The List

Here it is, the list I'm working from (in alphabetical order). This list evolves; for example when I first hit on this idea I had the United Kingdom listed as a single country, and have since divided it into three parts (England, Scotland and Wales) since I think each of those regions has a distinct cuisine that I couldn't possibly do justice to under just one blog entry.

Which brings me to my next point, this list isn't really an official list of world nations. Some are recognized sovereign states, and others are in a gray area (such as Akrotiri, which is essentially an RAF base on the island of Cyprus). Some are countries that have been divided into provinces or regions (China, for example, has eight different culinary traditions and I wanted to cook something from each of them). Some, like Bassas da India, are just flat-out not countries (no one lives on Bassas da India, hence there's no way it could be considered a "nation.") As time goes on I will probably add other questionable non-countries just because I like the challenge, or I may divide up other countries so that I can cover them more completely. And as I complete each country I'll list the recipes here, and hopefully I'll also add individual recipe pages at some point since at the moment they are all lumped into a single blog entry for each nation.

One more thing, I love to hear from readers so if you know of a country or pseudo-country, or even just a region that's not on this list let me know. And if you have a great traditional recipe I could cook from any one of these countries (even those I've already covered), please send me a note. I love a challenge and I'm definitely not opposed to cooking from any one of these countries more than once.

16 comments:

  1. What a great blog! I'm on a similar food journey around the world (thehungarybuddha.com), though admittedly not quite as ambitious as yours! I look forward to seeing what you come up with for certain places!

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  2. Nice job (you too Chrissy) - we should start a club! :) I've been trying to immerse myself for longer in each culture, but I think we all have the same idea here. My blog is savortheworld.net Found yours while I was looking for Bhutanese recipes.

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  3. Thanks Chrissy and kjshank! When I came up with the idea for my blog I thought I was being pretty clever, but since I started doing it I've found a lot of other great bloggers with the same idea. It's fun to see what others come up with for the different countries, and where they find recipes. Some of these countries can be really challenging!

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  4. A few comments: First, thank you so much for compiling and collecting. Every week for our Shabbat Dinner on Friday night, we cook food from a different country, going through the alphabet. You have definitely expanded our list of countries. Of course, we will have to modify many of your recipes to make them kosher (no pork, no eating meat and dairy at the same meal), but we're used to adapting. Another challenge: I'm vegan and always make a vegan entree in addition to the meat and the other dishes are always vegan. Again, a lot of adaptations, but we're used to them. One suggestion, since there is only one "Q" country (Qatar) and since the only "O" (Oman) is in the same geographical area, we have often given Quebec (which has aspirations) the honor of being a source.
    Also, Kurdistan which exists in the minds and hearts of Kurds who are technically citizens of a cluster of countries, Iran, Iraq and Turkey. I'll be following and adapting. My main resources are a number of wonderful cookbooks (some actually vegan or kosher) and the internet.

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  5. Thanks for posting! I did actually do Quebec but as "Central Canada." I made poutine (yum!!) and tourtière with molasses cake for dessert. The poutine actually made last year's list of favorite Travel by Stove recipes.

    Adding Kurdistan is a good idea though and I think I will do that. Thank you for the suggestion!

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  6. Interesting blog. As an active traveller and food lover, I'll keep an eye on your list so I don't miss out on anything. As a New Zealander living in Australia, I find it interesting that you have listed NZ's national dish as Australian. Although the recipes differ slightly, the oldest known Pavlova recipe is from NZ, and home made pav is served at almost every BBQ/dinner party in NZ. It is still popular in Australia, but not near the same extent. I also lived a while in Austria, and it seems the two most famous dishes are excluded, Apfel Strudel, and Wiener Schnitzel. I could list more, I love Austrian food :). Well done on picking up Cevapcici as Bosnian, many people believe Croatian or Serbian (although I thought it was all beef, not lamb, I could be wrong here), in my travels, all signs of origin point to B&H, and it's delicious.

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  7. Ah, actually it was my Australian friend who suggested doing the pavlova for Australia. I think there's a lot of Australians who claim that pavlova is a Australian recipe, and based on what I've read about it (sorry if I missed a better source) its true origins haven't been 100% confirmed.

    Just to clarify, though, it's not my intention to only use recipes that have actual, factual *origins* in the countries I write about. I mean, it would be great if I could always do that but the research would be a logistical nightmare. Instead I just try to use recipes that are popular in that country, have some roots there (though perhaps not always origins) and that come from sources based in that country. For example, in American Samoa I did a recipe for a Samoan-style bao, which originated in China but is widely eaten in Samoa.

    As for the exclusion of popular/famous recipes, I'm only doing one meal per nation so obviously I can't cook every recipe that appeals to me. Besides that I will often go out of my way to avoid just cooking the national dish (although I've certainly made exceptions) since it just seems so obvious and its something a lot of other bloggers have already done. And I do also have to cater to my family's tastes as well as what just sounds good to me at the time.

    Thanks for posting and I hope you'll keep reading.

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  8. Hi there. A friend recommended your blog to me and it's nice to see someone who is doing the same project as I am. I write the Baked Lava blog at www.bakedlava.com I'm currently on my 93rd country, I think. I am cooking from every country and territory and was majorly stuck on the Faeroe Islands. I'm glad she recommended your blog to me and it's nice to "meet" you!

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  9. Hi Laurrie! Thanks for posting. It's definitely a challenge to find recipes from some of these little places (The Faroes were particularly tough) but I do like a challenge. Most of the time. :) I'm glad you stopped by and I'll check out your blog--I love to see what other people are doing with this idea!

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  10. Just a suggestion for when you eventually get to doing the individual parts of Italy, as an American who lived in Tuscany for 3 months, I have to say, a dish that you absolutely must try from the region is Ribolita, an amazing cabbage and bread stew. Probably my favorite dish that I had my entire time in Italy.

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  11. What a cute blog idea! I love it. Your writing is also really fun to read. Not to mention, the food you make looks DELISH!

    Keep Writing!

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  12. @lmadden42 I imagine some places, like Mongolia given its physical environment, will be quite hard for you to find recipes for (Assuming it is even possible). Even so I wish you good luck

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  13. Hi! My husband and I have been going on this same journey around the world as you have for two years. We stumbled on your blog early on and like to compare what we decide on with your blog often comparing results as the national dishes are usually on both our menus. We have a 3 and 5 yr old as of 2016. We cook one meal a month with friends and family when possible. We figure our kids will be 16 and 18 when we are done. One big question, where is Brazil??

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  14. My now fiance and I have been picking a recipe every weekend from your blog. Its really pushed us to try new things and its a great that we always know what we'll be having. I have enjoyed your blog very much! Thank you for documenting your experience.

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  15. Thank you for posting Klucas, I love to hear that!!

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  16. I wanted to do a blog on spices around the world. I found a list of countries and started researching and putting it into a spreadsheet. In part, you are doing what I wanted to do! Great job!

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