Flavor Flav

I know I already wrote about food, but Julia Child did a whole book on food, and for good reason. So, another post on the topic wouldn't get old. A lot of my fellow American students here complain that French cuisine isn't what they thought it would be. They commonly express their surprise at how bland it is. I must say I disagree with this. I do not find the food bland at all! I would completely say the opposite: French food is full of flavor. I think in the States we are used to a lot of BAM! We eat a lot of processed, concentrated foods. Just because something is flavorful, doesn't mean it's good. Take Doritos for example, which are full of flavor that jumps all over your tastebuds. This doesn't mean it's quality. (Not going to lie, I love Doritos). I would say that the French cook with more spices than the average American. They don't make "spicy" food though. I do miss that. A piece of meat isn't bland just because it's cooked without a marinade and Mrs. Dash. Taste the meat! I think that French people concern themselves more over the quality of meat than we do in the States. You go to the grocery and you see the WHOLE chicken, beak and feet tucked into it. It's not chopped into little pieces and saran-wrapped. You see rabbits in their God-given form splayed out on their backs in the deli display. They still have their eyes so they even stare at you. When you order shrimp, the whole shrimpie comes, eyeballs, whiskers and all! Seeing the whole animal makes you pay more attention to which chicken you buy and the overall quality.

I've always had home-cookin', and not the kind of cookin' that involves Campbell's condensed soup and crispay onions. I wasn't raised on Velveeta and sody-pop (Thanks Ma and Pa). I do have my fav flavs at home though that are completely disgusting, like easy mac, hot dogs, mexican food (the cheap kind), loaded baked potatoes, so I get how flavor overload makes certain "simpler" dishes less sensational. But to call French food bland is just blasphemous. Ya gotta savor the flavor.