LogFAQs > #926907109

CTLM posted...

I always believed it had to do with lack of refrigeration and they still do it now because it's part of their culture

Pretty much. The cuisines in question developed to favour strong spices to mask the taste of spoiled food (not necessarily dangerously spoiled, but spoiled enough to taste unpleasant), and that preference has stuck despite the invention and ready availability of refrigeration because it's the sort of flavour everyone's come to expect. You grow up eating something, it's generally what you're going to like eating as an adult.
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