Enjoy the TWENTIETH episode of Culture To Grow, which allows you to travel the world from the comfort of your home, your car, or if you are still half asleep in your bed.
In this episode, we are diving into a topic that might leave you questioning your favorite dishes. I'm talking about those iconic plates that you thought represented a country's cuisine, but actually, they don't exist in that country.
Joining us today, our guests from France, Italy, China, and Mexico, with insights that will reshape the way you think about some familiar favorites
France - Croissants [0:01:10]
Italy - Fettuccini Alfredo [0:01:50]
China - Orange Chicken & Fortune Cookies [0:02:28]
Mexico - Fajitas & Tacos [0:03:00]
[00:00:00] Hello everyone, this is Austin Bellino, the host of the educational podcast Culture To Grow, where you get to travel the world and learn about different cultures from the comfort of your home, maybe your car, or if you're half asleep, you're bad.
Hello everyone, this is your host Austin Bellino, and I am thrilled to have you join me on this new adventure. In this episode, we are diving into a topic that might leave you questioning your favorite dishes. I'm talking about those iconic plates that you thought represented a country's cuisine, but actually, they don't exist in that country.
Joining us today, our guests from France, Italy, China, and Mexico, with insights that will reshape the way you think about some familiar favorites
[00:01:00] which might have taken a detour on their way from foreign shores. Prepare to be amazed as we uncover the truth behind these misconceptions. First stop France!
Hi, my name is Christelle, I'm French. I live in France for my whole life. France is known for croissants. In France, we can't find croissants turned into a sandwich like it seems to be popular in the U. S. Usually, we eat croissants for breakfast.
Generally, croissants are eaten plain. Few people choose to add jam, rarely butter because there is so much butter in the recipe. The taste depends of the bakery. My favorite kind of croissants is named chocolatine or pain au chocolat. The shape is different. They are Two chocolate bears inside.
My name is Joel Tomassetti. I'm from Italy and I'm 18.
[00:02:00] I guess that foreign people, at least I notice this a lot with Americans, they think that everything that is in America is also for other states. Like, I usually get asked a lot since I'm Italian, Oh, like, what's your Alfredo pasta? How do you cook it?
And I go like, Here we don't actually cook alfredo pasta. Alfredo doesn't exist in Italy. I mean, yes, it's a dish, but in my entire life, I never cooked it. Never have it cooked from my mother, my grandma, whatever, at friend's house. Never found it in a restaurant. Yeah, even mac and cheese, for example, here it doesn't exist.
This is Mia, I am from China, 100% Chinese. Probably you've ever seen Orange Chicken in an American Chinese restaurant. But let me tell you the truth. There is no such thing as Orange Chicken in China. Though we eat many parts of a chicken, including chicken's feet. But we just don't have Orange Chicken. And we also don't have fortune cookie. Yeah, it's from American Chinese. Restaurant, I guess.
[00:03:00] Hello, my name is Karla. I'm from Mexico. Talking about the fajitas, we don't use seafood in it. We just use a type of meal like pork or cow, something like that. We eat chili peppers and vegetables. But we don't use seafood in it. Tacos aren't crispy or hard shell. Instead, they're, soft and we prepare them with other ingredients.
We have a type of food called Tostadas that yes they are with a hard shell, but it's way different, and I like to say that this kind of food are in considered authentic food. I mean, it seems those are food from Taco Bell.
And that brings us to the end of our journey.
[00:04:00] It's truly been an eye opening experience to explore how our perceptions of iconic dishes can sometimes take a detour from their country of origin.
Before we part ways, let's remember that just as we've discovered today, cultural assumptions can be tricky. Taking the time to learn about other cultures not only enriches our understanding of the but also creates a deeper sense of connection, one fact at a time.
I hope that you take with you the knowledge gained from our guests from this episode, and you never know when this newfound understanding of their cultures may come in handy.
Take care everyone, and bye bye!