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Newsjock

(11,733 posts)
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 12:25 AM Jun 2014

The real reason the French don’t get fat

Source: The Globe and Mail

Last month, I ate a strawberry. The taste exploded in my mouth as my throat was bathed in rich juices. The meat of the berry was soft and succulent. I was in France.

Last week, I ate another strawberry. There was a slight reddish flavour, which combatted the petroleum essence of the packaging. The meat of the berry was corky, dry and flavourless. I was in Canada.

... Why is so much of our “fresh” food so tasteless? Is it the week-long trek in a truck all the way from California? Is it the countless days sitting on loading docks at food terminals, warehouses and supermarkets? That’s part of it.

But the big difference between our produce and the fresh food I buy in France is simple: Our varieties are selected and grown for shipping durability and visual marketing, whereas French fruits and vegetables are selected and grown for taste, taste, flavour and taste.

Read more: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/the-real-reason-the-french-dont-get-fat/article18924862/

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The real reason the French don’t get fat (Original Post) Newsjock Jun 2014 OP
Yes. I'm waiting for our local strawberries elleng Jun 2014 #1
i always hated brussels sprouts until i tried some in france. omg! completely different! unblock Jun 2014 #2
I never liked asparagus or beets beveeheart Jun 2014 #10
I never liked asparagus, brussel sprouts or beets fasttense Jun 2014 #44
yes yes yes antiquie Jun 2014 #59
Ah radish tails. I love the crispy spicy flavor. Keep growing!!! fasttense Jun 2014 #61
Yes, so many good vegetables you can grow in your garden dem in texas Jun 2014 #64
On of my favorite appetizers is homegrown or farmer's market radishes with sweet corn butter. Luminous Animal Jun 2014 #72
and home grown heirloom potatoes hopemountain Jun 2014 #124
Can't find better soil than in the Midwest of the US. (Good soil in parts of Russia too I JDPriestly Jun 2014 #25
They have to grow corn to get that subsidy. Enthusiast Jun 2014 #48
good one.. and we need to spend all that oil to grow ethanol nt Leme Jun 2014 #60
I lived in France in the 50s and demigoddess Jun 2014 #70
I would love to live there... awoke_in_2003 Jun 2014 #123
A lot of that has to do with cooking too quakerboy Jun 2014 #128
Someone tell Gerard Depardieu LittleBlue Jun 2014 #3
There are fat French people uppityperson Jun 2014 #107
Grapes.... Spitfire of ATJ Jun 2014 #4
French grapes suck Brother Buzz Jun 2014 #9
Wine is served there like a soft drink and there is no shortage of bad wine. Spitfire of ATJ Jun 2014 #12
That's true most everywhere Brother Buzz Jun 2014 #15
France invented champagne to make crappy wine drinkable. Spitfire of ATJ Jun 2014 #26
That's the one time I applaud the French for adding sugar Brother Buzz Jun 2014 #67
Neither is Thunderbird,....if served over ice cream. Spitfire of ATJ Jun 2014 #75
What's the word? Brother Buzz Jun 2014 #78
It's a 7/11 special so most people have it with a Snickers. Spitfire of ATJ Jun 2014 #81
It's seems appropriate they are celebrating Thunderbird at the convenience stores Brother Buzz Jun 2014 #89
That wasn't lemonade,....he just mixed it up with his pee bottle. Spitfire of ATJ Jun 2014 #91
No, he lied, shucked and jived to protect his secret, but idiot spies from Gallo believed him Brother Buzz Jun 2014 #93
Bartles and Jaymes? Spitfire of ATJ Jun 2014 #95
It's truly amazing how many Gallo products are out there Brother Buzz Jun 2014 #98
You can BET that "distancing" is a tax dodge and to SIMULATE competition. Spitfire of ATJ Jun 2014 #99
Gallo is a four letter word in the wine realm Brother Buzz Jun 2014 #104
Not the retail liquor tax, the tax on their profits.... Spitfire of ATJ Jun 2014 #106
Does Ford Motor Company ask for federal grants and loans to roll out a new product line? Brother Buzz Jun 2014 #114
They get LOTS of "incentives" which includes fee waivers, tax breaks and other perks. Spitfire of ATJ Jun 2014 #139
I once jokingly asked a wine "expert" in a cadaverdog Jun 2014 #109
"Port" surprises people too. Spitfire of ATJ Jun 2014 #140
Or a moon pie. kairos12 Jun 2014 #121
it takes a titration kit Drahthaardogs Jun 2014 #148
Alsatian wine is the bomb. lark Jun 2014 #119
Alsatian wines totally rock compared to the same varietal wines from Germany Brother Buzz Jun 2014 #125
I believe they said GRAPES.. not wine. I'm just saying. YOHABLO Jun 2014 #130
That's kind of dishonest to make it appear that chaptalisation is the sign of an inferior wine. Drahthaardogs Jun 2014 #131
Ever had Japanese grapes? defacto7 Jun 2014 #17
I miss concords. Spitfire of ATJ Jun 2014 #27
I grow concords and they are wonderful... defacto7 Jun 2014 #30
They make great jelly but the wine is, well, you know. Enthusiast Jun 2014 #49
Isn't that sold in a box? Spitfire of ATJ Jun 2014 #73
Perish the thought. It's bad enough in a bottle. Enthusiast Jun 2014 #77
For our parties it's Moscato by the jug.... Spitfire of ATJ Jun 2014 #82
Best Kitchen smell, When cooking concord Grapes dem in texas Jun 2014 #80
It's a nice aroma. It must be too hot for native grapes in Texas. Enthusiast Jun 2014 #84
Japanese grapes are absolutely fantastic GeoWilliam750 Jun 2014 #113
didn't strawberries originate in France ? JI7 Jun 2014 #5
Have no idea, but they grow wild on the banks of the rivers there. closeupready Jun 2014 #6
Brittany, France Treant Jun 2014 #11
They walk a lot, and eat smaller portions. closeupready Jun 2014 #7
And rarely eat junk food. progressoid Jun 2014 #13
Walking is so important. JDPriestly Jun 2014 #24
Yes, very important to move, walk, etc. closeupready Jun 2014 #65
Wasn't it on Anthony Bordain's CNN show laundry_queen Jun 2014 #31
Fresh produce is sweet, and so much healthier than canned. closeupready Jun 2014 #66
Your Grandmother's garden reminds me of Delmette Jun 2014 #83
I grew up in western Montana. zeemike Jun 2014 #142
My mouth is watering Delmette Jun 2014 #147
I remember eating raw rhubarb in Ohio... awoke_in_2003 Jun 2014 #127
smoking helps AngryAmish Jun 2014 #37
There is very little food advertising encouraging you spooky3 Jun 2014 #38
That's exactly right - they walk a lot aint_no_life_nowhere Jun 2014 #86
Yup Bigredhunk Jun 2014 #110
I spent a week in France fixing my applegrove Jun 2014 #8
LOL, nutrition! It will be called "woo" before you can talk about it. flvegan Jun 2014 #14
My mom at 97 loves vegetables. She also eats meat, but she loves vegetables. JDPriestly Jun 2014 #23
Quite a story. 97! Enthusiast Jun 2014 #50
Nutrition has already been called "woo" here. Next will be "flavor". bananas Jun 2014 #35
Who calls nutrition woo? Silent3 Jun 2014 #146
America's whole antiquated food system is based on PROFITS! DeSwiss Jun 2014 #16
so true and I'm so glad to live where I live cali Jun 2014 #39
Oh oh. Now you have called up our GMO roody Jun 2014 #51
+1 a whole fucking bunch. Enthusiast Jun 2014 #52
About one third of all food produced for human consumption goes to waste. DeSwiss Jun 2014 #88
That is just sad. Enthusiast Jun 2014 #90
It is doubtful the French or anyone else treestar Jun 2014 #54
Children in French schools are fed defacto7 Jun 2014 #18
And their health care is probably the best in the world. JDPriestly Jun 2014 #22
I think I read the same article. Enthusiast Jun 2014 #55
I have noticed that when I'm eating some very good SheilaT Jun 2014 #19
when we started buying organic meat demigoddess Jun 2014 #71
I had the same experiences with organic meats Tom Ripley Jun 2014 #126
cuz they smoke like chimneys? Warren DeMontague Jun 2014 #20
Many do, but overall that's not the reason for the much lower rates of obesity. Arugula Latte Jun 2014 #96
Yep you got that right. The French are notorious smokers .. yuk! YOHABLO Jun 2014 #132
The apples today have no taste. JDPriestly Jun 2014 #21
I can hardly find a Jonathon apple anymore. CrispyQ Jun 2014 #68
I love sour Pippins noiretextatique Jun 2014 #116
maybe im just spoiled mackerel Jun 2014 #28
No, people. That's not it at all. jmowreader Jun 2014 #29
That's a really good observation laundry_queen Jun 2014 #32
Sounds right to me. My parents-in-law lived that way untill they died in their late 90's. enough Jun 2014 #45
True, though it's out there 6 smaller meals are better treestar Jun 2014 #53
If they're good, nutritionally balanced meals, then yes jmowreader Jun 2014 #118
That's true treestar Jun 2014 #129
Saturated fat is good for you. tridim Jun 2014 #87
French butter. I yearn for it. vanlassie Jun 2014 #33
do the french or americans eat more french fries ? JI7 Jun 2014 #34
In France they're "pommes frites" jmowreader Jun 2014 #120
it just has to LOOK like a strawberry. i only eat local fruit/veggies IN SEASON food mainly. pansypoo53219 Jun 2014 #36
I had a banana in Martinique once, best banana I ever had in my life. We don't get seaglass Jun 2014 #40
I had them in Belize. pecwae Jun 2014 #41
Once you've gone bananas, you'll never go back! bananas Jun 2014 #58
I need to go to Belize now. Actually I wanted to go before I heard about the bananas. :-) n/t seaglass Jun 2014 #149
The French are getting fatter these days. Codeine Jun 2014 #42
I think the French as with other countries are getting into the "American Fast Food" race.... a kennedy Jun 2014 #47
Pick your own farms HockeyMom Jun 2014 #43
and there you have it.......done for profit at the cheapest rate.... a kennedy Jun 2014 #46
I use frozen organic strawberries or farmer's market berries tridim Jun 2014 #56
I've read several articles stating that recently. CrispyQ Jun 2014 #69
Oh my, so the foods I don't like isn't because its SummerSnow Jun 2014 #57
Their food portions are much smaller. When I first visited France, I felt cheated Marr Jun 2014 #62
weird. Everytime I dined in France I never felt like I had too little food. Warren Stupidity Jun 2014 #63
I always had the opposite reaction in the US Saviolo Jun 2014 #94
That reminds me laundry_queen Jun 2014 #111
Do the French have a regularly recurring "Game of the Week"... KansDem Jun 2014 #74
Food definitely was sweeter, tastier PumpkinAle Jun 2014 #76
Strawberries are coming into season here in Germany DFW Jun 2014 #79
Organic tastes better lofty1 Jun 2014 #85
Several years ago on a business trip to California, I discovered how delicious the local indepat Jun 2014 #92
Our Oregon strawberry season is just starting. It will only last a few weeks. Arugula Latte Jun 2014 #97
I remember fresh Louisiana strawberries from the late 50s/early 60s: what a taste treat indepat Jun 2014 #112
One of my favorite things about summer Blue_In_AK Jun 2014 #100
Don't forget 2naSalit Jun 2014 #101
Could be a different type as well... Helen Borg Jun 2014 #102
All food is generally better in Europe! Helen Borg Jun 2014 #103
Fresh Veg is unbelievably better. blackspade Jun 2014 #105
Locally grown for taste vs grown elsewhere for shipping qualities is a big thing. uppityperson Jun 2014 #108
My Wife & I were so dusgusted with the produce available in the USA... bvar22 Jun 2014 #115
Also, France doesn't have huge factory farms that ship everywhere lark Jun 2014 #117
Also, pretty much all produce in France is grown organically, and organic tends to have more flavor DesertDiamond Jun 2014 #122
Um, no and no frazzled Jun 2014 #133
Simpler answer: They smoke. WinkyDink Jun 2014 #134
The endless chain smoking is a bigger factor than fresh food appeal sybylla Jun 2014 #135
Grow small garden mstinamotorcity2 Jun 2014 #136
This person is clueless as to the timetable and logistics of perishable shipping. Ikonoklast Jun 2014 #137
Access to fresh produce might have something to do with the fact that... DRoseDARs Jun 2014 #138
Something that I learned from a Filipino couple that I know... pacalo Jun 2014 #141
Something I often wonder about pipi_k Jun 2014 #143
Our strawberries are almost ready in the garden. Kids sit for an hour picking and eating them AllyCat Jun 2014 #144
Locally grown makes a world of difference IronLionZion Jun 2014 #145

