Generally I find food in France (and Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, The Netherlands) is of a higher quality, fresh stuff is cheaper and even the canned/prepared etc stuff is not as packed full of crap. There’s plenty of crap to eat if you want of course but it doesn’t seem to be the larger part of the shops unlike in the UK. People seem far more likely to cook from fresh and that most towns have bi-weekly markets backs this up. Where I lived in the UK last, we had one “farmers market” a month.

It’s also a generalisation but I find it puzzling how in the UK, fruit trees/bushes in public places are just left alone. Each year I get 10kg of mirabelles and plums from trees near my house and almost nobody else bothers with them. Same with brambles. I’ve been camping and picked fresh watercress from streams and people looked at me like I was a mentalist.

So I guess my summary is that there seems to be a healthier attitude to food in general and that reflects on people.

I didn’t particularly enjoy the food in Germany, to be honest. Big emphasis on jarred veg and also very little choice. The convenience food there was was awful – in the UK you can get some excellent ready made stuff that ISN’T full of crap. Most sausages weren’t so nice either apart from the French style bratwurst which were lovely. There was also hardly any beef available.

I couldn’t find anything to hold a candle to Waitrose in the suburbs of Munich.

FTR the brambles around us are stripped bare – the ones within reach at least.

The convenience food there was was awful

Come on Mol, how about Curry Wurst, thats epic!!

That spending lots of time and money on food is a good thing? That depends on your viewpoint, either is valid.

If it’s conducive to being thinner / healthier… does that have an impact on your viewpoint?

Do you eat fresh home cooked food Molly? Edukator does…

Currywurst? Awful stuff. I’m steering clear after a couple of tries at places German friends told me are “Really good” as their concept of good seems different to mine.

FTR the brambles around us are stripped bare – the ones within reach at least.

Good. Maybe it’s just the part of Surrey my place is because when you overhear kids asking their parents “why are those people eating plants” you have to ask what’s gone wrong. There’s even a wild strawberry patch in my local park here and I get a couple from it most days. Cherries out in the countryside and I’ve already got the apple trees marked out for later in the year.

There will obviously be an element of diet involved ( the northern French are fatter drink more beer, and eat more carbs and grease) but i don’t think it’s the only thing. France has it’s fair share of crap eateries (buffalo grill is always full and it is as bad as any burger bar)
The weather is better so it’s easier to do stuff outdoors, the telly is awful so there is no incentive to stay on the sofa, sport for kids is actively encouraged/subsidised by the local authorities and schools etc. Also people seem to take their sport/exercise more seriously in France.
As I said though, things seem to be changing a bit.

The life expency of French men born in 2011 is 78.2. Would people sating English men live longer kindly link a reliable source to beat that. Wiki is out of date. French life expectancy contiues to rise unlike some countires where medical science is failing against an epedemic of fat related ills.

It was a wiki fired tounge in cheek comment implying all the women here are fat biffers. I couldn’t give two sh*ts if life expectancy is actually higher in France or the UK.

If you are that angered by it I’d sugest updating the wiki page would be a good source for your rage, rather the arguing pointlessly with people on here.

If it’s conducive to being thinner / healthier… does that have an impact on your viewpoint?

Well I dunno, it’s perfectly possible to make healthy crap-free food without starting from scratch. There’s nothing in Lloyd Grossman’s spag bol sauce for instance that I wouldn’t put in in my own kitchen:

Tomatoes (44%), Tomato Puree, Red Wine (6%), Celery, Onion, Carrot, Garlic, Sugar, Sunflower Oil, Sea Salt, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Concentrated Lemon Juice, Oregano, Basil, Black Pepper, Thyme, Nutmeg, Ground Bay Leaf

FTR the brambles around us are stripped bare – the ones within reach at least.

Are you sure?

They should still be in flower, not fruit

There’s nothing in Lloyd Grossman’s spag bol sauce for instance that I wouldn’t put in in my own kitchen

Surely it also contains preservatives?

Plus from the ingredient list you’ve shown it’s got nearly no veg in it. Sounds pretty shit to me.

