Food

The French and their bread…

As you most likely know, the French could not have a proper meal without bread! How would they eat their cheese, wipe off their plates or make the tartines they dunk in their café au lait?

Bread was discovered by our hunter-gatherer ancestors some 30,000 years ago! No need to tell you that we have had quite some time since to master our technique for producing perfect dough !

10,000 years ago, we domesticated wheat and barley in our green and fertile valleys and were producing a type of flat bread, a modern version of which is still baked in many Mediterranean cultures.

It was not before the Middle Ages that we adopted and institutionalised the art of producing leavened bread which had been “invented” many centuries earlier.

Why didn’t we adopt it earlier!? No one really knows…

Not only bread then became an indispensable part of our feeding habits, but we used large slices of stale bread as “plates” or trenchers. Once the meal finished we gave the trenchers to the poor… or to the dogs…and the beauty of it is that no dish-washing was involved!

Weren’t we generous and smart?!

The colour of our bread evolved with society. Until the late 20th century, wealthy people would not been seen dead buying and eating anything else than white bread, while the less well-off contented themselves with dark bread made from whole wheat flour.

The irony is that whole wheat flour is much healthier as it has superior nutritional values. It has now become the ‘thing to do” if you are health conscious as too many chemicals are added to obtain perfectly white flour!

The whole world thinks that French only eat Baguette…well, it is not entirely true! We keep it for the tourists as it is what they expect to see in our boulangeries… and we buy grey or dark bread for ourselves and eat it with immense pleasure in the privacy of our homes!

But don’t tell anyone….

Argentinean customs: Have your soda water delivered to your door

It used to be milk that was delivered door to door. In most places around the world, the milkman is a thing of the past. But this tradition is still alive and well in Argentina, although it’s soda water and not milk that is delivered.

Many Argentineans are fond of soda water (or seltzer water). They drink it by itself or add it to red wine or concentrated fruit juice. The soda water drinkers won’t be caught dead drinking still water, no sir. (I belong to the still water drinkers camp).

Soda water comes in syphons. In the past, they used glass bottles, which proved dangerous when they exploded. Later, a plastic mesh was added for protection. Nowadays, most are made of plastic as it’s safer to handle. The old glass syphons have become collector’s items thanks to their elegant lines, beautiful colours (they used to come in shades of green and blue) and, very possibly, the collector’s own childhood memories.

What hasn’t changed is that you can get them delivered to your home on a weekly basis. All you need to do is contact your local supplier and let them know how many syphons you’ll need every week. The delivery guy is called the “sodero” and will stop his pick-up truck and call “Soderooooooo!” at the top of his voice for the customer to open the door.

However, the tacit, time-honoured arrangement is that you leave your empties outside for him to collect and leave the same number of syphons. Payment can be weekly or monthly. Some people even leave the money under one of the bottles.

Due to the competition imposed by supermarkets, where you can buy soda water too, soda water companies had to get creative. They now deliver -gasp!- mineral water and fruit juice.

I grew up in the suburbs and have vague recollections of an old-school sodero who still had a horse drawn carriage. It was fascinating to watch but clashed with the modern surroundings. I’m sure the horse manure didn’t make the street sweeper very happy!

 

Read more

Argentinean customs: car for sale
Buenos Aires Botanical Gardens
Ceibo, Argentina’s national flower

A taste of the Middle East in Sydney’s Lakemba

If falafels, shisha pipes, rosewater drinks and Lebanese pastries don’t scream ‘Sydney’ to you then you may be spending too much time in the city’s swankier, leafier, beachier addresses. Sydney visitors, and indeed residents, can experience a taste of the Middle East on their own doorstep just a short train ride away.

Sydney, in case you haven’t discovered, can be a tribal kind of place. There is the glamourous, beach dotted east, the leafy and prosperous north shore, the bohemian inner west, the parochial south and the sprawling expanses of working class suburbia and culturally diverse suburbs to the west. Sydney residents often stick to their own tribe, to the extent that crossing the harbour bridge can evoke accusations of ‘crossing over to the dark side’ – the dark side being the opposite direction to where you dwell.

More open minded and adventurous Sydney-siders are branching out and discovering neighbourhoods beyond their backyards, whether influenced by a local food show on TV or a passionate food blog, or even by joining a food tour to a particular part of the city with interesting eats.

