Abstract: The differences between Chinese and Western cultures have created the differences between Chinese and Western food cultures, which come from the different ways of thinking and philosophies of Chinese and Western people. Chinese people emphasize on the "unity of heaven and mankind", while Westerners focus on "people-oriented". This difference in value concepts has formed the characteristics of Chinese food to food ideology, with things to convey feelings, pay too much attention to the meaning of the meal, color, shape, the basic pursuit of color, aroma, taste, with the characteristics of the rough thinking of the Chinese in thousands of years, but rarely consider the nutritional nature of the meal. Westerners have always adhered to the basic characteristics of practicality in cooking. From the nutritional point of view, the focus on the health of the food, they do not pay attention to the fancy, the other functions of the meal is ignored, resulting in some of the tedious rules of eating Western food in addition to, and did not leave a deep impression.

In China, cooking is an art; in the West, it is a labor.

Keywords: food culture, food concepts, taste, nutrition, food objects, food style, dining etiquette

For Chinese people, we start to taste Chinese food at birth, and thus we are more or less tired of Chinese food, at the same time, we are in the midst of economic globalization, and the entry of the Western food into China gives us a sense of freshness, and gives us a chance to enter a Western fast food restaurant to taste different Western or Western food. Diet different from the western food or western fast food desire to go to eat western food, it is necessary to understand the difference between western food and Chinese food, what to eat, how to eat. Secondly, with China's accession to the WTO, China's interactions with Western countries have become more and more frequent, Chinese people to go abroad more and more opportunities to Western countries, when in Rome, it is inevitable to dine with Westerners, in order not to let themselves appear to be ignorant, but also must have to understand the Western way of dining and dining etiquette. Only from this point of view, briefly talk about the differences in food culture between China and the West, and hope that we Chinese people understand the Western food culture a little reference significance.

One, two different dietary concepts

With the focus on "flavor" of the Chinese diet, compared to the West is a rational concept of food. Westerners emphasize scientific diet, pay attention to nutrition, and nutrition as the highest criterion. Eating is like adding fuel to a biological machine, especially the nutritional composition of food, protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins and various inorganic elements of the content of the right mix, the supply of calories is just right, as well as these nutrients can be fully absorbed by the eaters, with or without other side effects. These issues are the big questions in cooking, while the color, aroma and taste of the dishes, is a secondary requirement. Even in the West's premier dietary power - France, its food culture, although in many ways similar to us, but once in contact with the nutritional problems, the two sides will pull away from the distance.

Because of the over-emphasis on nutrition, the Western diet is hardly an art. The scientific composition of various food and drink products is readily apparent. In the banquet, people can pay attention to tableware, pay attention to materials, pay attention to the service, pay attention to the dish of raw materials of the shape, color aspects of the collocation, but no matter how luxurious and high-grade, from Los Angeles to New York, steak is only a flavor, no art, as a dish, chicken is chicken, steak is steak, even if there is a collocation, it is only carried out in the plate, a plate of "French steak A plate of "French steak", one side put mashed potatoes, leaning on the side of lamb chops, the other side with boiled green beans, add a few slices of tomato will be, contrasting colors, but in the taste of a variety of raw materials do not relate to each other, reconcile, each is the taste of each, simple and clear. China is very concerned about the "five flavors and harmony", that is, in the importance of cooking the natural flavor of raw materials on the basis of the "five flavors and harmony", with the basic laws of yin and yang and five elements to guide this harmony, and harmony to be in line with the order of the season, but also pay attention to the seasonal, and the end result of the harmony of the flavor to be beautiful The final result of the harmonization should be delicious and appetizing. Therefore, almost every dish in Chinese cuisine should be prepared with more than two kinds of raw materials and a variety of seasonings. That is, or home cooking, is generally meat and vegetables to mix and cook, such as chives fried meat, pork fried garlic, bamboo stewed meat, celery fried dried tofu ...... and these ingredients if the Western chef cooking, it is a milky shredded pork plus leeks boiled in white water, or deep-fried pork chops with garlic boiled in water, Chinese diners see so in the West to do, naturally, is the "Crying can not laugh".

It is also based on the importance of nutrition, Westerners eat raw vegetables, not only tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, lettuce, that is, cabbage, onions, cauliflower (broccoli) are also eaten raw. Thus, their "salad" is like a plate of rabbit feed, making it difficult for us to accept. Modern Chinese people also talk about nutrition and health care, also know that once heated, green vegetables, vitamins will be destroyed, so we advocate the use of high-flame stir-fry. This also reduces the vitamin content, but not completely lost, but the flavor is much more delicious than rabbit feed. Modern Chinese cooking therefore aims for the best balance of nutrition and flavor, which is of course the "middle way". Western cooking, on the other hand, is more concerned with nutrition but neglects flavor, or at least does not make taste enjoyment a priority. They to cold drinks with meals, chilled cold wine and then add ice, and the surface of the tongue all over the gustatory nerves after the chilled, will greatly lose the sensitivity of taste, and gradually can not discern the flavor; that with the blood of the steak and large white fish, large white meat, raw vegetables, boiled beans in white water, boiled potatoes, although there is a "taste" into the "road "All of these reflect the Westerner's neglect of the sense of taste. Their refusal to use MSG is more proof that these people are not aware of the taste of the people, not "know the flavor of the view" of the seat guests also!

