Eating around the world

I love all sorts of different foods, and when I am feeling brave, I try to recreate recipes from near and far reaches of the world. Some are easy, like Mexican food - tacos aren't a real stretch - and some not so much; I made Indian Chapati by hand, an endeavor that led to back pain and a slight headache, and my experiment with Tapas, a whole day's effort, left me so exhausted I wasn't able to eat the meal.

I was lucky enough to be able to enjoy a myriad of international cuisines when I was in New York, the best of those being Indian food in the East Village (Jackson Heights in Queens apparently surpasses it), pastries from a Portuguese bakery, and the Dim Sum in Chinatown.

Last year, I happened upon a book series published by Lonely Planet - the travel guide people - devoted entirely to foods from around the world. Each little book of a couple hundred pages concerns a single country, and discusses in detail food and drink staples, regional specialties, restaurants, markets, and menus among other things. I purchased the books on France, Greece,India, Italy, and Mexico, but was able to borrow from the library several others in the series. I'm just hoping they write more of them. Here's a few factoids I found interesting:

1) France: Croissants

I found it interesting that the shape of a croissant actually means something! If a croissant is shaped like a half moon, it is made with butter. If it is straight, it is made with margarine.

2) Italy: Cappachino

The quintessential Italian coffee drink, but in Italy, they only drink it in the mornings, as opposed to us Americans who drink it anytime (thus a sure way for Italians to spot a tourist). The drink, a shot of expresso topped with foamed milk called schiuma, is named after the Capuchin monks, who wore robes the same color as the coffee.

3) Greece: outside influences

I was surprised to learn that much of Greek cuisine actually has its origins abroad. Greek food is especially influenced by Turkish and Italian traditions, and this makes sense given the proximity of Turkey to its east and Italy to the west.

The Turks and other Arab cultures serve "Mazza," little dishes familiar to the west and also recognizable in Greek restaurants, called "Mezedhes." Melidzanosalata is virtually the same as Babaganoush, the Middle Eastern dish, basically a pureed eggplant mush.

Venetian control of some parts of Greece led to the adaptation of Italian dishes into Greek cuisine, the most familiar probably being pasta and in particular, the Greek lasagne called pastitio.

4) Mexico: Mole

Mole is that rich, reddish brown sauce often served on top of chicken or turkey. Mole is a unique sauce often made with pumpkin or chocolate, that is in fact difficult to make because of the number ingredients it requires (some moles call for up to 100 ingredients). Mole is definitively Mexican, and while its point of origin can't be proven, most agree that the city of Puebla, southeast of Mexico City, is the Mole capital of Mexico.

5)India: The Punjabs

The type of Indian food most Americans eat and are familiar with come from the Punjabi state of India, on the border of Pakistan. Classic Punjabi dishes include Tandoori, naan, and chicken tikka. After the division of India and Pakistan in 1947, waves of Punjabis fled to other parts of India and abroad, some to America, where they opened restaurants that we have come to know ubiquitously as Indian. In truth, it's Punjabi.

Bon appetit!