How Pinterest Changed My Perception of American Food

 
Let me say first of all that I'm by no means an expert on either America or American food. I've been to New York and to the Hamptons, and...well that's it, I'm afraid. Hardly in-depth research material to base any sort of claim on. Food as I remember it,was excellent, either the home-grown, often steak-based meals, or ethnic food we sampled. So why am I writing about it then?

Well, my impression of American food has changed somewhat since I look at Pinterest. And if their "Food & Drink" board is an ordinary cross-section of American food, then American food is extraordinary indeed. I'm not even querying the health credentials of "Cheerio snack", a simple after-school treat jammed with sugar, syrup and peanut butter which must contain about 5,000kcl and will do wonders for the national obesity graph.

Just looking at that Pinterest board say twice a day (and taking in the comments underneath the photos as well) makes you realise that a combinaton of starch-bacon-cheese is a recurring winner. (I knew there was Philly Steak, but I had not known about the vast appetite (judging from the pins) for "cheesy pasta with 3 types of bacon, sprinkled with parm to make it loook like it's been snowed on" - nice touch the latter! And "parm"?

But the really baflling stuff - and also the most frequent - is something like this- decorated food:

 

 Or this

Do Americans really love food like this as much as Pinterest suggests? Do whole armies of American "moms" really spend their precious free time shaping bizarre food pictures out of cupboard staples? Do they really make little banana bunnies, strawberry faces, shape spinach into Harry Potter faces etc etc.? Call me ignorant - but I didn't even know such food existed. Let alone would I like to eat it. And what on earth do you say when you're face to face with such elaborate concoctions, and they give you a friendly twinkle from underneath  their eggy hats?

Mahlzeit! The Topsy-Turvy World of German Meals

Today, I had crisps for lunch. Yup, just crisps. Perfectly normal in Britain, seriously weird in Germany. (I might add that a sandwich or salad would actually be my staple.) Here in Germany it is still the norm for people to have what they call a "warme Mahlzeit" (hot meal) slap-bang in the middle of the day, i.e. at 12 noon. (There is a restaurant with an outdoor seating area opposite our house, so I can vouchsafe for the fact that coming up for 11:50 the tables are starting to fill up, and by 10 past 12 the restaurant is full)  a perfectly acceptable German "Mittagessen" (lunch) would be a very traditional meat and 2 veg option with lots of gravy. Schnitzel, Gulasch, Hackbraten would be on offer in most German restaurants, households, and of course canteens. Germans do not (yet) hold with an al desko lunch, and would definitely expect their work canteen  to come up with "Hausmannskost" (traditional cusine).

To make up for these hefty lunch-time eats, Germans tend to have a very frugal supper. Rightly called "Abendbrot" (literally '"evening bread") this is quite a sorry affair in most families. Germans dine early, mostly around 6pm. You could typically expect to find a few slices of rye bread, and a choice of one cheese, and slices of cold cuts on an average German dinner table. This would probably be accompanied by the ubiquitous "Essiggurke" (gherkin, but literally translated as "vinegar cucumber" which seems an apt description.) Supper is not an opprtunity to celebrate family life, dine à deux by candle light, or try out light but raffinés courses. It's a very pragmatic "eat or you'll be hungry later" affair. The bready meal would be accompanied by apple juice, or herbal tea, or indeed a fairly strange concoction called "Malzbier", a sort of malted ale but without any alcohol content. At the end of this rather uninspired meal, people will settle down to watch TV.

Even with a keen intercultural mind-set ever eager to find differences and cultural shadings interesting, I have to say that the German way of meal-planning strikes me as slightly odd. During the day, when most people are busy working - why would you interrupt the flow with a hefty sit-down meal, thereby prolonging your working day by an hour? Also, isn't it all a bit heavy - making you feel lethargic during your afternoon stint? And reversely, an evening (at least in my books)  is a time to unwind,  let the day pass by, have a chat over a lovely meal, accompanied by a glass of wine, and generally enjoy yourself. And most of us don't work on farmyards anymore, where we might be glad of a square meal in the middle of the day...

