Fusion food

Fusion cuisine is cuisine that combines elements of different culinary traditions that originate from different countries, regions, or cultures. They can occur naturally and become aspects of culturally relevant cuisines, or they can be part of the post-1970s movement for contemporary restaurant innovations.

In July of 2002, the term fuison cuisine was added to the ''Oxford English Dictionary''. It defined it as, "fusion cuisine: originally U.S. a style of cookery which blends ingredients and methods of preparation from different countries, regions, or ethnic groups; food cooked in this style."

Categories

Fusion food is created by combining various cooking techniques for different cultures to produce a new type of food. Although it is commonly invented by chefs, fusion cuisine can occur naturally within the different cuisines of a region or sub-region. These can include larger regions, such as East Asian cuisine, European cuisine, and Southwestern American cuisine, as well as more specific and lauded ethnic cuisines such as Chinese cuisine, Japanese cuisine, Korean cuisine, French cuisine, Italian cuisine, and New Mexican cuisine.

Chefs within Asian fusion restaurants combine the various cuisines of different Asian countries, have become popular in many parts of the United States and United Kingdom. Often featured are East Asian, Southeast Asian, and South Asian dishes alongside one another and offering dishes that are inspired combinations of such cuisines. California cuisine is considered a fusion culture, taking inspiration particularly from Italy, France, Mexico, the idea of the European delicatessen, and East Asia, and then creating traditional dishes from these cultures with non-traditional ingredients - such as California pizza. One major example is Oceanic cuisine, which combines the different cuisines of the various island nations. In the United Kingdom, fish and chips can be seen as an early fusion dish due to its marrying of ingredients stemming from Jewish, French, and Belgian cuisines. Filipino cuisine is also sometimes characterized as the "original Asian fusion cuisine", combining native culinary traditions and ingredients with the very different cuisines of Spain, Latin America, China, and the United States, among others, due to its unique colonial history.

In Australia, due to the increasing influx of migrants, fusion cuisine is being reinvented and is becoming increasingly the norm at numerous cafes and restaurants, with Modern Australian Asian-fusion restaurants like Tetsuya's in Sydney ranking highly in The World's 50 Best Restaurants. Another incarnation of fusion cuisine implements a more eclectic approach, which generally features original dishes that combine varieties of ingredients from various cuisines and regions. Such a restaurant might feature a wide variety of dishes inspired by a combination of various regional cuisines with new ideas. Foods in Malaysia (also Indonesia) are another popular example of fusion cuisine between Malay, Javanese, Chinese and Indian and light influences from Thai, Portuguese, Dutch, and British cuisines.

Types

Another form of fusion food can be created by utilizing ingredients and flavors from one culture to create a unique twist on a dish from the different cultures. For example a Taco Pizza, is created by using cheddar and pepper jack cheese, salsa, refried beans or other common taco ingredients, fusing both Italian and Mexican cuisines. This particular dish is a fusion of Italian and Mexican cuisines.

An example of Tex-Mex food can be found on chef Jose Barraza, Youtube page called No Way Jose Fusion Cusine page. Barraza was born and raised in Mexico exposing him to flavorful Mexican cuisine from a young age. After moving to Indianapolis, Indiana, he began experimenting with Mexican cusine, by exchanging spices from other cultures. After discovering his creations he began to spread his new found knowledge by creating cooking instruction videos on YouTube.

Similar approaches have been used for fusion-sushi, such as rolling maki with different types of rice and ingredients such as curry and basmati rice, cheese and salsa with Spanish rice, or spiced ground lamb and capers rolled with Greek-style rice and grape leaves, which resembles inside-out dolmades. Some fusion cuisines have themselves become accepted as a national cuisine, as with Peruvian Nikkei cuisine, which combines Japanese spices and seasonings and Peruvian ingredients like ají (Peruvian peppers) with seafood. A quintessential Peruvian Nikkei dish is 'Maki Acevichado' or ceviche roll, containing Peruvian-style marinated fish rolled up with rice, avocado, or seaweed."

Saudia Arabia has been investing in resources to preserve their culture. The Heritage Preservation Society Director, Maha AlSenan, believes that cultures can be brought together through cuisine. She mention how most commonly in their eastern providence, Jeddah, different cultures from Africa and Asia have used the combination of Saudia's spices to create new fusion foods found throughout Saudia Arabia.

Background

Fusion cuisine has been around since the beginning of time and was only defined in the late 1900s. A mix of different cultures cuisines have been adapted since the 16th century. For example, after Japan won claim to their island-nation from China, they took the Chinese noodle and cooked it in saltier water to create the Shine soba - Chinese Noodle - and over time becoming known as ramen.

Japanese cooking techniques were combined with French techniques in 1970 France to create nouvelle cuisine.

This type of restaurant's success depends on a number of factors. Among these are:
* Clientele's (or prospective clientele's) cultural diversity
* Clientele's travel patterns and experiences.
* Clientele's culinary sophistication and openness to new eating experiences.

Wolfgang Puck is attributed as one of the pioneers of fusion cuisine, with some dispute. However, his restaurant ''Chinois on Main'' was named after the term attributed to Richard Wing, who in the 1960s combined French and Chinese cooking at the former Imperial Dynasty restaurant in Hanford, California.

Chef Norman Van Aken was the first person to use the term 'fusion cooking' as he delivered a speech at a symposium in Santa Fe to many celebrated food industry people in 1988. Soon journalist Regina Schrambling wrote about Van Aken's work and the term spread around the globe. Norman Van Aken ends his speech by talking about how fusion food has always existed. For example, he mentions the use of coffee in Italian cuisine. Coffee first arrived in Venice Italy in the 16th century from ships containing coffee beans from the East. At first it was sold in pharmacies, but soon after it became available it was noticed by the upper class due to how expensive it was, coffee then became a specialty drink. Chef Van Aken related this to coffee being used in different desserts such as Calabrian Ricotta with chocolate mouse.

In 1922, fusion cuisine goes mainstream with the opening of Cheesecake Factory. Cheesecake Factory brought a mix of multiple American fusion cuisines into on place such as the chicken chipotle pasta and the Brent wood sandwich.

See also

* 2010s in food
* American Chinese cuisine
* Tex-Mex
* Korean-Mexican fusion
* Yōshoku, a style of Western-influenced cooking in Japan, primarily consisting of Japanized forms of European dishes
* Polish-style Asian cuisine, Based on Vietnamese cuisine and integrate other Asian cuisine and Polish eating habits.
* Betawi cuisine
* California cuisine
* Eurasian cuisine of Singapore and Malaysia
* Modern Australian cuisine
* New American cuisine
* Nouvelle cuisine
* Peranakan cuisine
* Sushi burrito
* Sushi pizza
* Indian Chinese cuisine
* Japanese Chinese cuisine
* Chifa
* Migrants' food consumption

References

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