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Ten Great Cuisines of the World
Infinitely varied, endlessly fascinating and potentially fattening, the world’s great cuisines are more than nourishment, they are food raised to the level of art. As expressive of their cultures as poetry or painting, cuisine and its accompanying rituals are a delicious window to a culture, providing a view of a people and its history that feeds body and soul.

Narrowing this endless field of culinary classics to ten was nearly impossible! While few will miss the omission of English fare (apologies to the Queen, of course), many will protest the absence of Chinese and Southwestern cuisine. And why include Ethiopian and Persian over Spanish and South African? All we can venture by way of reply is this: We had to chose ten — and wait, just wait, ‘til you try them!

With that said, here are our top picks for the world’s most delicious, delectable and downright mouthwatering cuisines.

1. Nuevo American Cuisine
Not unlike the melting pot of ideas and cultures that define the American ideal, Nuevo American cuisine combines the finest native and imported foods into dishes that transcend their roots to become uniquely American works of art: field greens and goat cheese dressed with a blackberry vinaigrette, a peanut-coconut reduction drizzled on salmon over black rice, chicken topped with a mango-fig comfit. In chic American bistros such exotic, flavorful dishes are part of an ever-evolving Nuevo American menu.

Growing out of the California cuisine movement of the 1980s, Nuevo American fare often features locally grown, organic produce, free-range meats and wine from nearby vineyards. Frequently served in small portions on large plates in the hip sections of town, Nuevo America cuisine delights the palette — even if it pinches the wallet. But these unique, flavor-rich delights are worth the wait, the fashion and the price — especially if you’re craving a break from humdrum traditional fare.

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2. Cajun Cooking
Speaking of melting pots, the Cajun food of New Orleans is quite literally a brew of culture in a pot — be it jambalaya or gumbo. Evolving as much out of the cross-pollination of Acadians, American Indians, African slaves and freemen, and Europeans, as out of necessity, Cajun food combines what’s handy (yesterday’s dinner) with today’s catch (shrimp, frogs’ legs or alligator).

Cajun cuisine is as loose as a blues jam and as spicy as a Saturday night in the French Quarter. Key to the cuisine is the art of sauce, stock and reduction, often starting with a roux — a thickener made of flour and butter that will make or break a dish.

Here’s dinner in the French Quarter: Start with a fried alligator and a cup of sausage gumbo. Move on to jambalaya with a side of greens and corn bread. End with half a slice each (we’re in New Orleans after all) of sweet potato pie and coconut buttermilk pie. And wash it all down with a mug of fresh-brewed hickory nut coffee.

Mark Twain offered the following: "New Orleans food is as delicious as the less criminal forms of sin."

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3. French Cuisine
Considered one of the world's most refined and elegant cuisines, French cuisine has exercised a major influence on Western culture and maintains a nearly universal appeal. The relaxed aura surrounding a French meal, where a family gathers to savor both the cuisine and the company, has contributed to the current “slow food” movement in America, which seeks to enjoy life’s simple pleasures.

Even a cursory glance at French staples reveals some of the world’s most delicious items: croissants, peasant loaves and baguettes; brie, camembert and Munster cheese; and wines from Bordeaux, Burgundy and Champagne.

Masters of sauces that nurse the flavor from local seafood, meat and poultry, the French have elevated food preparation to an art form. Imagine an ideal pairing of wine with foods or the combination of fresh vegetables bathed in flavorful sauces, or the relaxing finish of a digestif and chocolate.

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4. Italian
There are few cuisines in the world with as widespread an appeal as Italian food. From Americanized pizza to delicacies such as Timpano — a mouthwatering casserole of pasta, ragú, salami, meatballs, eggs and cheese — Italian food is perhaps the world’s most influential cuisine.

Italians will tell you that the best Italian food is home-cooked: linguini rolled and cut on a woodblock table, tomatoes and basil canned in the kitchen, and peppers fresh from the garden. While we all may not have the time or talent, a home-cooked meal — in Italy — is worth the trip.

Italians are fiercely proud of their food and traveling through the country reveals delicious regional varieties: polenta, lasagna and tortellini in the north and pastries, mozzarella cheese and hot peppers in the south. Yet there’s a world in between that celebrates a love affair with rustic bread, olive oil, pasta, basil, cheese and wine.

To truly appreciate Italian food, you simply have to pull up a chair at a table beside an olive grove and savor a pasta tossed with olive oil, broccoli, basil and garlic, or perhaps gnocchi in a prosciutto cream sauce, or a pesto, or …

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5. Middle Eastern
No one in the world handles a chickpea with greater respect than a chef from the eastern Mediterranean. To sit down to a pile of fresh-from-the-oven pita bread and a plate ringed with fresh, airy hummus, centered within smooth tahini, and drizzled with olive oil is to discover the meaning of flavor.

And then there’s the falafel — fried balls of chickpeas, parsley and spices set into the pita pocket and loaded with fresh tomatoes, cucumbers and various sauces! And the kabobs: skewered chicken, lamb or beef fresh from a lemon marinade and roasted over an open flame to tender perfection. Not to mention the salads — cucumbers, tomatoes, fresh parsley and cilantro piled high and doused with lemon juice and dashed with sea salt.

This is food best savored overlooking the blue Mediterranean or in a café in Old Jerusalem or Damascus.

