I have to admit that a lot of people think I'm odd because I'm not a chocoholic & I don't like dark chocolate at all (too bitter for me; I also dislike coffee & mostly anything else my strange taste buds find bitter). That doesn't mean I'm anti-chocolate, but it's not a main part of my diet.
The French, however, seem to develop a taste for chocolate at a very early age -- too early in my opinion. There are chocolate flavored products for babies:
Both of these products are labeled as being
suitable for children as young as 8 months. I couldn't find an image to post here, but I saw chocolate baby formula on the pharmacy shelf -- for infants! Am I the only one who thinks this is a bit early to start introducing chocolate into a child's diet?
A walk down the cereal aisle in a French supermarket is almost like walking into a candy store -- nearly all cereals have some sort of chocolate, which means those of us who don't want chocolate cereal have a limited selection from which to choose. Somehow, I don't equate chocolate cereal with fitness (see photo below).
Of course, there's also Nutella tartines (chocolate hazelnut spread on baguette or other bread) & pain au chocolat (chocolate croissant) if you're not into cereal for breakfast & still want to get your chocolate fix to start the day.
Anyone who has spent any time in France knows that chocolate consumption is not limited to mornings; it happens at all times of day & evening, as snacks & desserts & is a big part of French culture & life. I have absolutely no problem with that, but I just can't get used to the idea of feeding chocolate to an 8-month-old (or even younger), especially with the rising problem of obesity.
By now, you might think I'm crazy, or you might be craving chocolate, but if you're reading this, you're not an 8-month-old.
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.
