> The more north you go, the blander/crappier the food gets, mostly due to the weather. It's more complicated than that. Cultural reasons are a huge factor in

> The more north you go, the blander/crappier the food gets, mostly due to the weather. It's more complicated than that. Cultural reasons are a huge factor in why Western food is so bland: > Serving richly spiced stews was no longer a status symbol for Europe's wealthiest families — even the middle classes could afford to spice up their grub. "So the elite recoiled from the increasing popularity of spices," Ray says. "They moved on to an aesthetic theory of taste. Rather than infusing food with spice, they said things should taste like themselves. Meat should taste like meat, and anything you add only serves to intensify the existing flavors." > The rest of Europe soon adopted this new style. "It's a redefinition of what elegant is," Freedman says. "It's sort of like — in fashion — for a while having more frills, more jewelry was fashionable. But then someone said that a basic black dress with some pearls is much better." https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/03/26/394339284/how-snobbery-helped-take-the-spice-out-of-european-cooking?t=1539535616321 https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/03/26/394339284/ho...