One suburb well worth exploring is Lakemba, found 15 kilometres south west of the city. Home to a large Muslim population, Lakemba’s residents have origins from the Middle East to Africa, to the subcontinent and South East Asia. Arabic is the suburb’s most spoken language according to Australian census data, followed by English and then Chinese.

By taking a stroll along bustling Haldon Street, Lakemba’s main drag, it soon becomes apparent this is a great place to eat, particularly for lovers of all things Middle Eastern. There are Lebanese sweet shops laden with sweet and sticky baklava, halal barbeque chicken shops, delis purveying nuts, dates, and spices, and there’s even an Egyptian gift shop featuring drums and toy mosques.

Some of Sydney’s most revered (and cheap, and generously portioned) Lebanese food can be found at the legendary Jasmin’s, with similarly delicious fare at Al Aseel. There’s even a café devoted solely to falooda’s, a rosewater based milk drink of Persian origins which is popular in the subcontinent. Among the mix is a Hyderabadi biryani restaurant, an Indonesian ‘warung’ and possibly one of the city’s most unique eateries, Island Dreams Café featuring cuisine from Christmas and Cocos Islands (think Malaysian style food, with a tropical twist).

The people watching in Lakemba can be just as fascinating as the eating and food shopping; with residents hailing from all over the planet found lounging at a streetside café or stocking up on fruit at one of the market-style fresh produce shops with amazingly cheap prices. Some are getting their hair braided at the African hairdressers, while others are trawling the fabric stores for headscarves or flowing robes.

Lakemba offers a window into the world of multi-cultural Australia, and through the universal language of food (and its close cousin, shopping) offers the opportunity for some fascinating cross-cultural insights and exchanges. The beach can wait for another day.

Chili con carne, the official dish of the state of Texas

Chili con carne is a spicy stew not without controversy. The basic ingredients are ground or chopped beef, garlic, onions, cumin and chili peppers. Sometimes tomatoes and beans are added. Here ‘s the first controversy: many people say “there ain’t no beans in chili”. Personally, I like my chili with kidney beans.

The second controversy is about the origins of this dish. Was it the Spanish who introduced it -or at least the ingredients? (more…)

India, as seen by Anu: A World of Cultures, Languages and Traditions, In Just One Country

Anuradha (Anu), our regional Pocket Cultures contributor from India, is a home- maker and a freelance writer who loves to travel. In Anu’s words “While I would love to travel around the world, I am so fascinated with my own country that I want to explore every inch of it and experience every bit of its rich and varied culture.”

Where do you live? Where are you from? If those are different, can you tell us a little about what inspired your move?

My family originally hails from the southern state of Tamilnadu, but over the last 4 generations, we have moved all over India. I was born in the national capital Delhi which is in the north, and live in our commercial capital, Mumbai, which is in the west. I love living in Mumbai for the simple reason that its a melting pot of cultures and traditions. It attracts people from across the country and gives each one the freedom of following ones own way of life too!

If you would describe yourself as multi-cultural, tell us a bit about what culture you most identify with and why. If you have kids, what culture do they most associate with?

While I am a Tamilian, and my family is quite an orthodox one which follows ancient customs and traditions, it is quite funny to think that among all the languages I know, Tamil is one I am least familiar with!  And again, Tamilnadu is one of the states I have never lived in, and am least comfortable in. I am more at home in Delhi or Mumbai, and speak, read and write Marathi and Hindi fluently! While I do speak Tamil well, I read with great difficulty, and cant write it at all! For both me, and my husband, our primary language is now English, and Tamil is one we speak with our elders. My son is also multi-lingual, and he speaks Tamil too, but Hindi or English are his primary languages.

We are multi-cultural in the sense that we are a mixture of so many cultures… for example, we celebrate our Tamilian festivals in the age-old traditional manner, to the extent of wearing the traditional dress and doing everything in the way my great-grandmother did! Yet, we celebrate other festivals too … we celebrate the Marathi new year with our Maharashtrian neighbours… Holi with our north-indian friends… and Christmas with our Christian friends!

But above all, we stay true to our Indian culture, for example, living in a joint family and giving utmost respect to elders.

Why did you decide to become a Pocket Cultures contributor?

The similarities and differences between cultures have always fascinated me, and when I read an article on Pocket Cultures, I knew this where I wanted to be!

Can you describe a typical day for you?