So whilst to me it seems an upside-down structure, Germans, even today stick to their customs. My husband's colleagues are genuinely baffled when they see him having "just" a sandwich at lunch-time, and will ask him if  his wife will at least have a nice meal on the table when he comes home of an evening. A very tradtional lot, those Germans!

Crisps - Interculturally

In France and Germany crisps are called "chips". But let's not worry about that at the moment. There are enough intercultural conundrums surrounding crisps, crisp eating and the attitudes towards them. You wouldn't think so, would you?

In Britain eating crisps is the most humdrum, every-day activity imaginable. Go to a Boots, and they're part of the "Meal-Deal". Go to a newsagent, and they're there, nicely stacked in a rack. In the supermarket, they come in huge sack-like multi-packs. Crisps are essentials.

A very different "crisp-scenario" presents itself in Germany. There, crisps are stashed away in the "snacks"area of the supermarket. The bags look uniform, and come in only one size- quite a large size, approx. 4 servings of a Walkers packet. And - especially signifcantly - they overwhelmingly come in ONE flavour: "Paprika", sometimes called "Hungarian". Which explains why Germans often call crisps generically "Paprika-Chips".

In Britain, there's prawn cocktail flavour, grilled steak, Marmite, salt and vinegar (one of the most popular of course), cheese and onion, ketchup... you name it. And in fact Walkers did just that with its Social Media campaign "Do Us A Flavour".(http://bit.ly/mxfPNG) In Germany this exercise would have probably resulted in another paprika flavour! (That said, very recently, German producers have actually created some whacky flavours themselves, amongst them "Currywurst", Wasabi, or pumpkin oil flavour.) The French stick firmly to their No.1 flavour "salé" (ready salted.) Oh, and in Ireland life is really difficult if you're not a Cheese&Onion fan.

But the most surprising thing is, that Germans would not ever dream of eating crisps during the day. "Chips" are strictly for evenings. Offered to friends in a bowl, put on the table as a "TV snack", an ideal accompaniment to beer and football on the telly. (Not surprising you need those big bags!)

I find it fascinating that even such an ubiquitous thing as crisps has an unbuilt intercultural factor. Same thing, so many different habits, flavours, associations connected to it!

The Pretentious Foodie

You know the type... the one who urges you to book into El Bulli before it closes "I can put in a good word for you, and tell Ferran to give you the chicken skins as an ante-starter, they're absolutely divine..." He's been to more Michelin starred restaurants than you've had cheeseburgers and can tell you the difference between a Hollandaise and a Bearnaise with a slight sneer at your ignorance.

I would classify myself as VERY interested in food/cooking/nutrition etc. but I feel dreadfully put off by all those bores who want to tell you what's what. The best bagel in New York? Salt beef in East London? Borschtsch in Moscow? Yeah, please just go away, I prefer to find out for myself. Another most irritating characteristic of the Pretentious Foodie (PF) is his (they are mostly male, funnily enough) prediliction to call perfectly ordinary ingredients or dishes by their foreign names.

I'm not of the "Call a spade a spade"-brigade, but I bristle at people who - with a thick English accent - happily talk about "prosciutto", "petit pois", or "moules". The Pretentious Foodie does not realise he just sounds like a provincial sea-side hotel in the Fifties. I recently read about a trade union leader who rather than having sandwiches, asked for "goujons de sole" -so very genteel. But my personal favourite in the PF stakes is calling "steak and chips" steak frites - how very sophisticated. Not.

What next? Call a baked potato un pomme de terre au four? I've often wondered why food of all things attracts such a lot of pretentious types. I mean, okay - music, or literature... but food??

