Cultural eating habits - tell us about yours
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Really?! Because I always assumed the tradition of fish on Fridays was a throwback to the days when religion ruled people's daily lives right down to what they could eat when. I never thought the government had anything to do with it. That's fascinating!Or fish on Friday cause ages ago loads of fish was going to waste so the government banned meat on Fridays.0 -
This thread reminds me of something that totally cracks me up when my mom comes to visit... we use our knives to push food on the fork. So you have the two French women using a knife and a fork, and the American just using his fork... something that I'll never understand because it's just so annoying to put mushy foods on your fork that way!0
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Yeah, in Tudor times when the Catholic church was abolished in favour of Christianity, eating fish was seen as a Catholic trait- a political move. So people stopped buying it. When the next king came in he'd seen the damage it had done to the fish market and made it a law that people couldn't eat meat on Fridays.
So now we have fish and chip Fridays!!!0 -
I'm not sure what else is different - I did go on an overseas tour of UK last year, cooked breakfast was included every day, and there were people from USA who thought cooked tomatoes were really strange. Not sure if this was just those individuals or cooked tomatoes are not done there at all.
on the pacific coast of america at least, I can say with certainty that cooked tomatoes are done here in many forms.. but what do you mean precisely when you say cooked tomatoes were considered an oddity? it might be the way it was cooked or served. as a rule, americans don't eat tomatoes just on their own. (some people do I'm sure) but it's not something you'd find in a restaurant for the most part. we toast /cook tomatoes on pizza, sandwiches, eggs, sauces, et cetera. in the south they fry green tomatoes.
I don't think America has much of a food culture left. it is a vast melting pot. in our family, we eat when we're hungry and the cuisines we grab from are multinational. our favorites are home made curries and south american styled dishes.
doh, I missed the part about it being a breakfast thing. yeah, some people dice them up into eggs but in any other form tomatoes aren't considered a breakfast food as a general rule.
I am only going by the comments of a few Americans in our tour group - but they considered cooked tomatoes a weird thing, even weirder having them for breakfast.
They said tomatoes where they come from are a cold salad/sandwich item or chopped and cooked in things like spaghetti bog but not just halved and cooked on a grill as was offered on the breakfast menu in UK (and also common as part of a cooked breakfast in Australia)0 -
Interesting topic! I enjoy reading about other cultures
I grew up in Poland and always consider our way of eating as heavy and unhealthy.. but after years of living abroad and learning more about nutrition Im slowly coming back to old habits from home. I seriously believe that our diet is balanced and well planned.
Breakfast would be a mixture of fibre and protein.. like
-bread [ polish bread is amazing!] with cold cuts or cheese
- eggs [ boiled/ fried ] with bread and butter
-cottage cheese [ something between quark and cottage cheese really ] on a wholemeal roll with some salt and tomato
-scrambled eggs with tomatoes and spring onion
Apart from tea or coffee we drink milk or cocoa in the morning
We eat second breakfast which normally would be piece of fruit, KISIEL - more liquidy type of fruit jelly, fruit juice or a light sandwich /yogurt... just something that would give u a bit of sugar ..
Lunch is the main meal ...around 3-5pm [ depending on how u work ]
In most homes it HAS to be soup followed by main..
Which again apparently is healthy for u, as u r filled up with soup and eat less afterwards..
so:
-soup [ beetroot soup, chicken broth, tomato soup[ with rice or pasta in it], gherkin soup and so on.. low calories but very filling ]
main:
-potatoes [ boiled ..in my region we dont add milk or butter to mash.. but we sprinkle it with fresh dill ] .
Something i havent noticed in any of the countries i lived in .. instead of potatoes we eat a lot of groats , barley, buckwheat.. etc
- meat [ usually is fried but a lot of people boil it or bake it in foil] or goulash/stew
-fish on fridays
-and what ppl from abroad always find weird COLD SALAD or PICKLES.. like gherkins,, pickled beetroot, carrot and raisins salad.. cabbage .. or tomato with yogurts and onions.. cooked veg are mainly in sauces
Some people have a snack before supper .. which again would be a fruit or a small sandwich but most of us skip it and have cup of tea instead.. surprisingly we drink a lot of tea.. black with lemon .. or herbal/fruity ones.
