In article >, Robin
Carroll-Mann .> wrote:

> There's also a difference between food left overnight on a counter in
> a warm kitchen, and food put away in a cool cellar (or pickled or
> potted).

I couldn't agree more. Every french family, as well as having a fridge,
tries, if it can, to have what they call a "cave". You can only
translate this as "cellar", but what it really means is a cool place
with a constant temperature where you keep vegetables, fruits and
cheese. In my London apartment I use a place under the front stoop
where they used to keep coal. (I don't even have a freezer).

I find that French cheeses bought in supermarkets only become edible
after one or two weeks in my "cave". I buy my vegetables once a week,
and keep them there. Much better than a fridge.
The wine is just beside them, and the two are the same temperature.

Lazarus

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