Chef explains why white people don't season their food

[@abraxasjinx5207]

In addition to properly using salt, I will add that acid is often missing in home cooking. Even if it's just a drop, a bit of citrus or vinegar can totally open up a dish. Salt, fat, sugar, and acid. That's the core of good food.

[@dumb_as_rocks]

⁠bro is calling msg by the brand name 🤣

[@jasonlee148]

Are you white? This post alone proof that you don't even know what proper seasoning is. Chinese use garlic, ginger and spring onion as a bare minimum on top of salt for most dishes. Most heavy flavoured meat dishes has soy sauce undertone with a dozen other herbs as seasoning that makes KFC recipe look like its out of a child's cookbook. The judge of a good chef was mostly how well one can put as much Umami which the ultimate flavour into the dish, thousands years before MSG was even invented. Whereas Umami is practically none existent in most Western food even today due to the way ingredients are prepared. Asian food is simply superior on all fronts, that's there's barely any Michelin star restaurants in China, as their standards are simply too low when judging against Chinese food.

[@Puerco-Potter]

@@dumb_as_rocks I am glad you found it funny, I will delete my comment now. You are a terrible person.

[@diccmctwist]

@@dumb_as_rocks man im dead

[@_Chessa_]

MSG as well. I love MSG and I don’t know why it’s bad or considered unhealthy. It’s an amazing seasoning and umami flavoring and it’s freaking amazing! Same with the different tasting salts. Yummy

[@HeriEystberg]

I come from a tiny Nordic country in the middle of nowhere where fish and sheep are abundant. My grandfather was and my father is a fisherman as well as rearing sheep and growing potatoes. As a kid I would get fresh fish, potatoes and some melted butter for dinner at least 3 times a week. I could see how some would call it bland food, but man, that fish just melted on your tongue.

[@omnipotentbanana1576]

Er du fra færøerne?

[@HeriEystberg]

@@omnipotentbanana1576 bingo! Hehe, den var ikke svær at regne ud for en dansker, vel?

[@_________-_______]

@@HeriEystberg Får, fisk och mitt ute i ingenstans, inte super svårt att gissa lol. Vackert land däremot, skulle älska att besöka det nån dag. Skål på dig!

[@HeriEystberg]

@@_________-_______ det är inte så långt att resa från Sverige, så det skulle jag absolut rekommendera att du gör. Den 29 juli är vår nationaldag vilket innebär att alla färöingar samlas i Torshavn den 27-29 juli och det är en jättefest! Skál!

[@owenlj6261]

There's only one tiny Nordic country haha

[@Nyurite]

There's also the fact that European cultures tend to incorporate more fermented foods such as a huge variety of cheeses, sausages, etc. in their cuisines, which adds more variation in flavors overall. There's other creative ways to add flavors than the use of herbs and spices.

[@Laticia1990]

It's about preserving food really. Spices can help preserve food in warmer climates without a winter. And fermenting, smoking, and canning can help preserve foods in places with a winter where plants will stop growing for some time.

[@white_mage]

you can also use wine to cook meat. i knew someone who cooked some meat (forgot) using a pan, a bit of oil, onion, red pepper, garlic, salt and wine. best meat i've ever had.

[@dominicj7977]

sausages are garbage

[@ckpalmeiras1318]

@@dominicj7977 Never come to Latin America with that attitude😂 We thank our Spanish, Portuguese and Italian ancestors for the gift of sausage!!

[@eltiolavara9]

@@dominicj7977 Leave.

[@onewholovesvenison5335]

Onion and garlic powder are so useful in the kitchen, and the power of salt is underestimated so often.

[@dmw282]

Yes

[@skyhunter2816]

Agreed.

[@Sir_Opus]

There's also all kinds of herbs which apparently aren't counted as seasoning.

[@FASBLAQUE]

Yes, they are. Smoked paprika is too.

[@lenaramoon4617]

i thought salt is the foundation of every flavor, because it brings out the molecules that enhance the natural taste of food. *shrug

[@thebegungler7333]

Northern Europe is not a desolate wasteland without plants, we have many native spices/herbs but they are maybe milder or unfamiliar to other cultures

[@EggBenis]

Could you provide me with some examples? As a person from a very tropical area, I'm very interested in spices not from around here, mostly because they are "exotic" to me.

[@thebegungler7333]

@@EggBenis mustard, dill, juniper, sorrel, wild garlic & caraway are the ones i can think of right now

[@EggBenis]

@@thebegungler7333 oh cool, thank you for telling me!

[@VVabsa]

Celtic tribes were known by the Romans to use quite some cumin in their dishes and had salt mines.

[@Sir_Opus]

@@EggBenis I think good example would be the italian focaccia which uses rosemary for a really nice flavour. Oh and, of course, there's also pizza which gets most of its distinct taste from oregano, of course.

[@hexkobold9814]

Some other points: 1. There are plenty of non-European cultures that use minimal or subtle seasoning. Japanese is good example - A lot of modern Japanese cuisine emphasizes freshness and uses subtle ingredients like soy sauce, mirin, sake, miso, spring onions, bonito flakes, shiitake mushrooms, perilla leaf, various seaweeds, citruses, etc. There are exceptions but no more or less than there are exceptions in European cuisines - Japan like their version of curry just like British like their version of curry; Japanese have wasabi just like British people have hot mustard and horseradish, Japanese have togarashi shichimi just like many Western kitchens stock Cayenne powder, etc. Other non-European cuisines to think about are traditional Mongolian food and other cuisines of traditionally northern, nomadic, pastoral, or subsistence-farming cultures such as indigenous peoples of North America and Siberia. 2. "Seasoned" is not a black-and-white concept, it's a spectrum. My Persian coworker raves about her native cuisine which uses spices like saffron, sumac, cardamom, cinnamon, cumin, coriander, turmeric, black lime, etc. One day she recommended her favorite Persian restaurant to a client originally from southern India who then told her he'd tried that restaurant before and found it the taste too mild for his taste. 3. There's a huge difference between traditional European cuisine made by old grandmothers from farming villages using fresh, locally-sourced ingredients, and the "white Midwestern homemaker" cuisine that was born from the 1940's onward with the advent of widespread home refrigeration and cookbooks of "convenience" teaching people shortcuts with canned, jarred, and shelf-stable ingredients and factory-farmed meat from a sterile supermarket.

[@rarescevei8268]

3. Honestly doesnt apply în Eastern Europe

[@LinNil-gz3je]

dont forget mountaneous nomads dont use seasoning but only salt.

[@Borscheful]

@@rarescevei8268 of course not, he's talking about white midwestern cuisine. some may have come from eastern europe, but when they lived in the midwest america, it clearly became a branch cuisine.

[@nukewaste]

One picking point. Literally every ingredient you named in Japanese cuisine is bold, has unique characteristics, and are anything but mild, unless you just mean "not spicy".

[@hexkobold9814]

@nukewaste All of those ingredient have flavor profile equivalents in "white" cuisines - different kinds of salts, different vinegars, Maggi, Worcestershire, Kitchen Bouquet, bouillon, various cooking wines and alcohols like sherry, burgundy, rum, beer, cider, etc, onions, garlic, scallions, chives, citrus juice and zest, mushrooms, celery and celery seed, mustard, cayenne, paprika, nutmeg, black pepper, bay leaves, rosemary, sage, thyme, mint, marjoram, parseley, basil, dill, fennel, caraway seed, etc. All of those ingredients are arguably just as "bold," "unique," "anything but mild" as the Japanese ones, yet "white" (European, especially northern) food is "bland" and Japanese food is "interesting and flavorful." That you feel the need to argue in defense of Japanese cuisine suggests you missed the point.

[@snood4743]

The Great Depression and convenience culture are huge influences too. Poverty can knock pricy ingredients out of a generation’s nostalgic comfort foods. We also work ourselves to death over here and our mega corporations are glad to toss frozen fish sticks at our exhausted bodies.

[@xxx_putin_has_a_flaccid_pe5374]

THIS. SO MUCH. I feel like other than a couple things such as how to cook eggs, a lot of why I can’t cook well is because of the food I was brought up with. A lot of Hamburger Helper, canned foods, frozen bagged whatever. Crock Pot recipes that didn’t call for spices, but for cans of French onion soup or whatever for flavor.

[@ambatuBUHSURK]

people worked themselves to death in just about every third world country.

[@BallstinkBaron]

@@ambatuBUHSURK the difference is we live in one of the richest and most powerful countries on the planet

[@Araneus21]

Actually, during hard times, people will seek food and spices in unconventional places, based on what's available, many things commonly used as food items were at some point, poor people's food, such as kasha. During WW2 people would use things like Rumex (which could literally be found on the side of the road). Urtica, Tilia flowers or dried forest mushrooms

[@xxx_putin_has_a_flaccid_pe5374]

@@Araneus21 Then there’s modern poverty, though, where the majority of people don’t know how to forage like that at all. Haven’t got at least a couple generations in cities.

