How to reduce food waste

 Issues of packaging, food waste and sustainable practices are complex. At Good Food, we are trying to find realistic solutions to the problem of food waste and packaging generated by our test kitchen and members of the team are taking on green challenges at home.

Find out the main things we’ve learned with some realistic suggestions for how you can reduce your own household food waste. If you only do one thing – try not to buy too much, and when you choose produce, don’t overlook the wonky fruit and veg. We’ve also got plenty of ideas for how to use your leftovers.

Where food is wasted

• Misshapen, marked, discoloured or oddly sized fruit and vegetables that don’t
 meet the standards of the marketplace (up to 20-40%) are thrown away before even leaving the farm.
• Some food goes off when transported.
• Offcuts and foods past their use-by dates are binned by both retailers and by us at home. (In developed countries, this kind of waste is the greatest proportion of food lost.)
• Cooked, uneaten food is binned.

How we can waste less food

• We should eat all shapes and sizes: ‘Ugly’ fruit and veg is sold by box schemes like London-based Oddbox who also give their surplus to food banks via City Harvest and wonkyvegboxes.co.uk do something similar in the Leicestershire area.
• Companies can use ‘ugly’ fruit and vegetables in their products: Imperfect fruit and veg is used in drinks, jams, chutneys, hummus and snacks by companies such as Rubies in the Rubble, Waste Not, Rejuice, Snact, ChicP, awesomedrinks.com, Dash Water and more.
• We should use it to make other resources: An increasing amount of food waste is being sent to be composted – so it’s put back into the soil – or to anaerobic digestion facilities where it is broken down and converted into gases, creating a source of renewable energy.

According to the latest figures from WRAP, by weight, household food waste makes up around 70% of the UK post-farm-gate total. They estimate that by cutting food waste each household could save up to £700 per year as well as making less waste.

Top 5 ways to cut down on food waste

1. Don’t over buy. Keep track of what you’ve bought and used. WRAP suggests taking a ‘shelfie’ – a photo of your fridge and cupboards to remind you of what’s there.
2. Check the use-by dates of fresh food when you buy it. These are the dates to take notice of, rather than the best-before dates. Only buy what you can use before it expires.
3. Plan ahead. Think about what you’re going to cook and how you’ll use the leftovers.
4. Get to know your grocer. They will have plenty of advice on how to use up leftover veg.
5. Love your freezer. Use your weekends to batch-cook and freeze. There are plenty of freezing tips in our guide.

You can also consider home composting.

How we’re tackling food waste at Good Food

We test around 80 recipes a month as well as making videos and taking pictures of food and products that come in all sorts of packaging, and we also make waste as we cook.

To tackle this, we eat all of the food that comes out of the test kitchen within the company, so when we talk about waste, we mean peelings, offcuts and – on the rare occasion that a recipe goes horribly wrong and is inedible – a complete dish. Each Friday staff take unused ingredients home and we challenge our cookery assistant Liberty to make lunch using as many leftovers as possible.

Here’s how our magazines editor got on when challenged to reduce his household food waste over two weeks…

How I reduced food waste

Keith Kendrick, magazines editor: “As a dad and a foodie, I’m used to cooking family meals. I batch cook the kids’ meals, but prefer to cook on a whim for my wife and me. We normally throw out three small caddy-sacks of food waste a week. My strategy was two-fold: planning meals and creative use of leftovers.”

Week one

“I wrote out two plans for the week – one for kids, one for adults – and ordered lots of ingredients. At the weekend, I cooked the kids’ weeknight meals, plus a dozen jars of soup for my wife and me to take to work. Ever tried roasting a whole cauliflower, stalks and all, then blitzing it with coconut milk and spices? Delicious! I used the stalks of kale and broccoli, too – lovely when roasted with Marmite. Our Sunday chicken provided enough leftovers to make a curry, a salad and sandwiches for the kids. We still had a fair bit of waste, but none of it could’ve been eaten.”

