Ask Lemmy

Traditional and culture are good if you like the food as it was originally. Here in the us, too much ethnic food is Americanized, sometimes for the worst. After experiencing a few more authentic Chinese restaurants, I’ve come to realize the many I don’t like are because they’ve been Americanized. Badly. A lot more sweet, milder flavors, everything fried.

Tradition and authenticity are good and important if your goal is to experience the culture.

If your goal is to just eat good food, then they're not important at all.

For example, if you go to Italy and want to really experience Italian food culture, then you should be looking for tradition and authenticity. But if you go to Italy and you just want some good, tasty food ... then you don't need to worry so much about that.

For example: Wine

I get what you're saying, and it's true, but "wine" is a horrible choice...

It can take five years for a vine to produce wine grapes. And even after they're harvested, its a long process where lots can go wrong.

It wasn't that people really thought no one could make better wine than France, it's that no one else was consistently doing it yet. Everyone knew if Cali vineyards kept at it, they'd eventually level the playing field.

Most of the "outcry" about the result, was in France and made by the insanely wealthy people who owned the French vineyards

Professional wine tasting seems like a scam anyway. Somehow, professional wine tasters are unable to tell red from white wine in blind tastings that hide the visual information.

Thinking of for recipes, authenticity matters if you're wanting that specific thing the way you've always (more or less) had it. Otherwise, go wild.

I'm always reminded of the time a chef my mother was dating tried to impress me by cooking pierogi (my favorite non-seafood food). He tried to make it fancy with toppings and it was so unsatisfying. Just give me my fried onions and sour cream.

I don't entirely disagree. But the thing about tradition is, it's done the same way every time. I'm more likely to trust the person who has done a thing their whole life and learned from their parents rather than someone who started last week.

But I'd prefer either of them over mass-produced versions.

For example: Wine tasters were clear that French wine just tasted better than Californian wine. They were extremely convinced. Then they tried a blind test and hoo boy did everyone get pissed when they couldn’t tell the French wine was better without knowing it was French first. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judgment_of_Paris_(wine)

Two Buck Chuck (an inexpensive blend of wines sold by Trader Joe's) also has scored well among California wines. So it's not like expensive California wines are obliterating more-pedestrian counterparts, either.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Shaw_wine

Charles Shaw is an American brand of bargain-priced wine.[1] Largely made from California grapes, Charles Shaw wines include Cabernet Sauvignon, White Zinfandel, Merlot, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Shiraz, Valdiguié in the style of Beaujolais nouveau, and limited quantities of Pinot Grigio.

The cost of the wine is about 30 to 40 percent of the price, with the bottle, cork and distribution the larger part.

Charles Shaw wines were introduced at Trader Joe's grocery stores in California in 2002 at a price of USD$1.99 per bottle, earning the wines the nickname "Two Buck Chuck", and eventually sold 800 million bottles between 2002 and 2013.[2]

At the 28th Annual International Eastern Wine Competition, Shaw's 2002 Shiraz received the double gold medal, beating approximately 2,300 other wines in the competition.[13]

I'd add that the same sort of thing goes for "audiophile" gear. Things should be blind-tested. It's very easy to have a perceptually different experience when you know what it is that you're using.

I remember a point where Joshua Bell was busking in the New York subway.

https://www.classicfm.com/artists/joshua-bell/violin-busking-washington-subway/

He’s one of the finest talents in the classical music world, and in 2007 violinist Joshua Bell went busking as an experiment. Would the public realise just what was happening, alongside their daily bustle?

Music director of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, worldwide star soloist, and former child prodigy. His instrument is a Stradivarius from 1713 and his hair is an icon of classical music in itself....

Joshua Bell is one of the world’s great virtuosos, and one of the biggest names in classical music.

And in 2007 he did some anonymous busking, as a little social experiment to see what might happen.

Over a period of 43 minutes, the violinist performed six classical pieces, two from Bach pieces, one Massenet, and one each from Schubert and Ponce.

Out of 1,097 people that passed by Bell, 27 gave money, and only seven actually stopped and listened for any length of time.

In total, Bell made $52.17 (£42.18). And this includes a $20 note from someone who recognised him.

I went to a blind dinner recently (You eat in a completely dark room, and are served by blind people).
After each course, the guests had to guess what they were eating, and what sort of wine was served.
Literally no one was even able to tell the difference between white wine and rosé.