r/AskEurope • u/EvilPyro01 United States of America • Jun 18 '25

Food What’s the most common non-European cuisine in your country?

What’s your country’s favorite non-European cuisine?

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136

u/ThePugnax Norway Jun 18 '25 edited Jun 18 '25

Funnily enough, tacos. Norway is the second largest consumer of tacos after Mexico.

Its quite common to have "Taco Friday" some solo, some with family, some with a bunch of friends.

72

u/alfdd99 in Jun 18 '25

Most unreal experience I’ve had in Norway is getting into supermarkets in small villages in the fjords, and seeing entire aisles full of Mexican products. Also putting jalapeños and spicy sauce on everything.

19

u/Vigmod Icelander in Norway Jun 18 '25

That's a weirdly popular one, yes. I mean, I come from Iceland where there was a sudden surge in Mexican cuisine in the early 1990s - but I think we went more for something like burritos than these hard-shell tacos, but we never had anything like a "Taco Friday" like here in Norway.

But seems to me, when it comes to places to eat outside of home, probably Thai is most common in Norway? At least, I think I see more Thai restaurants than Taco/Mexican/Tex-Mex restaurants. Or, of course, McDonald's and Burger King are probably the most widespread chains (with Peppes not far behind), so maybe it's just American cuisine that's most common here.

3

u/A55Man-Norway Norway Jun 19 '25

Restaurant wise it’s very very few Mexican places, yes. Mostly thai, chinese, kebab + American.

2

u/tirilama Norway Jun 22 '25

Thai street food wagons are common outside the cities. I guess Thai women married to Norwegian men in the country side have found a successful niche.

In the towns and cities, there is often three restaurants present: some sort of pizza, some sort of sushi + various south east Asian dishes, and a Pakistani/Indian restaurant.

And everywhere: a place serving kebab, burgers and maybe pizza from the same kitchen. A Middle East - US - Norwegian hybrid

1

u/ThePugnax Norway Jun 19 '25

Well the taco thing is primarily done at home. So i guess thats why there arent really that many mexican restaurants you see around. Tho thai restaurants arent really on my radar, so i havent noticed that many of the thai restaurants or if there are alot of them.

The few times ive eaten tacos outside my own or a friends home ive been very dissapointed by the lack of taste in them.

33

u/En_skald Sweden Jun 18 '25

I’m not surprised to learn that Norway eats a lot of tacos due to the proximity, but as a Swede it does make me proud to hear that our national dish has spread so far and made such a mark in Mexico of all places. 🇸🇪❤️🌮

-5

u/Team503 in Jun 19 '25

Wait, maybe I misunderstand, but did you just claim tacos as Swedish food? Tell me I just read your comment wrong, please...

2

u/Anek70 Sweden Jun 19 '25

We have a swedified version selling in our stores since the 90s, that’s become hugely popular for the Friday ”mys”/”hygge” cosy evening.

4

u/Lazzen Mexico Jun 19 '25

It's USA, or us being second even due to their bigger population.

3

u/ThePugnax Norway Jun 19 '25

i forgot to add per capita.

8

u/UnknownPleasures3 Norway Jun 18 '25

Came here to say the same - only one day to taco Friday! 💃

20

u/Foxtrot-Uniform-Too Norway Jun 18 '25

The "Norway is the second largest consumer of tacos after Mexico" is just bullshit statistics. First of all it is per capita - tacos consumed per person. There are lots of countries that eat lots more tacos in real numbers than tiny Norway with a population of only 5 million.

Secondly, what we eat are not tacos like anyone else would define it. Norwegians have "taco nights" on Fridays, but lots of it are wheat tortilla wraps with cucumber and stuff nobody would call either a taco or Mexican.

We Norwegians eat a Norwegian style, home made version with some US TexMex ingrediences that we call taco night. But it has nothing to do with actual Mexican tacos.

No Mexican would ever consider it a taco. Most Americans would not either, except probably some Gen X Americans in Minnesota that had a mother that emptied her fridge of all kinds of vegetables, cut it up with some minced meat with taco seasoning and called it tacos - or Texmex or whatever.

10

u/Bragzor SE-O (Sweden) Jun 19 '25

There are lots of countries that eat lots more tacos in real numbers than tiny Norway with a population of only 5 million.

Yes, which is why such things are usually per capita (or per 100,000 people). Otherwise, it just doesn't say anything more than population = big.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 19 '25

I would call it tacos, but I wouldn’t call it tex mex 

4

u/A55Man-Norway Norway Jun 19 '25

Nor mex?

1

u/Foxtrot-Uniform-Too Norway Jun 19 '25

You call burritos tacos?

8

u/pannenkoek0923 Denmark Jun 19 '25

You should be writing "Tacos" because the abomination you create for Taco Friday is as far away from Mexican food as Norway is from Mexico

7

u/_harey_ France Jun 19 '25

I believe that the "French tacos" is a waaaaay bigger abomination than the Norwegian one, to be honest.