elleng

(130,126 posts)
1. Yes. I'm waiting for our local strawberries
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 12:29 AM
Jun 2014

to make it to the farm market, and I DON'T buy those big tasteless ones.

unblock

(51,973 posts)
2. i always hated brussels sprouts until i tried some in france. omg! completely different!
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 12:48 AM
Jun 2014

they had a sort of nutty sweetness to them, not the cabbagy bitter junk you get in america.

the next day i got a bagful of them from the local supermarket and literally sat in the car eating them raw.

then, of course, i try them back in the u.s. and once again, i hate them.


i think the soil is also a big part of it. european soil is really dark and rich; not so where most american food is grown.

 

fasttense

(17,301 posts)
44. I never liked asparagus, brussel sprouts or beets
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 09:02 AM
Jun 2014

until I grew my own. OMG the world of difference you get in flavor when you don't use fake fertilizers, bug sprays and round up on every inch of garden.

I grow and sell radishes. Most people don't like them because they think they are hard little balls with no flavor. My radishes are crispy and spicy with a creamy sweetness in the middle. A world of difference in flavor. I can't bring enough radishes to market. They sell out every time. But now it has gotten too hot for even the D'Avignon radishes and I must wait until fall to fill my mouth with the creamy, sweet spicy flavor of a crisp radish.

And have you tasted the earthiness of a small tomatillo that is purple, yellow or green? Not those giant bland green balls they push in the grocery stores but purple and yellow earthy flavored tangy juiciness to make a real salsa. And then there are the mushrooms.

 

antiquie

(4,299 posts)
59. yes yes yes
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 11:19 AM
Jun 2014

I love making salad in the back yard. I put in some of the radish seed pods when they're tender.

dem in texas

(2,672 posts)
64. Yes, so many good vegetables you can grow in your garden
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 11:59 AM
Jun 2014

I used to keep a vegetable garden year round here in Texas. The miniature green beans, they'd climb up my fence, I'd pick a batch for Sunday Dinner. A big bush of cherry tomatoes, they keep on giving after the big ones play out in the Texas sun. Brandywine tomatoes, oh my! They don't always do well in Texas, but in the years they do, it makes worth all the effort. Lettuce and greens of all sorts in the winter and early spring. Fresh herbs year round, just snip them right out the garden and in the summer, pick and dry. Plant carrots with your kids or grandkids. When they are large enough to take out of the ground, let the children do it, their eyes will widen with surprise when they see that orange carrot coming out of the soil. I have even been out on a cool winter evening, using my flash light, to harvest kale that was getting big enough to cut. Best of all, no chemicals, no pesticides, picked at the peak of flavor. Well worth the effort. I tried strawberries one year, but the slugs won out. Now, I buy them at the farmer's market.

JDPriestly

(57,936 posts)
25. Can't find better soil than in the Midwest of the US. (Good soil in parts of Russia too I
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 02:52 AM
Jun 2014

have heard.)

