On 6/23/2013 6:20 PM, tert in seattle wrote:
> A year + ago, I moved, and had to switch from gas to a glass cooktop
> or whatever they call it. I felt like I had to learn how to cook again,
> I was burning stuff or it wasn't coming out right or just sucked in
> minor ways somehow. This condition subsided after a couple of weeks.
>
> Now I'm in Vienna on vacation in an airbnb place with gas, woo hoo!
> But the cookware sucks and again I have to adjust, this time more than
> one variable. Also, it's a tiny stove with three burners, the fourth
> spot for letting your hot stuff sit there I guess. I'm not complaining,
> just observing.
>
> Throw in the added dimension of language, and preparing food for oneself
> and one's family becomes a bit of an adventure.
>
> Some more food observations over he
>
> These Germanic people live up to their reputation for precision and
> analytic leanings. I notice that you can get several different versions
> of mayonnaise, clearly labeled "80% fett" or "35% fett" or it seems really
> all sorts of gradations of fett to suit your exact mayo fett-ness needs.
> None of this vague "light" stuff a la USA. I went with the full strehgth
> stuff of course. Also, their "licht" milch is clearly labeled "0,9 % fett".
> No rounding up here to the nearest 1%, nein!
>
> Senf (mustard) in toothpaste tubes. Love it.
>
> It is possible to please six-year-olds when in unfamiliar surroundings
> if you can concoct something familiar in the kitchen. I made a lucky
> guess that the gemischt ground meat (shut up Sheldon) was part pork
> and part beef, and would make some decent meatballs. I was not wrong
> and everyone was happy. I also guessed right that some crushed
> tomatoes plus a small can of something tomato-y with a picture of a
> basil leaf on it would be a great start for some red sauce. tert 2,
> German 0.
>
> You have to weigh your produce yourself. A kindly cashier clued me
> in to this feature. Huge contrast to my experience in Italy where
> you are not supposed to touch the produce (this is based on extremely
> limited experience so I can not say it represents all or even more
> than 1% of actual practice in that country).
>
> They have Kettle(tm) brand chips here. I was kind of surprised to
> see that. I guess I didn't keep up too well with the last decade of
> that company's ownership/distribution/trajectory.
>
> Can't go wrong with baked goods here. Well, I imagine you can if they're
> sold wrapped in plastic from a factory but I'm not interested in that
> stuff. Pizza on the other hand is probably better in Italy.
>
> It's a little depressing to see two McDonalds'es within ~200 meters
> of Stefansdom. One would have been acceptable, but two? Why?? I would
> send a letter to the appropriate Ministry but I'm too self defeating
> for that sort of thing.
>
Thanks so much for the travel report. I got a kick out of it.

My brother moved to Switzerland last year and he told me that the cuts
of meat are quite different there. They went to Germany to get some
meat to their liking and got slammed with import tax of some sort, but
at least they could get what they liked.

nancy