[@jonathanrealman8415]

I am German and I season food all the time, we have a lot of native spices/herbs parsley, thyme, laurel, chives, black pepper, juniper berries, nutmeg, and caraway. All of those are, and have been used for ever. Also we use things like honey or barries to flavor meats and so on.

[@jrknsOFF]

I'm Russian and I really struggle to remember any time my mother, our family friends, my other relatives, or just people I know NOT seasoning their food, especially meats. Na ja es scheint, ihr und wir sind einfach nicht weiss oder was

[@Sir_Opus]

Video seems to stupidly gloss over the fact that all those things are also their own type of seasoning despite not being exotic spices. I guess it's to follow the narrative of "white people don't season their food", but it comes off as rather dumb.

[@braddishv3146]

This creator is a racist POS.

[@moosepatil5946]

He didn't mention Germans though, so no need to go to bat for Germans. This isn't about you, Hidelburg.

[@jonathanrealman8415]

@@moosepatil5946 Germans are white and not Italian, and he actually does talk about those Americans of German heritage, and a lot of my extended family fits that description, they season the food the same way my family does.

[@XlightninX]

I think it also comes from a fundamental misunderstanding of what costitutes a spice, garlic and onion as you said add flavor yet some people would only acknowledge their powdered forms. I'd argue herbs are Europe's spice rack, but they're disregarded by some. Marjoram, basil, thyme, rosemary all seem like spices to me, they're only there for flavor. Also as others have mentioned it was often a matter of preservation, southern countries used spices to make food last while northern ones used the cold or fermentation. They used what they had.

[@imjustvisiting5397]

As an Indian who likes spicy food, I don't like it when people deride "white people's food." Yes, it's not for everyone's palate, but making fun of minimally seasoned food as "white people's food" is just as bad as people saying that curries smell bad. It may not be suited to your tastes and senses, but don't ridicule it.

[@EmoDude523]

@@rachelforshee6014 White people is not used primarily to describe Europeans. Its to describe the Euro-Americans if you will. The “whites” since the Afro-American community is considered to be “blacks.” It was a term that didn’t really exist until the late 1600’s if I remember correctly.

[@EmoDude523]

@@rachelforshee6014 It wasn’t to dispute that point. I can agree on that. What I wanted to clarify was that the use of “white people” doesn’t apply to those in the places you stated. Just Euro-Americans.

[@encore3707]

@@rachelforshee6014 'I also don't understand what is "white people".' Why did you just watch the first 2 minutes of the video? The guy explains exactly what he means by 'white people,' and he does a pretty good job.

[@MrArtVein]

Bro you smell bad cuz your house desensitized you. Let's not lie to ourselves. Don't make you a bad person just like I'm not gonna rob you but if someone did rob you they prolly gonna look like me. Serial kill you is a different story

[@YouCallThataKnife253]

You don't eat at enough white people's houses then...

[@jakemcnamee9417]

The problem is how americans view spices. If it's exotic then it's a spice. Herbs like mint are a spice, rosemary, garlic and onion. Ir doesn't need to be a spicy chilly to be spicy.

[@Dinofaustivoro]

America is not a country tho

[@FireDarkNinja]

@@Dinofaustivoro Well they're referring to people from the USA, the USA is a country colloquially referred to by many as America. If you want to say South Americans or people from Mexico or Canada would refer to themselves as Americans you'd be hard pressed to find any. Also if you think America is a continent it isn't, it's North and South America which aren't called America together, they're called The Americas.

[@VynalDerp]

@@Dinofaustivoro damn my whole life has been a lie

[@moosepatil5946]

Mint is a Herb, not a spice. Spices are the nut, seed, bark etc of the plant. A Herb is the leafy bits like the stem and leaves. I can't think why you would say Mint is a spice like chilli without making sure you know what you are talking about first, but Be better, check your facts.

[@tobigrantlbart]

​@@moosepatil5946"Spices can come from the following plant parts: roots, rhizomes, stems, leaves, bark, flowers, fruits, and seeds." This is taken from the website of US Department of Agriculture, specifically the page on what is a spice and what's an herb.

[@Abcflc]

I’m from Argentina and we tend to only salt and pepper beef because the meat, when properly cooked, is so flavourful that it doesn’t need anything else. But I love an Indian curry or a Mexican Birria. I think it’s a matter of balance: I wouldn’t want to eat “bland” food everyday but I wouldn’t want everything to be spicy.

[@robzsarmy5471]

Argentina has incredible meat that it doesn't need seasoning thats why . You Argentines are also heavily influenced by Italy which are known to not over power seasoning but taste the actual flavours of the dishes.

[@Knokkelman]

THIS! Most people I eat with put herb butter on beef or drown it in ketchup/barbecue sauce, and I'm like "Ehm, no, thank you, I actually want to taste the beef, it's fucking delicious on it's own!"

[@zeroxwarrior]

Same, salt is all you need maybe a little pepper if you want some kick but the meat is the dish. I cringe when I see people get super well done steaks and lather A1 sauce all over it.

[@Georgina-lv9bt]

as another argentinean, I can attest...meat should be seasoned with salt and only salt..its the only way to eat the meat.Occasionally a little chimichurri to dab on the meat is ok, but thats about it. It needs nothing else.

[@EzeICE]

​@@zeroxwarriorYuck 🤮 🤮 🤮 🤮

[@euclois]

as a mediterranean who likes to cook, i go by "less is more", a pinch of salt, a touch of olive oil, some rosemary or pennyroyal and a clove of garlic is enough to bring the flavor and essence of well cooked ingredients. I love to feel the natural flavors of fish, or meat, but I am also fortunate to have access to good produce and ingredients. when the food is over seasoned i feel like something is being covered up.

[@Bytheirfruitsshall]

Please don't use pennyroyal it is toxic! So bad for your liver, a slow poison on small doses fatal in large, use mint or spearmint instead

[@NabiHamada]

I get your point but I want to point out it's something subjective and personal often no matter how poetic it is put as these parameters are set by the individual; someone who enjoys raw fish can easily say that those who cook it are only trying to hide the fact their fish isn't fresh and adding unnecessary ingredients like oil to enhance the taste when they are purer! I appreciate the simplicity but also think spices (not over using spices, one can say using too much garlic - like in the US - or too much salt..etc ) has their place too when used correctly, the truth some people don't know how to use spices.

[@jorgeblanco1929]

​@@NabiHamadaI can't imagine someone thinking raw fish is better but you do you

[@Bytheirfruitsshall]

@@jorgeblanco1929 Raw fish checked for worms straight off the hook, perhaps, after that, dry smoke, salt, lime it or cook it for sure! Any fruit especially apples, picked straight off a tree has sublime, subtle almost perfume like top notes in flavour, and apples are loudly crisp on biting, after a day, the flowery top notes have gone, a week, the crispness. Some heritage varieties after months will be softer but intensely sweet and more flavourful. Mass marketing cannot use any of this, it had become a privileged experience for those who have it, and a ugh! weird! concept for those who do not.

[@Black.Spades]

@@jorgeblanco1929 Depends on fish species, the type of cut (body part) etc. Maybe not overall better, but sometimes there's cravings for grilled fish. Other times it's for fresh, raw slices.

[@terdragontra8900]

4:30 Northern europeans wouldnt have eaten potatoes in medieval times or earlier, its a new world crop!

[@hallamhal]

Came down to point this out!

[@Indigolily80]

They did once they came to North America and became....white people. English,Welsh,Scottish, Irish people were the dominant ethnic groups for the first 200 years of America. Large scale immigration from other groups such as Germans, Italians,French ,Russians, etc. came mostly after 1840. They were not included in the "white" category. They were ethnic compared to the white Anglo Saxon Protestants. White people are the people who founded the 13 original colonies and enslaved Africans and called them black. When enslaved Africans and lowerclass whites tried to revolt, the rebellion was quelled. British American upperclass and landowners created the white category and subsequent laws to keep enslaved Africans and poor whites separated.

[@meganesergerie5382]

@@Indigolily80your infos are not accurate. Jacques Cartier 1534, (French). New Amsterdam before the British immigration were Dutch, La Florida was first occupied by Spain, etc.

[@cooldud7071]

@@Indigolily80 Actually, a sizeable portion of the original colonies were German, which is why it was proposed to Congress that federal laws should be printed in both English and German. France helped us fend off Britain. Both German and French people were considered white, and their ideas and culture heavily influenced American ideas (such as DEMOCRACY) and American culture as a whole. White people also didn't enslave any Africans. Africans enslaved each other, then sold their slaves to Whites and Jews. Jews played a prominent role in the slave trade, which was centered in St. Ellis Island. The only "white" people considered nonwhite were Italians, Slavs, Greeks, Hungarians, and the Irish.

