California fusion
 | It has been suggested that California cuisine be merged into this article. (Discuss) Proposed since October 2011. |
California fusion is fusion cuisine inspired by culinary traditions from around the world that are combined in inventive and delicious new ways. Fusion cuisine typically emphasizes natural fruits and vegetables and combines them in a way that is often organic, natural and fresh.
Fresh Ingredients Essential
From north to south, the pleasant climate and long growing season encourage a light, summery approach to cooking, especially when tomatoes, avocados, citrus, herbs and lettuces are growing on doorsteps practically year-round. It makes sense that the temperate state where so much of the country's fresh produce is grown had begun to obsess about fresh ingredients. California's abundance allows cooks to paint with a very broad palette. Such a variety of ingredients results in a cuisine that is more about a general style than specific chefs, who understand that that your dish is only as good as your ingredients, so the emphasis is on freshness, simplicity, locality.
Origin of the Term
Thanks to its history and geography, California might even be called the first fusion cuisine.[citation needed] Immigrants from Mexico and Asia, not to mention the others who were attracted to the state for the promises of riches, a better life or a more temperate climate bring their own local flavor and style to the local melting pot in the cuisine that they prepare.
Like like so many other California innovations like movies and skateboarding, this kind of cooking has gradually spread to the rest of the country.[citation needed] Similar to the pervasiveness of a Hollywood blockbuster, the California Fusion's infiltration of the American cooking style arguably qualifies it as the essence of modern American cooking.