But what do we grow in it? Soybeans and corn. Vegetables and fruit maybe for local markets.

I grew up in the Midwest. Back then, the midwestern vegetables and fruits were good. We used to do a lot of canning. We had great tomatoes and apricots, peaches, apples, and the watermelons -- Wow!

I have a tiny backyard garden, mostly in big pots.

demigoddess

(6,640 posts)
70. I lived in France in the 50s and
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 12:47 PM
Jun 2014

they fertilized their fields with organic matter, not chemical fertilizers, and I bet they are still doing the same. Also you could buy food in an open farm market. French people will still be eating good food when the rest of us have dead fields that don't grow anything.

quakerboy

(13,901 posts)
128. A lot of that has to do with cooking too
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 07:09 PM
Jun 2014

I always hated brussels sprouts too, then a belgian showed me how to cook them. Apparently nutmeg, and being absolutely certain you dont overcook them. overcooking results in that bitter cabbage taste. Cooking them right, you dont get that flavor even from US brussel sprouts.

Brother Buzz

(36,212 posts)
9. French grapes suck
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 01:10 AM
Jun 2014

France legally adds sugar (chaptalisation) to their deficient grapes when they make wine. Any winemaker caught doing that in California would be hanged, drawn and quartered, then hung again.

I'm just saying.

Brother Buzz

(36,212 posts)
15. That's true most everywhere
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 01:28 AM
Jun 2014

But France has an shortage of good grapes from year to year. They grew a grape with a perfect pH, but sugar content is often low. Conversely, California consistently grows grapes with ideal sugar, but the pH often get wacky when they ripen to quickly and the acid drops.

Any idiot winemaker can add sugar, but it takes an artist to add acid to the wine and still maintain a proper pH.

Brother Buzz

(36,212 posts)
67. That's the one time I applaud the French for adding sugar
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 12:38 PM
Jun 2014

But it takes the finest still wines from the Champagne region to make good champagne. The rest is simply sparkling wine dressed up with a fancy word, Crémant, and it isn't half bad.

Brother Buzz

(36,212 posts)
78. What's the word?
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 01:26 PM
Jun 2014

What's the word?
Thunderbird
How's it sold?
Good and cold
What's the jive?
Bird's alive
What's the price?
Thirty twice.

Ice cream? Hmm. I serve it drizzled over sorbet, which is sorta like sherbet with an accent.

Brother Buzz

(36,212 posts)
89. It's seems appropriate they are celebrating Thunderbird at the convenience stores
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 02:19 PM
Jun 2014

After all, it was a genius wino chemist who discovered the big-bang-for-the-buck fortified white wines from the central valley lacked the proper acid balance and adjusted them by adding lemon Kool-Aid in the alley behind an early convenience store. Bummer, he never realized any royalties from his discovery.

Brother Buzz

(36,212 posts)
93. No, he lied, shucked and jived to protect his secret, but idiot spies from Gallo believed him
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 02:36 PM
Jun 2014

The rest is history

Brother Buzz

(36,212 posts)
98. It's truly amazing how many Gallo products are out there
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 02:58 PM
Jun 2014

And how they choose to distance themselves from the parent company. Rule of thumb: If it's from Modesto, it's made by Gallo.

Brother Buzz

(36,212 posts)
104. Gallo is a four letter word in the wine realm
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 03:45 PM
Jun 2014

They've totally saturated the market from day one, and the only was they can expand is to deceive new customers into thinking they are supporting a small independent producer. To wit: Carlo Rossi wine. And never mind Carlo Rossi was Gallo's Ace salesman for years.

Tax dodge? No Way José!. Only a fool would try to jiggle the books in the alcohol industry.

 

Spitfire of ATJ

(32,723 posts)
106. Not the retail liquor tax, the tax on their profits....
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 03:51 PM
Jun 2014

Not to mention grants and loans from the government for their multiple "startups".

Then again, come to think of it, I bet a few local tax collectors on liquor sales can be bought cheap.

Brother Buzz

(36,212 posts)
114. Does Ford Motor Company ask for federal grants and loans to roll out a new product line?
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 04:52 PM
Jun 2014


In California, the check and balances of the three-tier alcohol distribution system precludes any tax corruption or collusion; the distributors simply don't want to lose their cash-cow monopoly.

cadaverdog

(228 posts)
109. I once jokingly asked a wine "expert" in a
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 04:02 PM
Jun 2014

convenience store which high powered wine he would recommend, and he replied,
"Night Train Express is my mellow."
So, as a joke I brought home a bottle for my wife's sophisticated palate, and upon sampling a glass, she remarked, "You know, that's not bad."
Go figure.

Drahthaardogs

(6,843 posts)
148. it takes a titration kit
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 11:39 PM
Jun 2014

And a few grams of tartaric acid. Over oaked over priced Californian monsters. Appasimento wines require a deft touch and the process justifies the price.

lark

(22,993 posts)
119. Alsatian wine is the bomb.
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 05:26 PM
Jun 2014

I never had a bad bottle and we drank quite a bit. It was sooo cheap, 3-4 euros for some really good Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Reisling and Gurwurztraminer.

Brother Buzz

(36,212 posts)
125. Alsatian wines totally rock compared to the same varietal wines from Germany
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 06:13 PM
Jun 2014

Good acid, fresh and fruity, but they tend to be low or moderate in alcohol content due to their low sugar content. I would never refuse a glass with a noon meal on the patio on a warm day.

Drahthaardogs

(6,843 posts)
131. That's kind of dishonest to make it appear that chaptalisation is the sign of an inferior wine.
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 07:23 PM
Jun 2014

I have been making wine since I was old enough to help. My grandfather was a macellaio and a wine maker from Canavesse Italy (about 15 miles from France). I know a thing or two about making wine, as I make 50 gallons or so of it a year.

Chaptalisation is quite common is your acid is too high or if your Brix is too low, and only the grape varieties and the growing season can control that. Wine making is chemistry and it varies from year to year. That some varieties of wine have to add sugar to get the Brix correct is NOT a sign of an inferior wine. I use Marquette grapes because they are available here. Some years I must chaptalise my musts because Marquette grapes can be overly acidic (upwards of %1.5). The inferior wine would be the guy who does not adjust when conditions demand it.
I know what I am doing and I have the ribbons to prove it. I would put my product up against ANY of the big growers in California in a blind taste test and I know I could hold my own. I make damned good wine!

California outlaws the process as a gimmick to try to show they are superior. However, California allows acidification and tartaric acid is added to many California wines. In addition many add tannins (oak or chestnut powder) as well to add body and substance to the wine.

Don't let price be your guide either. There is no reason anyone should be paying $100/bottle for a Cabernet out of Napa. To say that a Californian Napa is on par with a fine Italian Amarone from the Allegrini vineyard is just ridiculous; however, price point wise-they are the same. In addition, some of those $15 Malbecs coming out of Argentina are scoring 93 and 94 points.

Personally, I think the best wines coming out of California are their Old Vine Zinfnadelss. Excellent ones can be had for less than $20/bottle. They are bright, rich, complex, and overall a real pleasure to drink. You can get Cabernets every bit as good as a Napa Valley one for similar value.

Don't believe the marketing.

defacto7

(13,485 posts)
30. I grow concords and they are wonderful...
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 03:50 AM
Jun 2014

The Japanese red/blue grapes taste like concords only missing the slightly bitter undercoating on the skin and are about 3 times the size of mine. My concords are the pride of my garden but I could never grow those massive plumb like grapes. When I was last in Tokyo they were about $150 per .5Kg. Strawberries were closer to $500 .5Kg.

Enthusiast

(50,983 posts)
49. They make great jelly but the wine is, well, you know.
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 10:51 AM
Jun 2014
Native grapes. We know all about native grapes in Ohio. Ever drink any Ohio wine?

