Calamari is a culinary treat made of squid that is native to Spanish, Italian, and Greek cuisines that is made of squid. The most popular calamari dish in North America is fried calamari. The dish is relatively simple, with the squid cut into pieces, creating rings of seafood. The rings are then battered and deep-fried for just a couple of minutes. Fried calamari is often served as a snack or appetizer and is sometimes added to appetizer platters. Calamari is generally garnished with parsley and lemon, and Italian restaurants often sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top. In the United States, this dish is often served with marinara sauce. Turkish and Greek culinary traditions pair this dish with a cream sauce such as tzaziki.

Some gourmet restaurants toss calamari with different sauces once the squid has been fried. For example, fried calamari might be tossed with a sweet and sour sauce, a tomato based sauce, or even a pesto sauce. Alternatively, the calamari batter may be infused with different ingredients to create special flavors in the breading. In some instances, calamari is pan fried or cooked in an untraditional method. This is rare as squid becomes quite tough if it is cooked for too long.

Although calamari is a traditional European squid dish, squid is used in similar manners in many other countries. Chinese cuisine has a similar dish to fried calamari. In Chinese cooking, squid is diced and battered much like fried calamari. It is then served with spicy chili and salt. Similar dishes are also made in Korea.

The squid is very popular throughout the world because, except for the hard beak, the entire animal is edible. In addition to the flesh of the body, the tentacles and ink of the squid can also be eaten. Therefore, large catches of squid can feed many people. For this reason, squid has been incorporated into many different cuisines over the centuries. Furthermore, the different parts of the shellfish can be used to create a variety of different dishes, including calamari.

Although squid is used all over the world, from Spain to Japan, the only food that can be correctly referred to as “calamari” is the dish that includes lightly fried rings of squid. In Spanish cooking, squid is sometimes used as the seafood component of ceviche. In Japanese cuisine, squid is often on sushi and sashimi menus. These dishes, however, are not technically calamari dishes.