More about people and food

More about people and food. My first answer to the Americans and real food question of the previous post was to talk about how many people in America strongly identify with their ethnic heritage and that this can greatly influence what they cook and eat. For instance, I said that many Chinese-Americans will eat a lot of Chinese food and cook and prepare this at home. Likewise, for Mexican-Americans and for people of other ethnic identities. I didn´t have time, however, to explain that in the cities you can find cuisine from many different cultures and that many Americans are used to eating foods from many different countries.

One of the students had a very interesting thing to say about her food shopping which I think reflects some on the differences between Europeans and Americans on this matter. She said that she did not like to go to big grocery stores because she felt that they delegate to her what she should eat. She prefers to go to small stores and to be able to ask the storekeepers specifically for what she wants. She is used to cooking each day and deciding beforehand exactly what she will purchase to make.

This kind of daily food shopping is very difficult in the US especially if you look for fresh foods. It can be very hard to find fresh foods in walking distance from where you live. In German towns and cities this is not the case. There are small grocery stores in and near the town centers and there are chain grocery stores also in the cities themselves. You do find larger stores on the outskirts just as in the States but much can be found in the cities within walking distance in most neighborhoods.