List of European cuisines
This is a list of European cuisines. A cuisine is a characteristic style of cooking practices and traditions, often associated with a specific culture. European cuisine refers collectively to the cuisines of Europe and other Western countries. European cuisine includes cuisines of Europe, including that of Russia, as well as non-indigenous cuisines of North America, Australasia, Oceania, and Latin America, which derive substantial influence from European settlers in those regions. The term is used by East Asians to contrast with Asian styles of cooking. This is analogous to Westerners referring collectively to the cuisines of Asian countries as Asian cuisine. When used by Westerners, the term may refer more specifically to cuisine in Europe; in this context, a synonym is Continental cuisine, especially in British English.
The cuisines of Western countries are diverse by themselves, although there are common characteristics that distinguishes Western cooking from cuisines of Asian countries and others. Compared with traditional cooking of Asian countries, for example, meat is more prominent and substantial in serving-size. Wheat-flour bread has long been the most common sources of starch in this cuisine, along with pasta, dumplings and pastries, although the potato has become a major starch plant in the diet of Europeans and their diaspora since the European colonization of the Americas.
Central European cuisine
- Austrian cuisine is a style of cuisine native to Austria and composed of influences from throughout the former Austro-Hungarian Empire. Regional influences from Italy, Hungary, Germany and the Balkans have had an effect on Austrian cooking, and in turn this fusion of styles was influential throughout the Empire.
- Czech cuisine has both influenced and been influenced by the cuisines of surrounding countries. Many of the fine cakes and pastries that are popular in Central Europe originated in the Czech lands. Czech cuisine is marked by a strong emphasis on meat dishes. Pork is quite common, and beef and chicken are also popular.
- German cuisine
- Hungarian cuisine is the cuisine characteristic of the nation of Hungary and its primary ethnic group, the Magyars. Traditional Hungarian dishes are primarily based on meats, seasonal vegetables, fruits, fresh bread, cheeses and honey. Recipes are based on centuries-old traditions of spicing and preparation methods.
- Liechtensteiner cuisine
- Polish cuisine is the cuisine characteristic of the nation of Poland and its primary ethnic group, the Poles. Traditional Polish dishes are based on meats, vegetables, fruits, breads, cheeses, sausages, milk, etc. The most typical ingredients used in Polish cuisine are sauerkraut, paprika, beetroot, cucumbers, sour cream, kohlrabi, mushrooms, sausages and smoked sausage. A meal owes it taste to the herbs and spices used; such as marjoram, dill, caraway seeds, parsley, or pepper. The most popular desserts are cakes and pastries.
- Slovak cuisine varies slightly, though sometimes dramatically, from region to region, and was influenced by the traditional cuisine of its neighbors. The origins of traditional Slovak cuisine can be traced to times when the majority of the population lived in villages, in self-sustenance, with very limited food imports and exports and with no modern means of food preservation or processing. This gave rise to a cuisine heavily dependent on a number of staple foods that could stand the hot summers and cold winters, including wheat, potatoes, milk and milk products, pork meat, sauerkraut and onion. To a lesser degree beef, poultry, lamb and goat, eggs, a few other local vegetables, fruit and wild mushrooms were traditionally eaten.
- Slovenian cuisine there are many distinct cuisines in a country, whose main distinguishing feature is a great variety and diversity of land formation, climate, wind movements, humidity, terrain and history. Slovenia is a borderland country, surrounded by Italy, Austria, Hungary, and Croatia, with established and distinct national cuisines. There is a wide variety of meats in different parts of Slovenia. Dandelion) is Slovenian wild lettuce, which has been gathered in the fields for centuries.
Eastern European cuisine
- Cuisines of Eastern Europe
- Moldovan cuisine - Moldova's fertile soil produces plentiful grapes, fruits, vegetables, cereals, meat and milk products, all of which have found their uses in the national cuisine. The fertile black soil combined with the use of traditional agricultural methods permits growing a wide range of ecologically clean foods in Moldova.
- Russian cuisine is diverse, as Russia is the largest country in the world. Russia's great expansions of territory, influence, and interest during the 16th–18th centuries brought more refined foods and culinary techniques, as well as one of the most refined food countries in the world. It was during this period that smoked meats and fish, pastry cooking, salads and green vegetables, chocolate, ice cream, wine, and liquor were imported from abroad. At least for the urban aristocracy and provincial gentry, this opened the doors for the creative integration of these new foodstuffs with traditional Russian dishes. The result is extremely varied in technique, seasoning, and combination. Traditional and common Russian foods include:
and pork cracklings
- Caucasian cuisine - cuisines of The Caucasus
Northern European cuisine
- Baltic cuisines
- Cuisines of the Islands of the North Atlantic
- Scandinavian cuisines
Southern European cuisine
- Mediterranean cuisine
- Cuisines of the Balkans
- Romanian cuisine is a diverse blend of different dishes from several traditions with which it has come into contact, but it also maintains its own character. It has been greatly influenced by Ottoman cuisine.
- Serbian cuisine
- Turkish cuisine is largely the heritage of Ottoman cuisine, which can be described as a fusion and refinement of Central Asian, Middle Eastern, Eastern European, Armenian and Balkan cuisines.
- Cuisines of the Italian Peninsula
is amongst Sicily's most historic and iconic.
- Cuisines of the Iberian Peninsula
Western European cuisine
- Belgian cuisine
- Dutch cuisine
- French cuisine
- Monégasque cuisine
- Luxembourgian cuisine
- Swiss cuisine
Regional cuisines
Historical cuisines
- Regional cuisines of medieval Europe were the results of differences in climate, seasonal food variations, political administration and religious customs that varied across the continent.