Week two

By week two, we had a rhythm – whatever my kids didn’t finish for dinner, my wife had for lunch the next day. The problem? She wasn’t eating the soups I had so lovingly prepared! I thought about freezing them, only my freezer was already full. It was time for an inventory. I took everything out, which provided the meals for the week. Overall, there were only two disasters: a lasagne declared ‘inedible’ by my wife, and a vegan, gluten-free pie that tasted like plasterboard – a total of 263g of food that we could have eaten. All other waste was unavoidable, and we went from three caddy-sacks to two per week.

The verdict

A success… sort of. Planning was fun, and knowing that 96% of what we threw away was unavoidable made me feel good. However, as a spontaneous cook, it was stifling to plan meals so far in advance. The way forward for us is balance – planning the kids’ meals ahead, with more educated portion sizes, and deciding on the day what my wife and I fancy for dinner, with one eye on the leftovers.

Top 10 tips for food photography and styling

 

Top 10 tips for food photography and styling from Sam Linsell

Samantha Linsell is a bright light in the South African food blogging and food styling world. Her beautiful and totally inspiring new book, Drizzle & Dip, is out now and to celebrate its launch we asked Sam for her top 10 food photography and styling tips. Over to you, Sam.
If you want to take a really good photograph of food, you have to take a number of factors into consideration. There are the skills required to master the technical aspects of the camera; the understanding of light and how it affects your subject; the overall mood you want to create through your props and styling and, of course, the best way to present your food. Much like any creative endeavour, there are skills which can be mastered but the rest is an art and an expression. Find your own style and voice.

1. Learn as much as you can about your camera

This is the more technical aspect of the process and can easily be learned. I am a self taught photographer and have read numerous books and tutorials on the subject. I continue to read as there is always room for improvement. You can find everything you need online. Just keep looking, reading and learning. Read your camera manual. Shoot in manual mode if you are not already, as this is the only way you will learn about setting up your exposure and having control over your shot.

2. Understand light

Start developing an understanding of light and the relationship it has with your subject. Play around with trying to find the best light you can in the place where you shoot. I only shoot using natural light as a source because I prefer it. You can achieve excellent results using artificial light and can set it up so that it mimics natural light. It can also be more convenient if you are not able to shoot in the day.
3. Consider the mood you want to create in the shot

Decide on the overall style and mood you want to create and work towards composing it. Do you want it to be casual or formal? Do you want it to be dark or light? I find that the seasons and the type of food will often dictate how you present it. So, for example, if its winter and you are shooting a bowl of thick comforting soup, you may prefer to set it up so that it looks warm and cosy rather than a shot with a very white and ‘cool’ mood. If its summer and you are shooting fruit and ice cream, you may want to show it looking light and refreshing.
4. Subject placement

Decide what the focus area of the shot is and place your subject in it. Use the rule of thirds as a guide. You can either have it centred or it can look more interesting off centre. Don’t pull the eye away from the subject through props that are bold and stand out, rather have a clear focus area and ensure that your food is always the primary focus. Decide where you want the viewer’s eyes to go and direct them to that area. So if the best part of the food is the topping, make sure that when you shoot it, the topping is the focus area. If you want the inside of a dish to be the focus, ensure that you make that part the focus area of the shot.
5. Depth of field

This is the amount of subject matter in a shot that retains focus. A photograph with a shallow depth of field has a small part of the subject in focus and the background out of focus. This creates a lovely mood and can work really well with food photography. Medium depth of field has more of the subject in focus. A deep depth of field has everything in focus. Think about the food you are shooting and what sort of depth would suit it. My advice is to mix it up.
6. Choose your perspective and angle

How close up do you want to go to the food? Do you want to show a whole scene or just a specific part? A lot of this will depend on the type of food and what you want to say. Some food can look very good close up and some dishes look better shot from a greater distance.

