European food cultures

Ireland and UK are "potato and beer cultures".
Italy is I suppose a wheat and wine culture.
Spain, I cant decide, certainly wine.
France: potato and wine?
Can anyone draw a word map of the dominance of the potato, rice
or wheat through Europe, along with beer and wine?
--
Mike Reid
Wasdale-Thames path-London-Photos "http://www.fellwalk.co.uk" -- you can email us@ this site
Eat-walk-Spain "http://www.fell-walker.co.uk" -- dontuse@ all, it's a spamtrap

The Reids wrote:

Ireland and UK are "potato and beer cultures".

Depends whose household!

We almost never have potatoes as the main carbohydrate in a meal. I use
them quite a bit, in stews, curries etc. (yesterday in a Tortilla), also
as accompaniments with rice- but rarely the main thing. I suppose the
potato probably still dominates in the UK, but I wonder if that isn't
changing...


--
David Horne- www.davidhorne.net
usenet (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk

The Reids wrote:

Ireland and UK are "potato and beer cultures".

Depends whose household!

We almost never have potatoes as the main carbohydrate in a meal. I use
them quite a bit, in stews, curries etc. (yesterday in a Tortilla), also
as accompaniments with rice- but rarely the main thing. I suppose the
potato probably still dominates in the UK, but I wonder if that isn't
changing...


--
David Horne- www.davidhorne.net
usenet (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk

The Reids wrote in
:

Ireland and UK are "potato and beer cultures".
Germany too (Austria, Hungary etc. are more wheat-based...)

Italy is I suppose a wheat and wine culture.
yup, though mostly in the north, corn (and to a lesser degree, rice) have
had, especially in the past, a key role in nutrition. Until the late 1950s
some parts of the north relied on little more than cornmeal for survival.

Spain, I cant decide, certainly wine.
wheat, definately

France: potato and wine?
imho, wheat. Think "baguette"

Can anyone draw a word map of the dominance of the potato, rice
or wheat through Europe, along with beer and wine?

draw an imaginary and very blurred line mid-height through france and
germany (and Poland, and so on). Below that line, wheat is the main source
for carbs (including countries from northern Africa), Above the line,
potato is.

QQG
--
I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.

Beer: England, Ireland, Germany (except Rhine region), Belgium,
Netherlands, Denmark, Czech Republic

Wine: Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Romania, Rhine region of Germany,
Austria, Hungary, Greece

Vodka: Russia, Sweden, Finland, Poland

Beer: England, Ireland, Germany (except Rhine region), Belgium,
Netherlands, Denmark, Czech Republic

Wine: Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Romania, Rhine region of Germany,
Austria, Hungary, Greece

Vodka: Russia, Sweden, Finland, Poland

kirjoitti viestissä
oups.com...

Vodka: Russia, Sweden, Finland, Poland

Russians drink vodka.

Ireland and UK are "potato and beer cultures".
Italy is I suppose a wheat and wine culture.
Spain, I cant decide, certainly wine.
France: potato and wine?
Can anyone draw a word map of the dominance of the potato, rice
or wheat through Europe, along with beer and wine?

Look at any decent Italian cookbook, and it is really only the south where
Wheat (Pasta, bread) is the main culture.
Up North it is much more potato/rice that prevails.

Ireland and UK are "potato and beer cultures".
Italy is I suppose a wheat and wine culture.
Spain, I cant decide, certainly wine.
France: potato and wine?
Can anyone draw a word map of the dominance of the potato, rice
or wheat through Europe, along with beer and wine?

Look at any decent Italian cookbook, and it is really only the south where
Wheat (Pasta, bread) is the main culture.
Up North it is much more potato/rice that prevails.

The Reids wrote:

Can anyone draw a word map of the dominance of the potato, rice
or wheat through Europe, along with beer and wine?

At the risk that this is just a snapshot: Iam sitting in my garden in
the Munich suburbs and just had some wonderful salmon spaghetti with a
glass of buttermilk :-)

My cellar accomodates changing beer specialities as well as some bottles
of red Bordeaux (for myself) and other wines (for guests), even if I
think the old saying

+-------------------------------------------------------+
| Wine is the stuff you drink when the beer is all gone |
+-------------------------------------------------------+

contains some truth for myself.

Je"Southern Bavaria - Beer; Northern Bavaria (Franconia) - Wine"ns
--
POTIVS AMICVM QVAM DICTVM PERDERE