Supper would be something like breakfast .. but we will have more proteins than carbs in the evenings [ like hot sausage , ham, cold chicken meat, boiled eggs or diary plus little bit of bread ] and again milk, cocoa, tea..
I have noticed that Polish diet consist of 5 a day [ recommended amount of fruit/veg a day ] and healthy dose of proteins.
Also there are some foods that i always recommend for those on diet.. as they are very low calorie like all the polish pickles and salads in jars.. our cottage cheese and other diary products.. and bread.. with hardly or none additions..
We do eat sweets of course but on daily basis we opt for fruity ones.. like KISIEL or KOMPOT .
Oats/porridge [ with salt] or semolina [with fruit syrup ] is something we give to our kids .. or eat it in winter time [ as winters are crazy cold over there we need more energy to stay warm].
This doesnt apply to party food.. or holidays feasts.. when we eat up all the fat and sugar we have saved during the year lol
As i was growing up , eating out wasnt very popular, it only happened on special occasions.. but this has changed now.. people like to try different cuisines and eat out way more than 10 years ago..
I wish someone from Sothern Asia , north Africa or Japan added his 5 cents to the topic 0 -
I was imagining a mini-me before those things came out; I had already moved to Texas by the time those came out and mostly got free school lunch at that point, and we never could've afforded them anyway! Things were better when my kid sisters were coming up, and yes, then there was absolutely Toaster Strudel! What kind of lunchbox did you have? Mine was metal and it was Strawberry Shortcake.lol...I'm glad you could relate (and a bit sorry for you too hehe). But we're the same age (within a year) so I think Kudos and Toaster Strudel did exist ;-)
Lunch...I almost forgot about thermoses. Filled with Kool-Aid, Hawaiian Punch, or super salty Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup of course...in your plastic or metal character themed lunchbox! hehe
I remember being jealous of a friend of mine because her packed lunches always included a can of regular Coke (I was drinking diet by age 6), kiwifruit (EXOTIC to my 1980s child self) and string cheese. I thought string cheese was the best thing EVER!
It's interesting that you mention being exposed to "exotic" foods and having that be a positive experience. I felt the same way when I encountered bagels. Most kids are not that way at all when exposed to new foods. I'm not sure whether it's a good thing or a bad thing in my case. Maybe if I wasn't so fascinated with novelty in food I wouldn't be here... :laugh:
I had a metal Holly Hobbie that was a hand-me-down from my cousin! And later, several others...plasticky ones...I don't remember them all! I was an only child and a little spoiled. Don't hate haha0 -
I spent a month in the Czech republic and Germany a couple years ago. I really loved the brown bread they served for breakfast. Brown bread and mild cheese was an excellent breakfast. I ended up being pretty much vegetarian when I was there. the other omnipresent thing was red peppers onions and zucchini sauted. the weird thing that hotels put out for breakfast that I didn't understand was a dessert. like cheese cake or cake. Not sure if they just were putting something out for the americans, i/e they'd heard we love sweets for every meal or if that's a normal thing in that part of the world. it was puzzling. one hotel had crepes with jam. that was lovely.
the brown bread was not less sweet than the kind of bread I normally eat but it was really lovely and not like anything in the states.0 -
I grew up in the rural Western U.S. -- Wyoming to be exact. Almost everyone hunted and fished.
Our typical dinners consisted of Elk, Deer (venison), Antelope (pronghorn) and fresh-caught trout (summer) or walleye (winter ice-fishing). Sometimes we'd have moose meat as well. Also pheasant and grouse.
Depending on the cut (and how "gamey" it was -- my dad wouldn't pass up a trophy buck or bull for a scrawny "good eater") we'd have the meat fried with mashed potatoes and homemade cream gravy with vegetable and some bread.
We would have beef, pork or chicken, but not as much as wild meat. A portion of any game meat would be ground, so we would frequently have elk chili, or antelope spaghetti or venison tacos.
Many people also had gardens in the summer. My mom still gardens and preserves/cans/freezes enough homegrown vegetables to last for most of the winter.
