What's in your fridge?

A really interesting survey on European fridge habits was published the other day.

The British press have majored on how the UK is the hummous capital of Europe - go chickpeas! - but I thought more surprising was the statement that a third of British people don't keep fruit in the fridge.  Only a third?  I suppose it depends on the type of fruit but I always think the default for fruit is that it's outside the fridge - certainly for things like apples/pears and citrus fruit.

Not surprising but still worth highlighting is that the French are better at exporting their cheeses than we are - 10% of British households have Roquefort in their fridge but only 1% of French/Spanish/German households have Stilton in theirs.  Now, I love Roquefort, don't get me wrong (it is probably my very favourite cheese) but I always find it depressing that we're so bad at exporting our food and drink.  I love the variety that you get in the UK - that pubs will have British real ale and Belgian fruit beers and American real ale and so on… but I also find it sad that it's so hard to find British stuff overseas.  There's so much great stuff being made by small producers in the UK but their market is so much smaller than small producers in Europe.  Why do we get Swedish sparkling cider but the Swedes don't get our fantastic (but lethal) still farmhouse cider?  

I suspect it comes down to the general issue that the British find patriotism embarrassing and are more inclined to think that produce from overseas is better. It has its advantages - not just the big cities but the whole country has amazing variety and I love that - but it can sometimes be depressing.  I visited, a while back, Rich's Cider Farm in Somerset (delicious cider, by the way, and you can order boxes online) and the pub closest to the farm (at the time of visiting) sold… Magners.

Olympian vegetarians

Vegetarians - despite Pop-eye's valiant championing of spinach - have always had a reputation for being weak and weedy.  So, it was nice to see this article from The Guardian on vegetarians who are competing or have competed in the Olympics.  In particular, it was nice to have a mention of those - like myself - who have been vegetarian all their lives.  Not that I disapprove of "converts" - I just find it irritating when it's assumed that every vegetarian is a convert.

More recent food articles

I rather enjoyed reading Alice Hart's article in The Guardian on how to write a cookbook.  I think it's interesting the way that, as one of the commenters points out, a cookbook can't just be a cookbook anymore, you need to sell not just recipes but an idea of yourself, a way of life.  The whole thing made me realise how horribly unsuited I would be to writing a cookbook:  I criticise cookbooks all the time for lack of precision but I am exactly precise either.  There isn't much that I don't just make by eye or instinct and I tend to use cookbooks for inspiration rather than for strict recipes.

This article on child foodies, on the other hand, was just creepy.  I don't like the idea of assuming that children can't cope with adult flavours but something about these kids was just unsettling.  Kind of like those beauty pageants for small children.

Not creepy but just incoherent, this article from the Telegraph, on "why we all want to be vegievores:  the easy way to be a vegetarian" which turns out to be..  by not being a vegetarian, just eating some vegetables from time to time.  Now, obviously, I have nothing against people eating more vegetables.  But just eating some from time to time does not make you a vegetarian.