There's an interesting study out from some researchers at the University of Nottingham, plotting regional differences in food preferences in the United Kingdom. The study was sponsored by a coffee firm, which I'm sure was gratified to hear that coffee is among the earliest taste memories for most Brits.*
What's interesting is how the researchers tried to map out the different "taste dialects" in different parts of Britain. This isn't just listing local specialties, either -- they tried to analyze what sorts of flavors and textures predominate. As with most descriptive science, you probably should take their conclusions about the reasons for these differences with a grain of organic sea salt. Welshmen like strong flavors to cut through the taste of dirt from the mines? I did not know the Welsh mined coal with their teeth.
As both a science buff and a food snob, this immediately made me wonder what a "taste dialect" map of the United States might look like. I suspect it would be a lot more diverse -- after all, the country's not only bigger than the UK, it draws its population from a lot more places. And even within single states there are noticeable variations in cuisine. (The north and south halves of Louisiana, for instance, are barely on the same planet in terms of food.)
On the large scale, I'd point to the "spicy belt" running from about Louisiana westward into the Southwest, where spicy foods and rice are common. The "bland patch" from Indiana westward, where the Germanic and Scandinavian heritage makes the food very mild-flavored and sweet. The East Coast is probably the most complex, with lots of regional cuisines from New England "plain cooking" to New York's love of strong-flavored foods, on down through the hearty fried stuff of the mid-Atlantic to the Southeast's fondness for soft foods.
This is definitely a project for a Crack Team of food lovers who have traveled widely in the USA. Any volunteers? Maybe we can find a food company willing to support the creation of a Taste Map of America.
*Incidentally, if you Google the key phrase "taste dialect" you get a whole list of mostly British news stories about this same study. It's highly instructive (if a bit depressing) to see how many of them are essentially the core University of Nottingham press release with some minor edits. See my various earlier rants about science reporting.
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