World cuisine

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World cuisine

Vanuatu’s island kitchens: root crops, coconut and shared foodways

Across Vanuatu’s islands, cooking draws on garden crops, coconut, fruit and seafood, shaped by local knowledge and different landscapes. Laplap and simboro show how grated roots, leaves and coconut can become slow-cooked, satisfying dishes; tuluk offers another way to combine cassava and a savory filling. Markets, community feasts and nakamals reveal distinct occasions for buying, sharing and eating, without reducing the country’s varied food cultures to a single menu.

31 Oct 2026 Read →

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World cuisine

Somali Foodways: Spiced Rice, Flatbreads, Stews, and Coastal Exchange

Somali cooking reflects the country’s position on the Horn of Africa and the varied foodways of pastoral, riverine, coastal, and urban communities. Rice dishes such as bariis iskukaris, breads including canjeero and muufo, meat stews, pasta, and aromatic xawaash show how shared ingredients take different forms across homes and regions. Meals range from substantial breakfasts to everyday lunches and celebratory spreads, with recipes and serving customs that vary rather than follow one national formula.

31 Oct 2026 Read →

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World cuisine

Slovenia’s Culinary Atlas: Alpine Pastures, Adriatic Shores and Regional Tables

Slovenia’s varied landscapes meet in a compact culinary world shaped by Alpine, Mediterranean, Karst and Pannonian settings, as well as long exchange with neighbouring countries. Buckwheat žganci, filled doughs, stews, cured meats, coastal fish and layered pastries reveal how local ingredients, seasons and household traditions give dishes distinct regional identities.

31 Oct 2026 Read →

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World cuisine

Russian Culinary Atlas: Grains, Soups, Regional Traditions, and Shared Tables

Russia’s food traditions span Eastern Europe and North Asia, shaped by local ingredients, communities, and changing histories. Rye and other grains, soups, preserved vegetables, fish, dumplings, and filled pastries appear in varied regional cuisines. Blini, pelmeni, and tea are familiar points of reference, but no single dish or menu represents the country’s many culinary traditions.

31 Oct 2026 Read →

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World cuisine

Réunion’s Creole Table: Curries, Condiments and Shared Island Traditions

In the Indian Ocean island of Réunion, Creole cooking brings together French, Chinese, Malagasy, Indian, Mauritian and East African influences. Rice, grains and sauced dishes sit alongside spicy relishes and snacks such as samoussas, bouchons and bonbons piments. Family recipes vary, while Cilaos is especially associated with its lentils. Meals may be shared at home, outdoors or around evening food stalls.

31 Oct 2026 Read →

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World cuisine

Paraguayan Cuisine: Cassava, Corn, and a Meeting of Culinary Traditions

Paraguay’s food reflects exchanges among Cario-Guaraní, Spanish, and later immigrant traditions. Cassava and corn shape breads, cakes, porridges, and soups, often alongside cheese, milk, eggs, and meat. Dishes such as mbejú, chipa, sopa paraguaya, and vori vori show how shared ingredients become distinct preparations. Asado, tereré, and foods associated with Holy Week and family occasions add social dimensions to this varied cuisine.

31 Oct 2026 Read →

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World cuisine

Palau’s Island Foodways: Taro, the Sea, and a Changing Pantry

Palauan food brings together taro and other root crops, fish and shellfish, coconut, and ingredients carried through regional exchange and colonial history. Taro is both nourishment and a marker of social value, while everyday preparations, ceremonial exchange, community farming, and newer adaptations reveal a food culture shaped by island environments and continuing change.

31 Oct 2026 Read →

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World cuisine

Panama at the Table: Corn, Roots, Rice, and Cultural Exchange

Panamanian food reflects the varied landscapes and histories of an isthmus between the Caribbean and Pacific. Corn, rice, cassava, ñame, plantains, poultry, pork, and seafood appear in everyday meals and festive preparations. Sancocho, tamales, coconut-rich dishes, rice stews, and fried snacks take different forms across the country and among communities. Rather than a single fixed style, Panama’s culinary life is a meeting of local ingredients, family practice, migration, and regional variation.

31 Oct 2026 Read →

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World cuisine

Norwegian Foodways: Coast, Countryside, Preservation and Seasonal Tables

Norwegian food reflects a varied landscape of long coastlines, fjords, mountains, forests and limited farmland. Fish, lamb and game sit alongside potatoes, root vegetables, bread and dairy, while drying, salting, smoking, pickling and fermentation preserve seasonal produce. Everyday packed lunches and open sandwiches share the table with regional dumplings, autumn stews and Christmas dishes. These practices vary across places and households, and coexist with contemporary international influences.

31 Oct 2026 Read →

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World cuisine

Dutch Foodways: Delta Landscapes, Everyday Cooking, and Regional Specialties

Dutch food reflects a low-lying delta shaped by farming, dairy, fishing, trade, and migration. Bread, potatoes, vegetables, cheese, and fish appear in everyday meals, while winter mashes and thick pea soup sit alongside fried café snacks, market foods, and seasonal baking. Local specialties—from Limburg asparagus to Zeeland samphire and cherries in the Betuwe and Kromme Rijn—show why the country’s food culture is more varied than a single national menu.

31 Oct 2026 Read →

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World cuisine

Montenegro at the Table: Mountain Kitchens, Adriatic Shores, and Shared Balkan Traditions

Montenegrin food reflects close contrasts between mountain settlements, the Adriatic coast, and the Lake Skadar basin. Cornmeal, potatoes, dairy, cured meats, seasonal greens, berries, freshwater fish, and seafood appear in preparations shaped by local landscapes and household knowledge. Kačamak, Njeguši pršut, northern lamb dishes, coastal buzara, and black risotto offer distinct points of entry into a cuisine connected to wider Balkan and Mediterranean foodways.

31 Oct 2026 Read →

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World cuisine

Latvian Foodways: Rye, Seasonal Produce, and Shared Traditions

Latvian cuisine reflects the country’s Baltic coastline, farms, forests, rivers, and lakes. Rye bread, potatoes, barley, pork, dairy, fish, berries, and mushrooms form a varied pantry shaped by the seasons and by food traditions shared across the region. Fermentation, smoking, pickling, and baking preserve ingredients and create familiar tastes, while dishes such as grey peas with bacon, cold beet soup, Jāņi caraway cheese, and Kurzeme’s sklandrausis show how particular preparations connect with occasions and places without standing for the whole cuisine.

31 Oct 2026 Read →