Can’t read it all because I have to go to an interview but :
general level of quality in food in France is falling.
Difference is mainly du to eating habits. When back for the UK, my mum noticed that every time I was out in town I had to eat something. And I didn’t do that before coming to the UK.
I concur on the less processed food, and when it’s processed it has less added stuff.

There’s definitely not as much “Wandering around eating food” in France (excluding markets where its relatively common). People give me odd looks here if I eat my morning pastry whilst walking to the car. Likewise, walking around with a coffee is still quite a rarity outside cities with Starbucks etc.

I can only assume their home cooking is somewhat more healthy than the stuff their restaurants serve which seems to consist primarily of cream, cheese, salt and red wine. mmmmmmmm

Restaurants are that good, and supermarkets that bad that I can only assume that they don’t cook at home and just eat out, but only once a week.

Must be a good life, being able to discriminate against fatties and Parisians, and kicking your cellulite free wife or mistress out of bed every couple of days to make you a small plate of salad

I would concur that you don’t see anywhere as many bifters in the general French population as in the UK.
But strangely my mother who moved back to the UK after living in France for 14 years said that most UK supermarkets now were way better than those in France in both quality & choice of fresh produce (sea food excepted though she did live mostly in Brittany)

I guess it might depend where you live but the quality of supermarkets in France on average seems a lot higher than the UK on average. Getting a tomato or fruit that is ripe and tastes like what it is in the UK can be a job unless you’re buying the supermarket premium stuff.

There’s definitely not as much “Wandering around eating food” in France

I think its only right to blame our glorious leaders who, quite frankly, have recently been setting a terrible example

Plus from the ingredient list you’ve shown it’s got nearly no veg in it

Apart from being half tomatoes, and having onion in it.

And it’s not a meal in itself, it’s a sauce. You add veg 🙄

Surely it also contains preservatives?

I don’t see them on the list…?

Getting a tomato or fruit that is ripe and tastes like what it is in the UK can be a job unless you’re buying the supermarket premium stuff.

So what you’re saying is.. the expensive stuff tastes better.. is that news?

Why not just use a tin of tomatoes and chop up some onions and veg yourself?

Cos I can’t make it taste as nice, and it’s more effort. Why NOT buy a jar, if it’s that good and wholesome?

Because it’s lazy and it’s not that good?

It describes itself as being packed with carrots, celery and wine.

With wine only accounting for 6% of the total sauce and carrots and celery beign even smaller proportions.

Do you honestly add extra veg or just pour it over some mince?

Apart from being half tomatoes

which are a fruit 🙂

If you like eating variations on a Mediterranean diet you’ll be very much at home in a French market/supermarket.

If you like bread and cooked/cured meats and dairy products then Germany will feel like home.

I you like your stodge then a British supermarket is ace.

Just because foreign supermarkets don’t have the things you like on the shelves doesn’t make them worse, only different. I can’t get Marmite in my local supermarket but it has an excellent selection of cheeses made from goat’s milk or sheep’s milk and Poulain drinking chocolate.

When I went into a Waitrose I was impressed by how many foreign products were on sale. Often at two or three times the price but the British consumer at least has to option: “you pays your money and takes your choice”.

When I went into a Waitrose I was impressed by how many foreign products were on sale. Often at two or three times the price but the British consumer at least has to option: “you pays your money and takes your choice”.

Does Carrefour not have a decent foreign selection?

I haven’t been into Carrefour for years, Leclerc has very little foreign stuff. Lidl does a British promo every few months so they had peanut butter today.

It’s quite funny don’t you think that with all the pain au chocolat and coffee eaten that the French would be the size of a Northern Lass.
Odd non?

Did anyone see BBC news this morning ? The story about the guy who won the hotdog eating competition, didn’t he eat 66 of the things.

Puts the Geordie lot to shame like dunnit .

It’s just that Carrefour Madrid had an extensive range of British food, if that’s your thing.

Does Carrefour not have a decent foreign selection?