Enthusiast

(50,983 posts)
77. Perish the thought. It's bad enough in a bottle.
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 01:20 PM
Jun 2014

You know what? Boxed wine has improved quite a bit. We often buy a box of Franzia Chianti and find that the bag prevents oxidation. Maybe we just have poor taste.

dem in texas

(2,672 posts)
80. Best Kitchen smell, When cooking concord Grapes
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 01:34 PM
Jun 2014

One of the best kitchen smells ever is when you are cooking the concord grapes to extract the juice for jelly making. When I lived in Tennessee, many people had Concord grapes growing on fences and in arbors and the vines would bear huge amounts of fruit. It was give away time to friends and neighbors. I was always willing to pick them to get a bushel of grapes for jelly making. Wish concords would grow in Texas.

Enthusiast

(50,983 posts)
84. It's a nice aroma. It must be too hot for native grapes in Texas.
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 01:57 PM
Jun 2014

Most of the forested areas of Ohio have wild grapes in the treetops. Some old grapevines growing on the forest floor are as thick as your arm. As kids we would often find grape vines we could swing on—Tarzan like. I watched the deer eat the fallen grapes from my tree stand. The wild grapes are little, about the size of a pea. But they taste very similar to the cultivated concord.

 

closeupready

(29,503 posts)
6. Have no idea, but they grow wild on the banks of the rivers there.
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 12:57 AM
Jun 2014

And those have so much flavor and sweetness.

Treant

(1,968 posts)
11. Brittany, France
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 01:12 AM
Jun 2014

Per Wikipedia, at any rate.

The things seem to naturalize to almost any halfway decent climate, so they grow here in the US quite well, including in my garden where I don't want them.

JDPriestly

(57,936 posts)
24. Walking is so important.
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 02:48 AM
Jun 2014

They use public transportation or drive for longer distances. We sit in our cars too much.

I think I was often the only person in the offices in which I worked who took a walk instead of eating a big lunch. I don't see how people can sit all day without a good walk at lunch.

laundry_queen

(8,646 posts)
31. Wasn't it on Anthony Bordain's CNN show
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 03:57 AM
Jun 2014

about Lyon, France they showed school kids eating pumpkin soup for lunch? Imagine that - a vegetable soup for lunch, with fresh bread. And some kind of raspberry crème dessert. And the kids ate it up like crazy. That's normal there.

My kids don't eat that good for lunch and they pack their own lunches (we don't have school lunches here where I am in Canada) because it's hard to find good, portable healthy stuff. They take raw veggies and sandwiches and yogurt, but there's only so much variety. And from what I hear, most served school lunches are pretty crappy anyway.

But yeah, food here tastes like crap for the most part. I know because when my grandmother was alive, she kept a ginormous garden, plus they had tons of wild berries around their place. Every time we visited her place, food was such a treat. Fresh cucumber and lettuce salads, fresh berries for dessert, baby boiled potatoes, just-picked steamed green beans, fresh eggs for breakfast, fresh baked bread at every meal, rhubarb pies, chokecherry wine...the list goes on. We used to run out to the garden (a good 10 min walk from the house) and sit around picking carrots, brushing the dirt off and pigging out...on carrots. As kids. Because they were SO good. Or raw peas. You couldn't pay me to eat cooked green peas, but I'd sit in the garden shelling them and eating them raw. Or we'd pick rhubarb and eat it, making sour faces at each other, LOL.

Now even organic carrots taste like ass. And those miserable excuses for peas in the stores (with the edible pods...all shrunken and dry). And I don't think I've seen rhubarb in any of our stores, except for some frozen stuff I bought once that was so woody, I couldn't even stew it.

When you have crappy tasting food it takes more to feel satiated.

Terrible produce is why I grow a garden. At least for a short while I can eat tasty food. One year I tried an organic vegetable co-op that delivered whatever was in season. It seemed very convenient - order online, and they deliver to your door. You could adjust your order so you didn't have to get the things you hated. I ended up throwing out more than I used because my town was last on the delivery list for the week and more than once I got rotten vegetables. I understand why organic veggies rot more quickly, but at the price I was paying, I didn't want my veggies sitting for a week before they made it to my house rotten. This year I'm going to give farmer's markets another try...in the past they've been really expensive here but I haven't been in awhile. We'll see how it goes. I really dislike how things are farmed now. I've stopped buying fresh strawberries because the last 10 times I've bought strawberries, they tasted like Styrofoam. Why bother paying those prices?

Delmette

(522 posts)
83. Your Grandmother's garden reminds me of
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 01:56 PM
Jun 2014

My Mother's garden. I loved the carrots, peas, rhubarb, baby red potatoes all fresh from the ground(well not the peas). We had apple trees for applesauce, plums for jelly. The whole family would pick wild chokecherries for syrup. My sister and I still find enough chokecherries for syrup and make up several batches at least every other year. Western Montana is great for gardens.

zeemike

(18,998 posts)
142. I grew up in western Montana.
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 10:26 PM
Jun 2014

And my mother always had a garden just like you described...but I liked the peas...my mother would make peas with baby red potatoes in a cream sauces that was killer.

And the soil was rich and black, and if you wanted to go fishing just take a spade full of earth up and you could get all the earth worms you wanted.
I used to love the rhubarb raw.
And we did all that other stuff too...and pick and can huckleberries which was my favorite...I ate more than I picked.

Delmette

(522 posts)
147. My mouth is watering
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 11:19 PM
Jun 2014

Just thinking of creamed potatoes and peas! I would eat on a rhubarb stalk all afternoon. I still love rhubarb pie.

spooky3

(34,300 posts)
38. There is very little food advertising encouraging you
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 06:07 AM
Jun 2014

To eat. And French people told me they rarely snack between meals.

The food there is so good I gained nearly 10 lbs in 6 weeks. Fortunately I was a little underweight at the time! My boss told me he refused to pay to widen the doors

aint_no_life_nowhere

(21,925 posts)
86. That's exactly right - they walk a lot
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 02:04 PM
Jun 2014

I've lived in France (my mother is French) and every time I go there for an extended period of time I lose weight because I walk. In the U.S. I've never understood why people will circle the parking lot of a health spa or gym in their cars to try to get a spot close to the entrance when they should welcome the opportunity to park away and walk. There seems to be an aversion to walking for some people.

Also, people rarely eat snacks between meals in Europe and the nighttime meal tends to be small. Lunch is the big meal.

Bigredhunk

(1,346 posts)
110. Yup
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 04:09 PM
Jun 2014

And they don't watch TV, surf the web, or read a magazine while they eat (they're not distracted, which causes you to overeat). They take their time with their meals. We have to scarf ours down during our 20-minute break. Americans always have to be in a hurry because our corporate overlords demand it. On the same note, they do leisure. We don't. If/when we do, we feel guilty.

Of course we're exporting our fast food, shit quality, huge portions all over the world now though. Now they're getting fat too. I saw something on TV a year or two ago about how popular KFC is becoming in China. Lovely.

applegrove

(118,006 posts)
8. I spent a week in France fixing my
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 01:02 AM
Jun 2014

own meals. I promised myself I would shop every day for fresh groceries when I got home to North America. But the produce just was never as tasty. So I gave up.

flvegan

(64,389 posts)
14. LOL, nutrition! It will be called "woo" before you can talk about it.
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 01:20 AM
Jun 2014

See, we have many, many idiots here. And they are completely clueless in regards to this. Yet, they alert and raise issue like they are getting paid for it. Like this will be.

I have multiple certifications, and it matters not. Cornell be damned, some dipshit on the internet alerts and it all goes away.

WELCOME TO DU!!!!!! LOL

JDPriestly

(57,936 posts)
23. My mom at 97 loves vegetables. She also eats meat, but she loves vegetables.
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 02:47 AM
Jun 2014

(And fruits). She eats a certain number of servings every day per the recommendations of nutritionists. She grew up on a farm and has drunk healthy milk all her life. (Not healthy for everyone, I know, but is for her.)

Until recent years she grew a lot of her own veggies.

