【新編大學英語】（第二冊）Unit 6 C 烹飪與菜肴（2/6）

These three major cuisines have distinguished themselves each by one major characteristic. French cooking with butter, cheese and cream is so typical of their cooking that if omitted the whole character of the cuisine would be destroyed. Also, wine in cooking is as instinctive to a French cook as the use of soy sauce is to a Chinese cook. A second cuisine - Indian cooking is distinguished by the use of spices. The third cuisine is defined by the use of rice as a staple - China being the supreme example. Of course these three cuisines share their characteristics in one way or another. French cuisine can boast some famous rice dishes. Some Indian regional cookery also makes use of butter and the dishes of Sichuan, in Chinese cuisine, are famous for their fiery spices. But the separation into three major cuisines does mark some kind of distinctive characteristic and the three major cuisines, each based on a different major characteristic, have persisted for a long time throughout human history.