# Which country has the worst cuisine? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 24, 2011, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821 "2011-03-24T07:16:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2011, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821/201 "2011-03-27T03:10:33Z")
How about Meskerem? **astro** , did you go with anybody who was familiar with Ethiopian food? It’s often helpful to have somebody as a guide if you’re very far out of your usual styles. ---
**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:** [March 27, 2011, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821/202 "2011-03-27T03:30:16Z")
I haven’t been to Meskerem, but I’ve heard good things. I haven’t been to an Ethiopian place around here that could fairly be described as not good. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821/203 "2011-03-28T07:29:13Z")
> [@WotNot](#): > > Oh… **steak** and kidney pie! Thank you – I was momentarily misled by the way le **Capitaine** left out the main ingredient, there. > > Perhaps it’s little wonder that it’s a while since he had a good one, if he’s been asking for “kidney pie” all this time. That really doesn’t sound terribly appetising. Yes, it is somethign I come across in Sweden a lot. Peopl etelling me that British cooking is crap because we eat “kidney pie”. I am slowly, one by one, educating Sweden as to the fact that there is no such thing as “kidney pie”. ---
**Author:** ![NineToTheSky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@NineToTheSky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NineToTheSky)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821/204 "2011-03-28T07:41:58Z")
To be fair, there may not be such a thing as kidney pie, but we do eat kidneys, often in a mustard sauce. ---
**Author:** ![Mississippienne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d2c977/32.png) [@Mississippienne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mississippienne)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821/205 "2011-03-28T08:05:26Z")
I live in Flushing, Queens, one of the world’s biggest Chinatowns. And god bless 'em, the Chinese don’t waste any part of an animal, do they. I had a particularly hard time trying to eat locally – I think the food here is more authentic than most American tummies can handle. I’ve been to Greece and I didn’t like Greek food. It’s all spinach and cheese. I liked Turkish food a lot better. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821/206 "2011-03-28T10:35:34Z")
> [@NineToTheSky](#): > > To be fair, there may not be such a thing as kidney pie, but we do eat kidneys, often in a mustard sauce. Yes and the people lecturing me about “Kidney Pie” eat rotting fish. > **[Surströmming](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surstr%C3%B6mming)** > > Surströmming (.mw-parser-output .IPA-label-small{font-size:85%}.mw-parser-output .references .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .infobox .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .navbox .IPA-label-small{font-size:100%}pronounced \[ˈsʉ̂ːˌʂʈrœmːɪŋ\]; Swedish for 'sour herring') is lightly salted, fermented Baltic Sea herring traditional to Swedish cuisine since at least the 16th century. It is distinct from fried or pickled herring. > The Baltic herring, known as strömming in Swedish, is smaller than the ... Yep, the point is Swedes don’t actually eat much of that stuff. I’ve met very few people that admit to having ever had it. But then again, “Kidney Pie” doesn’t exist and I have never in my life even see kidneys in mustard sauce. Surströmming, however, is available at my local supermarket. Well, when in season it is. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821/207 "2011-03-28T11:25:48Z")
It wasn’t until I was grownup that I first tried surströmming and I immediately took a liking to it and it’s not rotten, whatever it smells like (OK, I once heard a professor of food chemistry say that any dish prepared by letting fish meat lie around in a salty solution can be described as being in a state of controlled decomposition). 😉 ---
**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:** [March 28, 2011, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821/208 "2011-03-28T13:09:20Z")
> [@amanset](#): > > Yes and the people lecturing me about “Kidney Pie” eat rotting fish. > > [Surströmming - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surstr%C3%B6mming) > > Yep, the point is Swedes don’t actually eat much of that stuff. I’ve met very few people that admit to having ever had it. But then again, “Kidney Pie” doesn’t exist and I have never in my life even see kidneys in mustard sauce. Surströmming, however, is available at my local supermarket. Well, when in season it is. Maybe he was thinking of [Devilled kidneys](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devilled_kidneys), a victorian dish which is totally delicious. But I suspect most British people wouldn’t touch it as so many have a ‘ick’ reaction to any kind of offal. ---
**Author:** ![NineToTheSky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@NineToTheSky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NineToTheSky)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821/209 "2011-03-28T13:24:37Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > Maybe he was thinking of [Devilled kidneys](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devilled_kidneys), a victorian dish which is totally delicious. But I suspect most British people wouldn’t touch it as so many have a ‘ick’ reaction to any kind of offal. Speaking as a Brit, I think this is another of these generational things. Older people like offal because it was fairly widely eaten up until about the 60s, and it is coming back into fashion now. It’s just the people inbetween who dislike it. Me: liver and kidneys - yum! ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821/210 "2011-03-28T13:40:18Z")
Liver and kidneys, an abomination if you ask me, unless it is in the form of haggis. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821/211 "2011-03-28T14:43:13Z")
