Geography Project

As part of our geography project we firstly have to choose an interest.

 I choose food!

We then had to find out more about our interest (food) in different places all over the world.

Spain

My first stop will be Spain as this is one of my favourite food cultures. From paella to churros I find Spain has such a broad variety of food to offer. Spanish cuisine stems from culture, geography and climate. It is known as a healthy, fresh and Mediterranean diet.
In Spain there are many different regions. Each region of Spain has a particular style of food and each have their own dishes or style of cooking.

As Spain is surrounded by water it's cuisine is largely influenced by seafood. The rest of Spain is a diverse terrain made up of mountain ranges, lush pastures, fertile farm grounds, extensive coastlines and more, which together provide quite the variety of fresh products. Many other cultures such as the Greeks and the Romans have also influenced Spanish cuisine hugely.

                                                Common Spanish food:

Calamares a la romana (Fried squid)


Arroz con leche ( Rice pudding)


Chorizo (Spicy sausage)


Jamón serrano (Dried cured ham)


                                           Paella (Saffron rice)

tortilla (Spanish omelet)

Churros (Fried donuts)

Gazpacho (Chilled soup)

One area of famous Spanish food is Valencia. This is the birthplace of paella although now paella is served all over Spain often with a twist from the region in which you are in.

The typical Valencian paella contains meat and vegetables, but many other variants of rice-based dishes can be found, with shellfish, meatballs or just covered in egg ("Arròs amb crosta").

Pa amb tomàquet consists of bread which is sometimes toasted with tomato or sometimes garlic also rubbed over and seasoned with olive oil and salt. This comes from a region in the North East of Spain called Catalonia.  This is where farmers found themselves constantly in access of tomatoes so they thought up the method of rubbing them oil & stale bread as way to soften it before eating them. This idea has stayed in Spain and expanded to be a nationally known and loved food. It is cheap to make but also contains needed nutrient therefore eaten by mainly lower and middle class.

 

 India

The second country I choose was India. India is known for its rich spices which have been one of India's main exporting goods for many centuries.
The unique and strong flavours in Indian cuisine are derived from spices, seasonings and nutritious ingredients such as leafy vegetables, grains, fruits, and legumes. Most of the spices used in Indian cooking were originally chosen thousands of years ago for their medicinal qualities and not for flavor.
There are three main regions in Indian cuisine, the north, south,east and west. Many restaurants in India served food from all three regions but people living in India would be use to food of their region. 
There are differences in taste and cooking methods in the three regions.

The Northern region uses a large amount of dairy in cooking. Milk, yogurt, saffron and nuts are commonly used in the North. The Samosa is a common snack here.

The East is famous for its deserts especially Bengali sweets. Milk based sweets are also very popular. Seafood is eaten a lot in the East as it has a long coastline. 

The South uses rice as their main food. They also commonly use coconut oil and curry leaves. The South is also vegetation friendly although meat is used sometimes. There are very distinct methods of cooking and tastes in each area of the South.


The West has its main influence on rice, coconut and fish. Chicken Tikka Masala and Chicken Chilli are too extremely popular dishes in the West. The Western Indian cusine is said to have had a huge influence in British cuisine. 






Famous Indian Dishes:
  

Dum gosht is a type of slow cooked
lamb or mutton curry.  
 It is also usually served with rice.

Curry which is a heavily spiced sauce or relish made with usually made with curry powder and/or chilli peppers and eaten with rice.There are many variations of Indian curry.

Vindaloo is another curry dish. It is  very popular in East India.It is known as a very hot and spicy dish. It is usually served with chicken or lamb and often mixed with vegetables. 

Tandoori chicken which was originally cooked in a tandoor which is a clay oven. It consists of roast chicken cooked with yogurt and spices.

Spices:

Indian spices are famous for their flavor and taste.The most important spices in Indian cuisine are chilli pepper, black mustard seed known as rai, cumin, turmeric, fenugreek, ginger, coriander and asafoetida which is also called hing. In sweet dishes and desserts, cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg and rose petal essence are used mostly. In early years, the Indian spices were traded to Rome and China.

