I just finished reading CULINARIA.
It's a 2-volume, coffee-table set describing
the ingredients, food products, and classic recipes
of Europe. ( country-by-country )
It took me a few days to stop drooling.
But it also left me somewhat sad.

They describe an English mustard,
that's been made in the same place,
using the same recipe "since 1823"

Or a type of sausage that's made
"only in this Belgian village in the Ardennes"

Bread from a bakery in operation since Napoleon.
( It'd never pass US health codes either )

Now I understand why the French complain
of Le merde McDonalds ......

I get the impression that Europeans cherish and protect
their eating traqditions.

Imagine a GREAT mustard being made in Boondock South Dakota.
It'd be bought up by General Foods, production moved to
an automated plant in Ohio... Chemists would work tirelessly
on making it cheaper...brighter...sweeter....
In a few years, if they didn't hit a million sales,
they'd drop the product, and we'd never see it again.

Sigh.....

<rj>

"<RJ>" > wrote in message
...

> I just finished reading CULINARIA. It's a 2-volume,
> coffee-table set describing the ingredients, food
> products, and classic recipes of Europe. (country-
> by-country) It took me a few days to stop drooling.

Sounds like a set I need to look for

> But it also left me somewhat sad.
>
> They describe an English mustard, that's been made
> in the same place, using the same recipe "since 1823"

And that's relatively young amongst traditional foods.

> Or a type of sausage that's made "only in this Belgian
> village in the Ardennes"

Sausage and cheeses, this particular liqueur made from this particular fruit
from this particular valley ...

> Bread from a bakery in operation since Napoleon.
> ( It'd never pass US health codes either )

Maybe, maybe not -- there are health & safety codes in Europe, too.

> I get the impression that Europeans cherish and
> protect their eating traqditions.

True, and a number of countries have sought special exemption from some of
the EU regulations to maintain their traditional foods. Frex, the Danes
have a special exemption to use extra red food dye in their traditional
hotdog-type sausages, and I think it was just last year that the Greeks won
a ruling saying that no one but them could label their feta-style cheese as
"feta." Something of a blow to the Danish feta producers, undoubtedly to
the French and Turks, too (among others).

> Imagine a GREAT mustard being made in
> Boondock South Dakota. It'd be bought up
> by General Foods, production moved to an
> automated plant in Ohio... Chemists would
> work tirelessly on making it cheaper...brighter...
> sweeter.... In a few years, if they didn't hit a
> million sales, they'd drop the product, and
> we'd never see it again.
>
> Sigh.....

Don't give up hope completely. There are numerous local breweries in the
US, "artisan" cheesemakers, organic meat producers, etc. If the public can
be persuaded to part with their money for such things, the local producers
will thrive.

But the money is an issue in "Europe" as well as the US -- not to mention
time and lifestyle. You don't find so many young danes embracing
traditional food culture. And who can blame them? Traditional peasant
food, as is much of Danish traditional food, tends to be time-consuming to
prepare (or at least long-cooking) and is often heavy and high on the
fat-scale (but it's tasty and fun to cook, and seasonal in a way I never
experienced in San Diego). And it's the same all over. I remember an
article I read a couple of years ago that too many young French folks don't
know what constitutes a good, ripe cheese, and don't seem to care enough to
learn. It's a blow to the cheesemakers.

Clearly I'm rambling -- I could babble on about food culture all day.
Suffice it to say, I share your wonder at traditional, regional foods, and
would love to see more people care about them.
-j

<RJ> wrote:
> Imagine a GREAT mustard being made in Boondock South Dakota.
> It'd be bought up by General Foods, production moved to
> an automated plant in Ohio... Chemists would work tirelessly
> on making it cheaper...brighter...sweeter....
> In a few years, if they didn't hit a million sales,
> they'd drop the product, and we'd never see it again.

There is a big business in heriloom fruits and veggies for just this
reason. Modern breeding has ruined most of them.

-L.

RJ wrote:

>
> Imagine a GREAT mustard being made in Boondock South Dakota.
> It'd be bought up by General Foods, production moved to
> an automated plant in Ohio... Chemists would work tirelessly
> on making it cheaper...brighter...sweeter....
> In a few years, if they didn't hit a million sales,
> they'd drop the product, and we'd never see it again.
>
> Sigh.....
>
> <rj>

That happens in Europe as well. Big business and capitalism are alive and well
over there.
AND great mustards, cheeses, breads and spoon art ARE being made in boondock
south dakota and in a million other tiny places across the US. The reason why
you haven't heard of them is because they are small and have a local
distributorship. The same way that most people in France probably can't get
that special Belgian sausage.

And if you wanted the special hand crafted mustard made 2000 miles from your
house to be sold at your local corner store the process would HAVE to become
automated in a factory. A half dozen yokels (and I mean that in the kindest
sense) can't keep up with national demand.

As for the big companies and their chemist making things cheaper, brighter and
sweeter, well that's the american catch-22 isn't it. It makes sense for a
company to produce exactly what the buying public will pay money for but
they've s programmed us to want cheaper and brighter and sweeter we just don;t
know to demand anything else so we keep buying it and confirm that they should
keep making it and we keep buying.


--
..:Heather:.
www.velvet-c.com
I thought I was driving by Gettysburg once but it ends up I was just driving
by your mom's house.

