The same, but so different

After a long -- 2 years -- hiatus, we're blogging again, this time with a focus on food. There are some foods in France that we assumed were the same as in the U.S., but that's not always the case. 

For example, celery in France is not generally eaten raw; instead, it's used in soups & stews. Taking a bite of raw French celery, we were surprised to find out how tough & bitter it usually is. When cooked in soups & stews, the flavor & texture become milder, so it's fine in those cases, but if we want some crudités for a snack, celery is out. On the positive side, if we want to buy only 1 stalk, that's easily done.

Carrots were another surprise. The majority of carrots we find are rather fat & also have a bitter taste when eaten raw, but they are fine in soups & stews. At the market I search for the skinniest carrots I can find, which can take some digging. We occasionally see bags of miniature carrots (which are ubiquitous in the U.S., but unusual here) but have yet to buy them. Aside from their high cost, we worry that they will still have the same bitterness as the large carrots, but in a smaller format.

Most potatoes in the U.S. have a relatively high starch content; not so with most potatoes in France. They are either waxy (like new red potatoes) or watery when cooked. We made our favorite potato salad recipe but it wasn't quite right because it really needed the starchiness of Idaho potatoes. From time to time we find bintje potatoes at the weekly market or buy a bag of specialty potatoes at the grocery store, but mostly we don't eat baked potatoes or make American potato recipes. When we want convenience foods, there are several yummy frozen potato preparations -- duchesse, noisettes, mashed potatoes, etc.

Corn on the cob is something we really miss. While driving across certain parts of France we've seen huge fields of corn, bit it's rarely seen in the grocery stores, & I've never seen it at our weekly market. It turns out that the fields of corn were a different strain of the veggie, destined to become animal feed. On the occasions when we see corn on the cob at the store, it's imported (usually from Africa), of inconsistent quality, & expensive enough to be considered a treat. It's easy to find canned corn (Green Giant is definitely the best brand), so we know the French eat corn, but usually in salads. Actually, corn has only been considered edible within the past 40 years or so; before that, it was used almost exclusively as animal food.

We won't even write about French beef because it's been covered over & over again by many ex-pats.

Canned, condensed soups are not sold here. Soups are either in cartons or jars (not condensed), or are dry soup mixes. A common soup in the in the south of France is soupe de poissons (fish soup), & several variations can be found in any grocery. But -- no clam chowder, so we'll definitely make sure to eat some the next time we're in the States.

On the plus side, duck breast, rabbit & pheasant are easily found & not considered delicacies.  Chicken here actually tastes like chicken used to taste in the U.S. because it's not overbred & force fed. We can buy different kinds of chicken -- yellow (corn-fed) chickens, chickens for stewing, for roasting, etc., as well as coquelets (about the size of a Cornish game hen).  Eggs are so much better here -- they have taste & are fresh, unlike in the States where they sometimes sit in refrigerators for 6 months before they get to the supermarkets. Here, they are not even in the refrigerated section of the store. All eggs here have brown shells, not white.

It's quite common to see meats in small packages in the grocery store -- a single pork chop or chicken breast cutlet. Not everything is super-sized, which is great when there are only 2 of us.

Then there is the wine....We live in the Languedoc, the world's largest vineyard, so we are surrounded by wine. Walk or drive nearly anywhere around Pézenas & you will see vineyards. Wine is not considered a luxury here & wine snobbery is not as prevalent. Many local residents buy their wine "en vrac" (in bulk). Simply bring your plastic jug (5 or 10 liters) & have it filled at the tanks. Our local wine cooperative (here's a link to their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/lescaves.moliere.1) sells 4 varieties of everyday bulk wines at great prices -- around 1.20€ per liter (white, dry rosé, merlot, red table wine). Their bottled wines are quite good as well. They are certainly not the only caveau in the area that sells wines this way; it's the norm around here.

Little by little we are getting used to the differences & are embracing them, but right now we are craving a dinner of  American steak, corn on the cob & baked potato.