Food is one of characteristics of a region. We can see the culture of a region from its food; actually not the culture at all but the food can describe how the people's characteristics and behavior. I can tell it based on my experience when I visited some places in my country, Indonesia (I have not ever traveled to abroad yet). Actually culinary is a fun thing when we have in a region outside our community because it can leave a memorable taste and know how the sense of the people is.
Back to my experience, I would like to just take some samples from food in Jogjakarta (Central Java), Padang (West Sumatra), and Sundanese (West Java, where I am living now). Those regions have different typical foods that also different taste that really contrast and are similar as the people characteristics. Those foods are Jogjakarta with 'gudeg', Padang with 'rendang', and Sunda with 'lalapan'.
The taste of gudeg made from jack fruit is really sweet and smooth. It is appropriate with Jogjakarta people characteristics who are famous by smooth talking, graceful behavior, and obedient. Meanwhile rendang is spicy, even really spicy, that is appropriate with West Sumatra people who are famous with their characteristics who assertive, loud voice of speaking, hard-worker that show strong characters. And Sundanese has lalapan as its typical food. lalapan is various boiled vegetables eaten by condiment. It shows that Sundanese's characters are naturalist, plain, and amenable.
Those food taste are appropriate with characteristics of the local people I mentioned before. Maybe it is difficult for non-Indonesian to really feel the characteristics but that is what we have in Indonesia with various tribes. I myself feel the things and I believe that food can describe the local people's characteristics because the people make typical food as their typical behavior.
Actually we can get the real taste of the food when we have in the real region,outside region will be different.