You can add a lot of interest by adjusting your angle too. Think of which shows off the food the best: an overhead angle or a 45 degree or 3/4 angle (or varying degrees of this). For example, a pizza looks best shot from above and food with intricate layers will always look better shot side on.
7. Plan your props and garnishes

Think of the recipe and ingredients and use these elements as garnish to make the picture more interesting and to tell a story about the food. Choose the right colour props to match the food – contrasting colours work well. Build your shot, move things around, compose and add to it. Use fresh herbs as garnish or small leaves, whole spices etc. Think of ways to make the picture more interesting to look at and choose props that are linked in to the style of dish you are presenting. Ensure the props do not dominate the food – just  like make-up on a fashion model, they are there to enhance. You could start with a basic selection of props and white crockery which always looks good for food. Colour adds vibrance and life. Vintage cutlery, crockery and textured backgrounds make the image more interesting and help make it richer to look at than just white linen.
8. Colour

The colour wheel shows which colours work together and which are opposite each other. Sometimes contrasting colours work really well to make food pop out. Play around and explore which colours look good next to each other. Look at food photographs that you like and notice the colours that are used.
9. Create texture in your food
At the end of the day the food is the most important part of the shot so you need to make sure it looks delicious and has big appetite appeal. Using herbs as garnish – from ingredients in the recipe is an easy way to lift the look of a dish and add colour. It is  important that the food does not look flat and lifeless. Smaller plates allow it to look fuller. Give the food height if it needs it and as much texture as possible. Salt, pepper, other spices sprinkled on and around the food works really well to achieve this. This can be added at the end, like croutons on the soup, a generous dollop of cream or a dusting of cocoa or sugar on a dessert.
10. Practice

The only way to become better at anything is to practice and then practice some more. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes, it’s through the mistakes that we learn the most.

A big thanks to Sam for these tips. For more food styling inspiration, check out Sam’s new book, Drizzle & Dip and her blog.

Top 10 Tips For A Healthy Diet

 Need to get back on track with your healthy eating? We have rounded up 10 of the best quick tips for a healthy diet that will instantly kick-start your daily diet to a more healthy state.

1

Drink Lots Of Water

Take a 1.5-litre — that’s over 2.5 pints — bottle of water to work with you, and try to finish it all by home time. It might involve a few extra toilet breaks in the day, but it’s worth it.

2

Eat The Recommended Portions Of Fruit And Vegetables Every Day

If you find this difficult, then remember that smoothies, juices and dried fruit all count. Although advice on how many portions of fruit and vegetables a day can vary from country to country, average recommendations tend to be between 5-10 portions a day. 

3

Never Skip Breakfast

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day! Opt for something that will release energy slowly — porridge and a handful of blueberries are a great option!

4

Plan Your Meals For The Week Ahead

Write a shopping list and stick to it — and never shop when you're hungry, as this is a fatal error that inevitably leads you to stuffing your shopping trolley full of junk!

5

Keep A Supply Of Healthy Snacks To Hand

Snacks can include fresh and dried fruit, wholesome cereal bars, rice cakes, low-fat fruit yogurts and wholemeal pitta and hummus.

6

Remove All Visible Fat From Food Before You Cook It

Take the skin off chicken and trim the white fat off any meat. Also, try to avoid eating too many processed meats such as sausages and burgers (the fat's not visible from the outside, but it's certainly there).

7

Limit Your Intake Of Stimulants

Caffeine, alcohol and refined sugar are a few to limit in your diet.

8

Limit The Number Of Times You Eat Out To Once A Week

Take your own packed lunch to work or choose (non-creamy) soup in the canteen.

9

Eat Properly

Don't cut out food groups — such as carbohydrates — altogether in a bid to lose weight quickly. Your body needs balance, so make sure you eat properly. And don't do denial — you'll only end up cracking!

10

Only Eat Things You Like The Taste Of

 Find what works for you, and don't force yourself to eat things just because they're good for you.

