# Worst national cuisine? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 6, 2015, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-national-cuisine/727134 "2015-08-06T05:49:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-national-cuisine/727134/21 "2015-08-06T09:24:19Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > So that’s a yes. > > When I said that the food lacked color, by “color” I meant “flavor”. Or you could have said flavor 😉 ---
**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:** [August 6, 2015, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-national-cuisine/727134/22 "2015-08-06T09:34:06Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Someone I knew was going to be passing through Croatia, so I looked up what sort of food they had there: > > [Croatian cuisine - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croatian_cuisine) > > In short, I’m not going to be hunting down Croatian restaurants any time soon. So what is objectionable there? Looks a pretty good and varied list. (I lived in Croatia for several months, and the food was fine.) ---
**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:** [August 6, 2015, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-national-cuisine/727134/23 "2015-08-06T09:53:34Z")
Looks like a combination of Balkan, Italian and Hungarian food. What’s not to like? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-national-cuisine/727134/24 "2015-08-06T10:12:10Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > Maybe I misunderstood. Is Scandy food really white? Well, it has lots of _potatis_… and lots of white rice (to be added as a side dish)… and lots of more _potatis_… and white noodles (another popular side dish option)… and mashed _potatis_… but it also has pea soup (which is kind of beige, they’re yellow peas), and these red berries that you can put on about anything by themselves or as jam or as sauce (very, very bright red), and apparently when 99% of your fish is herring you can come up with many different ways to cook herring. The salmon is pink, same as everywhere. Oh, and of course there’s pancakes. Which you can put red berry sauce or jam on. Tomatoes come in many different colors, that section of my local supermarket is downright pretty. To me a lot of it is pretty exotic, but to them, trout is. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-national-cuisine/727134/25 "2015-08-06T10:23:11Z")
Finally remembered the name, lingon berries. ---
**Author:** ![Hiker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3be4f8/32.png) [@Hiker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hiker)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-national-cuisine/727134/26 "2015-08-06T11:23:41Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > Italian > Mexican > Chinese > British > German > Indian > Nordic (Denmark, Norway, Sweden) > French > Thai > Middle Eastern (a lot of crossover between countries) > Japanese [Klingon](http://www.startrek.com/database_article/gagh) ---
**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:** [August 6, 2015, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-national-cuisine/727134/27 "2015-08-06T12:28:46Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Looks like a combination of Balkan, Italian and Hungarian food. What’s not to like? It pretty much is, with a little bit of German/Austro-Hungarian thrown in there (or just general Central European.) Of the European cuisines, I’d say Slovak or perhaps Lithuanian being a bit on the bland side and REALLY heavy on the potatoes in its myriad of forms (seriously, I’ve had combo platters at Lithuanian places where every single item had something to do with potatoes), but they make up for it with sour cream and bacon. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-national-cuisine/727134/28 "2015-08-06T12:52:18Z")
Put me down for Nordic, and Mexican as the least appetizing. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-national-cuisine/727134/29 "2015-08-06T13:05:34Z")
May I add Jewish cuisine to the OP’s list? The definition of “national” aside, I think we all know what is meant by" Jewish food" Some of it is pretty scary. Another popular cuisine, not with me, mind you, but among many people is Greek. I don’t even like to be in the same room with it if I can help it. ---
**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:** [August 6, 2015, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-national-cuisine/727134/30 "2015-08-06T13:09:54Z")
My wife and I honeymooned in Denmark and Norway. The salmon was INCREDIBLE. There were some delicious pastries and pancakes. I like lingonberries. But otherwise, even in June there was a significant lack of vegetables and fruits on everything. At some point, desperate for greens, we went to a Chinese restaurant. The most veggie-friendly thing on the menu–I’m serious here–was an egg roll. I ordered it, only to find it was wonton skins wrapped around a sausage. Not my favorite, I admit. As for the US not having a peculiar cuisine–are you serious? We practically have battles over different styles of saucing barbecued pork. Buttermilk biscuits vs. angel biscuits. In the Northwest when I lived there, there were varieties of coffee you’d never find in the South. Mexicali cuisine is a homegrown creation, as is Tex-Mex. Jello salads are, I think, a uniquely American take on an old country tradition. Corn on the cob, peanut butter, hominy grits, lobster roll, green bean casserole, fortune cookies, succotash, ranch dressing, po boys. The problem with talking about American cuisine isn’t our lack of it. It’s that we have so much of it in so many different styles. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-national-cuisine/727134/31 "2015-08-06T13:32:26Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Finally remembered the name, lingon berries. a/k/a partridgeberries. They grow wild in the part of Canada where my wife grew up. She remembers going out and picking them and making jams and jellies at home. Whenever we visit, we come back with a few jars of partridgeberry jam. ---