A typical day for me begins with a cup of freshly brewed ‘filter’ coffee and the newspaper. That is my ‘me ‘ time, which I relish to the utmost! Once I am done, all my energy is focused on waking up my son and sending him to school. Breakfast is usually the typical South Indian breakfast- Idly, Dosa, or Upma, with one day reserved for tea and toast! My son doesn’t even touch this typical breakfast, and instead loves pancakes and cornflakes, so these are reserved for weekends and holidays. We have a maid who comes to our home for washing and cleaning the house, and once she leaves, its time for making lunch, which is usually Rice, Rotis, Dal or Sambhar, and Curd (yoghurt). None of us can live without Curd, and are even fine with simply Rice and Curd! Once we are through with lunch, my time is my own till my son returns home, and I usually spend this in front of the computer, catching up with all my friends blogs, appraising myself of the latest happenings in blogworld, and updating my blog. Lunch is late, usually by 2 or 3 PM, and after that, I usually read for a while till 4, when my son returns. He has cornflakes in the evening (yes, again!) and then plays around for a while, either at home or in the park, if his friends are free. Otherwise, we sit together making buildings with his Lego! We talk about the day at school, and since he doesn’t have homework, he is relatively free. Dinner is late again, usually by 9 or 9:30 PM, after which we either watch TV together or read till sleep overtakes us!

What is the best part of living in your country? The worst?

The best part of living in India is certainly the culture – there is so much to see and learn, and even after all these years, I still find myself coming across something that is quite common, but that I haven’t heard of before! Also, there is so much to see, so many interesting places, so much history, that I can never see it all in this lifetime! However, the minus point is certainly the inefficiency and the disinterest I see all around me. Most people aren’t even aware or interested in our rich heritage and culture, and there is an increasing tendency to ape the west, which troubles me. Apart from that, there is of course, the mess that people make all over, and the lack of care for our surroundings. I hate seeing people spit or litter on the road, but they don’t even seem to be bothered about the fact that they are spoiling their own places!

What’s something that visitors are often surprised by when getting to know your country/culture?

What surprises most people visiting India is the tradition of arranged marriages. A concept wherein the parents choose the bride/groom is an alien concept for people across the world, but it still works here, and works surprisingly well!

Do They Really Eat Garlic and Drink Wine All Day? Read On to Learn More About DeeBee’s Beloved France

DeeBee, born in Paris, has been living abroad for 20+ years, currently in the UK. Although DeeBee has been living outside of France for a long time and speaks mostly English on a day to day basis, DeeBee loves to share her home culture with  us here on Pocket Cultures as a regional contributor and also on her personal blog: www.onlinetravelfrance.blogspot.com.

Where do you live? Where are you from? If those are different, can you tell us a little about what inspired your move?

I left France a long time ago, spent nearly 20 years in Asia, and have been living  in the UK for the last 3 years. Why did I move? To follow my husband’s various professional postings.

If you would describe yourself as multi-cultural, tell us a bit about what culture you most identify with and why. If you have kids, what culture do they most associate with?

I feel very French in my way of thinking but hardly speak French as most my friends and family speak English.

In fact I feel very European!

My teenage daughter was born and lived abroad for most of her life and feels that where she was born is “home” which is natural.

But despite having dual nationality she feels more English than French as English is her first language and she never lived in France.

Why did you decide to become a Pocket Cultures contributor?

I came across Pocket Cultures while reading someone whose blog is listed as a Blog of the World and thought that it was a very interesting and different approach to travelling and learning about foreign cultures

I also like the idea of contributing to a team work when I can.

Can you describe a typical day for you?

A lot of time on my computer as I am running my own web site and my blog

What is the best part of living in your country? The worst?

Best? Superb climate, architecture, cuisine, way of being…There is really a “French touch” as we are mid-way between the Italians and the English, we combine the best of these two opposite cultures!

Worst? Thinking that we are so perfect – but we are, aren’t we?!?!

What books or films would you recommend someone who’d like to know more about your country?

Films: Any from the 60s or 70s as they were produced by a very inventive and innovative type of producers and reflect quite well the way French are.

Books: Any historical or social novel from the late 19^th century (when society went through a major transformation) to the present day.

 What’s something that visitors are often surprised by when getting to know your country/culture?

That we don’t eat garlic from dawn to dusk!

That we don’t eat white bread as it is bleached and therefore is bad quality!

That Paris cafe waiters are very rude…even to us! Not good, but sadly true…

That French people drink less wine than people think or at least they drink less but better quality

That it can rain…even in France!