> [@Floater](#): > > (OK, I once heard a professor of food chemistry say that any dish prepared by letting fish meat lie around in a salty solution can be described as being in a state of controlled decomposition) Leavened breads, cheeses, yogurt, vinegar, soy sauce, many cured meats, and let us not forget alcohol… all involve the controlled decomposing of sugars by bacterial or yeast action. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2011, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821/212 "2011-03-28T14:50:27Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > Maybe he was thinking of [Devilled kidneys](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devilled_kidneys), a victorian dish which is totally delicious. But I suspect most British people wouldn’t touch it as so many have a ‘ick’ reaction to any kind of offal. Only if they are really stupid. All the best pâtés are made with liver. Oh and I just found out that apparently Swedes eat something called Hökerpanna, a stew made from pork and kidneys. I’ll be mentioning that the next time I hear about “Kidney Pie”. Maybe it’ll mysteriously become that “Kidney Stew” that Swedes eat … ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821/213 "2011-03-29T00:16:54Z")
I must defend Russian food. I’ve never been to Russia but I did grow up in the heavily Russian Brighton Beach section of Brooklyn. I miss it still. The variniki. The piroshkis. The dilled chicken soup. The thick bread heaven called lavash. The salads with pomegranates. The delicate smoked fish. The delicious varieties of sour pickles. The chicken kiev with mushrooms. The chocolate covered everything. The well decorated thick delightful Russian chocolates. Oh yum! If you’re there go to Primorskis restaurant: > **[primorski.net](http://primorski.net/a_la_carte_menu.htm)** > > Banket Start off with the vegetable platter or the eggplant rolled in walnuts. The borscht or chicken soup with homemade pasta is also excellent. Try the pork, lamb or chicken shiskabob. Shalik as it is known in Russian. The chicken kiev, loolya kebab and beef stroganoff are also good choices. Order lavash on the side. Finish with a visit to a local Russian bakery and some Russian chocolates. Wonderful! ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821/214 "2011-03-29T01:38:11Z")
We visit Ireland every summer, and I wouldn’t say it’s the worst food I’ve ever had. It does tend to be bland, though, and the natives seem terrified of anything that deviates from potatoes and meat (my boyfriend and I love seafood, but no one else in his family will even touch any sort of seafood that isn’t a fried fish). Norway was pretty bad. I did a home stay there as a student and remember being nearly knocked down by the stinky cheese the first time I opened their fridge. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821/215 "2011-03-29T01:50:04Z")
> [@HazelNutCoffee](#): > > (my boyfriend and I love seafood, but no one else in his family will even touch any sort of seafood that isn’t a fried fish). There’s some great seafood in the western islands and around Dingle. Otherwise, yeah, for an island country the Irish sure don’t go in for fish. I believe per capita fish consumption in Ireland is half what it is in Spain, one-tenth what it is in Iceland. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821/216 "2011-03-29T09:13:23Z")
> [@LavenderBlue](#): > > I must defend Russian food. I’ve never been to Russia but I did grow up in the heavily Russian Brighton Beach section of Brooklyn. I miss it still. The variniki. The piroshkis. The dilled chicken soup. The thick bread heaven called lavash. The salads with pomegranates. The delicate smoked fish. The delicious varieties of sour pickles. The chicken kiev with mushrooms. The chocolate covered everything. The well decorated thick delightful Russian chocolates. > > Oh yum! > > If you’re there go to Primorskis restaurant: > > [primorski.net](http://primorski.net/a_la_carte_menu.htm) > > Start off with the vegetable platter or the eggplant rolled in walnuts. The borscht or chicken soup with homemade pasta is also excellent. Try the pork, lamb or chicken shiskabob. Shalik as it is known in Russian. The chicken kiev, loolya kebab and beef stroganoff are also good choices. Order lavash on the side. > > Finish with a visit to a local Russian bakery and some Russian chocolates. > > Wonderful! I used to go to Riga quite often (my now ex moved there for work) and there was a Russian place there that was far and away my favourite restaurant in Riga. Excellent stews. Salted pork fat was surprisngly tasty as well. I remember ordering it as a joke and, well, loving it. ---
**Author:** ![Capitaine\_Zombie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@Capitaine\_Zombie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capitaine_Zombie)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821/217 "2011-03-29T10:44:22Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > There’s some great seafood in the western islands and around Dingle. Otherwise, yeah, for an island country the Irish sure don’t go in for fish. I believe per capita fish consumption in Ireland is half what it is in Spain, one-tenth what it is in Iceland. Could somebody explain that one to me. The Brits do so as well. And I never ever understood how come an island nation not only didnt have fish as its main course but seems to barely eat any. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821/218 "2011-03-29T11:48:59Z")
Fish’n’chips anyone, or perhaps some jellied eel? ---
**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:** [March 29, 2011, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821/219 "2011-03-29T12:24:25Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > There’s some great seafood in the western islands and around Dingle. Otherwise, yeah, for an island country the Irish sure don’t go in for fish. I believe per capita fish consumption in Ireland is half what it is in Spain, one-tenth what it is in Iceland. Sadly a not dissimilar situations exists in many part of the UK. Many Brits are squeamish about fish with bones, fish that looks odd (eg octopus), fish that they think will poison them if they try and cook it themselves. It’s changing slowly, but it is ridiculous in an island nation. My partner is a fishmonger and finds her Spanish/Italian/French/Japanese customers far more knowledgeable on cooking and eating fish (although, to be fair, they still tend to go for what they know and ignore the (great) local British fish they aren’t familiar with). Sad when we have so much of the stuff. ---
**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:** [March 29, 2011, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821/220 "2011-03-29T12:26:50Z")
> [@Floater](#): > > or perhaps some jellied eel? Now I love all fish, but that stuff is disgusting. Luckily, eel is now an endangered species in the UK, so I have a good excuse for not eating it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821.md?page=12)