It may come as no surprise that the cuisine that claims pizza and pasta is a world-wide favorite. That’s right. A survey found that Italian food is the most popular cuisine in the world.
The global survey of more than 25,000 across 24 countries, conducted by YouGov, found that 99 percent of Italians love Italian food (duh!), and more than 90 percent of Spaniards, French, Swedes, Philippines, Australians, and Brits also favorite the saucy fare above any other foreign cuisines.
Considering all of the delicious foods of the world, taking the number one spot is quite the culinary honor, and it’s a big step for a food that once considered lower-class fare.
John F. Mariani, author of, “How Italian Food Conquered the World,” once wrote that Italian food “never received anything like the respect accorded French cuisine, even though the ingredients used in French kitchens were no better than in Italian kitchens, and it was very likely that a French meal was being cooked by an Italian back in the kitchen.”
Even if it didn’t immediately gain a following, with its aged cheeses, wonderfully cured meats, and heavy dose of carbs, it was only a matter of time before Italian food took over our hearts and our stomachs.
The survey also found that Chinese food was the second most popular cuisine. Japanese food ranked third.
Peruvian cuisine came in dead last with Finnish food not too far behind. However, Peru was not included in on the survey, so had their preferences been included, Finnish would likely have come in last.
Finnish food shares some staples with Icelandic food.
America’s favorites
Americans love their pizzas and pastas, but in the U.S., Italian only comes in second. Americans love American food more than any other. Mexican food came in a close third. Saudi Arabian food came in last for Americans.
American food came in as the seventh favorite world-wide. Residents of Singapore, Taiwan, and the UAE are some of the biggest fans of American food, while the opposite end of the spectrum was Spain, China, and Germany, who enjoy American foods the least.
Oddly enough, foods we consider American aren’t always American, but that doesn’t stop us from claiming the hot dog and apple pie like they were our own.
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