World's 50 best foods

Some foods you eat to stay alive, others you eat because not to would be a crime. Here are those foods worth traveling the world to gorge on

By CNNGo staff 

"There is no love sincerer than the love of food," George Bernard Shaw said. Judging by the number of amazing dishes out there, he was right.
But which are the tastiest? Which are the best foods?
We’ve scoured the planet for what we think are 50 of the most delicious foods ever created.
No doubt some of you will be left reeling: “How did French fries not make the list?!” That’s where our Facebook poll comes in.
Head over there once you’ve finished here and let us know: what’s your favorite food?
For now, feast your eyes and control your drooling, as we reveal the world's best foods:
Also, don't forget to check out our choices for the best dishes and restaurants around Asia,
on our BEST EATS page

50. The only food that tastes better when it's inside out.

50. Buttered popcorn, United States

Corn -- the workhorse of the industrial world -- is best when its sweet variety is fried up with lashings of butter till it bursts and then snarfed in greasy fistfuls while watching “Commando” late at night.
47. So fresh you'll think it's flirting with you.

49. Masala dosa, India

A crispy, rice-batter crepe encases a spicy mix of mashed potato, which is then dipped in coconut chutney, pickles, tomato-and-lentil-based sauces and other condiments. It’s a fantastic breakfast food that’ll keep you going till lunch, when you’ll probably come back for another.
Also: World's 50 most delicious drinks
45. The cucumber's an afterthought, the rest though is right on message.

48. Potato chips, United States

Potato chips were invented in New York when a chef tried to play a trick on a fussy diner. Now they’re one of the world’s most child-friendly and best foods. But think of them this way -- if a single chip cost, say, US$5, it’d be a far greater (and more popular) delicacy than caviar, a prize worth fighting wars over.
43. Two tacos are just never enough. That's why it's one of our best foods.

47. Seafood paella, Spain

The sea is lapping just by your feet, a warm breeze whips the tablecloth around your legs and a steamy pan of paella sits in front of you. Shrimp, lobster, mussels and cuttlefish combine with white rice and various herbs, oil and salt in this Valencian dish to send you immediately into holiday mode.
Though if you have it in Spain, you’re probably there already.
40. How can something taste this good? It's just nuts.

46. Som tam, Thailand

To prepare Thailand's most famous salad, pound garlic and chilies with a mortar and pestle. Toss in tamarind juice, fish sauce, peanuts, dried shrimp, tomatoes, lime juice, sugar cane paste, string beans and a handful of grated green papaya.
Grab a side of sticky rice. Variations include those made with crab (som tam boo) and fermented fish sauce (som tam plah lah), but none matches the flavor and simple beauty of the original.
38. A measly 500 calories is all this bad boy will cost you.

45. Chicken rice, Singapore

Often called the “national dish” of Singapore, this steamed or boiled chicken is served atop fragrant oily rice, with sliced cucumber as the token vegetable. Variants include roasted chicken or soy sauce chicken. However it's prepared, it's one of Singapore's best foods.
The dipping sauces -- premium dark soy sauce, chili with garlic and pounded ginger -- give it that little extra oomph to ensure whenever you’re not actually in Singapore eating chicken rice, you’re thinking of it.
36. Pigs can't fly, but they can grill beautifully.
35. As hot, and as tasty, as it looks.

44. Poutine, Canada

French fries smothered in cheese curds and brown gravy. Sounds kind of disgusting, looks even worse, but engulfs the mouth in a saucy, cheesy, fried-potato mix that’ll have you fighting over the last dollop.
Our Canadian friends insist it’s best enjoyed at 3 a.m. after “several” beers.
33. It's not posh, it's not refined, but it is damn good eating.

43. Tacos, Mexico

A fresh, handmade tortilla stuffed with small chunks of grilled beef rubbed in oil and sea salt then covered with guacamole, salsa, onions, cilantro or anything else you want -- perfect for breakfast, lunch or dinner. This is the reason no visitor leaves Mexico weighing less than when they arrived.