She never smoked. Never touched a drop of alcohol.

That's how you live long and healthy.

bananas

(27,509 posts)
35. Nutrition has already been called "woo" here. Next will be "flavor".
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 04:31 AM
Jun 2014

Flavor is one kind of qualia, but materialists don't believe in qualia, materialists only believe in zombies.

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/zombies/

Zombies in philosophy are imaginary creatures used to illuminate problems about consciousness and its relation to the physical world. Unlike those in films or witchraft, they are exactly like us in all physical respects but without conscious experiences: by definition there is ‘nothing it is like’ to be a zombie. Yet zombies behave just like us, and some even spend a lot of time discussing consciousness.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophical_zombie

A philosophical zombie or p-zombie in the philosophy of mind and perception is a hypothetical being that is indistinguishable from a normal human being except in that it lacks conscious experience, qualia, or sentience.[1] For example, a philosophical zombie could be poked with a sharp object, and not feel any pain sensation, but yet, behave exactly as if it does feel pain (it may say "ouch" and recoil from the stimulus, or tell us that it is in intense pain).

The notion of a philosophical zombie is used mainly in thought experiments intended to support arguments (often called "zombie arguments&quot against forms of physicalism such as materialism, behaviorism and functionalism. Physicalism is the idea that all aspects of human nature can be explained by physical means: specifically, all aspects of human nature and perception can be explained from a neurobiological standpoint.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qualia

Qualia (/ˈkwɑːliə/ or /ˈkweɪliə/; singular form: quale (Latin pronunciation: [ˈkwaːle]) is a term used in philosophy to refer to individual instances of subjective, conscious experience. The term derives from a Latin word meaning for "what sort" or "what kind." Examples of qualia are the pain of a headache, the taste of wine, or the perceived redness of an evening sky.

Daniel Dennett (b. 1942), American philosopher and cognitive scientist, writes that qualia is "an unfamiliar term for something that could not be more familiar to each of us: the ways things seem to us."[1]

Erwin Schrödinger (1887-1961), the famous physicist, had this counter-materialist take:

The sensation of color cannot be accounted for by the physicist's objective picture of light-waves. Could the physiologist account for it, if he had fuller knowledge than he has of the processes in the retina and the nervous processes set up by them in the optical nerve bundles and in the brain? I do not think so.[2]


The importance of qualia in philosophy of mind comes largely from the fact that it is seen as posing a fundamental problem for materialist explanations of the mind-body problem. Much of the debate over their importance hinges on the definition of the term that is used, as various philosophers emphasize or deny the existence of certain features of qualia. As such, the nature and existence of qualia are controversial.

Silent3

(15,018 posts)
146. Who calls nutrition woo?
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 11:06 PM
Jun 2014

Some specific claims about what is and is not good nutrition do indeed deserve to be labeled woo... but that's an entirely different thing from calling the entire concept of nutrition and food selection woo.

 

DeSwiss

(27,137 posts)
16. America's whole antiquated food system is based on PROFITS!
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 01:31 AM
Jun 2014

I thought everyone knew. It's as backwards as our energy system!!! BIG AGRI only cares about what it tastes like if you won't buy their lousy tasting food. Fortunately for Wall Street investors most Americans have grown up eating these bland vegetative masses they call fruits and vegetables, so their investments are relatively secure. But it's actually GLOP (technical term) we're eating. PURE GLOP.

You see, fertilizers weren't invented to make food taste better nor to make it cheaper. It's to grow more food at less loss expense and thus make more profits. As it is 40% of the food we grow is left in the fields because it ain't shaped right, or the color looks a little funny.

Same with pesticides -- they aren't used to make food taste better or more nutritious. Or cheaper and thus more available to help stamp out hunger, no sir! It's used to make more profits by losing less produce to bugs. So we get a few cancers and a few farm people risk their lives handling poisons, its the price of profits!

And GMO's weren't created to combat worldwide hunger nor to defeat pests or molds or any other thing that might threaten the life of a little corn or soy plant. No GMO's were made to allow herbicides to kill weeds that choke-out corn and soy plants and such like, but supposedly not kill us (nice trick if you can do it -- but you can't). Why? PROFIT$, or course. I mean what are you gonna do about it, grow you own food??? Hahahahahaha!!!!

- Our food system is run by Wall Street and JP Morgan, not Farmer Jones. Only America would call a farm, a ''food factory.'' But then, that's exactly what they are.....

K&R
[center]












[/center]

 

cali

(114,904 posts)
39. so true and I'm so glad to live where I live
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 06:12 AM
Jun 2014

Here's what's within 5 miles of me- many on the way to the general store where I do a lot of my shopping (for dry goods I like the dented can store about 1/2 hour away and Ocean State Job Lots)

Local Beef and heirloom pork:

http://snugvalleyfarm.com/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/LeBlanc-Family-Farm/122509284611786?sk=page_map

http://www.hardwickbeef.com/

Local eggs and chicken:

http://www.hardwickfarmersmarketvt.com/#!daisy-hill-farm/c20ah

CSA and vegetables as well as value added products:

http://www.petesgreens.com/

Riverside Farm

(about 10 others)

Cheese glorious cheese:

http://www.jasperhillfarm.com/

http://www.cabotcheese.coop/pages/visit_us/?gclid=CjkKEQjwnqucBRDZvf_rk-fEj7wBEiQA8HDLEnl88HWqyeBjZRLFLrqSr8c9ZECXhAMl21hboJEaGQDw_wcB

and a dozen more

Good bread:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Patchwork-Farm-and-Bakery/297768706999751?directed_target_id=0

Good booze and beer

http://caledoniaspirits.com/

http://www.hillfarmstead.com/

Local tofu:

http://www.vermontsoy.com/products.html

Non GMO seeds:

http://www.highmowingseeds.com/

and the above is just a sampling. All this in or near a town of less than 3,500

http://www.hardwickagriculture.org/

http://www.yankeemagazine.com/article/features/agriculture

<snip>

In addition to Vermont Soy, Vermont Natural Coatings, Jasper Hill Cheese, High Mowing Organic Seeds, Caledonia Spirits, Hill Farmstead Brewery, Claire’s Restaurant, and more, the local schools are involved in agriculture. Hardwick’s elementary school is proactive with its school gardens and local purchasing, and students take field trips to local businesses. The high school combines student learning with actual experience in the kitchen chopping and processing vegetables. All of this work is built on the decades of farming which is a part of the Vermont and New England culture—a backbone of strong dairy farms, hardworking food producers, and families who have made a living with the land.

<snip>

http://www.donellameadows.org/closed-loop-production-creating-jobs-and-good-food-in-hardwick-vt/


 

DeSwiss

(27,137 posts)
88. About one third of all food produced for human consumption goes to waste.
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 02:10 PM
Jun 2014
Food Waste Facts in the U.S.
● 40% of all the food produced in the United States goes uneaten.
● Americans throw away an estimated 25% of the food they bring home that
is more than 20 pounds of food per person every month. Enough to fill the Rose Bowl, a 90,000 2 seat stadium, every day.
● The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that a typical American throws out 40 percent of fresh fish, 23 percent of eggs, and 20 percent of milk.
● Consider these cost estimates of all the food that never gets eaten in the U.S., and imagine just how much we can save by wasting less food:
● 25 percent of all freshwater used in U.S.
● 4 percent of total U.S. oil consumption
● $165 billion per year (more than $40 billion from households)
● $750 million per year just to dispose of the food
● 33 million tons of landfill waste (leading to greenhouse gas emissions)

Environmental Impacts
● Each time food is wasted all the resources that went into producing, processing, packaging, and transporting that food is wasted too. This means huge amounts of chemicals, energy, fertilizer, land and 25% of all freshwater in the U.S. is used to produce food that is thrown away.
● Additionally, most uneaten food rots in landfills where it accounts for almost 25% of U.S. methane emissions. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas that is 21 times more harmful to the environment than CO2.
● Getting food to our tables uses 10 percent of the total U.S. energy budget , uses 50 percent of U.S. land, and swallows 80 percent of freshwater consumed in the United States.
● Only about 3% of food scraps in the U.S. are composted.
● About 2/3 of household waste is due to food spoilage from not being used in time, whereas the other 1/3 is caused by people cooking or serving too much.
● 14 percent of greenhouse gases in the United States are associated with growing, manufacturing, transporting, and disposing of food.

