Pizza is the undisputed favorite food of the world. You can find it in almost every corner of the globe, from traditional Italian restaurants to fast-food chains. This classic dish is made of a round, flattened dough base topped with cheese and tomatoes, and garnished with basil, olives and oregano. But what other foods are popular around the world?Massive Health, a website that collects data from 7.68 million food reviews from over 50 countries, has compiled a list of the most popular foods in the world.
Brussels sprouts are a favorite in San Francisco, pretzels in Philadelphia, and rye in Copenhagen. New York is the healthiest city in the US, although it's hard to resist all the pizza, pasta and tortellini on offer!The origin of pizza is a bit of a mystery, but it's believed that pizza margarita was created by Raffaele Esposito in 1889 to honor the unification of Italy. The classic combination of basil, mozzarella and tomato is now a staple in Italian restaurants around the world. Chinese cuisine is also popular with those who order food at home. One of its most iconic dishes is xiaolongbao, small meatballs stuffed with minced pork that float in a salty chicken broth.
This dish dates back to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).Shakes have been around since the 1940s and 1950s, when beverage mixing machines were invented. The world's largest recorded shake was blended in New York and reached a volume of 6,000 gallons! Cheese fries are also popular in America - there's New Jersey's disco chips, Canada's poutine and chili cheese fries. The version with orange cheese that we know today was invented in the 1950s with the release of processed Cheez Whiz. Sushi is also popular around the world, particularly California rolls which were invented in Los Angeles in the 1960s. The chef needed a substitute for tuna so he used avocado and crab, and turned the roll around so that white rice was on the outside to make it more appealing to Americans. Cheese has been fried since medieval times but bar snacks as we know them today originated in Wisconsin in the 1970s.
Wisconsin produces 600 varieties of cheese and even has its own festival dedicated to this product!Pad Thai is Thailand's national dish and was developed by the Thai government in the 1930s and 1940s as part of their westernization efforts. It has since become a favorite among Americans. Belgians eat more French fries than anyone else - 165 pounds per person per year! Ketchup was invented in the mid-1940s to accompany them. American cuisine ranks seventh out of 34 cuisines worldwide and 68% of people surveyed around the world have tried it and liked it. Pasta is also popular around the world according to Oxfam's report on favorite foods. Surprisingly, salads are among America's 25 favorite foods - although it's difficult to measure global food trends with such a small sample. Chili is another favorite food - so much so that there is an annual World Cooking Championship with Chile! Burgers are also popular as well as gyoza and other dishes that may surprise you.