42. Buttered toast with Marmite, Britain

OK, anything buttered is probably going to taste great, but there’s something about this tangy, salty, sour, love-it-or-hate-it yeast extract that turns a piece of grilled bread into a reason to go on living. For extra yum factor, add a layer of marmalade.
31. Only ham this great can make fresh melon even better.

41. Stinky tofu, Southeast Asia

Nothing really prepares you for the stench of one of the strangest dishes on earth. Like durian, smelly tofu is one of Southeast Asia’s most iconic foods.
The odor of fermenting tofu is so overpowering many aren’t able to shake off the memory for months. So is the legendarily divine taste really worth the effort? Sure it is.

40. Marzipan, Germany

Don’t be fooled by cheap imitations, which use soy paste or almond essence. The real stuff, which uses nothing but ground almonds with sugar, is so good, you’ll eat a whole bar of it, feel sick, and still find yourself toying with the wrapper on bar number two.
29. Handle with care, devour with gusto.

39. Ketchup, United States

If Malcolm Gladwell says it’s a perfect food, then it’s a perfect food. Let’s face it, anything that can convince two-year-olds to eat their carrots rather than spitting them onto the floor is worthy of not just a “delicious” title, but a “miracle of persuasion” title, too.
28. Spare us the just-add-water pots, this is what real noodles should look like.

38. French toast, Hong Kong

Unlike its more restrained Sunday brunch counterpart, Hong Kong-style French toast is like a deep-fried hug. Two pieces of toast are slathered with peanut butter or kaya jam, soaked in egg batter, fried in butter and served with still more butter and lots of syrup. A Hong Kong best food, best enjoyed before cholesterol checks.
Also: 40 Hong Kong foods we can't live without26. If only every food could be wrapped in a tortilla.

37. Chicken parm, Australia

Melted Parmesan and mozzarella cheese, and a peppery, garlicky tomato sauce drizzled over the top of a chicken fillet -- Aussie pub-goers claim this ostensibly Italian dish as their own. Since they make it so well, there's no point in arguing.

36. Texas barbecue pork, United States

A saucy mash of chili, tomatoes, onions, pepper and various herbs gives each barbecue chef his or her own personalized zing to lay on top of perfectly prepped pig. Like the Texas sky, the options are endless.

35. Chili crab, Singapore

You can’t visit Singapore without trying its spicy, sloppy, meaty specialty. While there are dozens of ways to prepare crab (with black pepper, salted egg yolk, cheese-baked, et cetera) chili crab remains the local bestseller.
Spicy chili-tomato gravy tends to splatter, which is why you need to mop everything up with mini mantou buns.

34. Maple syrup, Canada

Ever tried eating a pancake without maple syrup? It’s like eating a slice of cardboard. Poorly prepared cardboard.
In fact, Canada’s gift to parents everywhere -- throw some maple syrup on the kid’s broccoli and see what happens -- makes just about anything worth trying. Pass the cardboard, please.

33. Fish ‘n’ chips, Britain

Anything that’s been around since the 1860s can’t be doing much wrong. The staple of the Victorian British working class is a crunchy-outside, soft-inside dish of simple, un-adorned fundamentals.
Sprinkled with salt, vinegar and dollops of tartar sauce, it is to nouveau cuisine what Meat Loaf is to Prince (or whatever he's calling himself now).

32. Ankimo, Japan

So, who’s up for a chunk of monkfish liver with a little grated daikon on the side? Thought not -- still, you’re missing out on one of sushi’s last great secrets, the prized ankimo.
The monkfish/anglerfish that unknowingly bestows its liver upon upscale sushi fans is threatened by commercial fishing nets damaging its sea-floor habitat, so it’s possible ankimo won't be around for much longer.
If you do stumble across the creamy, yet oddly light delicacy anytime soon, consider a taste -- you won’t regret trying one of the best foods in Japan.

31. Parma ham, Italy

You see it folded around melon, wrapped around grissini, placed over pizza, heaped over salad.
There’s good reason for that: these salty, paper-thin slices of air-dried ham lift the taste of everything they accompany to a higher level, following the same theory as the Italian guy who thinks carrying around a copy of “Candide” makes up for the tiny Speedos.