In all fairness, the issue of nutrition also touches on the biggest weakness of the Chinese diet. Although we talk about food therapy, food supplements, food nutrition, and emphasize the diet to health, but our cooking techniques to the pursuit of delicious as the first requirement, resulting in the loss of many nutrients in the processing.

We have always regarded the pursuit of flavor as the primary purpose of eating. There is a popular saying: "Food is the first thing to be eaten, and flavor is the first thing to be tasted". Although people in the praise of food, always love to say "color and flavor are excellent", but that is because we feel the color and flavor of the sensory organs "eyes, nose, mouth" of the upper and lower order. People inside the "color, aroma, taste", never is "taste" word "commander-in-chief".

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Diet culture difference between China and America. The main difference between Chinese and America eating habits is that unlike, where everyone has their own plate of food, in China the dishes are placed on the table and everybody shares. If you are being treated by a Chinese host, be prepared for a ton of food. Chinese are very proud of their culture of food and will do their best to give you a taste of many different types of cuisine. Chinese are very proud of their culture of food and will do their best to give you a taste of many different types of cuisine. Among friends, they will just order enough for the people there. If they are taking somebody out for dinner and the relationship is polite to semi-polite, then they will usually order one more dish than the number of guests (e.g. four people, five dishes). If it is a business dinner or a very formal occasion, there is likely to be a huge amount of food that will be impossible to finish.

A typical meal A typical meal starts with some cold dishes, like boiled peanuts and smashed cucumber with garlic. These are followed by the main courses, hot meat and vegetable dishes. Finally soup is brought out, which is followed by the starchy "staple" food, which is usually rice or noodles or sometimes dumplings. Many Chinese eat rice (or noodles or whatever) last, and then they have to eat a lot of food. (or noodles or whatever) last, but if you like to have your rice together with other dishes, you should say so early on.

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Talking about the differences between Chinese and American food cultures

Abstract With the continuous improvement of people's economic level, people's demand for the quality of food is also higher and higher. Therefore, food culture has gradually become a topic of concern. As China connects with the world more and more closely, many new things are coming into the country, including food of course. For example, restaurants such as McDonald's and KFC are opening up in some cities in China. Chinese food is also world-renowned, and wherever there are Chinese people, there are Chinese restaurants. In the United States, Chinese restaurants have blossomed, and Chinese restaurants have been in the United States for a hundred years. It is because of the Chinese people go to the world and bring our food culture, and foreigners also gradually into China to spread their food culture, so there is a variety of different food culture coexist situation. In today's society, many people are curious to taste the food of different countries, but not many people really understand the differences in food culture.

Keywords: China; America; Food; Difference

Introduction

As the saying goes, "Three important things when going out are food, clothing, and shelter", and "food" is in the first place, and it can be seen that "food" is the most important thing in the eyes of Chinese people. It can be seen that "eating" is the most important thing in the eyes of Chinese people, and food is a kind of culture in China. Eating and living is a topic people often talk about, with the different regions, living habits have significant differences, food culture is often the most significant representative of this difference. Xu Xiong (2001) pointed out that the differences in food culture between Chinese and American people can be said to be caused by different factors such as culture, customs, atmosphere, historical connotations, nutritional values and economic conditions of the two countries. People today only superficially think that the biggest difference between Chinese and American food culture lies in the fact that most Chinese people use chopsticks and spoons to eat rice, while Americans use knives and forks to eat steak and bread. In fact, these are only superficial differences, there are deeper differences, which are often overlooked, for example, different food concepts? Differences in eating habits, different ways of eating, different food customs, different cooking methods, and different "eating" objects and so on. These differences are the root of the differences between Chinese and American food cultures. The following is a more detailed explanation of these differences.

(I) Differences in Food Concepts

When it comes to Chinese food culture, many people will praise Chinese recipes and the color, aroma, taste and shape of Chinese food. The many features of the Chinese diet are reflected in the food culture and have a direct impact on the development of Chinese food culture. Due to China's high population pressure and the existence of many other reasons, the Chinese diet, since the pre-Qin Dynasty, has been based on grains, with less meat and more grain, supplemented by vegetables and vegetables, which is the typical structure of rice. Among them, rice is the staple food, while the vegetables are for the rice, to help the rice down the throat. Why is it necessary to help the rice go down the throat? That is because the staple food is not palatable and there must be a substance to assist it so that people can eat it. Of course, the function of vegetables is ***similar*** to that of salt, but it is not the same as salt. This has led to the fact that the primary purpose of Chinese cooking is to decorate the diet and to make unpalatable food exquisite; it is precisely because our nation has been at a low level of productivity for thousands of years, and people have always been underfed, that the Chinese people have made the pursuit of food as the most pleasurable thing in life to be pursued, and eating has become the first requirement. Xu Wangsheng (1993) pointed out that the Chinese people attach great importance to "eating", and the proverb "Food is the God of the people" shows that we regard eating as important as heaven, which is why there is a unique dietary culture that emphasizes eating over everything else. The reason why Chinese people can do whatever they want in terms of food is largely driven by the fact that China was once forced to eat more than enough.