# 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:** 8
**Author:** ![Pyper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Pyper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pyper)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821/141 "2011-03-25T01:52:37Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > Where were you in Spain? > > I have spent time in around 15 different countries in Europe, and Spanish food was hands down the most enjoyable single national cuisine I have ever enjoyed… I lived in Andalucia, which I understand is more heavily into fried food than the north. However, I can’t remember eating anything particularly tasty in other parts of the country except for in that Moroccan restaurant in Madrid and that Japanese restaurant in Barcelona. What did you like about Spanish food? ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821/142 "2011-03-25T01:56:54Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > This is sort of true - many people who live here have appalling diets (deep fried pizza is much more common than a deep fried Mars Bar!) - but there’s lots of good food available pretty much everywhere nowadays. The raw ingredients are good in Scotland - lamb, beef\*, seafood of all kinds, even berries\*\* - but us Scots seem to like fat and salt and sugar above all else. Ye fergat the noblest grain of all: The Oat. [Although a couple of Scots would prefer the dainty barley grain that makes whisky] ---
**Author:** ![Agnostic\_Pagan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c4cdca/32.png) [@Agnostic\_Pagan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agnostic_Pagan)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821/143 "2011-03-25T03:14:16Z")
I gotta throw my vote in with the Scandinavian cuisines. I figure that is why there is such a plethora of every ethnic cuisine in the Northwest except for Norwegian or Swedish restaurants (IKEA meatballs excepted, and I wonder how many grandmas they had to survey to find that recipe.) They are trying to erase their culinary memory of their homelands. ---
**Author:** ![Annie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/858c86/32.png) [@Annie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821/144 "2011-03-25T04:40:16Z")
> [@Mr.Moto](#): > > I have heard that the cuisine of Bhutan is really bad. The two most famous dishes are strong tea with yak butter and yak cheese with chili peppers. Been there, ate that. It’s not petrified fish and bugs preserved in lye or anything Icelandic scary, but just _bleagh_. The chilis cooked in cheese sauce manages to be both mouth singeing and bland at the same time. But yak momos, not too bad. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821/145 "2011-03-25T05:17:39Z")
> [@carnut](#): > > Baron, I’m serving you warning that if I can find your raspberry patch, I’ll be there with a couple of baskets. Yum!🙂 Raspberries and blackberries grow wild here, fill your boots! ---
**Author:** ![nani](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/58956e/32.png) [@nani](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nani)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821/146 "2011-03-25T05:54:12Z")
I greatly enjoyed the food I had in Sweden, so Scandinavia gets a pass from me, though I cannot help linking to this explanation of a [traditional Finnish dish, mämmi. Bad food gave Åland to Finland!](http://satwcomic.com/make-a-good-impression) I don’t have a serious answer. I’m not very fond of Russian food, it tends to be bland, at least how I’ve had it. ---
**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:** [March 25, 2011, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821/147 "2011-03-25T06:01:52Z")
> [@nani](#): > > I greatly enjoyed the food I had in Sweden, so Scandinavia gets a pass from me, though I cannot help linking to this explanation of a [traditional Finnish dish, mämmi. Bad food gave Åland to Finland!](http://satwcomic.com/make-a-good-impression) There’s that one Swedish/Scandinavian cooking show they show on PBS which has significantly improved my perception of Scandinavian cuisine. There’s quite a lot of lovely stuff they do with with fish, and some of their spicing is quite interesting, especially with cardamom showing up in a lot of their baked goods, and I enjoy the use of allspice. My favorite simple beef stew recipe is a Swedish one, [_kalops_,](http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=15040) which is flavored with allspice and clove. I urge stew lovers to give it a try. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821/148 "2011-03-25T06:32:44Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > I’ve had Ethiopian food in Berkeley, and it was pretty good. Blue Nile? Yeah, I’ve had Ethiopian twice, only there, and enjoyed it very very much. FWIW, I can’t think of a cuisine that’s totally objectionable. Joe ---