 Indian spices can be divided into following types:
•    Seeds 
•    Leaves
•    Flowers And Fruits
•    Roots
•    Bark

Japan

Japanese food in known for it's seasonal foods, quality of ingredients and presentation. Rice is a staple food in Japan which came from China. Today its primary crop is rice, and this is the 

only food product on which Japan is self-reliant.

Staple foods in Japan today are rice, noodles and bread. There are many types of these three staple foods and they can be cooked in different ways in the different regions of Japan.

Japanese food relies heavily on freshness, with many dishes eaten raw. A variety of different foods, mainly in small portions, are served at a meal with much emphasis placed not only on the appearance of the food but also on the tableware and on general presentation of each meal.

Sushi

Sushi is a Japanese food consisting of vinegary rice and raw seafood. Sushi is always presented very well.

 

nigirizushi, makizushi, temaki. 

Commonly known types of Sushi:California Roll: consists of avocado, crab meat, cucumber and wrapped in rice
Alaska Roll: very similar to a California roll but containing raw salmon
Settle Roll: consists of cucumber, avocada and raw or smoked salmon.

Hawaiian Roll: contains tinned tuna and red and green shrimp powder.

Islands of Japan:

Kyushu is one of the smaller islands of Japan. It mainly produces tea, rice and sweet potato. It also has a large fishing port.

Shikoku has large alluvial plains which allow land to produce rice in the summer 

and wheat and barley in the winter. Fruit such as peaches, citrus fruits and grapes 

are grown in the northern part of the island.  

Other Facts:

Lunch boxes (bento) are popular and contain a variety of foods including rice and pickles. They are often eaten as a type of fast food although today foods such as burgers and chips have become popular with the young people of Japan due to Western influence.

Japan is famous for sake (rice wine). Beer is also produced but green tea is usually served with food. Tea making has its own very elaborate ceremony. 

Italy

Italian cuisine has roots back to the 4th century. Its main influences include  Etruscan, ancient Greek, ancient Roman, Byzantine, Jewish. Italian cuisine is one of the most famous in the world and is known for it's abundance of taste and regional diversity. 

Most dishes are very simple with four to eight ingredients. For many Italian chefs the quality of the food is more important than the preparations. Italy is also known for the homely style of cooking. 

Wine, cheese and coffee are very important foods of every day Italian cuisine.

Regional cuisine:

Veneto, cuisine of Venice:

Mainly known for risotto a dish that can be highly varied. Often seafood is used in risotto of this region. Also many dishes here and baked and cheese is used in many dishes. Veneto features heavy dishes using exotic spices and sauces.Squid and cuttlefish are common ingredients, as is squid ink. Less fish and more meat is eaten away from the coast. Other typical products are sausages such as Soppressa Vicentina, garlic salami and Asiago cheese.

Tiramisu is a common dessert in Veneto. This is made of biscuits dipped in coffee, mascarpone cheese, liquor and cocoa.

Campania (Neapolitan cuisine)

Campania extensively produces tomatoes, peppers, spring onions, potatoes, artichokes, fennel, lemons and oranges which all take on the flavor of volcanic soil. The Gulf of Naples offers fish and seafood. Campania is one of the largest producers and consumers of pasta in Italy, especially spaghetti. In the regional cuisine, pasta is prepared in various styles that can feature tomato sauce, cheese, clams and shellfish.

This is the region in which pizza first originated.Since the original oven-bake flat bread pizza topped with tomato sauce and cheese was developed many other types of pizza can now be found. Pizza is one of the most famous foods worldwide today.

Liguria

Herbs and vegetables (as well as seafood) find their way into the cuisine. Savoy pies are popular, mixing greens and artichokes along with cheeses, milk curds and eggs. Onions and olive oil are used. Because of a lack of land suitable for wheat, the Ligurians use chick-peas. . Ligurian pastas include corzetti (a triangular or circular shaped ravioli filled with vegetables), , pasta ribbons made with a small amount of egg and served with artichoke sauce or pesto sauce and  gnocchi made from whole grain flour and boiled potatoes, made into a spiral shape and often tossed in pesto.

Gnocchi tossed in pesto

Circular corzetti