California Cuisine

California Cuisine

If California were human it would be described as a person with multiple personalities. Over 150,000 square miles of land and about 850 miles of ocean coast, the state stretches through 10 degrees of latitude. It is the home to one of the highest mountains in the United States, Mt. Whitney and one of the lowest points in North America, Death Valley.

With various micro-climates, California has been a land of diverse agriculture. Farmers in Southern California are lucky to have crops, such as avocados, oranges and dates. Up north, artichokes, broccoli and cauliflowers thrive in the cooler areas. Tomatoes, grapes, prunes and walnuts are widely cultivated in the central valley. Not to leave out the fishing industry, this happens to be busy year round. California cuisine relies greatly on the wealth of its local produce and seafood.

The Spanish missionaries were the first group of immigrants who brought their agriculture, livestock and culinary tradition. Once the Gold Rush started, other immigrants, including Mexicans and several groups of Europeans, headed into California in waves. Among all the immigrants from Europe, the Italians seemed to have the heaviest impact on California cuisine. Olive oil and sun-dried tomatoes have long been two of Californians' adored ingredients. Several varieties of California style pizzas and pastas in restaurants these days, all have their roots in Italian immigrants' kitchens.

By the mid nineteenth century a large number of Asians began to immigrate to California. These people did not influence the California style of cooking right away, as they were still very small groups of minorities. In the early 1900s, many Asian communities expanded, and their cuisines became more popular as well. Ingredients that once sounded exotic, such as lemongrass and rice noodles, now have their niche in local supermarkets. Asian sauces, such as Sriracha and Hoisin, have become regular condiments in many restaurants.

California chefs use hundreds of ingredients in their cooking, from Chinese soy sauce and Indian curry spices, to Italian cheeses and Mexican tortillas and salsas. Some local ingredients tend to stand out more than the rest. Both restaurant chefs and home cooks prize them. Tourists often fall in love with them. They are the state's major food products and they are the highlights of countless signature dishes. We are talking about the artichoke, avocado, jack cheese, goat cheese, garlic, sour dough bread and sun dried tomatoes, to name a few.

California has many classic dishes. Some you think come from far off lands but in reality they were all created in California. The classic California roll was created by a sushi chef in Los Angeles.

Raw tuna seemed unappealing to a lot of Americans so he decided to switch the tuna with avocado. The California pizza came out of the