Since many of you -us!- have been sick lately, I thought of sending you some vitamins from Paris... Here you go, live from La rue des Martyrs, where I went grocery shopping this morning. You can tell it's winter from the kind of fruit they offer - well except maybe the kiwis that probably come from some exotic place! - A friend of mine tells me this photo also shows something very unusual for non Europeans: plastic wrapped corn. Why on earth would this be unusual?!
Well, I don't know about unusual, but if that's the way corn-on-the-cob shows up in Europe, no wonder Europeans don't think it tastes good. The sugars in corn turn starchy within hours so we always like to get it from a farmstand or at least a supplier that has frequent deliveries -- and we always buy it still in the green husks with its dangling silky golden tassles -- so much prettier and tastier than done up in plastic!
ReplyDeleteNo idea why plastic-wrapped corn would be unusual. Those of us in the U.S. who live in cities and don't have a veggie stand just down the road are very used to seeing corn wrapped in plastic, other than in the summer when we can buy it fresh at our local farmers'markets.
ReplyDeleteFYI - We have plastic-wrapped corn in the U.S. also. In grocery stores, there are plastic-wrapped corn AND loose corn still in it's husk. Yellow corn and white corn...I like the yellow.
ReplyDeleteWell, thanks for the vitamins Eric! I certainly need them. It looks so good, so colorful.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful picture.
I don't see anything unusual about the corn either. Here we have it plastic-wrapped and loose too. Delicious!
No idea, Eric. Looks normal to me. The colours in this are fab and i adore fruit - and veg in fact.
ReplyDeleteHi Mon!!
What? Plastic wrapped corn? And only TWO of them at that? Give me a dozen in their husks to tear away, wash under the sink, boil, and eat with some good melted butter, some salt & pepper and I'm in heaven. I prefer the white corn variety which tastes sweeter and "melts in your mouth".
ReplyDeleteNow on the other hand, apples where I come from have definitely been on a truck from somewhere "up north" or "out west" and are covered in some kind of wax to keep their colour. I think it just depends on where you come from.
Regardless Eric, thank you for the vitamins this morning as I feel a cold comin' on. Must have caught it from you all here at PDP. :-)
Good question, why is the corn wrapped? Great colors, today, great shot! (I sure miss that "coin." for some reason, you don't see that much around here!)
ReplyDelete...or maybe the kiwis come from these huge orchards in FRANCE:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.kiwi-rocca.com/Anglais/Accueil.html
Well...I don't where that corn came from, but the unusual thing[as far as the USA is concerned]is to purchase it already "shucked" and wrapped in plastic. Corn season in the US is usually completely finished by the end of September and one would never buy it already shucked. Americans want it "au naturel" although they do sometimes have bins in the grocery store so you can shuck it there. We used to but it by the "bushel" at the farmstand when I was a youngster.
ReplyDeleteHope you bought clementines and pears for your recovery. I don't know if it is easy to find "sweet potatoes" in Paris, but supposedly they contain a lot of vitamins that we need in the winter. Mangez bien!!
tonton_flaneur, sweet potatoes are not easy to come by in France, but they are becoming more and more available. I'm glad you used the word "shuck" as it conjurs up great memories for this boy from South Florida! The U-Pick-Em stands in the country were a treat for me and the corn stalks so much fun to get lost in.
ReplyDeleteMorning, Eric, and thanks for the vitamins!
ReplyDeleteIn France, kiwis you buy in the summertime usually come from NewZealand, I think 1st producer in the world.
But those on your picture probably come from France, which is 2nd European producer, after Italy.
Production is from November to May, in the SouthWest of France.
More info (in French) there : http://www.linternaute.com/femmes/cuisine/encyclopedie/fiche_composant/140/kiwi.shtml
And certainly more in English on wikipedia, but I didn't check.
Bon dimanche à tous.
coin coin in the left coin ... sorry
ReplyDelete[translation Quack Quack in the left corner]
I won't buy corn shucked and wrapped in plastic, it is likey to have been picked days ago. A man in a market in Italy explained to me that he left the heads on the chickens so that his customers could look into the eye and tell how fresh the chicken was, corn in the husk is kind of like that for someone who knows what they are looking for.
ReplyDeleteDG
Yes, it's the quince that I fancy (coin? if you say so)
ReplyDeleteLooking the chicken in the eye? Oh, my. I don't know about that. I wonder what that little guy from yesterday's post thinks about that! ;)
ReplyDeleteHi Lynnnn !!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDelete:-)
I lived 3 years in this street Rue des Martyrs, number 42, and have wonderful memories of shopping Sunday morning and late at night in this open market street. Thanks for posting this photo, it brings back a lot of wonderful memories!!!!
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Many years ago while visiting a friend in France while she was cooking horsemeat, I told her that Americans don't eat horsemeat, we give it to our dogs. She replied that French people don't eat corn, they give it to pigs!! Do the French still eat horsemeat? Actually it was quite good, could not resist her wonderful cooking. Love your photos.
ReplyDeleteNow isn't that SAD, that people think, plastic wrapped corn is NORMAL??? I think that's so wrong... The other fruit and vegetables don't look very fresh either, but they look NATURAL. The corn looks just fake. You're right, Eric. Plastic wrapped corn is a sign of gone-wrong! Especially in the winter.
ReplyDelete