What is continental food?

Every cuisine has its influence on its region and culture. Continental cuisine is no different. Read to know everything about continental cuisine and its delicacies. 

Different cuisine has its own story, flavour and taste. This peculiar flavour comes from the local produce of the region and the recipes that have passed from generation to generation. Cuisines like Chinese, Japanese, Indian have their own unique taste. Similarly, continental food is unique due to its region, tradition and culture. Often continental and oriental food is considered to be the same. The major difference between these two cuisines is the region they are prepared in. 

Continental food is prepared in the continent of Europe. It essentially contains Mediterranean and French cuisine. Continental food includes the cuisines of European countries like Spain, France, Italy and more. This cuisine’s staple ingredients are olive oil, wine, garlic and various herbs and spices to season and add flavour to the dishes.

Whereas, oriental cuisine belongs to Southeast Asian countries like China, Thailand, Korea and Japan. 

Another difference between continental and oriental cuisine is that continental cuisine uses fewer vegetables than oriental cuisine. Even though today both the cuisines use baby corns, sun-dried tomatoes and lotus roots in their dishes. These ingredients were never used in Continental cuisine but as the recipes evolve and new dishes get developed the chefs use them without any hesitation.

The primary cooking techniques of continental cuisine are frying, roasting and baking. Whereas, in oriental cuisine, it is stir-frying, boiling and quick frying. 

Cooking methods of Continental Cuisine:

1. Baking:

This method is used to prepare baked goods like cakes, pastries, pies etc.

2. Roasting:

The meat or vegetables are roasted in an oven or grill to make roasted continental dishes.

3. Grilling:

Food like chicken, fish, meat, lamb and vegetables are usually prepared by this method.

4. Stewing:

It’s a long process of cooking where the meat, vegetables and other ingredients are cooked together in a cooker. The majority of the continental dishes are cooked with this method.

Continental Meals:

1. Breakfast:

Breakfast is the heaviest meal in the continental cuisine with an assortment of bread, cold meats, jam, pastries, butter eggs and hot or cold beverages.

2.  Lunch:

The lunch is served between 1-3 PM and is lighter than the breakfast. Some commonly served dishes during lunch include chicken and cheese salad, turkey rolls, sautéed veggies etc. 

3. Evening Snacks:

Evening snacks are accompanied by hot or cold beverages with snacks like cheese rolls, cupcakes, cookies and more.

4. Dinner:

Dinner is probably the lightest meal of continental cuisine. The dinner consists of soup, bread, boiled or grilled meat or any light sandwich. This last and light meal is taken around 8 PM.

Table Etiquettes of Continental Cuisine:

Fork and knife are essential cutlery of the continental cuisine and it needs to be arranged systematically on the dining table. The dining system of this cuisine makes use of napkins, separate cups for coffee and tea and different sizes of plates and spoons. 

Popular Continental Dishes:

1. Yorkshire Pudding:

It is a side dish made of flour, eggs and milk or water. 

2. Sunday Roast:

It is a traditional British meal that is served on Sunday and consists of roasted meat and roast potatoes. It is served with accompaniments like Yorkshire pudding.

3. Kidney Pie:

This kidney pie can be made according to vegetarian and non-vegetarian preference. The non-vegetarian kidney pie is made of stuffing made with a mixture of diced beef, diced kidney, fried onion, and brown gravy. The vegetarian kidney pie is made from kidney beans.

4. Baked Sole Fillets:

This dish is made from Sole fish fillets and is one of the gourmet dishes of continental cuisine.

5. Batter Fish:

Batter fish is a nice and warm appetiser that is essentially fish fried in a batter of soda water, baking powder, egg, flour and seasoning of your choice.

Other common continental dishes include chickpea soup, roast turkey with cranberry sauce, honey roast chicken, smoked kidney bean salad, apple sauce to name a few.

Health Benefits of Continental Cuisine:

Continental food is high in protein as it consists of meat and eggs. The food is prepared by the cooking methods of stewing, grilling and roasting and thus is low in calories. One of the main foods of continental cuisine is fish that is high in Omega-3 fatty acids.

Make your continental dish with this recipe of sumptuous Mexican rice.