Steve Wertz > wrote:

> Either the German or European book describe a type of Quark
> cheese injected with dust mites, which eat the cheese and their
> excrement ripens the cheese. The village holds an annual
> fermented quark cheese festival based on the harvesting of the
> cheese.
>
> I can't remember the name of the cheese. Maybe Victor can fill
> us in...

Würchwitzer Spinnenkäse. Here is what I wrote back in 2002...

Unfortunately, it isn't sold here and they don't offer any by mail
order... they eat most of it themselves in Würchwitz, it seems... :-(
Their Spinnenkäse (also called Milbenkäse (mite cheese)) is legendary...
Those are not dust mites, though, but 'cheese mites' (Tyroglyphus
casei), though they are apparently related and there is even some
evidence that eating Milbenkäse protects one from dust-mite allergy...

Victor

Victor Sack wrote:
> Steve Wertz > wrote:
>
>
>>Either the German or European book describe a type of Quark
>>cheese injected with dust mites, which eat the cheese and their
>>excrement ripens the cheese. The village holds an annual
>>fermented quark cheese festival based on the harvesting of the
>>cheese.
>>
>>I can't remember the name of the cheese. Maybe Victor can fill
>>us in...
>
>
> Würchwitzer Spinnenkäse. Here is what I wrote back in 2002...
>
> Unfortunately, it isn't sold here and they don't offer any by mail
> order... they eat most of it themselves in Würchwitz, it seems... :-(
> Their Spinnenkäse (also called Milbenkäse (mite cheese)) is legendary...
> Those are not dust mites, though, but 'cheese mites' (Tyroglyphus
> casei), though they are apparently related and there is even some
> evidence that eating Milbenkäse protects one from dust-mite allergy...
>
> Victor

Oh, no! This does not sound appetizing at all. It was bad enough
when I thought that it was Spider Cheese, but Mite Cheese is even more
disgusting.

You know what? I will take my chances with dust mite allergies and
keep away from this most yucky cheese.

I bet that if you were able to get some of this cheese, you would eat
it with beets.

<RJ> wrote:
> I just finished reading CULINARIA.
> It's a 2-volume, coffee-table set describing
> the ingredients, food products, and classic recipes
> of Europe. ( country-by-country )
> It took me a few days to stop drooling.
> But it also left me somewhat sad.
>
> They describe an English mustard,
> that's been made in the same place,
> using the same recipe "since 1823"
>

Oh yeah, I have several Culinaria volumes, and they are all
lovely...beautifully photographed, with lots of good information.
Interesting that you mention mustard. I love to visit the Maille
mustard shop in Paris which is like 300 years old, and they dispense
unpasturized mustard from taps into beautiful crocks, and wrap them
beautifully for your trip home. They will refill whatever old crocks
you bring back to them. The mustard only last a few months in the
fridge, but that shop really impresses me as the type of place that
keeps tradition alive.

On the other hand, as others have mentioned, there are food artisans
all over the world, not just in Europe, who are focused on creating and
keeping food traditions alive. God bless them all!

Sandy

Margaret Suran > wrote:

> Victor Sack wrote:
> >
> > Würchwitzer Spinnenkäse. Here is what I wrote back in 2002...
> >
> > Unfortunately, it isn't sold here and they don't offer any by mail
> > order... they eat most of it themselves in Würchwitz, it seems... :-(
> > Their Spinnenkäse (also called Milbenkäse (mite cheese)) is legendary...
>
> Oh, no! This does not sound appetizing at all. It was bad enough
> when I thought that it was Spider Cheese, but Mite Cheese is even more
> disgusting.

You prefer the regular rotten milk?

See <http://milbenkaese.cesus.de/>. Oh, and stop drooling now, I tell
you!

> I bet that if you were able to get some of this cheese, you would eat
> it with beets.

Even without 'em! It is that good, I'm sure!

Bubba

Victor Sack wrote:
> Margaret Suran > wrote:
>
>
>>Victor Sack wrote:
>>
>>>Würchwitzer Spinnenkäse. Here is what I wrote back in 2002...
>>>
>>>Unfortunately, it isn't sold here and they don't offer any by mail
>>>order... they eat most of it themselves in Würchwitz, it seems... :-(
>>>Their Spinnenkäse (also called Milbenkäse (mite cheese)) is legendary...
>>
>>Oh, no! This does not sound appetizing at all. It was bad enough
>>when I thought that it was Spider Cheese, but Mite Cheese is even more
>>disgusting.
>
>
> You prefer the regular rotten milk?
>
> See <http://milbenkaese.cesus.de/>. Oh, and stop drooling now, I tell
> you!
>

If you are referring to milk that has soured, Saure Milch, yes, I like
that very much. At least the sour milk I drank as a child, the milk
that turned sour because we had no refrigeration and the large chunks
of ice in the ice box melted quickly when it was hot. As I must have
said before, Teta also made Topfen, pot cheese with that sour milk.
She also cooked with it and made soups which I did not like.

I just looked at the URL. The cheese sounds even more disgusting in
German. I did not need to see pictures of mites and referring to it
as The Liveliest Cheese was no great help; ( Would you eat
maggots, too? Please, do not answer, I am afraid of your reply.