Goal Met – Cook 50 dishes from different countries

Embarking on a culinary journey to explore global cuisines is akin to unlocking a treasure trove of flavors, traditions, and stories from around the world—all within the confines of your own kitchen. It’s an adventure that transcends mere cooking; it’s about immersing oneself in diverse cultures, understanding their histories, and appreciating the unique ingredients that define their culinary identities.

Diving into unfamiliar recipes can be both exhilarating and humbling. There’s a certain thrill in sourcing exotic spices you’ve never encountered before or mastering a cooking technique that’s entirely new to you. Each dish becomes a lesson, not just in culinary arts, but in geography, history, and anthropology. It’s a hands-on way to experience the world, one plate at a time.

I first thought lets make it 50 countries I’ve never cooked a dish from before but when I checked my notes I saw that would make this pretty much impossible as I’ve been picking various dishes to cook from other countries for years and if I limited it that way I’d be hamstringing myself. I did set a rule that where I could, I would make something new from that country instead of repeating a dish (I broke this rule with Italy since I’ve been cooking Italian food my whole life and I’d need to dig deep to find something)

The first 10-15 countries were easy as I zeroed in on the most popular cuisines globally and did some light research to find dishes that were representative of that country. It was fun learning about why each food was relevant and cross referencing different recipes to see if there’s a common consensus (ChatGPT is great for this task) once I got past those low hanging fruits I actually found a few websites that would let you randomly pick a country and I rolled the proverbial dice each week and tried to cook a dish from whatever country it landed on (hence some of the more esoteric choices)

Most of the time I was able to identify a dish that was representative and source the ingredients locally but sometimes I had to special order ingredients for more exotic dishes which was fun as then I’d have to try to find a use for those ingredients after I made the dish (Soups, it was all soups)

I kept track of the countries via a map API in my google sheet and it was fun watching the countries fill in as I made each dish.

In essence, learning to cook new foods and experimenting with diverse ingredients is a celebration of cultural diversity and a testament to the unifying power of food. It’s an invitation to step out of your culinary comfort zone, to taste the world, and to bring a piece of it into your home. So, don your apron, gather those exotic spices, and embark on a gastronomic adventure that promises to enrich both your palate and your understanding of the world.