European cuisine: Difference between revisions

'''European cuisine''' (also known as '''Continental cuisine''') comprises the [[cuisine]]s that originateoriginating from the various countries of [[Europe]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Culinary Cultures of Europe: Identity, Diversity and Dialogue|publisher=Council of Europe}}</ref>

The cuisines of European countries are diverse, although there are some common characteristics that distinguish them from those of other regions.<ref name="Kwan 1988">Kwan Shuk-yan (1988). ''Selected Occidental Cookeries and Delicacies'', p. 23. Hong Kong: Food Paradise Pub. Co.</ref> Compared withto [[East Asian cuisine|traditional cooking of East Asia]], meat isholds a more prominent and substantial role in serving size.<ref name="Lin 1977">Lin Ch'ing (1977). ''First Steps to European Cooking'', p. 5. Hong Kong: Wan Li Pub. Co.</ref> Many dairy products are utilised in cooking.<ref>Kwan Shuk-yan, pg 26</ref> There are hundreds of varieties of [[cheese]] and other [[fermented milk products]]. White [[wheat]]-flour bread has long been the prestige [[starch]], but historically, most people ate bread, flatcakes, or [[porridge]] made from [[rye]], [[spelt]], [[barley]], and [[oat]]s.<ref>Alfio Cortonesi, "Self-sufficiency and the Market: Rural and Urban Diet in the Middle Ages", in Jean-Louis Flandrin, Massimo Montanari, ''Food: A Culinary History from Antiquity to the Present'', 1999, {{isbn|0231111541}}, p. 268ff</ref><ref>Michel Morineau, "Growing without Knowing Why: Production, Demographics, and Diet", in Jean-Louis Flandrin, Massimo Montanari, ''Food: A Culinary History from Antiquity to the Present'', 1999, {{isbn|0231111541}}, p. 380ff</ref> Those better-off would also make [[pasta]], [[dumpling]]s and [[Pastry|pastries]]. The [[potato]] has become a major starch plant in the diet of Europeans and their diaspora since the [[European colonisation of the Americas]]. [[Maize]] is much less common in most European diets than it is in the [[Americas]]; however, corn meal ([[polenta]] or [[mămăligă]]) is a major part of the cuisine of [[Italy]] and the [[Balkans]]. Although flatbreads (especially with toppings such as [[pizza]] or [[tarte flambée]]) and rice are eaten in Europe, they are only staple foods in limited areas, particularly in Southern Europe. [[Salad]]s (cold dishes with uncooked or cooked vegetables, sometimes with a dressing) are an integral part of European cuisine.

| Image:Italian_RisottoRisotto_with_speck_and_goat_cheese_(6101067436).pngjpg|Lombard ''[[risotto]]''