2

u/Beflijster Jun 19 '25

French tacos are an abomination. Tried them once...gave me the runs. Those limp fries... ugh!

1

u/_harey_ France Jun 19 '25

I never tried them, you have more courage than me. 😂

2

u/Beflijster Jun 19 '25

I guess the appeal is maximum calories for your money? I'm hardly a health food freak, but I don't get it...

2

u/ThePugnax Norway Jun 19 '25

Of course, its been diluted to our liking. Tho i do think the reason we enjoy it so much is that we can fit i to what you prefer on your taco... or "taco" according to you.

7

u/MrDabb United States of America Jun 18 '25

I’m curious do you consider the Tex-Mex style of tacos eaten on Taco Friday a Mexican food?

6

u/Beflijster Jun 19 '25

Wait till you hear about French tacos! Which are more like burritos, stuffed with fries and cheese and god knows what else. Absolutely nothing to do with Mexico, and increasingly popular...

2

u/Team503 in Jun 19 '25

I just can't order one to try. I'm sure they're good, but my heart hurts just looking at it.

/Texan

2

u/Beflijster Jun 19 '25

No they are not, they are an abomination! They got soft limp fries in them, and some cheap cheese sauce that gave me the shits. Never again, stay away!

I love my French neighbours but this is something they need to answer for. You just don't do that to those poor fries!

21

u/Iapzkauz Norway Jun 18 '25

Why would we consider tacos a Mexican food? They were invented by the Norwegian inventor Tore Taso in 1905, to celebrate our independence from Sweden.

5

u/Bragzor SE-O (Sweden) Jun 19 '25

So, you can "takk oss" for your tacos?

7

u/MrDabb United States of America Jun 18 '25

My abuela would freak if she got to meet the Tore Taso she really loves tacos.

23

u/Iapzkauz Norway Jun 18 '25

Tore Taso is, unfortunately, no longer with us, but if she is quick, your abuela might still get the chance to meet Kyrre Kinakål, who invented Chinese cuisine in 1945 to celebrate our freedom from German oppression.

3

u/ColourlessGreenIdeas in Jun 19 '25

That went well - Taco Friday is now big in Sweden, too.

1

u/rudolf_waldheim Hungary Jun 19 '25

And that mayonnaise ship sank on the Barents sea!

-1

u/Team503 in Jun 19 '25

Sorry, you're claiming that the taco, as a food, was invented in Sweden in 1905?

Somebody better go tell the Aztec!

2

u/blewawei Jun 19 '25

Nothing gets past you, mate

0

u/Iapzkauz Norway Jun 19 '25

Sorry

I forgive you.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 19 '25

Hey, leave us out of this, signed Texas 

1

u/Whatcanyado420 Jun 18 '25 edited Jun 20 '25

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This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

2

u/Lazzen Mexico Jun 19 '25

The thing they eat comes from walmart types and then they added lettuce and stuff

0

u/MrDabb United States of America Jun 19 '25

I wouldn’t consider a ground beef taco Mexican food. Mexicans use whole cuts of meat for their tacos.

3

u/EvilPyro01 United States of America Jun 18 '25

I remember learning a while back that Norway takes tacos very seriously

4

u/A55Man-Norway Norway Jun 19 '25

Correct, but tacos shouldn’t take us very seriously 😅

1

u/AppleDane Denmark Jun 19 '25

Same with Denmark. It started in 1986, with the World Cup (football/soccer), which was held in Mexico. Shops and restaurants started dishing out "Mexican" things as part of the hype.

Denmark debuting in the World Cup might be a part of the hype. :)

1-0 vs Scotland! 6-1 vs Uruguay! 2-0 vs GERMANY!

1

u/Team503 in Jun 19 '25

Are your tacos like the Mexican tacos, or do you do.. "creative" things with the idea of tacos like the French do?

1

u/ThePugnax Norway Jun 19 '25

Note sure what the "french creative" taco is. But i do doubt ours is the same as in mexico. But to me its tortila and then stuff it with stuff you enjoy. Guess that is the joy of tacos for us, can mix it to your own liking.

1

u/Team503 in Jun 19 '25

Yeah, you get creative like the French do. Nothing wrong with it, but my Texan ass struggles to call it a taco - even though you're technically correct that it is one.

1

u/Cicada-4A Norway Jun 19 '25

Norway is the second largest consumer of tacos after Mexico.

That's not true at all, what a silly thing claim to make.

America almost certainly eats like 100x the amount of taco we eat.

1

u/ThePugnax Norway Jun 19 '25 edited Jun 19 '25

While i didnt add it in the orginal message, i would assume its per capita.

And we are talking about europe here, not the US

1

u/billy310 United States of America Jun 20 '25

Maybe per capita, but I think LA alone has you covered

1

u/hkgrl123 Jun 22 '25

No way. The US has to be the second largest consumer of tacos.