An Estonian girl who has found a home in Sweden.

Wednesday, July 11

Ireland vs. Sweden: Food

July 11, 2007 Posted by Vaire

It is intriguing how ethnic quisine in different countries is different. For example Indian food in Ireland is not the same as Indian food in Sweden.

Let's take Thai Green Curry. One would assume that it is the same all over the world, but that is not the case. In Dublin it has a rating of three chilies (very hot) and it's too hot for me. In Stockholm it has two chilies (very hot) and I was surprised how mild it was.

It seems that Stockholm two chili rating = Dublin one chili rating. Lucky for me, because now I can try foods that I could not in Dublin. A shame on the other hand because two chilies is as hot as I've found here so far and occasionally I'd like even more fiery food.

I suspect that the Irish version is closer to the authentic Thai one, but I can't really tell since I've never been to Thailand. One day, perhaps I can travel to all these different places to try the original versions of Thai curries, Indian biryanis, Chinese dim sum and all the rest of the ethnic foods I've enjoyed.

I went to lunch with a friend today and we had a discussion about ethnic food in different countries. Her partner has visited China quite a few times and has remarked that Chinese food in Sweden is different from Chinese food in China. I can tell from my experience that Chinese food in Ireland and Estonia also differ from Chinese food in Sweden.

It would be very interesting to do a study on differences between the same ethnic food in different countries. What makes it different? How much the raw ingredients contribute? How has local food culture influenced the ethnic one? How do the ethnic cooks percieve the local palate? Fascinating!