30. Goi cuon (summer roll), Vietnam

This snack made from pork, shrimp, herbs, rice vermicelli and other ingredients wrapped in rice paper is served at room temperature. It’s “meat light,” with the flavors of refreshing herbs erupting in your mouth.
Dipped in a slightly sweet Vietnamese sauce laced with ground peanuts, it’s wholesome, easy and the very definition of “moreish.”

29. Ohmi-gyu beef steak, Japan

This premium Japanese Wagyu beef from famed Takara Ranch has been recognized by the Imperial Palace of Japan as one of the greatest beef stocks to be raised in the past 400 years.
Called the “Rolls-Royce” of beef, it’s best eaten sashimi style, anointed with a drizzle of kaffir lime and green tea sea salt. Marbled fat gives each mouthful texture as the beef melts away, leaving a subtle but distinctly classic beef flavor.
Also: 40 Tokyo foods we can't live without

28. Pho, Vietnam

This oft-mispronounced national dish (“fuh” is correct) is just broth, fresh rice noodles, a few herbs and usually chicken or beef. But it’s greater than the sum of its parts -- fragrant, tasty and balanced, the polar opposite of the moto rider who brought you to the little café where you find the best stuff.

27. Montreal-style smoked meat, Canada

Day and night, lines form outside of Schwartz’s, Montreal’s best Hebrew delicatessen and Canada’s oldest. Here clerks slice up the best smoked meat in North America.
Following a 1928 recipe, the meat is cured for 10 days. Order your smoked beef sandwich medium-lean, heavy on the mustard, three pickles and with extra pommes frites, the way the Rolling Stones have supposedly enjoyed it.
Schwartz’s, 3895 St-Laurent, Montreal, Canada; +1 514 842 4813; info@schwartsdeli.com; www.schwartzsdeli.com

26. Fajitas, Mexico

This assembly kit of a dining experience is a thrill to DIY enthusiasts everywhere.
Step 1: Behold the meat sizzling on a fiery griddle. Step 2: Along with the meat, throw side servings of capsicum, onion, guacamole, sour cream and salsa into a warm, flour tortilla. Step 3: Promise all within hearing range that you’ll have “just one more.” Step 4: Repeat.
25. Thankfully you don't have to catch these prickly fellas yourself.

25. Butter garlic crab, India

This one claims no roots in Chinese, Continental or Indian cuisines. It comes from Butter Land, an imaginary best foods paradise balanced on the premise that anything tastes great with melted butter.
This delicious, simple dish is made by drowning a large crab in a gallon of butter-garlic sauce, which seeps into every nook and cranny and coats every inch of flesh.
The sea gods of Butter Land are benevolent carnivores and this, their gift to the world, is their signature dish.
23. So good, they gave it five levels.

24. Champ, Ireland

Irish national dish champ goes down faster than the first pint of Guinness on a Friday night. Mashed potato with spring onions, butter, salt and pepper, champ is the perfect side with any meat or fish.
For the textbook plate of creamy goodness, we suggest the busiest pub in any Irish seaside town. Around noon somehow feels right.
21. Best way to eat this? In bed, at 3 p.m., in a gite in Brittany.

23. Lasagna, Italy

Second only to pizza in the list of famed Italian foods, there’s a reason this pasta-layered, tomato-sauce-infused, minced-meaty gift to kids and adults alike is so popular -- it just works.
Also: Best Italian restaurants in Seoul
18. It's as if sunny Sunday afternoons were created just for shish sizzlers.

22. Brownie and vanilla ice cream, global

There are some who will not frequent an establishment if it does not have brownie and ice cream on the dessert menu. You may call them fools.
We do, too, but having done so we then happily leave the first restaurant after the main course to visit one we know has this perfect dessert on offer.
17. If you were on a million menus you'd have big claws, too.