Otherwise, we ate a fairly American diet of cold cereal with milk for breakfast, or eggs, bacon, toast, hashbrowns on the weekends. Sandwiches and soup for lunch. Dessert once in a while but not every night. "Pop" was a treat, and it was a fun time to drive to the Dairy Land or A & W for a "coke." It was a really big treat to get to go to one of the "drive ins" (that had carhops)0 -
And brace yourself! We make tea by heating the kettle, putting the bag in the cold mug, letting the steam escape (I've never seen any other Americans cover the cup) and pouring the water into the cold cup. The tea steeps out into the bottom 1/4 of the cup, so we have to stir it.
At home, I have a "proper" tea pot and taught my husband how to make a decent cup of tea. I pour water into the cup and tea pot (to warm them), pour out the water, make the tea in the pot, cover the pot, and pour the tea over the milk in the cup. It's a bit more work, but my DH agrees that it makes a better cuppa tea.
We do that too! Probably nowadays most Brits use teabags, and either put them in a teapot or straight into the cup. I've never seen anyone cover the cup though. In my house we use tealeaves though, in a teapot. But I don't tend to warm the pot or the cup I have to say. The trick is you have to use the water just as it comes up to a boil, don't let it stop boiling.0 -
First thing I noticed, when I came to the U.S. is, that people often have only one hand on the table (of course, the one you hold your food with), the other hand is sitting on the lap. In Germany that is considered a bad manner. Also most people here in the U.S. eat while they watch TV, mostly in the living room, not the dining room. They hold the plate in their hands. Most restaurants have TV's hanging on a wall. I have never seen that in Germany, unless of course it is an American Restaurant. But with all the stuff swapping over the ocean, most likely it will be like that in the future, which is sad. Another thing, Americans love their ice in the soda. Something I never get used too.
In UK too - hands should be on the table. But not elbows! You mustn't lean on the table on your elbows - you can put your forearms on but not elbows! Brits are getting more into the TV dinner thing - we have trays with cushions on the back which we use on our laps. It's something that gets debated from time to time, the decline of the family meal, and the importance of the family sitting together round the table. Mercifully I've never yet seen a TV in a restaurant! You see them in pubs where there's no food but not where there's food, thankfully!0 -
I think we adopt a variety of foods and habits from everyone, here in Atlantic Canada. Dinner, however, is our larger meal. Consisting of, usually, some veggies, meats, I know potatoes are used often. Maybe pasta, breads. All of which is around 4-6pm. It kind of varies. Lunches (12:00 ish) are a smaller affair and in my view, more of a stop to keep you energized through out the day or at least until dinner. My family was never into meats, eggs and such for breakfast though. That's generally reserved for toast, cereals, fruits, milk and the like. Quite rarely, more of a treat, something like pancakes, waffles, eggs/bacon would make it onto the menu.
@Camera_BagintheUK
That's interesting. I wonder if it's still heavily considered so? We never had to deal with said rules or any real rules when it came to dining. I've heard of families that are strict on elbows on the table, hats being worn, various 'manners' when it comes to placement/usage of silverware and such, but... we just kind of ate. Our family literally just treats a meal, such as dinner, as a time to sit down and talk, who cares what you're eating with or how.
You just don't really see people eat that way - if the food calls for a knife, you eat with knife and fork together. But if the food doesn't call for a knife (like pasta with sauce) then you would just use the fork, It's not a rule as such, but I think using cutlery neatly and nicely is seen as a sign of manners and using it clumsily is seen as a bit uncouth. In general I wouldn't have any problem scooping peas up in my fork to eat, but if I was in very polite company I wouldn't do it! And I watch my stepdaughters eat, they're in their 20s now, and they are spectacularly dainty in the way they handle their cutlery! So clearly it's still a vogue.0 -
First thing I noticed, when I came to the U.S. is, that people often have only one hand on the table (of course, the one you hold your food with), the other hand is sitting on the lap. In Germany that is considered a bad manner. Also most people here in the U.S. eat while they watch TV, mostly in the living room, not the dining room. They hold the plate in their hands. Most restaurants have TV's hanging on a wall. I have never seen that in Germany, unless of course it is an American Restaurant. But with all the stuff swapping over the ocean, most likely it will be like that in the future, which is sad. Another thing, Americans love their ice in the soda. Something I never get used too.