[@GarrettFromThief]

Saying brown people seasoning their food due to the meat going bad faster is a racist, condescending theory with no basis in reality, but blanket statements like "White People do not season their food" is somehow not racist or condescending, with a basis in reality?

[@SéaFid]

The guy in this video has submissive white guilt. An awful affliction that leads to masochism and weakness

[@Anonymous-sb9rr]

Traditional Dutch cuisine uses spices like nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon and cumin. But none of these are hot spices. It should also be noted that the Netherlands, like England, has historically been a spice trading nation, which is not the case for places like Germany, Scandinavia and north eastern Europe, so spices may be less common in those places.

[@lordblazer]

yea in Germany if you want spiced foods you gotta go to places that are owned by immigrants from other countries, also you gotta like ask for the authentic flavors like how they would make it for themselves and not for the German palate. I learned this when I use to live in Cologne..

[@Black.Spades]

Eastern or N/S American spices were less common but not completely absent in North/Central/East Europe, and they still had enough local herbs. Including the more "spicy" horseradish, and in some regions mustard. Many people confuse spices with seasoning. While many dishes were not spicy, they were still very much seasoned.

[@VVabsa]

Nutmeg and cloves grow in Indonesia. I'd say Rosemary, thime or garden sorrel and chives are more Dutch than Nutmeg.

[@Sir_Opus]

I think the whole meme regarding the topic is that England, which famously colonized the entire world, doesn't use all those exotic spices in their national cuisine. I guess the explanation is that the working class (you know, most of the population) still wouldn't have been able to afford such spices.

[@JacksonMcgarvey2665]

@@VVabsaIndonesia was a Dutch colony.

[@dinosaurpower3862]

As Eastern European I just wanted to add that we add dill, garlic, laurel, parsley and peppers to food :0 As well as horseradish and mustard My great-grandpa would also snack on a whole chilly pepper every time he ate borscht

[@hellajeff5613]

But why don't you season your food with dish soap and bleach like in the vibrant culture of African Americans?

[@chrisjoshua69420]

eastern europeans are spicy white

[@chip4039]

​@@chrisjoshua69420west Europe use those ingredients too

[@Aceliious]

@@chrisjoshua69420americans when they try to indentify different cultures of different white people:

[@miloandash]

@@chrisjoshua69420 "spicy white" is not a real thing

[@The2wanderers]

A lot of this seems like arbitrary decisions about spice vs not spice. Salt and Pepper? defined as not-spice, even though pepper, at least, is clearly a spice. Garlic, onions and other herbs? Not-spice. So the short answer is that white people don't spice their food for the same reason white people's dialect is considered "not an accent." We've defined white-people cuisine as the default, so anyone using different ingredients to flavour their cuisine is adding spice.

[@JuanDuarte-gx1oe]

I'm from Paraguay and our cuisine does not have strong seasonings as well , I can go even a step further saying that picking and preserved food are foreign concepts even for out modern days, the reason might be because our natives did not have harsh winters so food were fresh and abundant, some tribes had their fermented drink made out of mandioca roots but it was fast to make and it was not made with the purpose of preserving or storing food, but more for ritualistic purposes. Foreigners often think that all of south american food are all similar to mexican cuisine but that is totally not the case, we even consider mexican food way too spicy or way too seasoned compared to the paraguayan cuisine and that is not a bad thing. our most liked delicacy is called asado, and it is just sprinkling a bit of salt on big cuts of meat cooked on a fire, as simple as that.

[@dollynina8992]

That's also the case for us in Bosnia and much of the Balkans. Our delicacies include slow roasted lamb in a dry-wood oven for several hours with only salt for seasoning. It comes out soo tender, the wood-smoke alone gives it flavour, and the layer of animal fat melts into the meat with the salt. We often dip bread into the melted fat afterwards because it's so delicious. Adding any more seasoning would just ruin the beauty of that process.

[@stvrob6320]

@@dollynina8992 What if you dry-rub the meat with some tasty smoked paprika first?

[@Professor_Sex]

that might just be delicious@@stvrob6320

[@darkstarr984]

Meat with just salt, cooked over fire is absolutely wonderful tasting. Different woods produce different flavors too because of compounds that get into the smoke.

[@Jumpoable]

Very interesting...

[@Tinil0]

I'm sure you realize this but to be clear, at 4:32 you are kinda putting potatoes in Europe before the Columbian exchange. They obviously weren't eating potatoes before potatoes came to Europe.

[@julian281198]

There are even more things wrong, like the whole thing that medieval Europe hadn't spices, which is wrong. Exotic spices were relatively expensive but not unaffordable to the common people. Also, there were other things to flavour your food like homegrown herbs, roasted onions or Garum, which was quite popular in the medieval german area.

[@Dinofaustivoro]

"Exchange"

[@Tinil0]

@@Dinofaustivoro I mean, ignoring that whatever we think of it it IS known as the "Columbian Exchange", it was an exchange for sure. Not a great one, but the various American groups got lots of diseases and genocide in the exchange!

[@michellejames2447]

@@julian281198 That's fascinating. Do you guys still use garum? I didn't realize it was still in use in the Middle Ages.

[@julian281198]

@michellejames2447 it really depends how you define "garum". In the medival sense, no. But if you define garum as a unami favoured for cooking with a strong flavour, like soy souce would be, then yes. It's called "Maggie -Würze" which is basically a mix out of msg, salt and Lovage.

[@JeffreyMartin]

your production, arrangement, narration, typography are really first-rate. thank you!

[@NabiHamada]

I think "bland" usually has a context and might not only describe the lack of spices but the overall lack of flavour which points to technique. overly boiled vegetables can taste quite bland since the prolonged cooking destroy the integrity of these veggies, in contrast a cheese toasties isn't bland (a lot of salt and dairy fats). The description in the video isn't factual medieval Scandinavia had somethings that grew in it and was used as seasoning such as horseradish, dill, mustard seeds (still widely used in Scandinavian cuisine(s). Spices were so valued that the Dutch waged wars to acquire them!

[@leroyjenkins1249]

^Yeah this. From what I heard, the joke around Asians following a "white people lunch trend" it's about mocking truly bland concepts, like lunchables. I'm German and had once an exchange program to England, when I learned what people meant with "bland white people food". To cheris my Italian roommate, our host mother wanted to make "Spaghetti Carbonara" -which was bland spaghetti, in butter, with raw broccoli. Another time I was half an avocado and a spoon as "lunch"

[@dbadagna]

To add saltiness, but also umami, to your food (and not just Asian food), it's possible to use fermented condiments like soy sauce or miso. Also, numerous cultures around the world swear by an MSG-laden bottled brown sauce called Maggi (although it only originated in the 1880s in Switzerland).

[@maxjk1143]

the sauce is called würze, the company is maggi

[@MrKrtek00]

Stocks and other reductions has similar effect

[@MyCrafcik]

Too bad it's Maggi now

[@cryptohound]

❤️ Maggi is bomb

[@Dowlphin]

@@maxjk1143 True, but no one refers to it as that, probably in part also because Würze is way too generic to be understood what is meant.

[@philpaine3068]

The "bland" cuisine of North America dates from the 1930s and 1940s, and was influenced by the Great Depression and World War 2 rationing. After the war, a very bland cuisine was associated with the expanding suburbs, where young, inexperienced brides had to cook with whatever the corporate supermarket chains wanted to sell them, and that wasn't an array of spices like what was available in the old neighbourhoods that these young people were abandoning. It was corporate-based mass-market advertising that promoted bland food. Before that era, cooking in North America employed LOTS of spices. I have examined popular cook books in Canada from the 19th century.... and they were full of spicy dishes. A cowboy cook book from Western Canada included fiery chilis and powerful curries --- anything but bland. Madame Benoit's popular cookbooks, full of her mother's and grandmother's old French Canadian recipes, had lots of spicy dishes. And anyone who thinks Polish, Hungarian, or Ukrainian traditional cooking didn't use spices doesn't know anything about those cultures.

[@j.n.4806]

My mom gave me "L'encyclopédie de la cuisine de Jehane Benoît" when I leaved the home. It was 23 years ago and I still have (and use) it! 😃

[@aphr0d]

I just discovered your channel from the Arthur video and your videos have made me feel something that KZbin videos have not made me feel for a long time. Your content is incredibly soothing and there I say nourishing. Thanks so much for posting these.

[@HorsesOnYT]

I’m glad you’re enjoying them - thanks for watching 🥰 -Michael

[@aphr0d]

⁠@@HorsesOnYTI just saw your subscriber count and I’m blown away! The quality in your videos and the dedication you put into it-I thought it was a lot higher! I wish you great success in your KZbin journey. Your channel is really an inspiration and made me full of warm feelings. You’re awesome, Michael!

[@low-budgefudge2164]

samething here!!!

