Food
{cross-posted to official site}
I was asked to comment on the food in Europe.
First of all, I would like to say: POTATOES
Potatoes are the staple of the European diet. They prepare potatoes fried, creamed, sliced, cubed, you name it, and small ones might be whole (but no large baked potatoes). They don’t eat a lot of potato chips (called “crisps” in England), but they do love McDonald’s french fries-and there are a lot of McDonald’s restaurants in Europe. The one good thing about them is that they offer free wifi.
Vegetables
You will find very few vegetables in meals in northern Europe, and the ones that are present are usually in salads-including corn, which is also a standard item on pizza here. In England, the regular grocery stores in the cities have all their vegetable pre-packed-actually everything is pre-packaged: rows upon rows of 2-serving packages, all wrapped in plastic. In France and Italy, there are more vegetables, and the groceries and markets have excellent selections of locally grown produce.
Fruits
Apples are the most popular fruit here, and pears, with oranges grown in Italy gaining popularity. To wit, most Europeans don’t snack between meals, but when they do, it’s usually a piece of fruit.
Meats
Pork in all its forms is the most popular meat here. People eat sliced ham and sliced sausage for breakfast with cheese on bread. They eat it again in the evening for dinner. They have pork cutlets, chicken halves (small chickens), lamb, mutton, and veal. German food is based solidly on sausages and creamed potato dishes. Fish is eaten on bread with a tartar sauce, and salmon, cod and trout are served as a first course for a meal (second course in Italy). There is beef available, but it is not commonly eaten. Most meat, other than the sliced meat and sausages, is served at the midday meal-the largest meal of the day. In fact, most businesses, excepting restaurants, close for two hours midday so the owners can go home to eat.
Grains
While pasta is everywhere in Italy, bread is the staple upon which the Europeans live. There is fresh bread and stale bread, depending on where you are. The freshest bread is in France, but you have to buy it nearly daily to enjoy the fresh-baked goodness of it. Most of the bread is a white bread, but there is more and more grain bread being sold, and in northern Europe, they also like their Wasa crackers (me, too) and “tartines” (packaged miniature sliced toast).
Bread is used for pushing food onto the fork, and for wiping up the remains of the meal from the plate. In France, it is used for dipping into a bowl of hot chocolate or coffee in the morning at breakfast, and for the after-dinner bread and cheese.
Rice is rarely found, except in the numerous Indian and Chinese restaurants.
Cereal is often eaten by children for breakfast.
Cheese
There are a variety of cheeses everywhere and they are omnipresent. Cheese is part of breakfast, served after the midday meal, and is a staple of dinner. There are Edam and Emmentaler cheese in the north, and two full aisles of cheese-everywhere from mild goat cheese and creamed Camembert cheese to full-bodied Roquefort bleu cheese varieties in the French mega-grocery stores. Germany has rich, strong-smelling and tasting cheeses, and Bulgarians allow a bit of peppers into theirs.
Organic foods (called “Bio” in France) are very limited here, due to the expense. There are some efforts to make vineyards organic for the wines, but most other organic food is priced out of people’s budgets.
Chocolate
Chocolate is a breakfast food. My French penpal told me that parents add chocolate to the milk when the children are young to encourage them to drink it, and when they get older they are still in the habit of having chocolate in the morning. As such, there is hot chocolate to drink (and dip bread into), chocolate-filled pastries (pain au chocolate), chocolate cereal, chocolate musli (granola). Of course, chocolate is a favorite for dessert, as well.
Seasonings
Most food is lightly seasoned with herbs, and salt is often added. That’s about it. We had one dish in France where my daughter was asked if it was too spicy for her. She didn’t even realize it was supposed to be spicy!
Beverages
Everyone drinks water with their meals and many prefer sparkling water, especially the Germans. When the French drink wine, it is in small quantities. The drinking age in much of Europe is 16 for beer and wine (although that doesn’t mean they can buy it by themselves), and 18 for other alcoholic beverages. In some countries it’s 18 for everything, and in the UK, they’re on a new campaign to push for 21 as the drinking age.
