What is it that makes Italian food really delicious? Or what is it about Chinese that we love? I've been pondering this question a lot lately, and I think it comes down to a few things.
1. The abundance of local foods- Italy, surrounded by water on three sides, has an abundance of seafood. Grains also grow well there, grapes, tomatoes, etc. Cattle and sheep do well too. So you see a lot of cheese, a lot of tomato based sauces, wines and vinegars, pasta, polenta etc. etc. People are gonna work with what they've got.
2. Religious beliefs and cultural taboos- Many Indians don't eat cow or pork for religious beliefs due to the predominance of Hinduism and Islam. Jews, likewise, might keep kosher in their diet. Even if something is growing everywhere, people won't eat it if it is taboo.
3. Skills of the cooks- If there is one thing I have learned watching Chopped on the Food Network, it is that truly good food doesn't depend on the quality of the ingredients, but on the skills of the chef. One chef won with her fish head pasta dish. She boiled the heads down to make a broth. She painstakingly removed the delicious morsels of meat. She took her time and made the most out of the ingredient. A Tuscan woman once said to Chef Anne Burrel, "In Tuscany, we don't have much money, but we do have time." That is how you finesse the flavors out of raw, mundane ingredients.
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