After the plates are cleared, it is time for baklava — flaky phyllo, layered with pistachio nuts and soaked with rose-water syrup — that will send your taste buds into orbit. Finish with a thick, cardamom-laced shot of Arabic coffee, and you have lived a Middle Eastern dream.

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6. Persian
Persian food is one of the world’s least appreciated cuisines — inventive and exotic yet simple, healthy and aromatic. Similar to India’s rich use of spice but without the density or heat, Persian food employs fruits and nuts in innovative, completely original combinations that leave the Western palate surprised and delighted.

Consider fesenjoon — a stew combining crushed walnuts and fresh pomegranate with chicken and served over fluffy, lemon-scented white rice — or chicken, lamb or beef kabobs — tenderized and marinated in lemon/lime juice and dusted with spices before simmering over the fire.

Approaching the realm of reverence, Persians cuisine holds rice and tea in high regard. Rice is rinsed, boiled and then steamed, often with varying combinations of lentils, fruits and nuts, and emerges from the pot fluffy and light. Tadiq, the bottom layer of rice, is left to brown into a crunchy delicacy, in some cases with thin slices of crisped potato. Similarly, tea is a process as savored as the result. Traditionally brewed in elaborate metal samovars, Persian tea is served without milk in clear glass cups to reveal the brew’s golden hue, which is as appreciated as the aroma and flavor.

7. Indian
Increasingly ubiquitous on the American scene, Indian food expresses a rich culture that reaches back thousands of years. The cuisine of India is almost infinite in its variety, heavily accented by region and, in the West, almost universally represented by the northern state of Punjab.

Fortunately for most Americans, Indian restaurants offer “mild” versions of such classics as alloo mutter (paneer cheese and peas in a thick sauce), chicken biryani (rice, peppers, chicken, nuts and raisins), and chicken tikka misalla (chicken breast served in a mild, sweet cream sauce). What often begins as sweet — cardamom, anise, cinnamon and fresh cilantro — can veer sharply to the hot testing even the bravest tasters among us. It may seem that no amount of limbu pani (limeade), lassi (sweet yogurt and ice drink) or raita (yogurt with cucumber and dill) can quench the fire, but as lovers of Indian fare will attest, it’s such sweet suffering to savor the rich flavors of India!

For dessert, Indian offers numerous sweets, foremost among them the rose-water-soaked gulab jamun. And the perfect finish is chai, robust black tea brewed with cardamom, ginger, spices and milk.

8. Ethiopian
Eaten by hand around a large shared plate, Ethiopian cuisine is held together by injera, a large, spongy sourdough flatbread. Thick wats (stews) are placed on the flatbread. Always using the right hand, one tears off a section of the injera, scoops up the wat and enjoys! The shared nature of the meal implies close family or friendship ties, an essential element of Ethiopian culture, and one enjoyed in Ethiopian eateries that are increasingly prevalent in America’s cities.

Much Ethiopian cuisine is vegetarian — consisting of split pea or lentil dishes and curries, akin to some Indian varieties. Fiery beyond compare, but fortunately available in variable degrees in most eateries, the fare is flavored with berbere — a combination of chilies and spices, and niter kebbeh — a ginger and garlic-infused clarified butter.

Popular with American vegetarians, the cuisine features numerous meat-free options, largely due to the religious make-up of Ethiopian society, which is made up of Muslims, Ethiopian Orthodox Christians and Jews, none of whom eat pork.

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9. Thai
At the turn of the millennium, Thai restaurants seemed to appear overnight in every metropolitan area in North America and with good reason: No one does things with peanuts, coconut and basil (forgive us Italy) quite like the Thai.

One serving of fresh, quick-fried veggies drizzled with peanut sauce over white rice will make a believer of any doubter. Or try the quintessential Thai noodle dish, pad Thai, served in a light fish sauce and sprinkled with bean sprouts, crushed peanuts and basil. If that doesn’t move you, sip a cup of tom kha gai soup — a light coconut milk broth with fresh basil, mushrooms, chicken and lime juice.

And, speaking of basil (which is native to tropical Asia, we might add), Thai food exploits basil to amazing ends. While the Italians tend to use basil in sweeter combinations, Thai food uses the versatile herb’s full potential from simple noodle stir-fries to complex chili-infused curries.

As in most of Asia, rice is essential, and the Thais favor highly aromatic jasmine rice. Lime juice, fish sauces, garlic and lemon grass are accents that make the cuisine as unique as it is delicious.

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10. Japanese
Highly stylized, Japanese cuisine consists of simple elements presented in formalized combinations. As with Japanese poetry or painting, this simplicity is understood and savored through patient, courteous observation and sampling.

The island’s cuisine is structured around rice and side dishes. A meal might be a “one-dish” meal, a “two-dish” meal and so on with various combinations of soup, rice and vegetable.

Ever-present is the sea and the Japanese have adapted seaweed into salads that nourish and delight. Fish, both raw and cooked, is a signature ingredient, with sushi and sashimi being perhaps the nation’s most famous culinary exports. It seems Westerners either love or loathe sushi, but the food is one of the world’s most distinct: thin slices of raw fish overlaying a rectangular of sticky rice dipped in soy sauce flavored with spicy horseradish.

Noodles, introduced from China, have become a fixture in the island’s cuisine: soba, a thin, brown, buckwheat noodle, and udon, a wide, white, wheat noodle. Both are used in thin fish broths with fresh or lightly steamed vegetables, seaweeds and tofu.

And no Japanese meal is complete without tea: powdered green, black, twig, jasmine and more.

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