We may not be able to travel to every country around the globe, but a great way to get a taste of a culture is to sample its signature dishes. You can even try cooking up a storm in your own kitchen.
Recently, CNN Travel scoured the planet for what they think are 50 of the most delicious foods ever created.
In the first place, there is Massaman curry which originates from Thailand.
This dish is described as the king of curries, and perhaps the king of all foods.
It is spicy, coconutty, sweet, and savoury.
The travel site mentions that “The Land of Smiles” isn’t just a marketing catch-line. It’s a result of being born in a land where the world’s most delicious food is sold on nearly every street corner.
In second place is Neapolitan pizza which originates from Italy.
It is described as the best pizza and still is the simple Neapolitan, an invention now protected by its own trade association that insists on sea salt, high-grade wheat flour, the use of only three types of fresh tomatoes, hand-rolled dough, and the strict use of a wood-fired oven, among other quality stipulations.
Third place was chocolate from Mexico.
It reports that the story of the humble cacao bean is a bona fide out-of-the-jungle, into-civilisation tale of culinary wonder, and without this creamy, bitter-sweet confection, Valentine's Day would be all cards and flowers, and Easter would turn back into another dull religious event.
South Africa also made it to the list, with the famous bunny chow sitting at number 19.
Bunny chow is hollowed-out half- or quarter-loaves of white bread filled with super-spicy curry and originated in Durban's Indian community.
Buttered popcorn from the US took last place.
The site reports that buttered popcorn is best when its sweet variety is fried up with lashings of butter until it bursts and then snarfed in greasy fistfuls while watching Netflix late at night.
For the full list, you can visit CNN Travel’s website.