Classification spine
Domain map
Every dish in the world is filed by what it fundamentally is — its form — not where it comes from. This is the structural tree and the rules that govern it. No dishes yet; drag the map, and click any node to open its branches.
The map — drag, zoom, expand
The spine — four tiers
The facets — everything else hangs here
Geography is a facet, not a branch — which is how disputed & shared origins stop being a problem.
The 13 domains · audit coverage
Colour = where the comprehensiveness audit found gaps (now being closed). These are the thirteen branches off the root of the map above.
Placement rules — one dish, one node
A deterministic priority chain — first to fire wins.
Enclosure / vessel wins
A sealed dough pocket is a Filled Dough even if pasta or mostly meat. A vegetable vessel keeps stuffed veg in Veg. A bread-as-vehicle goes to Assembled.
Body / structure beats technique
The grain or strand forming the body owns the dish; fried / steamed / baked are facets. Fried rice → Rice; fried noodles → a Noodle material node.
Liquid-as-dish beats strand; heat separates raw
A drinkable broth makes it a Soup (noodle soup, congee). Protein cured by acid without applied heat stays Raw & Marinated (ceviche).
Tiebreaks
Depth is variable, not uniform
Depth is earned by family size. Most branches stay at three; ~20 leaves go to four; only a handful reach five.
3Stay at 3
- Sauces → Cooked sauces
- Breads → Lean hearth & Rye (Western core)
- Already-solid Western branches
4Go to 4
- Rice & wheat noodles
- Noodle soups
- Vegetable stews (biggest non-Western gain)
- Deep-fried & Roasted proteins
- Lentil & bean dishes
- Cheese / Egg / Yogurt
- Cakes / Cookies / Custards
- Sauce ferments & pickles
- Beverages (the missing drink classes)
5Go to 5
- Coffee — by extraction
- Tea — by oxidation
- Layered syrup pastries — by dough form
- Spit & skewer proteins