These are excerpts from the author’s book “Deep,” which contains eight of his small books published in the form of Wisdom Literature covering different aspects of life: Facing troublemakers, dealing with pain, personal financial issues, gastronomy, reading, criticizing, inspiring, and feeling always good to go.

Series 4: Cuisine – Feeling Good.

Cross-cultural Tasting

• It is primarily a matter of a desire to open up. It is rare to like the food of any other culture if you come to it while you are fearing the experience or expecting a taste close to the food of your own culture.

• This is what you should do every time, but especially when you are about to try food from a different culture for the first time, make sure you do not use your tongue only for tasting. You must approach the dish with an open mind and all of your senses before deciding whether or not you like the food.

• When embarking on various gastronomic adventures, don’t rely on common sayings and generic rules, such as a juicy piece of meat is better than a dry one. On the contrary, you are more likely to find yourself facing the challenge of accepting an experience that is totally different, or even contrary, to the taste, texture, and aroma of the food you are used to.

• Trying the taste of food from different cultures is not in all cases an adventure you wish to end up with fewer losses, as you may get used to some of it sometimes to the point that you prefer it over the food of your own culture.

• Do not be quick to judge negatively the cuisine of a different culture just as a result of one experience. The problem may be with an inexperienced chef from that culture, and the circumstances surrounding your first experience may be discouraging for more than a reason. Give yourself at least a second chance before you make a final judgment on that cuisine.

• It is very rare to enjoy a food without understanding the culture it came out of. To get the most out of the flavor of a food, try to get to know and get closer to the culture that produced it.

• In countries rich in ethnicities, the flavor of one of these ethnicities dominates its world-famous cuisine. Accordingly, a citizen of that country may face the same taste challenge like you as you both enter a restaurant bearing the name of his or her country, although you think he or she is supposed to be dealing with a familiar cuisine.

• The tougher taste challenge you can face is not necessarily with the flavors of international cuisines, but it could be with foods you do not like and have to eat repeatedly from your own local cuisine by virtue of tradition.

• Don’t forget that the main idea related to your experiences with other cultures’ food is taste, not satiety. Try to get as close as possible to the pulse of the other culture with each tasting experience and don’t get caught up in thinking about whether you can fill your stomach with that food or not.

• There is no reason to feel guilty or anxious. You do not have to love the food of another culture after trying it; nor do you need necessarily to continue to experiment. Keep your horizons open constantly and give yourself the opportunity more than once. You will inevitably find a suitable and pleasant way to express your opinion in front of others if you do not like the food. It is important to remember that no idea is devoid of a positive point of view, no matter what you do not like about it.

• You can find at least one dish you will like in any kitchen around the world. Just try to get rid of prior impressions and eliminate prejudices as you enter any kitchen.