**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:** [August 6, 2015, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-national-cuisine/727134/32 "2015-08-06T13:45:09Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > As for the US not having a peculiar cuisine–are you serious? We practically have battles over different styles of saucing barbecued pork. Buttermilk biscuits vs. angel biscuits. In the Northwest when I lived there, there were varieties of coffee you’d never find in the South. Mexicali cuisine is a homegrown creation, as is Tex-Mex. Jello salads are, I think, a uniquely American take on an old country tradition. Corn on the cob, peanut butter, hominy grits, lobster roll, green bean casserole, fortune cookies, succotash, ranch dressing, po boys. And diner food. The quintessential American food, to me, is hash browns and muffins and breakfast sausage and eggs over easy. And don’t take that as a criticism - the most authentic food in any country is the “peasant” food, and diners is where American peasants eat. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-national-cuisine/727134/33 "2015-08-06T13:51:00Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > The problem with talking about American cuisine isn’t our lack of it. It’s that we have so much of it in so many different styles. Quoted for truth. I’m going to go with Filipino cuisine, which I’ve railed against in this forum many times before. Most Filipino cooking is based around making sure that any bad things that grow due to poor food handling and lack of refrigeration are dead, dead, dead. So everything is soaked in vinegar and/or soy sauce and cooked until there is no sign of whatever the original piece of food was. Filipino cuisine can taste good when better cooking techniques are applied, but then those raised on proteins boiled (not simmered, stewed, or braised with 1 or 2 exceptions) or grilled/fried until tough and tasteless complain that it’s not ‘traditional’ Filipino cuisine (the complaint I get from most of my older in-laws; the younger ones who did not spend most of their lives there like the fusion). And while [fish sauce](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fish_sauce), used in small quantities, can boost the umami flavor of foods (especially cheap cuts of beef), using larger quantities of this smelly liquid at the table can ruin my appetite.\* Lastly, Filipino cuisine is the only South-East Asian cuisine I’m aware of that does not like spicy dishes. In their favor, they do use lots of garlic, and I love garlic. \*obviously, I’m not using it. My wife does, as did my in-laws when they lived with us. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-national-cuisine/727134/34 "2015-08-06T13:53:29Z")
I’ve seen some pretty nasty stuff described as ‘traditional African food’ on _Bizarre Foods_. Most things Andrew Zimmern shoves into his gob actually look pretty good. I’d definitely try them. I’ve liked Ethiopian food when I’ve had it, and the food Zimmern showed in South Africa looked mighty tasty. But some of the things from North Africa didn’t look ‘Middle Eastern’ to me. I’d eat camels, but some stuff just looked… well, nasty. ---
**Author:** ![Sangahyando](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-national-cuisine/727134/35 "2015-08-06T14:12:55Z")
I have the impression (perhaps an exaggerated or mistaken one – would welcome opinions from Dutch participants on the board) that Dutch cuisine has, for most people from other countries, little to recommend it. Stemming, I gather, from the severely Calvinist position of regarding people’s indulging themselves in any of the pleasures of the flesh, as sinful: with consequent seeking to make food less, rather than more, interesting. Dutch food tending thus to be wholesome, but very plain, and with few distinctive dishes (the savoury pancakes, being a definite exception to the above generalisation). ---
**Author:** ![Sangahyando](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-national-cuisine/727134/36 "2015-08-06T14:34:28Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I’ve seen some pretty nasty stuff described as ‘traditional African food’ on _Bizarre Foods_. > > Most things Andrew Zimmern shoves into his gob actually look pretty good. I’d definitely try them. I’ve liked Ethiopian food when I’ve had it, and the food Zimmern showed in South Africa looked mighty tasty. But some of the things from North Africa didn’t look ‘Middle Eastern’ to me. I’d eat camels, but some stuff just looked… well, nasty. Things African: I seem to get the general drift that the traditional food of West Africa as a whole – no doubt with local variations – tends to be mighty uninteresting for people not raised on it. Seemingly involving large amounts of one kind or another, of utterly tasteless starchy stuff; plus, smaller amounts of often strange-to-an-outsider vegetables, not very excitingly cooked; with positively “explosive” sauces (use tiny quantities only !) to perk things up a little. I have (bought in a “exotic grocer’s” in England) a jar of a relish produced in Ghana, called – no word of a lie – “Shito”. The label adds “HOT – Ghana’s Choice”. Basically, it’s extremely spicy and pungent fish sauce, and actually not bad at all: but you need only a _very_ small amount of it. I realise that I could, here, be poorly informed, and be undeservedly maligning West African cuisine (perhaps **even sven** might show up to set me right). “The picture is got”, though, that quite largely the food of Africa is unlikely to appeal to the majority of western gourmets. The most utterly tasteless foodstuff I have ever encountered, was in Zimbabwe: the local maize porridge, called “sadza” – pure white, reminiscent of wallpaper paste, and completely devoid of any taste. It came with an agreeably spicy stew, and could thus be regarded as “basic slag” and consumed accordingly: but once in a lifetime, will be enough for me. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-national-cuisine/727134/37 "2015-08-06T14:40:58Z")
I would say “poor” Brazilian. it consists of black beans, white rice, and cakes made from manioc (tapioca flour)-which are as close to vulcanized rubber as you can get. oh, forgot “farofa” (toasted manioc flour-it tastes like sawdust. Manioc is also used to thicken gravies-it looks like gooey white sludge. Obviously, Brazilian can be very good (with meat and spices), but without this, it can be pretty bland. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-national-cuisine/727134/38 "2015-08-06T15:59:46Z")
It’s a toss-up between German and Nordic for me. Both cuisines have made me ill multiple times, when eaten in their own countries. Can’t stomach either anymore. ---
**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:** [August 6, 2015, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-national-cuisine/727134/39 "2015-08-06T16:06:27Z")
i’m seeing a bit of an inverse correlation between the quality of a country’s food and the quality of its beer. ---
**Author:** ![Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tired_and_Cranky)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2015, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-national-cuisine/727134/40 "2015-08-06T16:11:38Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > I’m going to go with Filipino cuisine, which I’ve railed against in this forum many times before. Most Filipino cooking is based around making sure that any bad things that grow due to poor food handling and lack of refrigeration are dead, dead, dead. So everything is soaked in vinegar and/or soy sauce and cooked until there is no sign of whatever the original piece of food was. I wholeheartedly endorse this suggestion and reasoning. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-national-cuisine/727134.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-national-cuisine/727134.md?page=3)