Savage_Rob wrote on 07/12/12 at 09:19:43:Just some thoughts/musings...
Unless I've somehow grossly misunderstood this, mpescatori lives in Italy. I am honestly pretty ignorant as to their regulatory bodies as well as what information (or propaganda, if it should be the case) the public receives there.
Thank you, Savage Rob, and my apologies for not replying any earlier.
Yes, I do live in Italy, but having lived a full 8 years in a mix of AngloSaxon countries, and returning there regularly for work/holiday, may I say I understand the different mentalities when it comes to food.
When you live in a society... in a civilization which is an easy 3000 years old, you don't need "propaganda" to decide what to eat.
Sure, commercials may insist "there's nothing better than McDonald's", and you may disagree, but that isn't going to put you off eating steak&potatoes.
Similarly, we have been eating pasta since Roman times, in the guise of lasagna or similar sizes.
Quote:I don't know how much their products might be made from varieties of ancestral wheat instead of modern wheat. I don't know how much of their produce (i.e. fruits, vegetables, etc.) is locally derived vs nationally or internationally. From what I see and read, I would presume that they get more locally grown produce than we do.
Yes, we do. We practice what is known as the "short chain", i.e. we emphasize the importance of buying locally grown produce (or nationally grown vs. imported) not because of chauvinism, but because the "short chain" implies fewer miles driven, hence fresher produce AND less pollution due to the big trucks not hauling north to south, east to west etc...
Quote: They might also still bargain/haggle at markets to, which is something they've moved away from in this country in order to facilitate price-fixing. I saw this in many other countries when I was in the Navy though I never went to Europe. My point is that I don't want to make the mistake of assuming that things work the same there as they do here.
Sorry, bargaining/haggling you only do at weekly markets, where the vendors change town day after day, and in Hollywood stereotypes, where the "MamaMia" matron haggles for hours over one turnip.
We have shopping centers and malls and multistory superstores where you can buy your
Adidas and your
Zucchini and everything inbetween.
Incidentally, I believe we are actually more hi-tech than you...
We have GSM mobiles since 1993 and ADSL is nationwide... in fact, you cannot get a plain and simple "dialup" connection anywhere, it's broadband DSL or nothing.
We use only digital broadband TV, there's no "analog TV" any more, and no cable... it's broadband digital or satellite digital, period.
Quote:On another subject, I think the Japanese, Chinese and Hindustani cultures developed with very little use of wheat until very recently. I believe rice, soybeans and lentils would be more of the staples there. So far as Japan goes, fish has always been a staple and I've heard it joked that in China anything with four legs is not safe when it comes to dinner. So far as Hindustani culture, I a bit more ignorant but I believe dairy and lentils play a large role in traditional diets.
Hopefully I'm not "stirring the pot" here. My intent was more just "thinking out loud" as well as hoping mpescatori might dispel a portion of my cultural ignorance.
For starters, forget dairy in the Far East. All they conceive is milk (for babies) and yoghurt. Cheese is UNKNOWN east of the Caucasus.
True, there IS cheese in SE India (had to llok it up
) but it is really of Persian origin.
So... East of India, I am aware of no cheese. Most certainly my Korean friends were surprised there was cheese beyond "the little squares we put on cheeseburgers"
As for wheat in India, go google "Na'an bread" or "chapati", two styles of bread made with wheat, not rice.
China also makes use of wheat. Let us not be led into the misunderstanding that "in China they eat rice".
China is a continent per se, a landmass the size of Europe, with cultivation along the Yang-Tze, Tibet and Chinese Mongolia which mirror those in Europe.
RICE is the staple carbohydrate in the center/south,
WHEAT is the staple carbohydrate in the north.
Just Wiki "chinese cuisine" (I got the link from the main "China" Wiki page)
Nobody's stirring up anything disastrous here, Savage_Rob, so not to worry
I myself admit that my belly will swell after a few beers but this does not mean cereals are bad, nor "liquid bread" (the name used by German Monks in order to be allowed to drink beer during Lent)
In closing, you can get your carbohydrates from two sources, cereals and legumes.
Cereals, such as wheat, rice, oats, barley and hops will give seeds which have been milled and/or cooked in various styles, we can't say we haven't experimented, we KNOW which cereal works best prepared in whichever style.
Corn, manioca and tapioca are also cereals, introduced into Europe a mere few centuries ago (if at all) with the exploitation of the Americas.
Legumes we only eat boiled. To my knowledge, nobody makes "bean bread" or "lentil cakes".
True, the Arabs eat
falafel, which are small fried patties of crushed chick peas, but the chick pease are boiled first, and in Europe we eat them boiled, so... it's just an extension of a known recipe.
Last come potatoes and yams. I'll not teach anybody how to boil a potato.
And breadfruit is NOT a widely used (nor known) source of carbohydrates, not anymore than banana flour for your morning pancakes...
Eat your food as it was intended to be eaten.
You don't need to capsize the boat just to see the sea floor; just dunk your head underwater.
Similarly, "Nut flour" or "coconut flour" to replace wheat flour is NOT going to make you wheat free, it is going to make you fat, because of all the excess oils you feed yourselves.
Compare the average Mediterranean to the average Samoan...
(no, I do NOT condone smoking... but she IS smoking!
)