[@pickleBOB405]

me too! these videos are great! what an underrated youtuber, i hope he gets more recognition!

[@LSSJTHOR]

He should do the Arthur episode about alzheimers. His grandpa has it. My one side of the family has it. That terrifies me.

[@maximilianwood4848]

seasoning is not just spices you can season with other things

[@311junglist]

Like wines, and other alcohols as well. Lemon zest is also not a spice as long as its fresh. So many things so little time on this planet.

[@cooldud7071]

Spices are literally just dried herbs. Onion and garlic powder are spices. Do you know how many foods use onion or garlic powder as a seasoning?

[@kayakat1869]

I went to Sweden, Denmark, and Germany recently and I had some of the most delicious and flavorful dishes there with minimal spices added. I found that it was more about letting the ingredients do the talking instead of covering it them up. I also found that I never felt bloated or weighed down after eating over there.

[@balkanwitch5747]

But those countries also use lots of salt, herbs, sauces, mayo etc to “cover up” the taste. No such thing as “covering up” tbh. If you ate “uncovered” meat it would be pretty disgusting

[@CharlesD-qb9nm]

@@balkanwitch5747 I've actually eaten meat without anything on it, and I mean nothing, and it is really great if you cook it just right (to be fair this was over an open fire and that makes a big difference)

[@Aceliious]

@@balkanwitch5747????? A grilled steak with only salt is one of the best foods wdym?????

[@LilHaze117]

I'm seeing a trend of people who think that people just throw a bunch of spices on to 'cover up' the flavour of the food and I have to tell you if you did that in Jamaica you would be laughed at. That is not cooking. You just essentially described throwing a cup of salt on your chicken cause you heard salt enhances flavour.

[@Heegooat]

The ordinary street cook in india, peru, Lebanon will outdo the Michelin chefs of Europe. I tasted heaven in India.

[@daviddestin1990]

As a retired line cook of 20 yrs, I find this theory interesting. My background is mostly Italian and Creole. That said, sometimes I like to go "purist", and focus on the flavor of the ingredients. Anyway, there is a reason why the ancient Romans used salt as currency.

[@nathanirby4273]

See a lot of people make the mistake of calling everything that comes out of Louisiana Cajun, when in fact a lot of the more heavily spiced dishes the state is famous for are more Creole...poor Acadians out in the swamp or out in the marshlands and canefields normally couldn't access or afford such luxuries and authentic Cajun food traditionally is more basic, not unlike the provincial French cuisine it is based off of. Look at cajun boudin, normally just salt ,pepper, green onions, and sometimes cayenne..and compare that with a Creole Andouille sausage for instance. Or cajun Couchon De lait...just a pig and fire, compared with a Creole tasso ham

[@cooldud7071]

@icankillbugs Worked at Applebee's for 20 years? What compelled you to be so rude for no reason?

[@heistingcrusader_ad3223]

​@icankillbugsbeing a jackass isn't gonna get you friends

[@white_mage]

@icankillbugs is that how your adult life is going so far? i've never heard anything like it before so it must be your experience you're mentioning here isn't it.

[@Algenie]

@icankillbugs Fine dining establishments have line cooks too, Big Time, so just relax. Picking on strangers on the internet won't make your dick bigger.

[@bobdobsin6216]

I watch a lot of historical cooking and I find it amazing how much more complex (savory, sweet, and aromatic) food was in the middle ages. On the whole I would say it's better, and it's a shame that we don't use nearly as many herbs and spices as we did then. Nouvelle cuisine certainly has a place - but it has to be as you said: it must use fresh, premium ingredients. It has to be *good* beef, like prime or select, and for chicken it should probably be thighs rather than the easily dried and lean breasts. In my amateur chef opinion, a lot of the accusations of blandness come from the fact that yes, people don't use salt, but they don't work with materials that have much flavor in their own right. At least from the reference frame of pre-modern and early-modern cooking.

[@aseheavyindustries798]

its crazy that people discovered hotdogs and jello in the 1950s and it damaged our recipes for decades

[@Dowlphin]

It's also people's laziness and resulting thoughtlessness. You could tell millions of people "why don't you do this and that with food" and they'd either go "Wow, you are right." or just "Nah.". Premade meals with herbs in the ingredients list tend to be for subtle taste notion and to satisfy the recipe template, but it's not exactly healthy. What I do instead is simply eat closer to what used to be. I have a glass of freeze-dried Provence herb mix and I add a generous amount of them to whatever meal they fit, and often after heating so that I don't destroy anything valuable. (I do the same with water-activated garlic powder.)

[@thehound9638]

We did a lot of things in the middle ages which we don't do now. The design of their books and the art and effort they put into them was absolutely incredible and beautiful. People who mock the medieval period and consider them backwards have no idea what they're talking. Take a look at a Cathedral in Europe for example.

[@jeanpierrepolnareff9919]

what are u talking about bruv xddd. Cooking has never been more complex than today. That 90 percent of the population doest want or cant cook doesnt mean there arent chefs out there pushing the boundaries.

[@cooldud7071]

Depending on which historian you believe, peasants had over a month to half the year off of work. Logically, this means they'd have a lot of time to dick around and make good food. The industrial era clamped down on free-time, now you had to work absurd hours in jobs that could easily maim or kill you just to continue living. These traditions endured, now people who are uneducated on cooking (aka the vast majority of the population) are content to eat food someone else made. Further, these peasants had access to a wide range of unique plants, as well as their own gardens. Due to the nature of industrial cities, unique weeds and plants are scarce in densely populated areas, unless you choose to grow it yourself from seed(ling)s bought either locally or online.

[@morkeherrer2024]

As a souther-italian, I can definitely tell that the salt and the quality of every single ingredient is fundamental; tho, I can tell that the use of some particular vegetables as "reinforces" or "emphasizers" for boilings, sauces and many more dishes is highly relevant. Also, the power of olive oil, which can really change from day to night the flavour of a dish, its sweetness and juicyness, instead of butter or some other fat used in the cooking process.

[@MrSupahcreeper]

Framing things as "white vs non-white" is such an American and ridiculous way of seeing the world...

[@DocAcher]

Yeah, it's really a lens you'll only see from Americans. I wish they'd just say "white Americans" instead of lumping us all together.

[@ebinecksdee9872]

It definitely happens everywhere buddy not just the US

[@Jhakaro]

@@ebinecksdee9872 Italians and Spanish are white etc. So he's right. The white vs non-white framing is specifically just a US centric load of bollocks because they have a messed up view of race relations

[@nurgle333]

It's racist

[@JuanDuarte-gx1oe]

yep

[@kookoolatjes2987]

as a foodie, my fav part of travelling is trying the local cuisine. I'm from south east Asia, where spices are abundant, but travelling and living for sometime in europe and other parts of asia, I really like the minimal use of spices. I don't think it's bland, it's just different. and every country has a story told through it's kitchen. travelling from one place to another and noticing the change in people's palate, their eating habit, and the way they present their food is just so amazing to see. hopefully one day I can travel some more.

[@julecaesara482]

me, a German, angrily shaking my marjoran, lovage, sage, mugwort, dill, chives, parsley, fennel, caraway, juniper, mustard, garlic and wild garlic, sorrel and other plants that are vital in our cuisine because they grew here since forever

[@thomasdupont7186]

yeah..... I feel you. I hate it when Americans wants to "educate" us on "white"/European culture. Most of the time it is hilarious.....

[@ianredfield4306]

The spoiled meat theory has a little more truth to it, and I wouldn’t call it racist. A lot of studies show strong anti microbial and anti fungal properties to common spices along the equator, even capsaicin (the spicy compound in peppers) is a registered insecticide. There is no doubt that spices help in keeping meat fresher for longer. That said it wouldn’t have made spoiled meat edible again, so you ain’t totally wrong :) Great vid tho, keep it up

[@colbyzur4642]

My understanding is that salt and a few other spices would be used to preserve meat longer, because in a region like Israel they can’t exactly freeze meat, they can instead cover the meat in salt and spices that preserve the meat. Also I would not call it racist either because it’s based on geography not race, that bit made me roll my eyes

[@alexcallender]

Indeed. Adam Ragusea covered this topic on his channel as well and he had a much better answer, and actually provided sources proving that spices were indeed historically used in warmer climates to mask spoilage. It was just a fact of life prior to refrigeration, and while it wasn't exclusive to warmer climates (Europeans did it too), it was obviously more common in those regions due to the climate + more abundant spices.

[@u-neekusername4430]

I think it's more like the concept is used by racists to support their racism, I've heard it (much to my horror). e.g. "I don't eat Indian food, they use all those spices so they can serve you rotten food." Meaning ALL restaurants ALL the time as if that could actually happen & the restaurants stay open. It's not logical, just racist, so when he mentioned racist, I thought of that & went "yep".

