The document summarizes several different world cuisines including Italian, French, Spanish, Japanese, and Vietnamese cuisine. It provides an overview of some key characteristics of each cuisine such as common ingredients, cooking techniques, and how they have been influenced by other culinary traditions over time. For example, it notes that Italian cuisine relies on high quality ingredients and simple preparations, French cuisine has significantly influenced Western cooking education, and Japanese cuisine balances seasonal ingredients with influences from Chinese and Western foods.

1. Types of cuisine

2. Italian cuisine
 Italian cuisine is food typical of Italy. It has developed through centuries of social and
economic changes, with roots stretching to antiquity.[1]
 Significant changes occurred with the colonization of the Americas and the introduction of
potatoes, tomatoes, capsicums, maize and sugar beet, this last introduced in quantity in the
18th century.[2][3] Italian cuisine is known for its regional diversity, especially between the
north and the south of the Italian peninsula.[4][5][6] It offers an abundance of taste, and is one
of the most popular and copied in the world.[7] It influenced several cuisines around the
world, chiefly that of the United States.[8]
 Italian cuisine is generally characterized by its simplicity, with many dishes having only two
to four main ingredients.[9] Italian cooks rely chiefly on the quality of the ingredients rather
than on elaborate preparation.[10] Ingredients and dishes vary by region. Many dishes that
were once regional have proliferated with variations throughout the country.

3. French cuisine
 French cuisine consists of the cooking traditions and practices from France.
 French cuisine developed throughout the centuries influenced by the many surrounding cultures of Spain,
Italy, Switzerland, Germany and Belgium, in addition to its own food traditions on the long western
coastlines of the Atlantic, the Channel and of course inland. In the 14th century, Guillaume Tirel, a court
chef known as "Taillevent", wrote Le Viandier, one of the earliest recipe collections of medieval France.
In the 17th century, chefs François Pierre La Varenne and Marie-Antoine Carême spearheaded
movements that shifted French cooking away from its foreign influences and developed France's own
indigenous style. Cheese and wine are a major part of the cuisine. They play different roles regionally and
nationally, with many variations and appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) (regulated appellation)
laws.[citation needed]
 French cuisine was made important in the 20th century by Auguste Escoffier to become the modern haute
cuisine; Escoffier, however, left out much of the local culinary character to be found in the regions of
France and was considered difficult to execute by home cooks. Culinary tourism and the Guide Michelin
helped to acquaint people[who?] with the cuisine bourgeoise of the urban elites[dubious – discuss] and
the peasant cuisine of the French countryside starting in the 20th century. Gascon cuisine has also had
great influence over the cuisine in the southwest of France. Many dishes that were once regional have
proliferated in variations across the country.
 Knowledge of French cooking has contributed significantly to Western cuisines. Its criteria are used
widely in Western cookery school boards and culinary education. In November 2010, French gastronomy
was added by the UNESCO to its lists of the world's "intangible cultural heritage".

4. Spanish cuisine
Spanish cuisine is heavily influenced by historical processes that shaped local culture
and society in some of Europe's Iberian Peninsula territories. Geography and climate had
great influence on cooking methods and available ingredients. These cooking methods
and ingredients are still present in the gastronomy of the various regions that make up
Spain. Spanish cuisine derives from a complex history where invasions and conquests of
Spain have modified traditions which made new ingredients available. Thus, the current
and old cuisine of Spain incorporates old and new traditions.

5. Japanese cuisine
 Japanese cuisine encompasses the regional and traditional foods of Japan, which have
developed through centuries of political, economic, and social changes.
 The traditional cuisine of Japan, washoku (和食), lit. "Japanese eating" (or kappō (ja:割烹)),
is based on rice with miso soup and other dishes; there is an emphasis on seasonal ingredients.
Side dishes often consist of fish, pickled vegetables, and vegetables cooked in broth. Seafood
is common, often grilled, but also served raw as sashimi or in sushi. Seafood and vegetables
are also deep-fried in a light batter, as tempura. Apart from rice, staples include noodles, such
as soba and udon. Japan also has many simmered dishes such as fish products in broth called
oden, or beef in sukiyaki and nikujaga.
 Historically influenced by Chinese cuisine, Japanese cuisine has opened up to influence from
Western cuisines in the modern era. Dishes inspired by foreign food—in particular Chinese
food—like ramen and gyōza, as well as foods like spaghetti, curry, and hamburgers have
become adopted with variants for Japanese tastes and ingredients. Traditionally, the Japanese
shunned meat due to Buddhism, but with the modernization of Japan in the 1880s, meat-based
dishes such as tonkatsu and yakiniku have become common. Japanese cuisine, particularly
sushi, has become popular throughout the world.

6. Vietnamese cuisine
 Vietnamese cuisine encompasses the foods and beverages of Vietnam, and features a
combination of five fundamental tastes (Vietnamese: ngũ vị) in overall meals. Each
Vietnamese dish has a distinctive flavor which reflects one or more of these
elements. Common ingredients include shrimp paste, fish sauce, bean sauce, rice,
fresh herbs, fruit and vegetables. French cuisine has also had a major influence due
to the French colonization of Vietnam. Vietnamese recipes use lemongrass, ginger,
mint, Vietnamese mint, long coriander, Saigon cinnamon, bird's eye chili, lime, and
Thai basil leaves.[1] Traditional Vietnamese cooking is greatly admired for its fresh
ingredients, minimal use of dairy and oil, complementary textures, and reliance on
herbs and vegetables. Vietnamese food is low in sugar and is almost always naturally
gluten-free, as many of the dishes are made with rice noodles, rice papers and rice
flour instead of wheat.[2] With the balance between fresh herbs and meats and a
selective use of spices to reach a fine taste, Vietnamese food is considered one of the
healthiest cuisines worldwide.