Social Implications
● Nutrition is also lost in the mix—food saved by reducing losses by just 15% could feed more than 25 million Americans every year at a time when one in six Americans lack a secure supply of food to their tables.
● Feeding the planet is already a struggle, and will only become more difficult with 9 to 10 billion people expected on the planet in 2050. This makes food conservation all the more important. The United Nations has predicted that we'll need up to 70 percent more food to feed that projected population. Developing habits to save food now could dramatically reduce the need for increased food production in the future.
● The average American consumer wastes 10 times as much food as someone in Southeast Asia, up 50 percent from Americans in the 1970s

Global Food Waste
● About one third of all food produced for human consumption goes to waste.
● Consumers in rich countries waste almost as much food, 222 million tonnes, as the entire net food production of subSaharan Africa.
● Industrialised countries waste 670 million tonnes. Developing countries lose 630 million tonnes. Total lost or wasted globally: 2.3 billion tonnes.
● The United States is the number one country in the world that wastes food. Close behind are Australia and Denmark, followed by Switzerland and Canada.

Water Usage Comparisons
Freshwater is a global resource that is depleting whenever food is wasted. Have a look at these facts about water usage in the production of commonly bought and in many cases wasted food items.

● It takes over 12,000 gallons of water to produce one pound of beef. Meanwhile, the largest percentage of food waste from the average American consists of meat products, and 33% ends up in a landfill.
● The production of one glass of orange juice requires 45 gallons of water. 15% of wasted food from the average American consists of fruit.
● Wheat consumes about 12 % of the global water use for crop production. Americans waste about 18% of grains.

Financial Impacts
● Americans are throwing out the equivalent of $165 billion each year, and its costing 750 million just for the disposal.
● Supermarkets lose an estimated $15 billion annually through discarded produce.
● An American family of four ends up throwing away an average of $1,600 annually in food.

Special thanks to Dana Gunders, Food and Agriculture Project Scientist from the National Resources Defense Council, for compiling statistics and references. Check out Dana’s issue paper: “Wasted: How America Is Losing Up to 40 Percent of Its Food from Farm to Fork to Landfill,” for more information.

LINK & BIBLIOGRAPHY

FoodShift.net

Enthusiast

(50,983 posts)
90. That is just sad.
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 02:24 PM
Jun 2014

In my household we are not wasters. My father grew up in tough times so I learned to be frugal.

defacto7

(13,485 posts)
18. Children in French schools are fed
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 01:52 AM
Jun 2014

4 or 5 course meals served in courses. I read an article about an American woman who was a dietitian and moved to France with her husband who took a job there. When she took her kids to the school she thought as a dietitian she would talk to an official about how she teaches her children to eat good foods not fast food etc. As I remember the answer was, Madam, WE will teach your child how to eat properly. And with that she saw what the routine was with each child served one course after the other at their table including an appetizer of cheese and fruit, salad?, main course with meat and a vegetable, a separate desert course and importantly, a half hour recess afterward. Each item on the menu was quality French style cuisine.

Yeah, they do things differently there.

JDPriestly

(57,936 posts)
22. And their health care is probably the best in the world.
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 02:43 AM
Jun 2014

Doctors are on salary. They take care for patients, not their bank accounts.

 

SheilaT

(23,156 posts)
19. I have noticed that when I'm eating some very good
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 02:16 AM
Jun 2014

and tasty food, it's just not possible to gobble it down. I find myself slowing down, really savoring what I'm eating. And I tend to eat less of the good food also.

demigoddess

(6,640 posts)
71. when we started buying organic meat
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 12:54 PM
Jun 2014

we found we ate less also. It tastes SO much better than grocery store meat.

 

Tom Ripley

(4,945 posts)
126. I had the same experiences with organic meats
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 06:15 PM
Jun 2014

far better taste and much smaller portions
I always point this out to people when they say, "But it's so expensive."
No, no it's not.

JDPriestly

(57,936 posts)
21. The apples today have no taste.
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 02:41 AM
Jun 2014

Ahh! I remember the Jonathons of my childhood.

My grandmother had apple trees (as I recall but perhaps incorrectly) that produced yellow apples in the Spring. They were my favorites.

And we could eat the Delicious apples back then. They actually tasted. They tasted.

I mean that. The so-called Delicious apples my store offers today are anything but . . . delicious. They are horrible.

I like Rome apples but the season is short.

I lived in France. The French take pride in their food. They taste, savor, delight in the flavor of their food.

In the groceries, the fruits were stacked in beautiful neat piles. I never bought a piece of spoiled fruit in France. A putrid grape or strawberry would be scandaleux.

http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/scandaleux

We would not be so fat if we learned to eat and to store and prepare our food so as to save the flavor not just the illusion of flavor.

CrispyQ

(36,221 posts)
68. I can hardly find a Jonathon apple anymore.
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 12:39 PM
Jun 2014

Some stores have them for a very short period of time around Halloween.

What the article said about tomatoes is so spot on. They are gorgeous red orbs & you cut them open & they are full of white pithy stuff that doesn't even look like the inside of a tomato.

Take tomatoes. Ours are bright red, perfect orbs of cellulose, holding as much water as possible to increase their weight. They look perfect. And now there’s a new marketing trick: They are strung together on their vines, which are also sold at $2.99 a pound. We take home our perfect-looking tomatoes and slice off a bite: cellulose, water and seeds. No discernible taste. There’s a whole generation in our society that actually thinks these things are tomatoes!


The article is correct that our produce is bred to look nice & travel well.

mackerel

(4,412 posts)
28. maybe im just spoiled
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 03:36 AM
Jun 2014

living here in California but I find the fruits and vegetables here absolutely delicious

jmowreader

(50,447 posts)
29. No, people. That's not it at all.
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 03:43 AM
Jun 2014

The real reason the French don't get fat is the French rarely snack. Americans and Brits eat six meals a day, three of them are "healthy food prepared in accordance to the latest scientific breakthroughs in nutrition," the other three are shit out of sacks. French people eat three meals a day with enough saturated fat and alcohol to give the head of the Center for Science in the Public Interest a heart attack...and THEY EAT NOTHING ELSE!

laundry_queen

(8,646 posts)
32. That's a really good observation
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 04:10 AM
Jun 2014

Recently I read something put out by some dieticians or medical journal (can't remember, it's been awhile) that said for people with insulin resistance (that would be me) eating MORE often, which has been the recommendation for many years now for people to stay slim, is actually detrimental because it causes a continuous increased release of insulin. For those of us who release too much insulin, it makes us hungry and tired and fat. More time between meals means a reduction in insulin released for a few hours at least. I know I feel much better when I keep my meals down to 2-3 a day. Especially when I eat a good, varied meal with a moderate amount of fat and a lot of vegetables and fiber. I feel full for a lot longer. I do have a stomach condition that requires I eat a bit more often which can mess things up, but for the most part, I can stick with fewer meals if I make them filling. However, I will point out, as I did above, that better tasting food means a feeling of satiety that is hard to come by when your food tastes like crap. So it's probably a combination of all those things, and, as someone else pointed out, better health care.

enough

(13,235 posts)
45. Sounds right to me. My parents-in-law lived that way untill they died in their late 90's.
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 09:08 AM
Jun 2014

Three wonderful delicious meals a day, with butter, bread, rice, potatoes, eggs/beef/pork grown on their farm (just for consumption, not for sale), alcohol every day in moderation (sometimes wine, sometimes drinks before dinner) and desert after every dinner. Vegetables from the garden (freezers-full for winter).