**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 25, 2011, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821/149 "2011-03-25T08:45:42Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > This is sort of true - many people who live here have appalling diets (deep fried pizza is much more common than a deep fried Mars Bar!) - but there’s lots of good food available pretty much everywhere nowadays. The raw ingredients are good in Scotland - lamb, beef\*, seafood of all kinds, even berries\*\* - but us Scots seem to like fat and salt and sugar above all else. > > - I’ve been to the US a few times and liked the steaks I’ve had, but not the same as home? I wonder if there’s a difference between grass-fed and corn-fed? > > \*\* I can pick enough wild raspberries within a mile in season to fill a truck. Yum, the tastiest berry This is very true, Scotland has some amazing raw ingredients – the Angus beef is rightly legendary and the seafood is exported around the world. It gets on my nerves when you get the odd high end American or Argentinian steak house opening in London which loudly proclaim the fact that they import the beef when the best beef in the world can be found in the UK and would certainly save on the food miles. There’s some country hotels turning out world class food with the finest ingredients. Pity it’s mostly high end and therefore unaffordable as a daily diet. ---
**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:** [March 25, 2011, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821/150 "2011-03-25T09:32:14Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > This is very true, Scotland has some amazing raw ingredients – the Angus beef is rightly legendary and the seafood is exported around the world. It gets on my nerves when you get the odd high end American or Argentinian steak house opening in London which loudly proclaim the fact that they import the beef when the best beef in the world can be found in the UK and would certainly save on the food miles. > > There’s some country hotels turning out world class food with the finest ingredients. Pity it’s mostly high end and therefore unaffordable as a daily diet. _WANT_ [http://www.stjohnrestaurant.com/menu/supper/](http://www.stjohnrestaurant.com/menu/supper/) ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821/151 "2011-03-25T09:41:06Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Vienna. As I said, the food was tasty but there was a dramatic absence of fresh produce as a part of most meals. I’m not the only one to notice this. My parents lived in Austria and observed it as well other people who have traveled to Austria and Germany. Well I can only consider it is something of a regional anomaly (or this was sometime in the past) Because that is totally the opposite to my experience. I’ve travelled for work and business extensively in SW Germany and Austria over the past 15 years and I always like to scout the supermarkets and I’m very fussy about fresh fruit and veg. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821/152 "2011-03-25T10:02:37Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > This is very true, Scotland has some amazing raw ingredients – the Angus beef is rightly legendary and the seafood is exported around the world. It gets on my nerves when you get the odd high end American or Argentinian steak house opening in London which loudly proclaim the fact that they import the beef when the best beef in the world can be found in the UK and would certainly save on the food miles. > > There’s some country hotels turning out world class food with the finest ingredients. Pity it’s mostly high end and therefore unaffordable as a daily diet. Very true, And the same is true for most of the UK. However I think we are a little too self-deprecating sometimes. The best quality produce is stunning and the local variation is astonishing for such a small land mass. And what’s more, the better the produce the less needs doing to it. I live now in Kent and get a vegetable box every week which of course changes with the seasons and all is picked within 10 miles of my house. As well as the staples this week sees a glut of purple sprouting broccoli, with asparagus on the way. All of it world class. The autumnal apples come through in wonderful variety. Egremont Russets, Cox’s, Bramleys. What we don’t do is a very good analogy of US fast food, We are far better either assimilating ethnic influences or being true to our roots and making a virtue of seasonality and locatlity. Come September it’ll be apple and blackberry crumble and I humbly submit that as a king of desserts. Soon there’ll be a new run of Black-bream and squid, all of it line-to-plate in half a day. For anyone wanting to grasp what is meant by “ethnic” UK food, I’d suggest (as well as St. Johns above) looking at [Rules](http://www.rules.co.uk/menus/) restaurant and people such as [Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall](http://www.rivercottage.net/about/about-hugh/) ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821/153 "2011-03-25T10:04:05Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > This is very true, Scotland has some amazing raw ingredients – the Angus beef is rightly legendary and the seafood is exported around the world. It gets on my nerves when you get the odd high end American or Argentinian steak house opening in London which loudly proclaim the fact that they import the beef when the best beef in the world can be found in the UK and would certainly save on the food miles. > > There’s some country hotels turning out world class food with the finest ingredients. Pity it’s mostly high end and therefore unaffordable as a daily diet. If you go to Ireland they proudly proclaim they have the best beef in the world. It is hardly a claim that can be easily resolved. For all the lamb raised in Scotland and Ireland, I don’t believe it is as good as the lamb from NZ. It is a matter of personal taste. You don’t need to go far in Scotland to get some pretty horrendous fried things- Mars Bars aside. There seems to be some aversion to putting salad and sauce on burgers. However that can be balanced by things like the spelt bread from Kinlochewe. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821/154 "2011-03-25T10:15:19Z")
I’ve noticed that I been defending various cuisines rather than putting up my own view on world’s worst. Well I like to think that if you dive down beneath the commercially produced crap you will always find that what people eat in their homes and on the street is normally far more impressive. And being a peasant myself I think that is always the source of the most interesting food. Like Terry Pratchett says, no-one would make a virtue out of a sharks fin if some, more powerful bugger hadn’t nicked the rest of the shark. Remember, oysters were the poor man’s food, the more intriguing meat dishes are those made from bits of animal that the poor are loathed to throw away. The universal refrain of poor around the world is “how can we preserve/use up/bulk out/spice up/disguise?” and that leads to a lot of interesting recipes no matter what the country. So the worst? Commercially produced simulations of the real thing or generic chain hotel food. Uninteresting Burgers and Pizza no matter where you are in the world…depressing. ---
**Author:** ![Mycroft\_Holmes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a5b964/32.png) [@Mycroft\_Holmes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mycroft_Holmes)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821/155 "2011-03-25T11:19:26Z")
I’m surprised no one has mentioned Dutch yet, or did I miss it? I don’t think there is actually such a thing as a Dutch restaurant anywhere outside of the Netherlands. There might be a Pannenkoekenhuis or some place selling “Stroopwafels”, but I don’t think a restaurant would make much money if they had stuff like [Hutspot](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hutspot), [Stamppot](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stamppot), or [Boerenkool](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boerenkool) met [Rookworst](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rookworst) on the menu. ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821/156 "2011-03-25T11:40:23Z")
Yeah, I recently tried to find a Dutch restaurant in London and struggled. A few pancake houses and a solitary Dutch pub were the nearest I could find. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821/157 "2011-03-25T11:47:08Z")
Haven’t you ever used a Dutch Oven? ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821/158 "2011-03-25T15:12:35Z")
Nobody has mentioned it yet, but Polynesian “Cuisine” has to be the world’s worst: -“poi” (the pounded and softened taro root)-awful stuff-wallpaper paste tastes better! -pork (cooked on hot rocks)-never browns, bland and fatty -baked bananas (bland) -baked breadfruit-tastes like mashed potatoes-without any flavor And, to top it off, a nice bowl of kava (the mashed root of the pepper plant, mixed with human saliva)-gross! Many Chinese-American restarants advertise “Polynesian” cuisine-thank God what they serve is actually NOTHING like the real thing. ---
**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 25, 2011, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821/159 "2011-03-25T15:14:34Z")
This is true. I was very disappointed to find that that beautiful pit-roasted pig was so bland. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2011, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821/160 "2011-03-25T15:23:14Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > Raspberries and blackberries grow wild here, fill your boots! I’m hearing this in Rooster Cogburn’s voice: “Fill yer boots, you sonofabitch!” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-country-has-the-worst-cuisine/575821.md?page=9)