Stereotypes about food in foreign countries: Japan

Kunii Hiroyuki in response to the survey results:

What else are typical (or widely consumed) in Japan?I did not expect 'honey and lemon' would come up, but otherwise, we Japanese enjoy most of the foods and drinks nominated for Japan quite a lot to my mind.

Foods: Tempura, Grilled Eel, Okonomiyaki (looks like pancake or pizza), Curry & Rice (Japanized), Nabe (any kinds of one-pot dishes including Sukiyaki and Shabu Shabu), Tonkatsu (pork cutlet), XXX-don (e.g. Gyu-don, Ten-don, Oyako-don, Katsu-don, etc: a bowl of rice topped with XXX), Foods made of soy beans (e.g. Tofu, Natto, Miso, Yuba, etc) and seaweed (e.g. Nori, Wakame, Kombu, etc)

Stereotypes about food in foreign countries: Russia

The picture of Russia in the survey came out much more full than I expected. But still it is rarther far from reality.

I’ll try to give my perception of how people actually eat in Moscow. First of all, people tend to consume a cocktail of world famous dishes including Caesar salad, pizza Margarita, California rolls, mushroom cream soup etc.
I’ll also name some “Russian” dishes that are still widespread. Among soups these are certainly borsch (on the picture, nice to see it in the survey), shi (beef and cabbage soup), chicken soup with noodles.

Party #2 French cheese plate

Jan 24, 2010

Club members count: 40

Nationalities count: 22

The classes are running already. We start getting busy, consumed by group work, career activities, clubs etc. The house often becomes silent and I can only wonder if there really is no one at home, or everyone is just sitting in their rooms.

Fortunately, we still often gather downstairs for dinner. And happily many of us have found some time to meet today. This time we are lucky. Claire and Sebastian, both coming from France, are telling us about French cheeses.

It is Sunday and we start from the morning market. It opens at around 7 am and closes at 1-2 pm and works on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays on a small Fontainebleau square bordered by rue des Pris, rue de la Paroisse, rue du Commissaire Calas and Halle du Marche. We come at 10:00 and the market is crowded already. “I planned to obtain the cheese map of France, but it was too late to order it” – Sebastian sais – “so we’ll have to use the road map”.

French pastry: drives me crazy

Buns are a very important part of my life. Their role has strongly increased when I moved to Fontainebleau. I can’t say that there is a lack of pastry in Moscow. But what I have found here is much more than I expected. Small ‘pâtisserie’ shops surround you wherever you go. You get the best choice if you come before 3 – 4 pm. Many of them are crowded, but it is normally worth it to queue on. Don’t worry, the queue moves very fast!

So what do I choose? Today I managed to stop myself on three marvelous buns.

The best thing I’ve tried here so far is ‘palmier’. You will find if baked in different forms, but this one is ideal in my opinion.

Stereotypes about food in foreign countries: survey results

In this community of people coming from all over the world it is almost impossible to voice a delusion and not be corrected by someone. These people know almost everything. And they feel relaxed to share their opinions.

We decided to find out how close to the reality we stand in our understanding of what people eat and drink in the foreign countries. We launched a questionnaire asking people to name what food/drinks comes to their minds when they think of certain countries that are not their home countries (http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/WL6TNJ3). The results are to be shown to each country nationals to hear their opinion.

Around 15 club members (more than 10 nationalities) have already completed the survey, so we can see what has come out:

Brazil. Leading guesses are Feijoada and Churrasco. Also named: Churrascaria, Bobo de Camarao, Caldo verde, diferent kinds of grill meet, Flavored meat, anything with beef. Among drinks absolute leaders are Cachaca and Caipirinha. Also named are Guaraná, sweet cocktails.

Canada. 50% scream - Maple syrup, besides: salmon, game fowl, pancakes, sandwiches, hot dogs, French fries, crumble, poutin. Drinks: beer, whisky (e.g. crown royal) and also rum, Ice wine, Canada dry, Coca-cola, soda, tomato juice.

China. Absolute leaders are spring rolls, Peking duck, wontons. Also named: xiao bao (soup dumplings), Yakimeshi, noodles, spicy sauces (e.g. sweet and sour), Kwetiao, Nems, rice, soy, tofu, Shanghai crab, Mapo Doufu, Tenshin, soups, stir fried veggies, ginger beef, pork dumplings, dim sum, pork in sour and sweet sause, fried worms, lychees in caramel, mango pudding. Among drinks green tea and Tsingtao is leading, sake named 2 times (!) also show up Chinese wine (inc. rice vine, plum vine), beer, fruit juices (mango, etc), Báijiǔ, Shàoxīngjiǔ.

Party #1 Appetizers & aperitifs

Jan 10, 2010
Club members count: 16
Nationalities count: 12
We've just arrived on campus in Fontainebleau and the studies are about to begin. We started the club by e-mail and finally we gather to greet each other personally. Many of us have brought some local specialties from home. We decided to start with ‘starters’. The table looks equally diverse to the people who surround it. Appetizers & aperitifs from our home countries are set out and the party begins.

Claire and Sébastien are Parisians and we get a chance to taste foie gras (litteraly ‘fat liver’) (Photo by Mansi Maken). Put a piece on the white bread toasts. Take a glass of sweet white wine. Foie gras is traditionally served with Sauterne. We are drinking Jurançon (Domaine Bordenave) instead. “You will find out why if you look at the price”, adds Claire. What we are eating is the duck fois gras, which is more typical for the south of France. Tastes sweetish and creamy. Its taste is normally more intensive than that of the goose fois gras, produced on the North. Claire mentions the debate surrounding this specialty: as it is produced through intensified feed it raises the issue concerning the defense of animals. Each of us is clearly clad that the debate has not produced any bans for production yet as what we are eating is delicious.