Salut, tout le monde! I decided to try something new: I’m going to do a series called Cultural Conundrums, where I talk about some of the cultural differences I’ve noticed during my time in France. Each post will be a different category—this first week is food!
This should be obvious, but I’ll say it again—this is all based on just my own brief experiences in a little corner of France and compared to my own experiences living in the Midwest for 23 years. So, this is by no means supposed to be comprehensive or 100% accurate of every single difference between two countries and cultures.
Okay, so you probably know that France is famous for having amazing cuisine. Bread, fancy desserts, buttery sauces, some of the world’s best chocolate, etc. Well, I’m here to tell you all of that is true. But, it comes with quite the hefty price tag. Food in general in France is more expensive than what I’m used to back at home. When I do eat out, the price is totally worth it, but it’s not something I can afford to do very regularly. It’s a lot cheaper to eat food that is produced in France, so keep an eye out for French cheese vs. Dutch/Swiss, for example. Even fast food is significantly more expensive! I was shocked at the prices at McDonald's when I first went. There’s no value menu, and the cheapest combo meal is a little less than five euros.
When in the grocery store, you have to weigh all produce that isn’t pre-packaged. It’s the same concept as buying nuts or beans in bulk—you put the food on the scale, put in the code for that product, and a barcode prints out with the price. Otherwise, it’s all fairly the same. Eggs aren’t refrigerated, though! France doesn’t wash and treat eggs the same way as the U.S., so they don’t need to be chilled. The shells are harder, and the actual egg is super delicious. Also, the cheese aisle is STINKY! It smells like a trash can, but just know that the cheese itself tastes amazing. In Alsace, the wine is soooo cheap. I know in other wine-producing regions it’s the same. I’ve had some of the best wine of my entire life for less than 10 euros a bottle.
Meals are sacred in France—excepting breakfast. Breakfast is usually coffee or tea with a croissant and maybe some fruit or yogurt. It’s not a meal that one takes their time with like lunch and dinner. School lunches are quite frankly 1,000% better than school lunches in the States. You get yogurt, fruit, bread, cheese, a choice of two entrées, a salad, soup, and dessert. Dinner can be much more drawn out than lunch. There’s an aperitif of crackers or pretzels or olives, served with wine. The main course is served with a different wine and plenty of sides. When entertaining, dessert follows with yet another wine. Everyday after-dinner goodies can be anything from yogurt to a simple piece of chocolate with some espresso or brandy.
I can’t write a post about French food without declaring my love once again for baguettes. The baguette I usually get is only 89 cents and is so freaking delicious. It does go stale in a few days, but I usually don’t have a problem with knowing that I *have* to eat more bread. Of course, the cheese is amazing, too. I don’t care much for emmental, which seems to be a stand-in for cheddar or American, but munster and gouda abound and are so so good. However, I was led to believe that coffee in France is amazing. It’s not…it’s usually K-cup espresso, and that’s okay sometimes, but there’s nothing like my air-roasted coffee from back home that I can make in large quantities and linger over.
Some other quick differences: spicy food basically doesn’t exist, French people don’t really drink water or carry water bottles with them, Doritos taste like dust because the cheesy chemical that makes them orange and delicious is illegal in this country, French people rarely snack, and alcohol is limited to wine, beer, rum, and brandy for the most part.
I hope this post made you hungry, but most of all, I hope it’s more interesting than me blathering on about myself in every single post. Bon appetit et a bientôt!
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