21. Croissant, France

Flaky pastry smothered in butter, a pile of raspberry jam smeared over the top and a soft, giving bite as you sink in your teeth; there’s nothing not to love about this fatty, sweet breakfast food that must be married to a cup of strong coffee.
14. Yeah, you'll get fat, but you'll have a great time doing so.

20. Arepas, Venezuela

A corn-dough patty that provides a savory canvas onto which you can paint any number of delicious toppings: cheese, shredded chicken, crisped pork skin, perico, beef, tomato, avocado … it’s the most beautiful thing to come out of Venezuela since all those Miss Universe winners.
12. Good food day and night, shepherd's delight?

19. Nam tok moo, Thailand

Grilled pork combined with lemon juice, green onions, chili, mint sprigs, fish sauce and toasted rice. Legend has it the blood from the meat along with the dressing inspired some happy carnivore to name this brilliant dish “waterfall (nam tok moo) meat.”
Also: The myth of royal Thai cuisine
11. Don't judge an awesome food by its dour appearance.

18. Kebab, Iran

For keeping starvation at bay for the entire student population of the United Kingdom, the doner kebab should clearly be honored. But they are hardly the delicious prototype worthy of representing a region.
For that, summon the shish kebab. Pick your meat, shove a stick through it, grill. Then wonder why you don’t eat like this every day.
9. Who put that stinking fruit in there?

17. Lobster, global

Forget all your fancy, contrived lobster dishes deployed by showoff chefs eager for Michelin endorsement. When you have a best food as naturally delicious as these little fellas, keep it simple. The best way to enjoy lobster is simply to boil it and serve with a side of melted butter and slice of lemon.
6. The best cows come minced and in a bun.

16. Egg tart, Hong Kong

Like many classic dishes, the Hong Kong egg tart marries two contrasting textures: crusty, flaky pastry and jiggly, trembling custard. It’s sweet, it’s delicious and it’s best eaten hot from the oven on the street while queuing up to get just one more.

15. Kalua pig, United States

Only commercially available in Hawaii, the kalua preparation turns a meal into an epic event, with a whole pig roasted in an underground sand pit for six or seven hours.
But it’s not just for show. Smashed banana tree trunks, sea salt and shredded (never sliced) meat means this smoky, aromatic piece of pig will linger long on your tongue and even longer in your memory.
Also: Bali's incredible pig roast

14. Donuts, United States

These all-American fried wheels of dough need no introduction, but we will say one thing: the delicious guilt of snacking on these addictive calorie bombs makes them taste even better. If that’s possible.

13. Corn on the cob, global

God probably created corn just to have an excuse to invent melted butter. There’s something about biting down on a cob of corn -- it’s a delicate enough operation to require concentration but primal enough to make you feel like the caveman you always wanted to be. Great food is caveman food.

12. Shepherd’s pie, Britain

Some might say England’s greatest inventions were the steam engine and the Jaguar E-Type. We like to think shepherd’s pie -- minced lamb topped with mashed potato -- comes somewhere in that list.
Tastes best at the end of a gloomy, rainy day with an open fire licking at the chimney breast and Ricky Gervais insulting people on the telly. Which is lucky, as that’s what most days are like in England.

11. Rendang, Indonesia

Beef is slowly simmered with coconut milk and a mixture of lemongrass, galangal, garlic, turmeric, ginger and chilies, then left to stew for a few hours to create this dish of tender, flavorful bovine goodness.
Tasting it fresh out of the kitchen will send your stomach into overdrive, but many people think it gets even better when left overnight.
Also: The baddest chef in Asia?

10. Chicken muamba, Gabon

A bastardized Western version of this delectable Gabonese dish swamps everything in peanut butter. Oh, the insanity. The proper recipe calls for chicken, hot chili, garlic, tomato, pepper, salt, okra and palm butter, an artery-clogging African butter that will force you into a second helping and a promise to start using your gym membership.