[@annafirnen4815]

Salting and also smoking meat was known for a looooong time, in Europe too. How do you think people could survive a cold winter in the North? They had to make some supplies. Also pickling and fermenting food came around for the same reasons.

[@EremEdition]

​@@colbyzur4642meat spoils with moisture. so packaged grocery store meat is wrapped up in moisture. salt and seasoning dries it out, dehydrates it and cooks it. you can leave meat outside as long as other things don't come for it you can leave it out for many days to cook in the sun

[@loubloom1941]

But white people do (generally) season their food. The idea that they dont is mostly just a meme.

[@negativeslim]

its one big cope. I go to amish markets(german) all the time. Its filled with blks buying up all their food. They just want any reason they can to hate on whts.

[@alexcallender]

This, exactly. An utterly ridiculous forced meme that's infinitely less true than the idea that people from warmer climates doused their food in spices to mask spoilage (which is simply historical fact). When the video began he said "So, why don't white people season their food? The obvious answer is...", and when he didn't immediately follow that up with "they do", I knew I was in for some next-level nonsense, but it was even worse than I anticipated. That people are actually praising this midwit charlatan in the comments legitimately blows my mind. He's the definition of a pseud.

[@jerryterwase9027]

Just like saying that white men can't jump.

[@vitoriast2511]

I am slavic and we do season our food

[@Mmmfoodd]

Lmao not true, I know white people who think pepper is spicy

[@k.m.2625]

Lily white descendant of Northern Europeans here, who immigrated to Asia and loves to douse my food in chili powder, still getting laughed at by SE Asian friends with the "white people don't season their food joke." Funny thing: I live in Japan, where the culinary style has always favored very simple preparations, few ingredients, highlighting the natural flavors of the ingredients, with a focus on seasonal freshness over complex flavoring. And a great number of Japanese people do not prefer spicy food, many find overly spicy food distasteful. So, there are parallels echoed around the world and it's got nothing to do with ethnicity. In Japan, the simplicity of the cuisine evolved out of necessity, because the availability of local nutrition historically skewed heavily toward the salty/herby over the spicy, but even now, when there's a Korean barbecue or Indian curry place on every corner in Tokyo, Japanese people stick to their simple cuisine - and I'm glad, because the Japanese fetishism of fresh, seasonal ingredients has led to a subtlety of flavor that spices bowl right over. Punch me in the mouth with spices or give me the latest very gentle Japanese veggies, everything tastes good in the hands of a chef who really loves, respects, and understands the food.

[@youtubename7819]

I have heard that Japan has no native edible vegetables. Literally no edible land vegetables made it into the traditional cuisine. Seaweed was the only traditional vegetable. (And maybe if you want to count rice as a vegetable.) all the vegetables in modern Japanese cuisine were introduced from elsewhere. That sounds unbelievable to me. Maybe you can comment.

[@ckpalmeiras1318]

Most South American countries are like this. We have no spice or chilli in our cuisine (bar small very dry regions like north east Brasil) and would find the kind of hot spicy meals enjoyed in Mexico or the US or India or UK or Thailand as challenging.

[@Sananjalka]

@@youtubename7819 Speaking as a gardener here, not a cook, but just from my knowledge of plants, I can tell you that Japan does have native vegetables. Most species of bamboo grown there are introduced but a some are native and do produce edible shoots. Many species of garden plants that have been imported from Japan for ornamental use are in fact perfectly edible vegetables that are still used in cooking, I believe -- Hostas and Japanese knotweed, for example. Japan also has native species of Allium, onion, and to my knowledge they are eaten, either grown or foraged from the wild. Maybe it would be more accurate to say that no popular, economically significant cultivated vegetables have arisen from Japan. That I would more readily believe.

[@mivescensa4303]

oh my god?? i watched this expecting a million subs or something.. you are so talented man. im sharing this with everyone i can

[@HorsesOnYT]

🥰 ty! -Michael

[@t0masibrudoctor534]

I felt like Scandinavians at least didn't season food because they didn't have any. Literally nothing but mushrooms grow there. Salty fish and pickled fish with dill was the most "seasoned" foods I ate.

[@joakimedvardsson2294]

We got the best blueberrys though

[@t0masibrudoctor534]

@@joakimedvardsson2294 and the rest. Definitely all the great berries... I have given myself a mild strawberry allergy from pigging out on them.

[@username12120]

@@t0masibrudoctor534 That's a thing that can happen? Fuck. I gorge on them every summer out of the garden.

[@jacksonconstable8331]

@@username12120it can. Had a mate become lactose intolerant because he use to consume insane amounts of dairy.

[@t0masibrudoctor534]

@jacksonconstable8331 my friend is a fishmonger and ate prawns so often he did the same. Very sad such cases.

[@sloaiza81]

So happy for the creator of this channel. Keep doing your thing!

[@loganritten]

I always found this stereotype super funny. I'm from the southern united states, and we season our food REAL good. I even started a hot sauce company with my own recipes. When people say "white people don't season their food' they mean people from the northern united states, or people who never learned how to cook for themselves. I guarantee if you come to a BBQ with my family you will never ONCE think the food needs more flavor.

[@rachelkrumpelman5131]

Yep, Southeastern U.S. gal here! I was just saying the same. I season the heck out of my food. Salt brines for potatoes and meats. Also, I was just thinking about the Depression Era, and if you can't afford the absolute best ingredients, then spices are vital. However, I do remember my grandmother looking at me like I was insane when I'd scramble my eggs at 12 years old and throw a dash of garlic powder in them 😂 I also think that since she grew up through the Depression that spices were not on the menu because of the price. She tried them and loved them, though. This woman had 12 siblings and never had anything new. She never thought to even ask for anything. Rest in peace, my sweet Grandma Lucille. Thank you for letting me watch you make dinner every week day evening for your whole family as well as always making my favorites when I'd visit you ❤ (fried pork chops or chicken livers) yummmm

[@PigeonLord]

I'm from the northeast in the states and overall we do season our food here, I think it's just that a lot of us grew up in families where our parents were too tired to cook and/or didn't know how to cook from scratch themselves. I know my mom doesn't, absolutely no offense to her, she definitely tries. But my mom also doesn't like spicy things, so she never really cooked spicy things. On the other hand my dad does like spicy things and he does know how to cook things without a recipe (and he's pretty good at it!) generally, my dad does use more /a larger variety of herbs and spices than my mom in cooking, be it because of experience or taste preferences. I also love spicy food, umami and savory are probably my favorite flavor profiles. Once I moved out on my own I was able to try new foods I otherwise didn't really get the chance to have at home because one way or another someone else wouldn't like it. I've found that I absolutely love coconut curries and stir-fry rice bowls (the latter of the two being my go-to lazy meal!) and yes, I am a white person. the whole "White people don't season their food" thing is just a meme though, I don't think many people genuinely take it seriously ☺

[@krono5el]

@@rachelkrumpelman5131 yeah but all those seasonings are either Native to the Americas, Hindustan, or Asia. None of those traditional foods are from europeans that live in the Americas. the good food usually have Indigenous roots and connections, not european.

[@yungrot7943]

There's plenty white folks in the south that don't season shit 😂😂. I'm not a fan of generalizing.

[@Vicente_Moreno]

​@krono5el dude, who cares. The ingredients are not copyrighted and most cuisines are not isolated anyways. Panko, which is used in a lot of Asian cuisines is bread cooked by electricity, and guess what? Wheat Bread is originally European and west Asian.

[@mapleandsteel]

When I lived in the US, I developed techniques of my own that kind of sublates from these two ways of thinking - I was able to keep the taste of the meat in front, with the spices acting as an accompaniment.

[@Tysandifer]

.....what white person DOSNT SEASON THEIR FOOD? Literally everyone I've ever met has seasoned it somehow

[@sneeu27]

EXACTLY The White people saying they don't season their food or their parents don't season their food are either in the minority of Whites or are lying. "White people don't season their food" is just racist. Just like calling someone "Coloniser" for being White

[@ichaukan]

Cooking is alchemy. It's raw ingredients meeting refined ingredients in various states of entropy and cooked.

[@alienonion4636]

I used to help out a bit at a soup kitchen. It was summer and somewhat rural so there was an abundance of fresh garden food. People kept passing up chunked tomatoes. But they were just tomatoes. I took a tray plastic but pretty and made rows of sliced tomatoes that I sprinkled some salt on along with some sugar. Not much of each. I found a bottle of white wine vinegar so added a slight sprinkle of that. Oh, no one will eat that now I was told. Gone and everyone asking for more. Another day we had cucumbers and tomatoes and someone showed me where some herbs were growing so on top of my sliced veggies I put a light sprinkling of Spike and topped with fresh chopped parsley one day and cilantro another adding some crushed coriander as well. Every time gone gone gone. Sometimes I had green onion and put thinly sliced green tops on the tomatoes keeping the trimmed green onions in a glass of ice water with salt shaker next to it. The cook only got paid for 2 hours of work so just didn't have the time but I did and enjoyed it. It's true... I'm white and don't season much relying mostly on salt but I've had dinner guests who ask what seasoning I use to make the food taste so good. Hmmm, salt. But simple foods can taste amazing with a little salt and the love we add when cooking.😁

[@cdogthehedgehog6923]

And then everyone clapped for my expert tomato skills.

