food differences between countries (part 1)

I have been in American for nearly two months. After trying all the dinning courts in the university, tasting many restaurants around campus, talking with some people, and considering my previous knowledge, I got some conclusion about the difference of food and diet between China and America.

Mostly those difference com from the factors of culture, region , weather, history and economy, and appear in the form of materials, flavors, cooking styles and eating habits.

Chinese food is mainly focused on the flavor while American food is paid more attention on nutrition. When Chinese are in pursuit of good taste, they ignore the quality and nutrition in the food. For example, Chinese tend to put much salt and MSG in cooking which makes food tastier but would cause many blood pressure and heart problems. American use about half the quantity of salt and nearly no MSG.

Chinese people like soups cooked by all kinds of materials and styles. They use vegetables, meat, sea food, Chinese medicinal plant and potherb etc to cook soup which are good for health preserving. Soup is so important in China that it is indispensable in every meal. In contrast, it's uncommon to see that Americans have soup on their tables every day. Soup is really rare in the university dinning courts.

Chinese eat more vegetables while Americans eat more meat. According to my research, there are about 600 sorts of vegetables, which are 6 times of those in Western countries, in Chinese diet. As a result, American seen taller and stronger than Chinese.

The seasonings which are necessary in Chinese cooking such as vinegar, shallot, ginger, and garlic etc not only better the flavor, but also sterilize the food and help digestion. They are not used much in American food.

Traditionally, Americans prefer to have some dessert with coffee after meal when Chinese choose fruits with tea. However, Sodas and juices are more popular among the teenagers in both countries.