9. Ice cream, United States

You may have just gorged yourself to eruption point, but somehow there’s always room for a tooth-rotting, U.S.-style pile of ice cream with nuts, marshmallows and chocolate sauce.
Thank God for extra long spoons that allow you get at the real weight-gain stuff all mixed up and melted at the bottom of the glass.

8. Tom yum goong, Thailand

This best food Thai masterpiece teems with shrimp, mushrooms, tomatoes, lemongrass, galangal and kaffir lime leaves. Usually loaded with coconut milk and cream, the hearty soup unifies a host of favorite Thai tastes: sour, salty, spicy and sweet. Best of all is the price: cheap.

7. Penang assam laksa, Malaysia

Poached, flaked mackerel, tamarind, chili, mint, lemongrass, onion, pineapple … one of Malaysia’s most popular dishes is an addictive spicy-sour fish broth with noodles (especially great when fused with ginger), that’ll have your nose running before the spoon even hits your lips.

6. Hamburger, Germany

When something tastes so good that people spend US$20 billion each year in a single restaurant chain devoted to it, you know it has to fit into this list. McDonald’s may not offer the best burgers, but that’s the point -- it doesn’t have to.
The bread-meat-salad combination is so good that entire countries have ravaged their eco-systems just to produce more cows.
5. A real quacker of a food.

5. Peking duck, China

The maltose-syrup glaze coating the skin is the secret. Slow roasted in an oven, the crispy, syrup-coated skin is so good that authentic eateries will serve more skin than meat, and bring it with pancakes, onions and hoisin or sweet bean sauce.
Other than flying or floating, this is the only way you want your duck.
Also: 40 Shanghai foods we can't live without
4. If this was a "most beautiful" foods list, this would be no. 1.

4. Sushi, Japan

When Japan wants to build something right, it builds it really right. Brand giants such as Toyota, Nintendo, Sony, Nikon and Yamaha may have been created by people fueled by nothing more complicated than raw fish and rice, but it’s how the fish and rice is put together that makes this a global first-date favorite.
The Japanese don’t live practically forever for no reason -- they want to keep eating this stuff.
Also: How to eat sushi properly
3. Chocolate -- a bad husband's best friend.

3. Chocolate, Mexico

The Mayans drank it, Lasse Hallström made a film about it and the rest of us get over the guilt of eating too much of it by eating more of it. The story of the humble cacao bean is a bona fide out-of-the-jungle, into-civilization tale of culinary wonder.
Without this creamy, bitter-sweet confection, Valentine’s Day would be all cards and flowers, Easter would turn back into another dull religious event and those halcyon days of watching the dog throw up because you replaced the strawberry innards of the pink Quality Street with salt would be fanciful imaginings.
Also: 10 dangerously decadent desserts

2. No place for pepperoni in this list.

2. Neapolitan pizza, Italy

Spare us the lumpy chain monstrosities and “everything-on-it” wheels of greed.
The best pizza was and still is the simple Neapolitan, an invention now protected by its own trade association that insists on sea salt, high-grade wheat flour, the use of only three types of fresh tomatoes, hand-rolled dough and the strict use of a wood-fired oven, among other quality stipulations.
With just a few ingredients -- dough, tomatoes, olive oil, salt and basil (the marinara pizza does not even contain cheese) -- the Neapolitans created a food that few make properly, but everyone enjoys thoroughly.
Also: The pizza job offering ¥2.5 million an hour

1. One more reason to fall in love with Thailand.

1. Massaman curry, Thailand

Emphatically the king of curries, and perhaps the king of all foods. Spicy, coconutty, sweet and savory, its combination of flavors has more personality than a Thai election.
Even the packet sauce you buy from the supermarket can make the most delinquent of cooks look like a Michelin potential. Thankfully, someone invented rice, with which diners can mop up the last drizzles of curry sauce.
“The Land of Smiles” isn’t just a marketing catch-line. It’s a result of being born in a land where the world’s most delicious food is sold on nearly every street corner.
Also: World's 50 most delicious beverages

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