Cultures affect the types of food and ways food are prepared. Sometimes, there are ceremonies or festivals due to the culture and these festivals showcase the foods that are grown in the area. A lot of time, the foods that can be found or grown in the area are used first in the dishes prior to the establishment of the culture in the area. Then people will start having the festivals based on these foods.
They may also have certain beliefs that cause them to eat or fix certain dishes a certain way. Religion may also play a part in the foods served or when they are served. For instance, Catholics don’t eat meat on Friday. Others don’t eat during certain times of the week.
Certain cultures will find some foods repellant because of their beliefs and so recipes from such communities will not contain those foods. For instance, in India the cow is sacred, so much so that it is allowed to roam the streets freely despite the traffic chaos it causes. There is no way that Indians could bring themselves to eat beef, therefore their recipes never contain beef. Some cultures believe offal is unclean.
A societal belief around food and eating will determine what ingredients can be included in recipes. In addition, some foodstuffs are revered. Spices are considered essential in many countries, their choice in cooking a practised skill. These will be shown in the recipes used.