In UK too - hands should be on the table. But not elbows! You mustn't lean on the table on your elbows - you can put your forearms on but not elbows! Brits are getting more into the TV dinner thing - we have trays with cushions on the back which we use on our laps. It's something that gets debated from time to time, the decline of the family meal, and the importance of the family sitting together round the table. Mercifully I've never yet seen a TV in a restaurant! You see them in pubs where there's no food but not where there's food, thankfully!
Ahh have you ever been in a Wetherspoons? TVs everywhere!0 -
i grew up in two places, southern california (near six flags!) and seattle washington (king county).
I have low income working class parents. I now live in rural iowa, and there has been quite the culture shock. but a good shock, and I eat somewhat midwestern now.
california food culture- lots of veggies, avocado on everything, salsa on everything, tons of oranges/lemons/guava from back yard trees/neighbors, cereal for breakfast, skimmed or soy milk. And chicken or shrimp at meals. dessert was usually a popsicle. I ate alot of "tiger milk" bars growing up.
seattle food culture- this is a foodie culture, where people are proud food snobs! microbrews, fancy coffee, fresh fish (especially salmon ) plenty of takeout food places with an emphasis on "authenticity". Its a great place to eat!
rural iowa- cheap beer (I have developed a taste for PBR, although busch light is the big name locally), cereal or oats on weekday breakfasts, eggs and bacon on saturday. Lots of casseroles and soups for dinner here, and everyone seems to be into locally produced food. Venison is common, and served in a variety of ways.
Food is a bonding thing here, and I have gotten numerous plates of cookies/homemade candies/suppers for holidays, after the birth of a child, etc. People eat red meat and pork quite a bit here, which we rarely ate growing up.
when I moved to iowa I had never had-tuna and noodles,pork and beans, beef goulash, maidrite sandwhiches, tater tot casserole, ham balls, or fried pork tenderloin. I was 20 when I moved here.0 -
I've noticed quite a few of you mentioned venison. How does it taste? I'm not generally a meat eater unless it's been processed or camouflaged to death (just never liked the flavor) but I made myself eat it and I know how it tastes like. Basically only beef, lamb and I think I had ham a couple of times - it was pretty good, but it IS processed after all.0
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First thing I noticed, when I came to the U.S. is, that people often have only one hand on the table (of course, the one you hold your food with), the other hand is sitting on the lap. In Germany that is considered a bad manner. Also most people here in the U.S. eat while they watch TV, mostly in the living room, not the dining room. They hold the plate in their hands. Most restaurants have TV's hanging on a wall. I have never seen that in Germany, unless of course it is an American Restaurant. But with all the stuff swapping over the ocean, most likely it will be like that in the future, which is sad. Another thing, Americans love their ice in the soda. Something I never get used too.
In UK too - hands should be on the table. But not elbows! You mustn't lean on the table on your elbows - you can put your forearms on but not elbows! Brits are getting more into the TV dinner thing - we have trays with cushions on the back which we use on our laps. It's something that gets debated from time to time, the decline of the family meal, and the importance of the family sitting together round the table. Mercifully I've never yet seen a TV in a restaurant! You see them in pubs where there's no food but not where there's food, thankfully!
Ahh have you ever been in a Wetherspoons? TVs everywhere!
Strangely, although I have, I seem to have erased the experience from my mind :noway: I stand corrected. :blushing:0 -
Balmos
Stuffed cabbage (or grape) leaves
Pickled anything
Pork or turkey jelly
Cozonac
Mititei
Guess the country
Hungary (maybe Romania, but you would have said 'mici")
Its defo not Hungary. Stuffed cabbage with its leaves or paprika stuffed. never heard of grape leaves stuffed. cozonac, mititei, balms never heard of them.