[@j3ffn4v4rr0]

Those are some great but simple ideas you did! I enjoy spicy food like Mexican or curry, but also really like basic one-ingredient dishes...but the ingredients need to be super fresh and good quality! Last night, I made a pork chop with quinoa and some steamed broccoli. A little salt and really good olive oil on the broccoli, and I poured the pork drippings on the quinoa...but other than that, one ingredient each. It was amazing and took 15 minutes!

[@KratomFlavoredAdidas]

Spices are not just used to COVER UP ROTTEN MEAT. They are natural preservatives, like hops. Using spices like garlic, ginger, chili/pepper and salt creates a harder environment for bacteria to live in. Mexicans and Indians etc do not just SEASON their food - they marinade it, they coat it in preservative spices before cooking.

[@gw7911]

Yeah I found it odd that he included what he said but left this part out

[@hayliedlr]

2:36 keep watching😊

[@gw7911]

@@hayliedlr that’s the part we’re talking about

[@retheisen]

Northern Europe had ice.

[@williamhadley1580]

Also pickling is a flavoring as well as a preservative. Pickle juice brined chicken is just epic.

[@mono-no-aware.Lem.]

Just discovered you yesterday with the Arthur vid. Now binging your whole portfolio. It’s the perfect mix of three KZbinrs I love: Jon Bois, BostWiki and Johnny Harris. Thank you for your content!

[@dimplesd8931]

I’m southern African American married to a euro-Australian and this is the fight we have whenever I cook. He says don’t use too much salt and I don’t think I am. I’m salting the food the way I was taught. When my husband makes Asian food, which is common in Oz, he puts tons of spices and sauces that are loaded with salt in the food. He doesn’t see that as salty because he’s use to the flavor. Ironically if we eat southern food or Mexican in a restaurant the amount of salt in the food isn’t a problem for him. 🤷🏾‍♀️

[@gircakes2]

Maybe you're a bad cook?

[@Sirzhukov]

It's an USAnian meme far removed from objective reality. Nobody outside of their bubble think like that. Hell, rest of the planet doesn't really know what "white people food" even means, since European cuisine is diverse.

[@Knokkelman]

That's what I (being european) expected, but I still don't fully get it - how is needing less spices in one's food to be able to enjoy it a BAD THNG? I mean, embracing this cliché I could say I'm objectively easier to satisfy, so I'm in the better spot, I should make fun of people who always need more spice... This somehow feels like people who are heavily into BDSM sometimes belittlling the "vanilla" folks for allegedly being boring/unimaginative. Or people generally acting like enjoying things is a contest where those with the weirdest or most specific taste win. No dude, you're just harder to satisfy (or pretending for attention), I should pity you. And you being able to eat chilis with some number x on this scale doesn't mean you're a badass, it maybe means your taste buds are worse then everyone else's...

[@delilahsimmons1842]

​@@Knokkelmanhow about we just don't judge other people's tastes and preferences no matter which way they swing?

[@freshgreen54]

​@@Knokkelman most of us aren't going around judging what anyone else eats. My parents have high blood pressure (so no salt,) my Dad (Irish descent) is gluten free, and my stepmom (from the Netherlands) has gerd so she doesn't even eat tomatoes or bell peppers usually. Some people have stomach ulcers and can't handle spices, or kidney failure and exclude nightshade veggies. I'm not judging anyone for how they eat or cook but some people act offended if you add spices to your own food which they've cooked. For me it's not about how much I can burn my mouth as much as the flavor profile. (Although I definitely do not mind a mouth-numbing experience) My favorite flavors of food are Thai, Caribbean, and Indian but I enjoy quite a variety of flavors, including raw, plain veggies. Personally it seems like I have more options when we go out to eat than my parents do. It is good to not necessarily need spices, but it can be bad (not that it should be ridiculed) to have some of the types of health conditions which dictate one's diet & cause excruciating pain (or worse kidney failure.) Those conditions are not exclusive to a certain racial profile.

[@RichardRenes]

Er... in medieval Europe, the peasants would not eat potatoes (yet) as they are native to the Americas...

[@adriangeary1610]

I love the production quality of your videos. The sound, pacing, and texture are all there and really working well. Thank you!

[@AwokenEntertainment]

like you said - you have to find the right chefs/restaurants!

[@selectionn]

i really like how this video proliferates racism against white people, really cool you come up with an explanation and still maintain the racism the whole video

[@erikagehm2805]

Those in Northern Europe had access to rosemary, savory, salt, etc. Using just a little salt goes a long way.

[@savi1314]

A lot of people also form a border around “European” food that doesn’t exist in real life. Like Pirogi or Chebureki is not that much different than a Chinese dumpling and both are flavorful. Aioli is pretty much the same as Toum. Tzatziki is present in dishes all the way to Nepal just with different names and variations in aromatics. Look at how many names we have for Kofta (or köfte or kofte) or shakshuka (or chakchuka or shakshouka)

[@andrewhooper7603]

"Umm, ackshually, my meat stuffed pastry is substantially different from your meat stuffed pastry and ackshually we invented both of them."

[@aizac91]

So there is no “Asian” food as well. There's always, always who would discredit European distinction.

[@l.m.d.4084]

Oh look, an asian failing hilariously to discredit our endless White culture and accomplishments. Must be rough needing to take credit for everything of ours. I'd be jealous if I were you too. Don't you EVER f-ing tell ME, a WHITE PERSON, what OUR culture is. You know jack sh*t.

[@hubertrozalski7070]

To everyone: go to Hungary. You will see what "spiced food" means.

[@steffimaier7297]

Exactly! People that do such videos and claims most likely never left the US.

[@yankochoynev652]

so saying indians use more spices because meat spoils faster is racist, but saying white people dont use spices is a joke? got it

[@Olgrav]

One is clearly a joke, the other is a bunch of nonsense perpetuated by the insecure.

[@alexcallender]

​@@Olgrav"Nonsense perpetuated by the insecure" is a perfect description for the "wypipo don't season dey food" myth. Well said.

[@Olgrav]

@@alexcallender Can you speak Egnlish

[@Olgrav]

@@alexcallender wypipo? Do you mean a Hippo? What?

[@alexcallender]

@@Olgrav Lmao

[@corolla94]

FWIW as an Asian person I think you should at least have a spine about it. Yelling about white people not seasoning their food does not materially address colonialism and is not a meaningful blowoff valve for racial tension, it's just insensate lashing-out. You might not think it's worth sticking your neck out to argue with poc about it but the alternative is letting a generation grow up thinking certain cuisines are entirely meritless.

[@odonodave]

I disagree with the premise that spices were not used to hide the taste of rotten meat. Personally, as a young soldier in the Australian army we were shown that if you cook rotten meat long enough by boiling it, i the bacteria and toxins are neutralised and the meat is safe to eat - even though it doesn't taste great. It totally makes sense to me that whenever you can it's nice to disguise the 'off' flavour of meat that has gone 'off' in the tropics with spices - spicy curries cooked for a long time are great and so popular in the tropics, particularly in SE Asia where I have travelled extensively for many years. Encourage you to rethink that one.

[@NullVoid-rm7jm]

I sure wish this had been my experience. My parents and grandparents and everyone else in my family will season whatever their eating with whatever they could get their hands on. I remembered they even ordered some kind of special spice only found in Montana called alpine touch, which is actually pretty good but all the other stuff they used was too much

[@TakeMeToYourLida]

I’m a white American with northern/eastern European roots and my partner is a naturalized American from Guatemala. I normally cook with less spices and also prefer far less salt than he does. He mentioned once that spiced meat lasts longer than unspiced meat, and I think that’s a factor that can’t be overlooked. It’s not so much about covering up bad meat as it is about keeping the meat from going bad.

[@Drakkmar13]

Clearly, y'all have never met anyone from Louisiana.

[@pdcdesign9632]

Those are not real "white" people according to this goofy you tuber. His ancestors probably came from Finland or Iceland.

[@ajaxtelamonian5134]

Being vegetarian also adds to the need for spice I also feel as someone needs to turn a bowl of uninspired Lentils into something I want to eat. But yeah it's so much down the person cooking it. Got someone's whole spice cabinet recently and had a flatmate from New Delhi and we cooked up storms together.