School meals
In Finland, school meals are provided for the students, and in one of the schools, there was a vegetarian option that closely resembled the non-vegetarian option (stew with meat or with a greater variety of vegetables). In Denmark, food is provided at the boarding schools: yogurt, cereal, bread, cheese and ham for breakfast; stew-type food with a potato side-dish and salad at midday meal; and bread, cheese and ham for dinner, with leftovers from lunch. Students take their own lunch to day schools. In Germany, students bring their own lunches, but one high school was very proud of their new cafeteria that was build with the help of the parent population-who also procure and serve the food, and an elementary school provided a minimal lunch for the students who stay for the extended day program (most students go home at 12:30 pm). In France, and my friend’s daughter’s school, they have a canteen where students are served a midday meal. In Bulgaria at the international school, most students brought their own lunch and snack, but there was a limited selection of food in the cafeteria: cheese toast, pizza, and salad.
Restaurants
Fast food restaurants like McDonald’s, as I mentioned, are everywhere. Following close behind are Kentucky Fried Chicken, Burger King and Starbucks.
Chinese restaurants are also everywhere, and Indian restaurants are the preferred destination in England. For a good steak-and-kidney pie or fish and chips in the UK, you have to go to a pub (age is not a problem in most-especially before 6 pm). The newest trend is the Wagamama, a Japanese restaurant in many major cities in northern and western Europe, where you are seated at a long bench across from your partner, and when your food comes, you eat it, not waiting for the other’s person’s dish to arrive-they expect you to eat the food while it’s still fresh. You stow your purse or bag on the shelf just below the table and in front of your knees.
In Italy, avoid the large cities for good Italian food-the Italian food everywhere else in Europe is better. I wish I had been able to go to a small town to taste some *real* Italian food! Note: ordering a pizza in Europe is a one-person serving, with an added price for an extra plate if you wish to share with someone.
German restaurants, on the other hand, will serve you a good sausage dish at a decent price no matter where you go, but if you go to a restaurant in Switzerland, Leichtenstein or Paris, expect to fork out a good amount of money for a meal. Bulgaria and Romania are cheaper, and their meals are more filling, gently seasoned, and tasty.
I was asked to comment on the food in Europe.
First of all, I would like to say: POTATOES
Potatoes are the staple of the European diet. They prepare potatoes fried, creamed, sliced, cubed, you name it, and small ones might be whole (but no large baked potatoes). They don’t eat a lot of potato chips (called “crisps” in England), but they do love McDonald’s french fries-and there are a lot of McDonald’s restaurants in Europe. The one good thing about them is that they offer free wifi.
Vegetables
You will find very few vegetables in meals in northern Europe, and the ones that are present are usually in salads-including corn, which is also a standard item on pizza here. In England, the regular grocery stores in the cities have all their vegetable pre-packed-actually everything is pre-packaged: rows upon rows of 2-serving packages, all wrapped in plastic. In France and Italy, there are more vegetables, and the groceries and markets have excellent selections of locally grown produce.
Fruits
Apples are the most popular fruit here, and pears, with oranges grown in Italy gaining popularity. To wit, most Europeans don’t snack between meals, but when they do, it’s usually a piece of fruit.
Meats
Pork in all its forms is the most popular meat here. People eat sliced ham and sliced sausage for breakfast with cheese on bread. They eat it again in the evening for dinner. They have pork cutlets, chicken halves (small chickens), lamb, mutton, and veal. German food is based solidly on sausages and creamed potato dishes. Fish is eaten on bread with a tartar sauce, and salmon, cod and trout are served as a first course for a meal (second course in Italy). There is beef available, but it is not commonly eaten. Most meat, other than the sliced meat and sausages, is served at the midday meal-the largest meal of the day. In fact, most businesses, excepting restaurants, close for two hours midday so the owners can go home to eat.
Grains
While pasta is everywhere in Italy, bread is the staple upon which the Europeans live. There is fresh bread and stale bread, depending on where you are. The freshest bread is in France, but you have to buy it nearly daily to enjoy the fresh-baked goodness of it. Most of the bread is a white bread, but there is more and more grain bread being sold, and in northern Europe, they also like their Wasa crackers (me, too) and “tartines” (packaged miniature sliced toast).
