Orion O's Essay

The question I chose to answer was “How do the ingredients in American foods differ from the ingredients in foreign countries”. After conducting thorough research on the trip, I have come to the conclusion that the ingredients differ to some extent. I was able to gather information on Asian, Middle Eastern, and South American foods. Although all of these cultures are very different, they use some of the same ingredients.
The first culture I looked into was Asian. I saw many different herbs that they used in a variety of foods. Some of these herbs include a betel leaf, Chinese chives, and laksa leafs. A betel leaf is used to wrap certain meats. It’s a little something to hold the beef in while you eat it with your hands. Some people also use the betel leaf as a type of chewing gum. Chinese chives are almost a substitute for garlic. They have a garlicky flavor to them. Laksa leafs are leafs that contain a minty slash peppery flavor. Some people use this leaf to sprinkle over their tea or soup. There are many other herbs that I haven’t mentioned but those were just some of the essentials.
The next culture I dared to explore was the middle-eastern area. I found some strange but oddly enough interesting ingredients in the Middle Eastern area. The first ingredient that caught my eye was the chickpea. The chickpea has many uses in the food world. It can be tossed into a salad or can be eaten like a snack. They are also used in bigger meals, like some of there traditional dishes. Another odd ingredient I found was cumin. Cumin is a seed that can be used to sweeten foods. It can also be used on tacos or to flavor meats. One of the last herbs I found was thyme. Although thyme is used in a variety of different cultures, it plays a big part in the Arabic dishes.
Thyme can be used to throw into soups, rice, meats, and many other foods. It gives foods a spicy slash bitter taste.
The last culture I spent time researching was the South American area. Most of these ingredients are used in a lot of dishes, but some of them originated in placeSouth America. To try and list al of them would be impossible, so I will only give you the most popular. The first is guacamole. Guacamole might be the most popular of the ingrediants. One of the main uses of guacamole is for dipping chips. There are so many differnt types of herbs and spicesw to explore thtat it would be impossible for me to tell u about all of them. I hope u enjoyed my report, and please visit our blog.