). **DCnDC** , I think you’re confusing “ethnic” and “exotic”. My mother does the same; the last time she refused to go to a Japanese restaurant because “I don’t eat foreign”, I deadpanned “oh, ok, so we won’t be having shell soup for Christmas dinner and caneloni on Boxing Day ever again?” She was still sputtering about it 15 minutes later (the caneloni have been traditional in her part of Spain… since Italian immigrants, among them several of her foreparents, brought them over) ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-consider-ethnic-food/556249/6 "2010-10-06T14:06:39Z")
Giles is right, I suppose, but I’ve always thought it was generally understood that “ethnic” means non-white to most people. That’s what I assume people mean when they say it. I would be surprised to hear someone refer to German food as “ethic” food. ---
**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:** [October 6, 2010, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-consider-ethnic-food/556249/7 "2010-10-06T14:09:16Z")
I defined “ethnic food” as “exotic food”, meaning food that’s not commonly available where I live. I marked British, Caribbean, German, Indian and Latin American. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-consider-ethnic-food/556249/8 "2010-10-06T14:09:35Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > I would be surprised to hear someone refer to German food as “ethic” food. Given the way my arteries want to run away at the thought of eating it, I don’t think German food is ethic at all. My mother would definitely view it as exotic, though. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-consider-ethnic-food/556249/9 "2010-10-06T14:12:25Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > **DCnDC** , I think you’re confusing “ethnic” and “exotic”. My mother does the same; the last time she refused to go to a Japanese restaurant because “I don’t eat foreign”, I deadpanned “oh, ok, so we won’t be having shell soup for Christmas dinner and caneloni on Boxing Day ever again?” She was still sputtering about it 15 minutes later (the caneloni have been traditional in her part of Spain… since Italian immigrants, among them several of her foreparents, brought them over) Well that’s the point. I’m looking for peoples’ definition of “ethnic,” be it the literal dictionary definition of the word or the perception of “exotic” or “foreign.” ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-consider-ethnic-food/556249/10 "2010-10-06T14:15:22Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > > [@MeanOldLady](#): > > > > I would be surprised to hear someone refer to German food as “ethic” food. > > Given the way my arteries want to run away at the thought of eating it, I don’t think German food is ethic at all. > > My mother would definitely view it as exotic, though. Hey! Don’t be taking cheap shots at my typographical errors! But anyway, yeah, even though I suppose everything is eth **n** ic, I don’t think most people use it that way. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-consider-ethnic-food/556249/11 "2010-10-06T14:20:11Z")
I’d say “ethnic food” is food that is associated with a particular area and is rare and/or unpopular here. So pizza is not really ethnic food (to me), but Italian-style tripe would be. Similarly, fried rice isn’t really ethnic food, but Chinese-style chicken feet would be. Maybe “unassimilated” is the word I’m looking for. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-consider-ethnic-food/556249/12 "2010-10-06T16:25:33Z")
Everything is ethnic somewhere else =) When I visited Germany a few years ago, my friend wanted to take me to a place serving american food =) That would be like me taking him to a place in Hartford CT that makes german food =) He was nonplussed that I cook pretty much like he is used to - my mom is of amish derivation and much of the foods I grew up eating and learning to cook were german [helped along by my grandmother’s cook being german, and my nanny/moms maid of all work also being german] but I also cook classic french [my training as a chef kicking in =)] and I also play with japanese and chinese, and I have put a lot of work into classical Roman [apicius, not italian regional…] medieval european, renaissance persian and dabbles into modern diverse ethnic [if a recipe posted online looks interesting, Ill give it a whirl, or if I eat it in a restaurant, Ill give it a whirl at home if I can get the ingredients] ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-consider-ethnic-food/556249/13 "2010-10-06T16:31:33Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > For me, ethnic food is any food identified with a country, region, or any other kind of ethnic group, especially when it’s prepared outside its home region. So, for example, soul food is ethnic food, and Italian food anywhere outside Italy is ethnic food. A agree. I would call an Italian or German restaurant an “ethnic restaurant” as much as I would call an Indian or Senegalese food “ethnic.” If its focus is on the cuisine of a particular ethnicity, it’s an ethnic restaurant to me. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-consider-ethnic-food/556249/14 "2010-10-06T19:46:01Z")
To me, ethnic food is anything that isn’t simple roasts, batter fried meats, sandwiches, boiled vegetables, or other common items available in Anglo-American cuisine. ---
**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:** [October 6, 2010, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-consider-ethnic-food/556249/15 "2010-10-06T21:18:45Z")
If I heard someone using the term “ethnic food”, I would assume they meant “non-mainstream”. I wavered a bit on “Latin American” in the poll, because Mexican is, by now, mainstream in the US, but most of South America isn’t. And for “Mediterranean” (which has a large overlap with “Middle Eastern”), I’d say that Greek or Spanish is “ethnic”, but Italian isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2010, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-consider-ethnic-food/556249/16 "2010-10-06T21:54:37Z")
The only one I hesitated on was British, but even then I decided that British food is sufficiently different from American food to count as “ethnic” to me, even can’t really imagine someone opening up a British restaurant here in the US (except maybe a pub). ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-consider-ethnic-food/556249/17 "2010-10-07T01:19:16Z")
Donuts. ---
**Author:** ![antonio107](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ea924/32.png) [@antonio107](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antonio107)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-consider-ethnic-food/556249/18 "2010-10-07T01:43:55Z")
For me, “ethnic” in this context is an othering, for better or for worse. I’m white, English speaking Canuck. Half Italian/Mediterranean, half East European. Thus, I ticked off all the “Non-white” foods on there, if I can use such an un-P.C. term. Again, I consider it relative to my own ethnic identity, it has no basis in my diet; if truth be told, I probably eat Shawarma and Pho wayyyy more than burgers or fries or anything else that is domestic North American. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-consider-ethnic-food/556249/19 "2010-10-07T01:45:52Z")
I went with anything I would feel relatively comfortable (or even able with my equipment) cooking at home, or would have to go to great lengths to be able to cook. I’d split things like Korean and Thai out from East Asian, because I’m fine cooking chinese or even rolling sushi if I wanted, but pad thai or pad see ew are a tad too difficult to do correctly in my kitchen. ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2010, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-consider-ethnic-food/556249/20 "2010-10-07T01:50:02Z")
For what it’s worth, my thread over there started this, and I put everything but British. I wavered on that, French, and German; for the first, I came down on the opposite side of the same question that **Skammer** wrestled with. Enough of the basic vocabulary–by which I mean techniques more than dishes–of western cuisine is essentially French that I can’t consider it ethnic, though individual dishes unfamiliar to an American palate might be. And while American fare has certainly embraced a number of German dishes, I suspect there’s plenty of traditional German fare that would be a bit odd to most Americans. When I used the term, though, I was mostly just drawing a line between what I’d consider traditional American mid-western meat & potatoes farmboy fare and just about everything else–with something of an emphasis on more exotic spices, brighter flavors and colors, and probably less reliance on meat. Basically, if my mom makes it, it’s probably not ethnic. That probably brings some Americanized Italian and Mexican staples out of the category–I wouldn’t consider my mom’s spaghetti or tacos particularly ethnic, but there’s plenty of Italian and Mexican dishes that haven’t been American staples for the last 50-100 years that probably would be. Anyway, not necessarily a bright line; I was just using it in my OP in the other thread to mean that I was looking for stuff not likely to be in the Betty Crocker or BHG Cookbooks. 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-consider-ethnic-food/556249.md?page=2)