hsjensjsjsjsj-deactivated201705 sent: Hey Mods, what do you think of the stereotype "White People don't/can't use spices"? Personally I find it rather ignorant of European countries where spices are a large thing and the actual reasons why plain food is the norm.

eeveelutionsforequality:

I feel the same way. As someone who has sampled the cuisines of numerous countries around the world, (and comes from a country where heavy spicing is the norm) I believe it’s highly ignorant to make such a statement. Like, ever been to Italy? Or France? Or any country that contains Caucasian people other than America? White people do use spices, and to great effect. “White People don’t/can’t use spices” is just another pathetic attempt by this site to perpetuate stereotypes against groups they perceive to be the “oppressors.” (And by virtue of being oppressor, cannot have any positive traits whatsoever.) ~Espeon

I’d like to chime in to add, that as a Ukrainian, let me tell you something about our food.

It’s bland as all fuck. For the most part? Boiled cabbage, pickled vegetables, sauerkraut, root vegetables, potatoes, flour, and sugar make up a large portion of our traditional foods. Peroghy? Those are water, flour, and potato, bro. Borscht? Beets. Maybe cream, if you’re lucky enough to own a cow. Sometimes cheese curds, sauerkraut, or fried onions are added for texture or flavour, but rarely spices. We had other methods of flavouring our food.

Do you know why? Because we didn’t fucking have any spices to work with. If you’re lucky enough to live in a country where spices grow abundantly, great, but try doing that on the steppes of central Asia. It doesn’t happen.

Ukrainian women made do with what they could get from their garden. On the rare occasions that meat was available, it was rationed and prized. Most meals featured cabbage, potatoes, and bread or some kind of dough, because flour and wheat is something most parts of the world can get in abundance. They were experts at taking what little food they had and making an entire meal out of it that lasted weeks, and had enough carbs and fat to put on weight for the long winter.

So, yeah. If you’re lucky enough that spices were readily available to become a staple part of your diet, congratulations. Many of us weren’t so privileged.

~ Umbreon