[@secundusytp4517]

Vegetarian food has all the components that make omni foods delicious. The trick is to add a salt, an acid, a savoury component (like tamari), a fat source, and maybe a little bit of sugar. That's all you need to create unami flavor and make any dish spectacular. I'm a vegan, and my family is regularly blown away and remarks that they didn't know "rabbit food" could taste so good. Vegetarian/vegan dishes are just as good as omni dishes, they just require different preparation methods that aren't taught in our societies.

[@briangarcia8384]

I love how you ended the video with jacques pepin. I didnt grow up watching him on pbs but watching him cook a meal with such ease is so satisfying and inspiring. Tells me everything i don't know lmao

[@ADogNamedElmo]

This is purely an American thing, Europeans season their food.

[@dancingbanana627]

It's not okay to treat people differently based upon their race, you acknowledge but still think it's okay to make jokes at the expense of other people that are white. Not every single person who is white has enjoyed the same privileges you have, so why are you normalizing violence towards these people who have nothing to do with the past? Maybe your ancestors committed violence towards marginalized groups, but that doesn't mean everyone else's ancestors did. You're just coming with all sorts of rationalizations because you don't want to be on the other side of mob. You're better than this, but instead of rising above you bring people down. No one deserves to be treated one way or the other because of their skin.

[@fireblast133]

huh, what i had heard about the cultures closer to the equator had been that they found that foods, meats especially, preserved with spices tended to stay safe longer and not rot as quickly, therefore the heavier use of spices evolved from food preservation techniques, not trying to cover up spoiled meat

[@Alexander99602]

As a Romanian, Balkans, the idea of "White people don't season their food" is kind of funny to me. In fries, for example, I usually just throw some salt and garlic, they taste absolutely phenomenal. The key is to just... experiment with different ingredients...? I literally tried omlette seasoned with curry powder one day, it's not bad actually. I'm basically semi-self taught in cooking (watched tutorials, then deviated a little), and while I don't work as a cook, I've never actually heard someone say my food is bland, quite the contrary in fact.

[@balkanwitch5747]

Totally agree (also Romanian)

[@drifterz9186]

Daca vrei sa incerci un blend jmk pt cartofi prajit baga oregano, sare, usturoi (pudra sau zdrobit fresh), chilli de vreun fel si niste cajun seasoning. Dar omleta cu curry powder n-am mai auzit lol. Oule mi se par mai sensibile cand vine vorba de spice-uri ultra-aromatice. Poti sa le strici la gust destul de usor, pt mine cel putin. Acolo prefer sa merg doar cu sare si piper.

[@Snocone333]

totally agree but my grandmother was hungarian-american so maybe i just picked up the inclination but also i agree, its an over simplification/generalization. Also married a Syrian so spice cabinet is packed

[@peterkiedron8949]

Romanians are only partially white

[@beachnap]

Good work as always! Love the artwork ✌Speaking as an American of northwestern European ancestry, I would also like to add that not only were many of the early European immigrants to America and Canada from cultures that didn't have a history of using much spices, but they also settled on lands which equally didn't provide much spice. Think of the foods native to the US and Canada - meats, rice, beans, corn, squash, potatoes, berries, nuts and seeds. Many families were subsistence farmers and only ate what they could grow themselves, literally up until just 1-2 generations ago. Once you get into the more tropical climates of Mexico and further South, you suddenly have access to many complex and flavorful foods like peppers, tomatoes, avocados, chocolates, tropical fruits, and other spices. Additionally, there are gene variants which impact our TRPV1 receptors for capsaicin (the source of heat spice in peppers) and it's been shown that some people physically can't tolerate spice as well. So it's okay if some people just straight up don't enjoy spicy food!

[@fifthcolumn388]

While not used to mask rotting food, spices can kill microbes so they kinda do help prevent food related disease in warmer climates where those are more common.

[@Unnoticeable-and-Forgotten]

Your channel just popped out of nowhere and I'm quite enjoying it.

[@Lifesizemortal]

I find this to be an unfounded stereotype. A lot of people simply don't consider that before "white people" existed as we do in modern times, that we originated from many different caucasian cultures. There was a time when many types of white people discriminated from each other in the west. Italians, french, swedes, you name it, all had hangups about one another. Even biologically indistinct groups such as the Irish and Scottish had a hard time reconciling their "differences". Eventually we all settled our differences and adopted a mainstream culture, and ultimately that's what has painted us all broadly as "white". I'm of Portuguese ancestry and consider myself white, and you'd be at odds convincing me that we don't spice our food. I sincerely don't know where this stereotype comes from, but it seems to be manifested as a slight against caucasian people despite the fact it holds no water.

[@SokiHime]

Correction: Italians are not white. Otherwise, spot on.

[@Lifesizemortal]

@@SokiHime prove me otherwise.

[@ambersunn]

that's why he differentiates it in the video, and 'white' in this context is often referring to mostly anglo-saxon americans. it's true 'white' hasn't always been a term for many european ethnic groups until quite recent though. again, the generalization is usually american / british oriented, and it does have some relevance in places like Australia (for me at least - lots of people have joked abt this of themselves here).

[@alexcallender]

Great comment. OP lost any credibility he may have had by indulging rather than immediately rejecting this laughably asinine stereotype. He uses AI to generate all the images in his videos, so I wouldn't be at all surprised to learn that his scripts are also AI-generated, at least in part.

[@ZacharyStanford-ep5mw]

​@@SokiHimeI'm an English-Italian man and very white I can assure you

[@Nero_Karel]

Good point about the salt - there is a reason it was historically one of the most important if not the most important ingredient here in northern Europe (contrary to pepper which I actually would consider a "spice" by your definition too.) Traditionally different kinds of onions as well as brassicaceae like mustard would have been the much more common way to add hot, "spicy" notes to a dish, since they are naturally abundant and I do very much like to add those to pretty much anything. I did also use to cook with curry powder a lot for a time as well, but found that (aside from feeling very wasteful) it gets very boring very quickly and you can appreciate the taste a lot more if it's reserved to special occasions or certain dishes. I think, especially once you get used to something so complex and intense as your standard of flavour, you really start losing your sense for appreciating simpler flavours and a wider range of nuances in flavour after a while

[@tranger4579]

I grew up in a Mexican household. We never had salt or pepper on the the table. My mother and grandmother used very little salt immensely small amounts. Garlic, onion and spices like oregano were what flavored the food. Now lard was used in abundance as well as flour and left over grease. My mother always told us meat, vegetables, etc... already contained a certain amount of salt and to have a salt shaker would compound the amount of salt added to the food. I hate going to Mexican restaurants the reason all I taste is salt in their food.

[@ericktellez7632]

White washed

[@Barakon]

Perhaps spices helped preserve meat alongside salt? Only for the flavor to be beloved later on? What of spearmint too? The illusion of coldness might have been if not is a necessity in some climates.

[@Trisket]

This channel is peak sophistry. "White people don't season their food, except all the times that they do and have throughout their long history, but those don't count because sometimes they season their food with the express purpose of highlighting and complimenting the main element of a dish, which isn't really seasoning even though by every definition it is, I went to a culinary school, like that matters in the slightest, and only serves to make my broken reasoning more embarrassing." Also, sushi exists, specifically nigiri, true traditional "sushi," completely lacks any seasoning save for a tiny amount of vinegar in the rice, is considered one of the greatest dishes on earth.

[@ItsJustMe0585]

Halfway through the video and already pretty annoyed that you haven't mentioned that northern Europe DID season its' food with herbs and spices, but with different things: Pepper and salt DO count. So does mustard, rosemary, paprika, garlic, cinnamon, basil, thyme, fennel, cloves, nutmeg, different kinds of berries and seeds. Then yeah, one thing that Europe had that most of your tropical regions didn't was cheese. It's not like European food is bland. It's just a different flavor. Can't believe I'm defending Northern European food when I don't even like it. It's just annoying that this myth persists. Hell, Curry is one of Britains most popular foods.

[@victoriavelascot]

Congratulations! The style, narration and information is on point, such a good video

[@jamestaylor3805]

Herbs are seasoning gawdammit...

[@Marisa_arts]

Yes! Thank you for finally making this video!

[@simonosim]

I finally found a youtuber who I can relate to. Being a son of a single mother, her having a culinary backround and me slowly becoming a homecook. Personally, I love the way Horses makes his videos. He inspires me to research random stuff online and post my findings on my chanel.

[@johnnybrujo868]

Lmao “after brutally colonizing the world”. That’s so fucked up and hilariously fucked up.

