Spain, Mexico, and China

Spanish cuisine is, like Italian cuisine, less a single tradition than a federation of strong regional ones, shaped in large part by nearly eight centuries of Islamic rule in Al-Andalus. That period introduced rice cultivation, saffron, almonds, citrus fruits, and sophisticated irrigation techniques to the Iberian Peninsula, laying the groundwork for dishes such as paella, whose most traditional Valencian version uses rabbit, chicken, snails, and local beans rather than the seafood commonly served to tourists elsewhere in Spain, a divergence that still generates lively disagreement among Spanish cooks about what counts as "authentic." Tapas, the small dishes served alongside drinks, are wrapped in their own contested origin story, often traced to a royal decree by King Alfonso X requiring wine to be served with a small bite of food, or to the practical habit of covering a wine glass with a slice of bread or ham to keep out flies, though no single account is definitively documented. Beyond these emblematic dishes, Spain’s regional diversity spans Basque pintxos and seafood cookery, Galician octopus and shellfish traditions, and Andalusian cold soups like gazpacho, each reflecting distinct climates and histories.