They never worried about what they ate, and they absolutely NEVER SNACKED at any time of day or night. I don't think it would ever have occurred to them.

treestar

(82,383 posts)
53. True, though it's out there 6 smaller meals are better
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 10:58 AM
Jun 2014

I only eat three simply not having time to do the "healthy" thing.

jmowreader

(50,447 posts)
118. If they're good, nutritionally balanced meals, then yes
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 05:23 PM
Jun 2014

If three of them have okay nutrition and three are bags of salt and fat (think potato chips, cookies, M&Ms and all the other crap we gorge ourselves on), then it's not okay. And that's how far too many Americans eat.

tridim

(45,358 posts)
87. Saturated fat is good for you.
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 02:07 PM
Jun 2014

Europeans know it, Americans don't.

The "low fat" craze is pretty much killing us. Thankfully, I had a hunch it was BS and never bothered. I never got fat.

pansypoo53219

(20,906 posts)
36. it just has to LOOK like a strawberry. i only eat local fruit/veggies IN SEASON food mainly.
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 05:09 AM
Jun 2014

grapefruit is ok, broccoli/cauliflower in winter. carrots, tho i load up on carrots from farmers market. i've had them last til feb. load up on dried onions. freeze peppers. make pickles. tris bread + butter peppers last year. get organic too. tastes better.

seaglass

(8,170 posts)
40. I had a banana in Martinique once, best banana I ever had in my life. We don't get
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 06:50 AM
Jun 2014

Martinique bananas here, they go to France.

pecwae

(8,021 posts)
41. I had them in Belize.
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 07:12 AM
Jun 2014

I don't care for bananas, but when I had one in Belize I couldn't believe what I'd been missing. I ate them twice a day while there. When I got home I tried one from the grocery. One bite and it was trashed.

bananas

(27,509 posts)
58. Once you've gone bananas, you'll never go back!
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 11:09 AM
Jun 2014

Sorry for the mixed metaphor, I'm kind of drunk.
"Gone Bananas" is a local swimsuit store: https://gonebananasbeachwear.com/

a kennedy

(29,458 posts)
47. I think the French as with other countries are getting into the "American Fast Food" race....
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 09:17 AM
Jun 2014

That's what we've given to the world, marketing, and get it fast. Ugh..... no nutritional value, just fast and flashy. Sad really.

 

HockeyMom

(14,337 posts)
43. Pick your own farms
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 08:31 AM
Jun 2014

Last year we went to an organic strawberry farm on LI that had pick your own strawberries. Delicious. We have also been to farms where you can pick your own apples in the Fall. Same for oranges in Florida.

Othere than growing your own fruit and veggies, these small local farms are the best means for getting the freshest firuit and produce.

a kennedy

(29,458 posts)
46. and there you have it.......done for profit at the cheapest rate....
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 09:15 AM
Jun 2014
Our varieties are selected and grown for shipping durability and visual marketing, Nothing tastes the same as when we were kids..... ugh, cardboard tasting, tough, and no beauty anymore. Peaches are the texture of apples..... not juicy anymore, they're horrible.

tridim

(45,358 posts)
56. I use frozen organic strawberries or farmer's market berries
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 11:04 AM
Jun 2014

Because they are picked and sold ripe, not pre-ripe like grocery store produce.

Most frozen fruits and veggies are superior to "fresh".

SummerSnow

(12,608 posts)
57. Oh my, so the foods I don't like isn't because its
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 11:05 AM
Jun 2014

nasty.It's because of how it's handled? Damn. So I've been missing out?

 

Marr

(20,317 posts)
62. Their food portions are much smaller. When I first visited France, I felt cheated
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 11:34 AM
Jun 2014

every time my plate arrived-- whether I was at a restaurant or just a little diner/fast food kind of place. The portions there are *considerably* smaller than similar plates here in the States. I'd bet they're something on the order of 60% the size.

It's not so much what Americans eat, it's how much. We simply eat too much food here.

 

Warren Stupidity

(48,181 posts)
63. weird. Everytime I dined in France I never felt like I had too little food.
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 11:58 AM
Jun 2014

'round about the cheese course the problem was wondering how to keep eating.

Saviolo

(3,268 posts)
94. I always had the opposite reaction in the US
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 02:38 PM
Jun 2014

I live in Canada, but my in-laws live in Houston, TX. That city is a food-lover's paradise. Some amazing, stunning restaurants, tons of fresh seafood (esp. crab!!), and an amazing variety of Mexican, Tex-Mex, French, Creole, Southern, and other amazing cultural and ethnic foods.

But every time you sit down you get served a *mountain* of food. The portions are almost universally unbelievably huge. I grew up learning a strong aversion to leaving food behind or wasting it, so I do my best to eat it all... I swear I put on 10 pounds every time I visit the in-laws for a week.

laundry_queen

(8,646 posts)
111. That reminds me
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 04:24 PM
Jun 2014

of the time (I live in Canada too) my parents took us to Montana for some shopping and a tour of the mountain parks there. It was my first time in the US. We stopped at Pizza hut - this was 25 years ago or so - and ordered 2 extra large pizzas for the 4 of us (yeah, there was a teenage boy in there, lol), plus some sides. The waiter looked at us and said, "are you sure you want XL pizzas?" "Of course, that's what we always order, and it's $6 cheaper per pizza here than where we're from."

He says, "you're from Canada aren't you?" "yes, why?" "Just to let you know, our extra large is a bit bigger than the extra large in Canada" "oh that's okay, we'll take the left overs back to the hotel room." "okay" he said. When he brought us the pizza, our jaws hit the floor. The pizza was easily double the size we were expecting, LOL. It hardly fit on the table. The second one had to go on another table. The waiter laughed at our expression, "I told you so" he said. We ate pizza for the next 2 days.

KansDem

(28,498 posts)
74. Do the French have a regularly recurring "Game of the Week"...
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 01:07 PM
Jun 2014

...which affords them the opportunity to recline on the couch and gorge on chicken wings, popcorn, beer and soft drinks while listening to sportscasters shouting accolades about the game's athletes, replete with never-ending statistics, over the din of a roaring crowd?

I've only been in France long enough to travel from Switzerland to Luxembourg, so I wouldn't know.

PumpkinAle

(1,210 posts)
76. Food definitely was sweeter, tastier
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 01:14 PM
Jun 2014

and so much better decades ago.

Of course, we had to wait for the seasons for the fruit and vegetables, but oh the taste - so, so good.

Or may be it is just my taste buds have gone bitter and my memories gone sour

DFW

(54,047 posts)
79. Strawberries are coming into season here in Germany
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 01:34 PM
Jun 2014

We usually buy a kilo of locally grown ones every two days.

In our little town in the Rheinland, we have an open air market three times a week, and local farmers, bakers, etc. bring in their wares for sale no matter what the weather is--and the people of our town buy food there, no matter what the weather is--been doing that for about the last 800 years, i.e. as long as this town has been here. Some shops sell fruit and veggies grown in greenhouses over in Holland. Big fat tasteless tomatoes, etc. But the locally grown stuff is always best, and that's mostly what we eat. As one whose parents (and ALL their siblings) had cancer, and whose wife had cancer (beat it so far), and whose cousin and brother-in-law have already died of cancer, we are in no rush to fight the next round, and see no reason to help things along by eating more chemical crap than is necessary.

lofty1

(62 posts)
85. Organic tastes better
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 02:00 PM
Jun 2014

Organic fruits and vegetables simply have more flavor. They grow slower so the plant is denser when it is ready to be harvested. The soil that they grow in has not been depleted by pesticides so the elements and nutrients remain for the plant to utilize.

http://www.organicwish.com/does-organic-food-taste-better.html

indepat

(20,899 posts)
92. Several years ago on a business trip to California, I discovered how delicious the local
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 02:32 PM
Jun 2014

strawberries were. Meanwhile, back home, the strawberries and tomatoes are almost inedible.

