Indian cuisine among world’s top 10. Check others on list

The world's best cuisines have been revealed by Taste Atlas, a digital guide to the food and drinks around the world. Take a look at the top 10 countries and their best-rated flavours.

1) Italy: Italy has an overall rating of 4.72, with Parmigiano Reggiano (a variety of cheese), Prosciutto Toscano (cured ham) Nduja (spicy, spreadable pork sausage), Risotto ai funghi porcini (risotto made with porcini mushrooms) and Pesto Genovese (basil pesto) among its most popular foods.

2) Greece: Greek cuisine was given an overall rating of 4.69. Among it top-rated foods were Bougatsa (a rustic pie), Saganki (an appetiser made up of vegetables, meats or seafood wrapped in cheese), Gyros (a street food favourite, made of meat cooked on a vertical spit) and Souvlaki (small meet cubes on skewers), among others.

3) Spain: Among Spain's best-rated dishes were Jamón Ibérico (a ham unique to the country), Espetos (grilled sardines), Gambas al ajillo  (shrimp sauteed with lemon juice, olive oil, garlic and paprika) and Chorizo a la sidra (chopped chorizo sausages fried in olive oil).

4) Japan: Some of the Japanese favourites were Tonkotsu ramen (fresh noodles, yolks, pork belly and fatty pork broth), Gyoza dumplings, sushi and Japanese cheesecake.

5) India: The best-rated Indian dishes, according to Taste Atlas, were Keema, Shahi Paneer, Masala dosa and Hyderabadi biryani, among many others

6) Mexico: Among the top-rated Mexican dishes were Carnitas (braised, slow-cooked pork shoulder), Carne asada tacos (believed to be the first-ever tacos) and Cochinita pibil (a pork dish from Yucatan).

7) Turkey: Mercimek çorbası (soup made of lentils and chicken stock), Shish kebab (meat put on skewers and cooked on a fire) and Gaziantep baklava (layered pastry) were listed as some of the top-rated dishes.

8) US: Some of the best rated American delicacies were Texas brisket sandwich, barbecue (Kansas, North Carolina and St Louis varieties) and lobster roll. Pernil, a Puerto Rican dish of roasted pork shoulder, was also among the best-rated in America.

9) France: Steak au poivre (beef steak coated in crushed peppercorns), Crème brûlée (egg custard dessert), chocolate souffle and croissant, among others.

10 Peru: The best-rated among Peruvian dishes were Pollo a la brasa (grilled chicken served with French fries and salad), Inchicapi (a creamy chicken soup) and Picarones (Peruvian doughnuts)

See full list

Reactions to the rankings

Twitter users didn't shy away from criticising the ratings. Some were of the opinion the US shouldn't have been in the top 10.

I don't know what's more ridiculous: that Dutch 'cuisine' (HAHAHA) is even on this list or that the US, creator of Deep Fried Butter on a Stick, is not only in the Top 10, but ABOVE FRANCE AND PERU.@TasteAtlas, you know nothing about food and should never comment on it again. https://t.co/NNgh35okk8

— Jan-Albert Hootsen (@jahootsen) December 23, 2022

"South Africa is on here but no other African countries or the west indies and Italy is number what?" one user wrote.

South africa is on here but no other african countries or the west indies and italy is number what!?!
We know who made this list and what the complexion of their taste buds is.
Tasteatlas just been out here tasting ass. https://t.co/eY162QPyQh

— Grinch, Thee (@Queeribbeans) December 24, 2022

One user wasn't happy about England being on the list.

Hi, I think there’s been an error. England is on this list for some reason.

— Amrita Khalid (@askhalid) December 24, 2022

In response to the backlash, Taste Atlas explained its method of choosing the best cuisines. 

"Throughout the year, people rate those foods (not cuisines) in our database," they said. "Some votes are recognized by our system as invalid (eg nationalist votes: people from one country give high marks to their dishes and low marks to their neighbors. We don’t count such votes)."

"At the end of the year, we take the average of the best-rated dishes in each kitchen," it added.