Eating Around the World

There are so many reasons why I love to travel! I get quality time with family, a break from reality, it’s educational, travel is really fun and I get to experience a different culture. I not only enjoy seeing how different people live but I LOVE being able to enjoy the different cuisines around the world. There’s so many dishes in other countries that I would never have gotten to try if I didn’t travel! Traveling somewhere new opens your eyes and your taste buds to a whole new range of authentic flavor profiles and foods that you would have otherwise been missing out on. Here’s some of the amazing and sometimes odd foods we’ve encountered along our travels.

France

Staple foods in France as a country, especially Paris, include nice bread like baguettes, fine cuts of meat, decadent desserts, expensive cheese and wine. This is one of my favorite countries to eat in! I’m a sucker for pastries and rich foods, so eating my way through Paris was a dream come true. 

While staying there I started every day (and I mean every day for a whole week) with a deliciously flaky, warm, chocolate filled croissant for breakfast.The pastries in Paris are unlike any I’ve ever tasted. While peeking through a bakery window my young daughter even pointed out how everything on the shelves just looks so much better than what we get in the United States. There’s no bright colored dyes or globs of frosting. Pastries are fresh and made with real ingredients which I believe really lets their true flavors shine through.

Even something as simple as a ham and cheese sandwich is amazing in France. I loved what they called a croque monsieur. Start with delicious fresh bread, add thinly sliced ham and sliced creamy Emmental or Gruyère cheese (bechamel sauce is sometimes added into the mix for extra creaminess and flavor). The bread is then topped with grated cheese and dipped in beaten egg before cooking. Finally, it’s baked or fried in a frying pan to give it an amazing all over crunch. Creamy, crunchy and delicious! 

When traveling, keep in mind what you see on a menu isn’t necessarily what you think it is. For example, my son ordered steak haché thinking he’d get a nice steak dinner. Instead, when his plate was placed before him it had what looked like a thin burger with no bun – boy was he disappointed! Apparently steak haché is not actually a steak or a burger, but a steak that has been minced and turned back into a steak.

Another favorite for a snack or meal any time of day is the light, airy crêpe. Not only are they delicious to eat but it’s also really fun to watch them being made! Crêpes are super thin pancakes that can be made sweet or savory, typically rolled or folded with a variety of fillings from jam or Nutella to ham and cheese to seafood.

Finally, you wouldn’t normally associate a trip to France with ice cream but if you’re a frozen treat lover definitely don’t miss trying the oldest and most famous ice cream manufacturer in Paris, Berthillon ice cream and sorbet! Berthillon is known for using only natural ingredients, with no chemical preservatives, artificial sweeteners or stabilizers. Its ice creams are made from milk, sugar, cream, eggs and flavoring, which derives from natural sources like cocoa, vanilla bean, fruit, etc. and boy can you tell the difference! The mango and raspberry sorbet were like eating the actual fruit and the chocolate ice cream was so rich and chocolatey. This stop definitely exceeded my expectations!

Another nice treat in France – I found that drinking wine was actually cheaper than drinking bottled water or soda! You are also legally allowed to take an unfinished bottle of wine home. The restaurant must just re-cork the bottle. Interestingly, there is also a law in France that states that you can bring your own bottle of wine to a restaurant. So, you could always pick up an inexpensive bottle before heading out to dinner.

Italy

Ask an American what Italian food is and you’ll probably be told pizza, spaghetti and meatballs with marinara sauce, lasagna, etc. Well, they’ll kind of be right… our trip through Italy taught me that what you eat in Italy is really determined by where in Italy you are geographically. Rome was full of quaint restaurants with menus full of freshly made pasta dishes although, surprisingly, I rarely saw red sauce on the menu. Rome is most known for amazing Pasta alla Carbonara and I must say what I had there was the best I have ever had in my life. We’ve even tried recreating the dish at home and we just can’t master it!

Unlike Rome, there was not much pasta to be found in Venice or the Amalfi coast. Since they’re located on the water, menus here were full of fresh fish dishes. We are all seafood lovers so this was great although, my daughters were quite surprised when they ordered a plate of assorted fried fish and the dish appeared with whole fish with their tails and heads still on, eyes staring up at them! My son was also surprised when he ordered a caesar salad and instead of the caesar dressing we’re accustomed to, it came out covered in mayonnaise – definitely not what we were expecting or anything that any of us enjoyed eating!

Naples, the birthplace of pizza is where we finally got our dose of really good pizza. Perfect crust with just the right amount of cheese and sauce.

With so many delicious meats and cheeses available we found stopping at a local market was a great inexpensive and delicious option for a picnic lunch. Things like Prosciutto, Capocollo, Soppressata and fresh mozzarella, which are normally expensive options in the U.S. were similarly priced to buying ham and american cheese at home! One tip is to get bresaola, it is so delicious and is not allowed to be imported into the United States. 