 

Arugula Latte

(50,566 posts)
97. Our Oregon strawberry season is just starting. It will only last a few weeks.
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 02:56 PM
Jun 2014

But in those weeks, ah, the strawberries -- I can't describe how sweet and delicious they are!

They're small and very red throughout, not like those anemic giants you get in plastic. When you get them home you have to quickly spread them out on a flat surface so they don't bruise each other.

Blue_In_AK

(46,436 posts)
100. One of my favorite things about summer
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 03:11 PM
Jun 2014

is my fresh, home-grown strawberries. They're small and they only last a couple of days after they're picked, but they're SO delicious. I get many quarts every summer.

Strawberry plants make a great ground cover, as well.

2naSalit

(86,031 posts)
101. Don't forget
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 03:12 PM
Jun 2014

Irradiation for shelf life. Many of the berries, fruits and veggies - especially those shipped from central and coastal Calif. - are irradiated prior to shipping. When I eat those I vomit a couple hours later. It's all about appearances since we were told, decades ago, that we should only select the most perfect looking fruits, veggies and berries. Irradiation was first applied to tomatoes and strawberries back in the 1980s.

Helen Borg

(3,963 posts)
102. Could be a different type as well...
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 03:22 PM
Jun 2014

I had good strawberries in the US! Some not so good. I had really good strawberries in the UK, but they tended to be smaller than the bland US counterpart.

Helen Borg

(3,963 posts)
103. All food is generally better in Europe!
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 03:25 PM
Jun 2014

For example, I was in Italy recently, and for lunch I could get superdelicious sandwiches pretty much anywhere (OKAY, this is not the case if you are in a tourist ripoff city). Every place was good, I did not have to look. In the US, it is hard to get a good sandwich.

uppityperson

(115,674 posts)
108. Locally grown for taste vs grown elsewhere for shipping qualities is a big thing.
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 03:56 PM
Jun 2014

Also eating less prepared foods as well as walking more.

bvar22

(39,909 posts)
115. My Wife & I were so dusgusted with the produce available in the USA...
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 05:07 PM
Jun 2014

...that we moved to the Woods and started growing our own.

We had a bumper crop of tasty, juicy Strawberries this year.
Their "shelf life" is about 2 hours.
We are still harvesting some Asparagus...and it is To Die For.



We get a little break here.
Tomatoes & Peppers are still a few weeks away.
So are the Melons, Cantaloups & Beans.

To get the really GOOD stuff,
you have to grow your own!

lark

(22,993 posts)
117. Also, France doesn't have huge factory farms that ship everywhere
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 05:21 PM
Jun 2014

Most produce there is grown locally and picked when ripe, not gassed. When my daughter was in school there, she ate the sandwiches at the grocery store,Simply. Said the tomatoes and lettuce were very fresh, the meat & cheese delicious and they were delivered daily. Best of all from a student's standpoint, these delicious sandwiches cost 1 euro!

The other part of the reason French aren't fat is they don't use cars a lot. They walk! Also they built up, not out and most apartment buildings don't have elevators. Hiking up 5 flights of stairs to get to an apartment and going up and down multiple times during the day, uses a lot of calories. I probably walked around 10 miles a day during the 3 weeks we were there.

DesertDiamond

(1,616 posts)
122. Also, pretty much all produce in France is grown organically, and organic tends to have more flavor
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 05:49 PM
Jun 2014

as well has several times more nutrients.

frazzled

(18,402 posts)
133. Um, no and no
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 08:09 PM
Jun 2014

Not all the produce in France is organic. Far from it:

According to Agence Bio (2010), in 2009, the importance of organic food groups in terms of retail sales value is as follows (share of a product group of the organic food market):

22% milk, dairy products and eggs;
19% groceries (excluding dairy products and fresh fruits and
vegetables);
17% fresh fruits and vegetables;
11% meat;
11% bread and flour;
10% wines;
5% fruits and vegetable juices;
3% delicatessen;
1% sea food;
1% frozen food.

http://www.organic-europe.net/country-info-france-report.html


And no, organic produce doesn't have any more nutrients than conventional: spinach is spinach. There are a lot of reasons to eat local, organically grown spinach, but increased nutrients are not one of them.

France has been facing increased obesity rates for years: the reason is snack foods and eating on the run rather than eating three meals leisurely.

You can get vegetables as good as those in France right here in America if you shop at farmer's markets or join a CSA. American cuisine has been improving vastly over the past two or three decades. As someone who lived in France when I was younger, and who adores French food, I can say that in many ways, you can find cuisine and products--even breads--in the US that equal or surpass much of what you can find in France. Eat well and walk, and you'll be fine.

sybylla

(8,461 posts)
135. The endless chain smoking is a bigger factor than fresh food appeal
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 08:19 PM
Jun 2014

Every time I go to Europe or I encounter Europeans here (relatives and friends of friends) I am stunned by the very high amounts of cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption. The availability of good fresh food cannot be among the top ten causes for why they are so freaking skinny.

And just an FYI to anyone who thinks so, skinny is not equal to healthy. It is only one factor among many.

Ikonoklast

(23,973 posts)
137. This person is clueless as to the timetable and logistics of perishable shipping.
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 09:40 PM
Jun 2014
Why is so much of our “fresh” food so tasteless? Is it the week-long trek in a truck all the way from California? Is it the countless days sitting on loading docks at food terminals, warehouses and supermarkets? That’s part of it.


If this person actually thinks berries of any type, one of the most highly perishable of all produce items spend "countless days sitting on loading docks at food terminals, warehouses and supermarkets", they are either being deliberately mis-leading or are totally ignorant of shipping.


From the field to your refrigerator, six days at the absolute longest anywhere in this nation.

For instance, from SoCal to Hunt's Point produce market in NYC, four days *at the outside*.

A day, maybe two days later they are on store shelves.

Strawberries are like dynamite, that load can blow up on you, and you want them out of your reefer asap.

 

DRoseDARs

(6,810 posts)
138. Access to fresh produce might have something to do with the fact that...
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 09:43 PM
Jun 2014

...France is roughly the size of California and Nevada combined, and much of the country is arable land. Produce doesn't need as many preservatives to survive the trip across France as it would across the continental US and Canada.

pacalo

(24,721 posts)
141. Something that I learned from a Filipino couple that I know...
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 10:08 PM
Jun 2014

They eat fruit before every meal to detoxify their digestive systems. They said it helps them to keep the weight off.

pipi_k

(21,020 posts)
143. Something I often wonder about
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 10:41 PM
Jun 2014

with regard to obesity...all other things being pretty much equal, I mean.

Or, even if some things aren't quite equal...

Is it possible that the French just have a different way of eating than we Americans do?

By that, I mean, do they "dine" instead of mindlessly shoving food down their throats?


It's been said that people who eat like they've been starved for a few months tend to overeat, going past the point of fullness, whereas people who eat slowly tend to stop sooner.


I watch people all the time, and it seems to me that too many Americans just don't take the time to enjoy what they're eating.

It doesn't make sense to me that people will take time to cook up a nice meal, then not really enjoy the textures and tastes because they're bolting it down like pigs at a trough. Sorry for the awful comparison, but that's the vision I always get when I see someone finish off a huge plate of food, then go back for seconds before someone else has even gotten halfway through their dinner.

Anyway, that's what I wonder. Is part of the problem because we Americans eat like starving beasts...

AllyCat

(16,031 posts)
144. Our strawberries are almost ready in the garden. Kids sit for an hour picking and eating them
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 10:42 PM
Jun 2014

They have not made it into the house in the three years we have grown them.

IronLionZion

(45,250 posts)
145. Locally grown makes a world of difference
Sun Jun 1, 2014, 10:54 PM
Jun 2014

if you can find a good farmers market or a friend with their own garden or something, you will notice the difference in taste. Its amazing what happens when produce is vine ripened and picked immediately before eating.

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