Cuisines
A cuisine is a style of cooking characterized by distinctive ingredients, techniques and dishes, and usually associated with a specific culture or geographic region. Regional food preparation techniques, customs, and ingredients combine to enable dishes unique to a region.
A cuisine is partly determined by ingredients that are available locally or through trade. Regional ingredients are developed and commonly contribute to a regional or national cuisine, such as Japanese rice in Japanese cuisine or New Mexico chile in New Mexican cuisine. Likewise, national dishes have variations, such as gyros in Greek cuisine and hamburger in American cuisine.
Religious food laws can also exercise an influence on cuisine, such as Hinduism in Indian cuisine, Sikhism in Punjabi cuisine, Buddhism in East Asian cuisine, Christianity in European cuisine, Islam in Middle Eastern cuisine, and Judaism in Jewish and Israeli cuisine.