Frankfurt - An Interview with Mariam M.Kobras

- Mariam, you were born in Frankfurt and know the town really well - how would you describe Frankfurt to someone who doesn't know it?
Frankfurt is a very modern town. It is dominated by its Financial District and the high rise buildings that make up the impressive skyline - and by a lively intellectual scene, enlivened by the annual Book Fair, the most important one world wide. Sadly, not a lot of the old town is left. You won't find a lot of historical buildings or a lovely medieval part in Frankfurt, but you will find diversity!

Growing up in Frankfurt, we were very strongly influenced by the American Way of Life because of the presence of the US Military in our surroundings, and you still get a lot of that now. Of all German cities I have seen. Frankfurt had the liberty to embrace the ease and pace of America early on. Thus, the high rise building? Never thought of it like this before, but it makes sense.

Today, Frankfurt is a little like New York, I think. It is the closest to New York that I can see in Europe.

- When you're there, Mariam, are you aware of a special feel about it? Meaning, is it different from other (German) towns?

All cities feel different from each other, I think, and a good thing, too.

There is something about Frankfurt though that is indeed special: I never got a feeling of "old" history in Frankfurt, like, say in Nuremberg or Munich. It has a distinct "After WW2" feeling to me, as if the city re-invented itself then.

There are some historical highlights, of course, like Goethe's birth place and the Paulskirche and City Hall, but that's about it.

-Would you say there is a "Frankfurt mentality"?
Not.... really. Or is there?

I think there is a strong intellectual mentality, which has its origin in the Philosophical Scene that developed around Adorno and his group, and of course the ever-present Book Fair. Way in the East of the city, where it borders on Offenbach, you'll find Oberrad, which is a bit of a surprise because it is indeed something like a farming area. That is where the famous "Green Sauce" herbs are grown. A small heart of the old Frankfurt, where you will also hear the original dialect being spoken. These people are "natives", and indeed have a mentality of their own.

- That's facinating! Is there anything in particular you yourself like especially?
It's home. It's where I went to school and to the movies and shopping, and I love to return whenever I can. I've long since lost the native language, but when I'm back, I'll fall into the patois within the hour. There is one place I love particularly, the Kleinmarkthalle, a farmers' market inside a huge, old hall right in the center of the city where you can buy EVERYTHING that is edible all year long. I've never seen anything like it anywhere else in the world. Oh, and I lied further up about history: Frankfurt has one of the most wonderful Gothic cathedrals ever, and a number of German emperors and kings were crowned there. ("Kaiserdom")
And I like the food in Frankfurt. The local, hearty fair, but also the curries, sushi, the Malaysian, Arabian, Indian, Thai (especially that!!!) American, French, Italian.... oh you name it. Another thing I like very much are the museums along the Main river. The city has done a brilliant job there.

Mariam, this has been absolutely fascinating. You talk so animatedly about your home town. I could imagine, quite a few people have now become quite curious to see what it's like... in fact I'm very much looking forward to going there myself in a couple of weeks

Mariam M. Kobras is a writer and teacher. Check out her profile and blog
http://meetthemimosaclub.blogspot.com/

France - Why Do We Love It So?

What exactly is it about France that makes everybody utter the sort of vowell-y noises more commonly associated with pictures of tiny pets or scrumptious dishes of food? I mean, nobody goes googoo over Denmark, or Macedonia do they? And those are nice places too....

Don't get me wrong -I am just as besotted by it! My favourite holiday would always be...in Paris? In the lovely Languedoc? Or beautiful Brittany? But still, there must be something about that country which appeals to us more than anywhere - what is it?

The food, I hear you say. The lifestyle, the joie de vivre, they drink a lot of nice wine, the women have such style, they dress so much better over there, the men are so good-looking - they just know HOW TO LIVE. And then there is Paris of course, ah si belle, si chic! Apart from Spaniards, Brits are the most frequent Eiffel Tower climbers, did you know that - now that's true devotion!

We all KNOW of course that there are fat, badly-dressed women in France, there is food you wish you'd never seen let alone eaten, there are social problems (those grands ensembles on the outskirts of Paris aren't exactly beautyspots are they?) and the lovely family gatherings we envy so can be oppressive and fraught with tension.