Its where I get my baked beans from and Geeta’s chutneys.
The beer is pish though, which is horses for courses as far as french beer is concerned. 33 Export anyone? Or would you prefer a Despé?

EDIT:
FWIW, within 10 minutes from my front door, we have: Maccy D’s x2, KFC, Subway and Quick. Plenty of fat people here.

Since most stw regulars are inn here, ou et TJ ?

Il est chez nos cousins celtiques, non?

I said less choice, not a different choice.

TJ disappeared after making some perfectly reasonable comments on a thread about a vid of some riders being thoroughly anti-social on their way down Ben Nevis on a bank holiday. He pointed out that they would have been better to choose another day and that if they did insist on riding then should have given way to pedestrians as right-thinking mountain bikers do. One of the people trying to justify the selfish behaviour of riders was… . To continue would break forum rules.

When I visit the continent it never ceases to amaze me how beautiful the food is but there aren’t a lot of fat folk about.

Back to Paris for the first week in August JG. Can’t wait!

French person here living in the uk .
In France
Portions are a lot smaller .
Not everything comes on same plate .
Lots more fresh products
every food advert on tv has a message about 5 a day .

But it is changing .

Can’t wait to go back .

Does Carrefour not have a decent foreign selection?

They do, jaffa cake priced like gold, marmite, keetle crisps heinz tomato soup and Dr DEW drinks

Telly in Britain is a lot better then other European countries, so I’m guessing that a lot of Brits sit down to watch their favourite programms, while stuffing their faces with oversized grab bag this, bogof that and never move until it’s time to waddle off to bed. imo of course.

ou et TJ ?

Well please stick to english…
Où est…

TJ disappeared after making some perfectly reasonable comments on a thread about a vid of some riders being thoroughly anti-social on their way down Ben Nevis on a bank holiday. He pointed out that they would have been better to choose another day and that if they did insist on riding then should have given way to pedestrians as right-thinking mountain bikers do. One of the people trying to justify the selfish behaviour of riders was… . To continue would break forum rules.

Not one of the team from STW Towers, I hope. No, it could never be that. Could it?

No. Silly idea. Of course they would never defend idiotic asshats riding in a selfish, arrogant manner which would damage the reputation of the vast majority of decent mountain bike riders.

So, it wasn’t one of the team from STW Towers. I wonder who else it could have been.

Some useful info to put the cause into context

http://bmb.oxfordjournals.org/content/56/1/1.2.full.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chorleywood_bread_process

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/jun/11/why-our-food-is-making-us-fat

Basically it is zee Germans fault, and your mums

Edukator – Member

If you like eating variations on a Mediterranean diet you’ll be very much at home in a French market/supermarket.
Just like my local Sainsburys & Aldi

Just because foreign supermarkets don’t have the things you like on the shelves doesn’t make them worse, only different.

Any other rice than some Uncle Bens shite (Carhaix Plouger Brittany) wanted some Risotto rice (3 different types in my local Sainsburys)

When I went into a Waitrose I was impressed by how many foreign products were on sale. Often at two or three times the price but the British consumer at least has to option: “you pays your money and takes your choice”.

I found unless it was French you were stuffed.

My French is a bit rusty/sparse but I successfully managed a 50% discount on some fruit & veg in Leclerc as all that was on offer was so poor in quality and selection.

Like others have said I think the main problem is people not what is available in the shops.

There were at least 30 different types of pasta in the supermarket in Florence, some of which I’d never seen anywhere ouside of Italy. How many in Sainsburys or Leclerc? Is that an issue for me? No.

Supermarkets sell what sells. They choose products on the the basis of DPP (direct product profitability) and profit per metre of shelf space. Farmers do the same. If the farmer with a stall on the local market can’t sell something he’ll grow something else.

Watching what other shoppers put in their trolleys is always informative. Extremes I’ve seen include an old couple in an ex-RDA village with just a huge sack of spuds and a bottle of vodka, and a young woman in my local supermarket with only soft drinks and bags of sweets. British trolleys contain lots of industrial cakes and indusrial ready meals.

Edit: so is TJ banned, on holiday, or has he recently got himself a life?