The main characteristics of western food are prominent main ingredients, beautiful appearance, delicious taste, rich nutrition and convenient supply. Western food is mainly eaten with knives and forks.
Western food can be roughly divided into French food, English food, Italian food, russian cuisine food, American food, Mediterranean food and other different styles of dishes. People in different countries have different eating habits. There is a saying that is very vivid: "The French praise the chef's skills, the British pay attention to etiquette, and the Germans like to have a good time ..." Now, let's take a look at the main characteristics of different western foods. For western food, people who are at the forefront of fashion should be familiar with it. Western food is an exotic product that is completely different from China's food culture. Many people have heard of and eaten western food, but I don't know if they know the origin of this complicated and exquisite thing.
Starting from this issue, this magazine will open a column of "Introduction to Western Food Culture" to introduce the long-standing western food culture to you in detail. ...
What is western food?
Western food is a general term for western food by people in China and other eastern countries and regions. In a broad sense, it can also be said to be the general name of western catering culture.
What we call "the West" customarily refers to European countries and regions, as well as the vast areas of North America, South America and Oceania where these countries and regions are the main immigrants, so western food mainly refers to the catering culture in these areas.
Westerners call China cuisine "Chinese food", Japanese food, Korean food and so on. They don't call them "oriental delicacies" in cages, but divide them carefully and name them according to country names.
In fact, the catering culture in western countries has its own characteristics, and the dishes in each country are different. For example, the French will think that they are cooking French food, while the British think that their cooking is British food. Westerners themselves have no clear concept of "western food", which is the concept of China and other orientals.
So why do we have such a concept? This is because when we first came into contact with western food, we still couldn't tell what Italian food, French food and British food were, and we could only have a general concept. At that time, people in China generally called it "Fancai", which means the West. The ancients in China often thought that China was the center of the world, and held derogatory meanings for other countries and regions, calling the East "Yi", the West "Fan", the North "Hu" and the South "Man". So the so-called "food" refers to western food.
In addition, as far as western countries are concerned, due to the geographical proximity of European countries, there have been many large ethnic migrations in history, and their cultures have already infiltrated and merged with each other, and there are many similarities between them. Furthermore, religious beliefs in western countries are mainly Catholicism, Orthodox Christianity and Protestantism (only a few people believe in Islam), which is the main branch of Christianity, so dietary taboos and dining customs are basically the same. As for South America, North America and Oceania, their cultures are also in the same strain as those of Europe. Therefore, regardless of whether westerners have a clear concept of "western food", China people and other orientals have the same view of this part of western food culture, but it is completely different from eastern food.
However, in recent decades, with the constant impact, infiltration and blending of eastern and western cultures, orientals gradually realized the different characteristics of various dishes in western food and began to treat them differently. Some high-end hotels have also opened French restaurants and Italian restaurants. As a universal concept, western food tends to disappear gradually, but the western food culture as a whole will continue to exist. Edit this paragraph | How do the six M's who eat western food at the top taste western food culture? After long-term discussion and summary, scholars who study western food think that we should pay attention to the following six M's when eating western food.
The first is the "menu";
When you walk into a coffee shop or a western restaurant, the waiter will show you to your seat first. When you sit down, the menu will be brought first. The menu is regarded as the facade of the restaurant and the boss has always attached great importance to it. Use the best materials for the cover of the menu, and some even use soft sheepskin to make all kinds of beautiful patterns, which are particularly elegant and exquisite.
How to order good food? There is a little experience here, that is, after opening the menu, see which dish is named after the store name. Don't miss this dish. Because that restaurant doesn't joke about its reputation, the food they make great efforts to make is sure to be delicious. Everyone must order this "signature dish".
In addition, it should be noted that you should not treat the ordering problem of western food with the habit of eating Chinese food: that is, don't ignore the menu and let the waiter order for you. In France, even President Charles de Gaulle and President Destin have to look at the menu to order western food. Because looking at the menu and ordering food has become an essential procedure for eating western food, and it is an embodiment of an elegant lifestyle.
The second is "music";
Luxury and advanced western restaurants usually have bands playing some light music, and ordinary western restaurants also play some beautiful and elegant music. However, the most important thing here is the "audibility" of music, that is, the sound should reach the level of "seemingly hearing but not hearing", that is to say, you should concentrate on talking with your friends, but you can only hear it when you are resting and relaxing. You should master this temperature.
The third is "mood" (atmosphere);
Eating western food pays attention to elegant environment and harmonious atmosphere. There must be music accompaniment, tables and chairs must be neat and clean, and all tableware must be clean. At dinner, the lights should be dim and there should be red candles on the table to create a romantic, charming and elegant atmosphere.
The fourth is "meeting";
In other words, you have to choose who to eat western food with. It is best to eat western food with friends, relatives or like-minded people. Eating western food is mainly to connect feelings, and it is best not to talk about business at the western food table. Therefore, in western restaurants, the atmosphere is generally very warm, and there are few red-faced scenes.
The fifth is "demeanor" (etiquette);
Here refers to "eating" and "eating". Since you are eating western food, you should follow the western customs and don't do anything abrupt, especially dancing with a knife and fork in your hand, which will be "rude".
Be sure to get the knife and fork right: take the knife in your right hand and the fork in your left hand. Cut the food into small pieces with a knife, and then fork it into the mouth. Generally speaking, Europeans do not change hands when using knives and forks, and always use the fork of their left hand to put food into their mouths. Americans put down the knife after cutting, and put the food into their mouths with a fork in their right hand. But at any time, the knife must not be sent to the entrance. At western banquets, the host will arrange for men and women to sit next to each other, and western gentlemen who pay attention to "ladies first" will show hospitality to ladies.
The sixth is "food"
An American gourmet once said: "Japanese people eat with their eyes, and the cooking form is beautiful;" We eat western food with our noses, so our noses are very big. Only you great China people know how to eat with your tongue. "Chinese food takes" taste "as the core, while western food takes nutrition as the core. As for taste, it can't compare with Chinese food.