I think it's more that France allows you to live out your dreams - if you're into fashion, why where else to look than the avenue Montaigne? If you're a foodie, bien sur, you've dined in that très chic resto in Valbonne. You can discuss Henri-Bernard Lévy ("Ash-Be-El") or Edith Duflo if you're intellectually minded. Or you could just go to the beach.

France has the unique ability to provide the perfect answer for anybody's dreams, longings and, passions. I think THAT's why we love it so...

To Haggis or Not to Haggis

I am what you could call an unfussy eater - I once even carried on eating those wormy Italian cherries, because I figured, oh well the little worms only ate cherry. The other day, though, I saw "Creamed Haggis" on a restaurant menu and thought -rather you than me.

Haggis is more than a dish- it's a right of passage. "Oh, in Scotland... have you had haggis then?" people ask automatically.

But before we go on, let's see what it actually involves, this is an original Scottish recipe:

Ingredients

1 sheep's stomach, cleaned and scalded, soaked overnight, turned inside out
heart and lungs of 1 lamb
450g beef or lamb trimmings, fat and lean
2 onions, chopped
225g oatmeal
1 tbsp salt & ground black pepper
1tsp ground dried coriander
water, enough to cook the haggis
stock from lung and trimmings


Well, what do you think?
Recently, the Lonely Planet Guide called haggis an extreme food together with other
revolting national dishes like worms and tarantula. (quote)

Since I 've lived here, my impression is that very few people actually enjoy haggis. It is much more about 'Are you man enough to try something that most people would find off-putting? Have you got what it takes to be one of us? Or are you the eternal tourist? A weakling, a softie who isn't up to the rough but ever so endearing ways of us here.'

A simple dish has been turned into an ideological milestone - a taboo, that you need to break in order to be accepted.

I think food should be enjoyable. If you like haggis, fine -no problem. If you don't, also fine - but don't turn it into a character judgment!

Have you tried it? Would you?

Frogs - and Other Food Related Stereotypes

Food plays a decisive role when you first visit a country.

I remember when we moved to Holland, my parents were utterly bafflled when they were taken to an Indonesian restaurant there. Rijsttafel- one of the most delicious things ever to cross a border, freaked them. "How can they eat that?" my mother said. I don't think we ever went out a restaurant in Holland after that...

Ethnic sterotypes and prejudices are based on what a nation (conceivably) eats:

- France: Garlic and froglegs ("Frogs")
- Germany : Sausage and sauerkraut ("Krauts")
- Germans call Italians "Spaghetti Gobblers", and the French call the English"Les Rosbif"

Local food makes you query your relationship to the other country: "How can they eat THAT? There must be something wrong with them..."

So food defines nations – at least in the eye of the beholder. And it isn't neutral, there's always an element of "Says it all really" in the observation.

Have you had food experiences that made you re-define your attitude to a new country? That shocked or delighted you? - I'd love to hear them!

The Big Bacon

I did a little crowd-sourcing last week, and asked people (all of them British) what their favourite food was. Result: 80% said bacon, 15% chocolate, and 5% chips.

Bacon is crucial to British meals - there's bacon and eggs (and other things!) for breakfast, bacon sarnie for lunch, and there are fry-ups for later in the day.

479,000 tonnes are consumed per year.

Whilst bacon is eaten all over Europe, of course, I doubt whether you'd find a single French or Italian person, say, who'd list it as their fave.

Admit it, it's remarkable. Bacon flavoured crisps, popcorn... then there is the very popular 5000kcal "Bacon Explosion" (American in origin, but with a huge British following on Youtube -check it out!)

- and bacon has even entered the language -"bringing home the bacon", "saved may bacon" etc.

Another curious thing: Bacon lovers the world over eat mostly rashers, whereas Britons prefer thickly-cut back bacon, which looks a bit like a horizontally-sliced pig.

So why ARE the British so keen on their bacon? What inner craving is satisfied by eating bacon?

(Sorry, couldn't resist!)