Bread is used for pushing food onto the fork, and for wiping up the remains of the meal from the plate. In France, it is used for dipping into a bowl of hot chocolate or coffee in the morning at breakfast, and for the after-dinner bread and cheese.
Rice is rarely found, except in the numerous Indian and Chinese restaurants.
Cereal is often eaten by children for breakfast.
Cheese
There are a variety of cheeses everywhere and they are omnipresent. Cheese is part of breakfast, served after the midday meal, and is a staple of dinner. There are Edam and Emmentaler cheese in the north, and two full aisles of cheese-everywhere from mild goat cheese and creamed Camembert cheese to full-bodied Roquefort bleu cheese varieties in the French mega-grocery stores. Germany has rich, strong-smelling and tasting cheeses, and Bulgarians allow a bit of peppers into theirs.
Organic foods (called “Bio” in France) are very limited here, due to the expense. There are some efforts to make vineyards organic for the wines, but most other organic food is priced out of people’s budgets.
Chocolate
Chocolate is a breakfast food. My French penpal told me that parents add chocolate to the milk when the children are young to encourage them to drink it, and when they get older they are still in the habit of having chocolate in the morning. As such, there is hot chocolate to drink (and dip bread into), chocolate-filled pastries (pain au chocolate), chocolate cereal, chocolate musli (granola). Of course, chocolate is a favorite for dessert, as well.
Seasonings
Most food is lightly seasoned with herbs, and salt is often added. That’s about it. We had one dish in France where my daughter was asked if it was too spicy for her. She didn’t even realize it was supposed to be spicy!
Beverages
Everyone drinks water with their meals and many prefer sparkling water, especially the Germans. When the French drink wine, it is in small quantities. The drinking age in much of Europe is 16 for beer and wine (although that doesn’t mean they can buy it by themselves), and 18 for other alcoholic beverages. In some countries it’s 18 for everything, and in the UK, they’re on a new campaign to push for 21 as the drinking age.
School meals
In Finland, school meals are provided for the students, and in one of the schools, there was a vegetarian option that closely resembled the non-vegetarian option (stew with meat or with a greater variety of vegetables). In Denmark, food is provided at the boarding schools: yogurt, cereal, bread, cheese and ham for breakfast; stew-type food with a potato side-dish and salad at midday meal; and bread, cheese and ham for dinner, with leftovers from lunch. Students take their own lunch to day schools. In Germany, students bring their own lunches, but one high school was very proud of their new cafeteria that was build with the help of the parent population-who also procure and serve the food, and an elementary school provided a minimal lunch for the students who stay for the extended day program (most students go home at 12:30 pm). In France, and my friend’s daughter’s school, they have a canteen where students are served a midday meal. In Bulgaria at the international school, most students brought their own lunch and snack, but there was a limited selection of food in the cafeteria: cheese toast, pizza, and salad.
Restaurants
Fast food restaurants like McDonald’s, as I mentioned, are everywhere. Following close behind are Kentucky Fried Chicken, Burger King and Starbucks.
Chinese restaurants are also everywhere, and Indian restaurants are the preferred destination in England. For a good steak-and-kidney pie or fish and chips in the UK, you have to go to a pub (age is not a problem in most-especially before 6 pm). The newest trend is the Wagamama, a Japanese restaurant in many major cities in northern and western Europe, where you are seated at a long bench across from your partner, and when your food comes, you eat it, not waiting for the other’s person’s dish to arrive-they expect you to eat the food while it’s still fresh. You stow your purse or bag on the shelf just below the table and in front of your knees.
In Italy, avoid the large cities for good Italian food-the Italian food everywhere else in Europe is better. I wish I had been able to go to a small town to taste some *real* Italian food! Note: ordering a pizza in Europe is a one-person serving, with an added price for an extra plate if you wish to share with someone.
German restaurants, on the other hand, will serve you a good sausage dish at a decent price no matter where you go, but if you go to a restaurant in Switzerland, Leichtenstein or Paris, expect to fork out a good amount of money for a meal. Bulgaria and Romania are cheaper, and their meals are more filling, gently seasoned, and tasty.