By Franz Scheurer
Have you ever wondered just exactly what flavours define a specific cuisine? How do we immediately recognise a Greek or Thai dish? Why do we know it’s Greek, not Turkish or Thai and not Laotian, although they’re neighbours? Because apart from the staples and the cooking methods they use there are definite ethnic flavour profiles, evolved over hundreds of years. Just as each culture speaks a different language, has a different way to worship and builds a different dwelling they have adopted a different way to prepare food. If we can reduce the myriad of tastes and techniques down to a handful of core items, then we have a basis of understanding and reproducing the food of a specific cuisine, without the need for recipes. We need to understand a cuisine’s flavour profile before we attempt to cook its food.
Let’s try and list some flavour profiles:
Arabian Gulf: Black Limes, Cumin, Garlic and Coriander
Burma: Onion, Ginger, Garlic and Chilli
China: Oyster Sauce, Black Vinegar, Rice Wine, Sesame Seed Oil and Ginger
England (Traditional) Savory, Lavender, Horseradish and Lovage
Egypt: Dukkah, Thyme, Mint, Tomato and Garlic
France: Stocks, Wine and Dairy and
North: Goose Fat, Sorrel, Fermented Cabbage and Garlic
Central: Butter, Tomato, Celery, Garlic and Tarragon
Normandy: Apple Cider, Calvados and Chervil
Provence: Olive Oil, Garlic, Rosemary, Thyme and Marjoram
Germany: Bay Leaf, Juniper Berry, Nutmeg, Cloves, Celeriac and White Pepper
Greece: Tomato, Lemon, Cinnamon, Olive Oil and Oregano
Hungary: Lard, Paprika, Onion and pickled Chillies
Indonesia: Ketjup Manis, Brown Sugar, Peanut, Blachan and Chilli
India: North: Cumin, Ginger, Garlic, Saffron
South: Mustard Seed, Coconut, Tamarind and Chilli
Goa: Cumin, Turmeric, Curry Leaf, Kokam, Coconut and Chilli
Italy: North: Butter, Garlic, Capers, Sage, Cheese and Basil
South: Garlic, Olive Oil, Anchovy, Rocket, Tomato and Pine Nuts
Japan: Soy Sauce, Wasabi, Sake, Mirin and Seaweed
Korea: Soy Sauce, Sesame, Brown Sugar and Chilli
Laos: Fishsauce and Coconut
Malaysia: Dark Soy, Star Anise, Fennel Seeds, Cumin, Candle Nut, Gula Malacca
Mexico: Tomato, Lime, Dark Chocolate, Vanilla and Chilli
Middle East: Preserved Lemon, Parsley, Purslane, Za’atar and Somak
Morocco: Coriander, Cumin, Cinnamon, Ginger, Onion, Tomato and Fruit
Nepal: Cinnamon, Fruit and Nuts
North Africa: Ras al Hanout, Preserved Lemon, Fruit
North East Africa: Garlic, Cumin and Mint
Northern Europe: Butter, Sour Cream, Dill and Caraway
Persia: Cumin, Cardamom, Saffron and dried fruit
Poland: Chicken Fat, Onion and Cabbage
Scandinavia: Lard, Sour Cream, Dill, Horseradish and Caraway
Spain: Olive Oil, Garlic, Onion, Pepper, Tomato, Paprika and Capsicum
Switzerland: Pork Fat, Butter, Cheese and White Wine
Thailand: Fishsauce, Gapi, Palm Sugar, Tamarind, Kaffir Lime, Coriander and Chilli
Vietnam: Fishsauce, Lemongrass, Pickled Garlic and Lemon
West Africa: Tomato, Peanut and Chilli
Yemen: Tomato, Dried Fish and Cinnamon
Combine these flavour profiles with the appropriate cooking methods and staples and you have a ‘cultural insight’ into the relevant cuisine.
Bon Appetit.
If this short article inspires you to read more on the subject then I suggest ‘Ethnic Cuisine’ by Elisabeth Rozin, Penguin Books, ISBN 0 14 046.931 1