When it comes to trying to expand your food horizons, there are a number of different options that you can choose. Some of what goes into your eventual decision will depend on your budget or other nutritional circumstances, but in general, what you want to figure out how to do is expand your comfort zone when it comes to cooking and trying new things.
Five ways to do this that you can specifically follow include going to new cafés in your area, traveling to food festivals, experimenting with cooking at home, trying meal subscription services, and then just really trying to play with different spices.
Go To New Cafes
Probably the easiest way to expand your food horizons is by going to a new café or new restaurant in your area. Look at local advertisements about restaurants in the area that aren’t major fast food chains, and find out which of them seem to be slightly outside of your typical experience. Then, you can either go alone or with the group to see what kind of things you might want to order there, making sure that you ask the waitstaff what they would recommend.
Travel To Food Festivals
Another great idea to be able to try a whole bunch of new foods at the same time is if you travel to food festivals. This might be something in your home state, or it may be something that you really want to travel to as a part of a vacation, but trying new foods in their home environments as cooked by people who understand the culture, can make all the difference in the world in your experience.
Experiments With Cooking At Home
You can also try creating new foods at home. Buy an experimental recipe book, search for some of the ingredients that you like, find out what sort of pots and pans you need, and then go crazy.
The more things that you try and fail at, the better you know what your general tastes are. Try to go beyond whatever cuisine you’re comfortable with. Because of the internet, you can simply go online and find new recipes here or on another page from around the world. By trying off-the-wall stuff, you’ll find out what flavor combinations might tickle your fancy or the people in your family.
Try Meal Subscriptions
There are also two different meal subscription companies out there right now that ship super interesting combinations of ingredients to your front doorstep. There are given instructions on how to combine everything and cook it so that you end up with the perfect meal every time. Some of the best chefs in the world are creating these recipes for you. Take advantage of it!
Try Different Spice Combinations
And if you want to try just a little bit more mellow approach to expanding your horizons, simply try to buy a few different sets of spices at the grocery store and add it to what you would normally make. You’d be amazed at how much different a dish tastes when you add a chili sauce, or even a salad dressing to the mix.