We have Tokaji aszu, Bikaver, Uniqum.
tea with lemon and sugar (no milk! like english)0 -
I'm from the USA, more specifically North Carolina. We have sweet iced tea; I mean verrrry sweet tea. At least once a year, I get to go to a pig picking where they cook a whole hog with some good barbecue sauce. It's usually a huge social gathering. We like our taters, too. Whether it's fried, baked, mashed, or made into salad, It's a staple for my family. Things get fried frequently. Most like their drinks ice cold, so that means ice in our drinks. I don't use ice personally, and I'm considered strange for it. Holidays are celebrated with with huge meals. Turkey, stuffing, collards, and sweet potato casserole are among my family's typical Thanksgiving meal.0
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Not really cultural but our family meals - the ones where we are ALL there usually consist of huge amounts of food so in order to try a bit of everything we end up with a plate full of at least 2-3 times of what we would normally eat.
Christmas for example we have:
Turkey
Ham
Meatballs
Wild Rice Casserole
Perogies
Cabbage Rolls
Mashed Potatoes
Mashed Turnips (always with turkey :happy: )
Gravy
Cranberries
Homemade buns or bread
and to make sure we have enough veg in there somewhere usually:
Brussel Sprouts
Plus a couple different dessert options!
:drinker:0 -
Balmos is a bit like polenta, but it's made with sour cream and cheese (I think?). I dislike mamaliga and all its variants, so couldn't give more details
Its defo not Hungary. Stuffed cabbage with its leaves or paprika stuffed. never heard of grape leaves stuffed. cozonac, mititei, balms never heard of them.
Hungary (maybe Romania, but you would have said 'mici")Balmos
Stuffed cabbage (or grape) leaves
Pickled anything
Pork or turkey jelly
Cozonac
Mititei
Guess the country
We have Tokaji aszu, Bikaver, Uniqum.
tea with lemon and sugar (no milk! like english)
Cozonac is halfway between a sweet bread and a cake, and it usually has turkish delight or nuts in it. It's nice dipped in milk. It's traditional around Easter but people eat it year-round, really. Mititei and mici are pretty much interchangeable terms.
Since everyone is listing what are day-to-day foods, here's what I ate growing up. Mind you, I'm ex-pat now so habits might have changed, I can also only speak for Bucharest.
Breakfast is pretty light, a few eggs or slices of parizer (+/- like bologna) with bread and some yogurt. Lunch used to be the biggest meal but most people have adapted to a 9-5 schedule so it's not the case anymore.
When I was at my grandparent's, we'd eat ~2-3pm a large meal, first soup (often sour) followed by either meat (mostly chicken legs, the "pulpe sua" of my youth still haunt my nightmares) with a side dish (eggplant salad or garlic potatoes) or a casserole like stuffed peppers/tomatoes. At my parent's I'd be on my own or in school at that time so I'd either make a sandwich or get some fast food. At my parent's, the biggest meal would be ~6-7pm when everyone was home, pretty much the same.
Finally, I'd get a light meal ~8-9, usually a sandwich or some compot. Not the same thing as compote, by the way.
For treat meals, one of my grandmothers loves to bake and would make apricot or sour cherry cake. She also made jams, but I'm not a fan. Schnitzels, fried meatballs, corn on the cob and fried potatoes are common weekend/summer foods; dry sausages and sour cabbage during the holidays.
Mici and stuffed cabbage leaves are emblematic but a PITA to make. You can buy ready-made ones though.
And now I'm hungry.0 -
I grew up in Louisiana and was raised on Cajun foods. For breakfast it was mostly the typical southern buiscuits, hashbrowns, eggs over easy, sausage, orange juice, grits, milk, black coffee if you liked it and were older than two, and eat it all or you'll never get big and strong lol.
Lunch was typically ignored (because eating less is healthy, right?) or fend for yourself if you get hungry before 6pm.
Dinner/supper would usually be something awesome like gumbo or jumbolia (stewed sausage, shrimp, tomatos, ocra, rice, and anything spicy we could find to todd in)! I'd snack on raw onions until the food was ready.
Then when we moved to Georgia (around age 5-11) we were pretty poor and mom and dad worked full-time as soon as I was legally old enough to babysit my little brother, so we grew up on oatmeal, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, ramen noodles, and speggettior a mish-mash of veggie soups that stretched the family's allotment of ground beef. Those were some hard times, food lines and all.
These days I try to eat healthy and put Sriracha on everything! Sorry for typos, I'm using my phone.0
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