[@OmegaRainbow]

wow! super interesting video, both for the content AND the form! So much beautiful art was displayed, where does it come from? And kudos for the editing skills, it made the video both super interesting to hear AND to see : )

[@connie2202002]

yes the artworks featured are STUNNING

[@Mcwollybob]

I didn't realize herbs are not spices. When trying to find a list of what counts as herbs and what counts as spices, every list I found didn't differentiate between the two despite herbs and spices technically being different. I think if someone adds a bunch of herbs to their dish instead of just making a plain chicken breast, shouldn't that count as seasoning? I don't know. I don't cook food due to my disabilities, so I'm not basing this comment on cooking knowledge or my own cooking. I would also say that since the US has so many cultures, that usually when a white person makes a dish from a culture that uses a lot of spices, they'll also use those spices since that's how the dish is made. At least that's what I've seen in my experience. And as the video states, no food or form of cooking is superior since if the food is enjoyable to a person, that's what matters. I don't like the taste of salmiakki, but my Finnish friend loves it, so I like salmiakki because my friend likes salmiakki. People who eat chicken livers or whatever I don't eat, that's awesome! It's time to end diet culture and food judgement.

[@zakariakaleem3271]

Well I'm light brown, and my people don't season their foods much either(mostly cause we lived in cold mountain valley's)

[@karlscher5170]

Where?

[@zakariakaleem3271]

@@karlscher5170 Kashmiri

[@Ianlegendstone]

This was a good video. Me and my boys at UGA are learning some very important things about cooking and history.

[@itsjustakari]

yea we learning some cooking fr fr sorei balls

[@edd2184]

The craziest part about it is historically Europeans went to war over spices/the spice trade. That's why I really don't understand. Why modern-day they're not fully utilized 🤔 When your ancestors literally fought and died for something, you would think it would hold more significance.

[@tisbutascratch2045]

He answered that in the video. He said that once spices began to be more widely used, the upper classes saw it as too accessible and so changed to a minimally spiced menu instead. The only white people that were actively sending out colonizers to other nations were these upper classes. The lower classes just followed along and did what they were ordered to do. They couldn't even afford bread, let alone spices. I know it might be a shock, but for the vast majority of the history of Colonizing nations in their full power, the average layman was generally dirt poor with no money to spare, especially on things like spices. Questions like yours come from the untrue image of Europeans as somehow richer and more capable of accessing delicacies like spices than other races and nations when they largely weren't. Especially not in Northern Europe. They were poor like everyone else around the world. That's why they just made do with that they had, and the upper classes likely stopped importing spices to a large extent for popular use because they no longer liked them and the average family could never afford them. It wouldn't make sense to even spend the money to import them in.

[@edd2184]

@@tisbutascratch2045 I understand that completely but I would still think just like other materials that were deemed precious. They would retain their value especially as access was broaden to more people.

[@lonelyb9661]

People who say that underestimate the taste of meat. They also underutilize cooking with butter.

[@memandylov]

As a white American, I generally just don't care enough to put spices on my food. My family has a ton of different spices to work with, but for the majority of foods, all we ever use is salt, pepper, and garlic. We have mustard seed, clove, several different blends of herbs, seasoned salts, and much more to choose from, and for some reason we just don't ever actually use them? I think the biggest thing that keeps me personally from spicing my food aside from simple laziness is just that I don't have a good grasp on how much is too much and I've definitely ruined meals by putting too much of something in it. I'd much rather eat something that's a bit bland than something overly spiced. On top of that, I don't have a great understanding of what flavors will complement each other and what will clash, and while I know I could solve both of those problems with more education on the matter, I just don't feel like it's worth my time to look into it. I mostly eat out of necessity, and I don't have a strong relationship with food. To me it's just something I have to do to stay alive and it doesn't have to be complex and super flavorful. As long as it's not revolting, it's good enough for me

[@karlscher5170]

Sounds like a loss if culture "white" Americans are undergoing.

[@cryptohound]

Fresh rosemary in mash potatoes

[@cryptohound]

Chicken pairs well with thyme

[@sconescrewdriverson]

This is probably the actual explanation right here. Sure, it's nice to hear a chef's perspective, but the reality is that most Americans aren't chefs and have better things to do than build a relationship with their food.

[@karlscher5170]

@@sconescrewdriverson Like working minimal wage jobs or dying on fentanyl overdoses

[@jackedgamer0036]

SHALOM! Isn't churches, KFC, chicken fila, and everywhere chicken place owned by a white guy? Season police getting hit by those 11 herbs and spices from dey yt pepol

[@Rat_Online]

It is objectively having a lot to do with the ability to bring out the best of every ingredient and also afford it's quality.

[@Sheepheadz]

they do season their food

[@kevingruenofficial]

White guy here who was raised by a food-seasoning family. This video is just incorrect. We also have seasoned bbq & everything else in my family.

[@thesquad2253]

yeah but others dont i remember my friends dad used to cook food without much seasoning all the time and then he food this woman who would cook food with literally only pepper sprinkled lightly lol😅

[@GlasPthalocyanine]

Europeans are more likely to use spices as a preservative, such as pickling food for storage, or adding heat to winter recipes. If good ingredients are fresh they taste great without messing about with the flavours. I like spicy food occasionally, but it's also boring in its own way.

[@douglaschappa4330]

Im white and from the southern US and we spice everything ! Must be a yankee issue

[@victoriaheather411]

yep lol, the deep south is the culinary center of the united states. I'm mexican from texas can confirm

[@2k7Bertram]

Crazy these European were colonising in the name of spices abd so on, but yet still did not adopt spicing their food

[@arnoldvezbon6131]

Nobody colonized in the name of spices.

[@ckpalmeiras1318]

Most of the best food in the world is European or Latin American food inspired by our European ancestors. Spanish, French, Italian, Brazilian, Argentinian, Portuguese cooking and cuisine are all at the top of the world tree - and except for a handful of areas or meals of Spain, Brazil and Portugal, no spice or chilli is used. But you can go on pretending dogshit covered in “ghost chili spice rub number 8” is superior to an Argentinian barbecue, Brazilian feijoada, Spanish tapas, Portuguese salt cod, Italian sausage and French anything😂

[@2k7Bertram]

@ckpalmeiras1318 yeah you can keep spewing dog shit

[@ckpalmeiras1318]

@@2k7Bertramhaha getting upset because you’re embarrassing yankee bullshit has been challenged by other white peoples from Latin America. All the best food is European - I forgot Greek earlier! East Asian is also very good, we have many Japanese in Brazil and your Chinese food is good in US. But Europeans still the best at food. You can keep the processed crap, sugar and terrible “spice rub” of African American cuisine😂

[@HumblebeeRules]

I have never heard of this rotten food theory. What I heard is that spices were used to help with meat preservation. You should have focused on that instead of whining about racism randomly with no context...

[@entropino9928]

Needs to whine about racism because it is probably true. Whenever someone whines about racism something true he is hiding.

[@myeyeswentdeaf6213]

I’m a white guy, 47 y.o., born and raised in Brooklyn in a black neighborhood all my life. When I was a kid, naturally my friends were black (still are as I’m still here) and I used to LOOOVE eating at their houses. I didn’t even know about the ‘white people food is bland’ joke. I would tell my mom “I want you to make it like they make it!🫵😠”, like a bratty little kid. I was so young I didn’t understand why or what it was that made it different. It rings true in my life.

[@ckpalmeiras1318]

As a Brazilian, from the south east, our food is among the best in the world (I think of course) we use no spice or chilli. We use typical European ingredients like garlic, salt, lime, onion. I’ve been to the US and the food was excellent in places like Massachusetts where Portuguese settled. Your Italian and French food is very good too. And Chinese food. What is this black American food? The places I encountered with large black American populations had almost no fresh food available even in the stores. It was all sugar and processed food.

[@ojiilemon]

In my experience as well, people IN GENERAL don’t have sensitive taste buds and can’t really detect “notes” in things. Just like how a lot of people don’t have a fourth cone in their eyes and can only see a certain spectrum of colors. I’m neurodivergent and if I don’t have decently seasoned food, (even being a white Irish can’t stand anything hotter than red chilie flakes bingus) it’s basically inedible because I can generally taste how Bleg the cooking is or how bad the ingredients are. America is awful with our food. It’s processed and I honestly had to stop eating red meat not because the quality of the taste was just…. It just kept tasting weirder and more off. If I eat out, the food has to be SO processed and unrecognizable with salt and sugar for me to eat it to mask the awful quality. And it’s gotten worse. Like I was a picky eater as a kid and I definitely don’t remember things tasting so abysmal at times. I’m sure me getting Covid probably fucked my taste buds up but even before that I was not eating meat or meat substitute from basic supermarkets. And now with the prices, I’ve had to turn to meal subscriptions because getting food I can actually stomach and enjoy for a decent price is basically impossible. I went to Europe in 2019 and my stomach felt amazing. No bloating. Things tasted fucking great and I could eat fast food and not instantly be ill. America has a big quality problem and it’s not going to change any time soon because the people making our food make too much money by cutting corners and dumping crap into our food

[@edwardsallow8931]

The food served at the prison is bland, hence the misconception.

[@kellywalker1664]

I was taught that spicy food theory in history class, but the context of it was as to why white Europeans wanted in on the spice market.