Our trip to Italy wouldn’t have been complete without our daily helping of smooth, delicious gelato and our afternoon coffee breaks! I also discovered the Spritz is a refreshingly delicious cocktail.

England

Having a mother born in England, I was introduced to many English menu items at a very young age. Whenever we went over for a visit or family came to the States there was always a grocery list of items to be purchased.The list often included pork pies (little meat pies), pickled onions (small pearl onions that are prepared like pickles), cans of pâte, oxo cubes, various chocolates and anything black currant (normally little pies and Ribena fruit drink). We all looked forward to these delicacies we couldn’t get at home! We would eat these treats among other popular items while visiting. Blood sausage was often on the menu for breakfast and it is exactly as it sounds – it’s a dark black sausage filled with blood that is cooked or dried and mixed with a filler until it is thick enough to solidify when cooled. Sounds horrifying and disgusting, but surprisingly it’s good – although, definitely one of those foods that you don’t want to think about what you’re eating! Fish and chips is another popular and delicious item, usually consisting of a piece of fried fish in crispy batter served with french fries. 

You can’t take a trip to England without having afternoon tea. Not only do you get a pot or two of tea but “afternoon tea” is actually a meal composed of sandwiches (usually cut delicately into ‘fingers’), scones with clotted cream and jam, sweet pastries and cakes.

Finally, the English chocolate bars are some of the best I’ve ever had! Cadbury originally started in England and is still one of the main candy providers there. You may not know this but Cadbury chocolate items produced in England taste very different from those we get in the United States. Next time you consider buying a Cadbury chocolate item check the label, if it’s made somewhere other than England put it back on the shelf and look elsewhere – trust me you’ll taste the difference. Some of my favorites are the Cadbury Fruit and Nut Bar and the Flake.

Canada

We’ve taken a few trips to Canada for family getaways and hockey tournaments and I’ve definitely learned to look forward to certain foods that we can’t find in America. One of those is Poutine, a Québécois dish made of fresh-cut french fries topped with cheese curds and gravy. You can also find various versions with additions like slow cooker roast beef that turn the dish into more of a meal. Whether as a snack, side dish or meal the crunch of freshly made fries and creamy cheese curds is so delicious! I have seen poutine on menus in America, but have never once has it tasted anywhere near as amazing as the Canadian version.

Fondue is another dish not to miss while in Canada. Food is placed on long forks, then is dipped into a communal pot of liquid kept hot in a fondue pot. There’s the traditional cheese fondue served with bread, fruit and vegetables. Fondue bourguignonne, in which pieces of meat are cooked in hot oil or broth. Then my favorite, chocolate fondue! It’s a delicious and fun meal and when in Canada, we often take a night to enjoy all three varieties.

Caribbean

With it’s never ending sunshine, the Caribbean is never at a loss for delicious tropical fruits. Many people are familiar with the more common sweet fruits such as mangoes, papayas, bananas, pineapples and passion fruit but our travels among various islands have introduced me to many others I’d never seen or heard of. Starfruit is a neat one mostly because of the way it looks. Cut this fruit horizontally and you’ll understand its name – it looks just like a star! Soursop, sounds like it should be sour, right? Instead, imagine a flavor combination of strawberry and pineapple with a subtle, creamy undertone. There’s a few other fruits I’ve tried that I wouldn’t even categorize as a “fruit” but they are in fact fruits. Ackee, known as Jamaica’s national fruit, looks like a cross between a brain and scrambled eggs. It has a buttery, nutty taste, and is often prepared scrambled with saltfish, for a traditional breakfast dish. Breadfruit is another odd one, bite into a crispy fried piece of breadfruit and you may mistake it for a potato! It’s a filling staple food around many of  the islands. Jackfruit, when it’s unripe, is used in savory dishes like you’d use meat. However, when ripe,it can be used in cakes, custards or even ice cream. As a result of traveling to the Caribbean, my youngest daughter’s new favorite “fruit” is sugar cane. You cut the cane back at the base and peel away the outer layer. The interior is edible and contains sugar, fiber, and other nutrients – you simply chew on it until it loses its flavor. 

Due to the drier terrain for farming, the Caribbean doesn’t offer the same meat selection as Americans are used to. It’s very common to come across dishes with goat, mutton or ox tail – especially in a stew. I must admit I’ve tried them all and when prepared correctly they’re delicious! 

Since we’re talking about islands, seafood is also usually on the menu but there’s often new additions like flying fish and conch. Also, even though lobsters are consumed, Caribbean Spiny Lobsters are very different from one’s in New England – they have no front claws! Even though they’re super fresh and delicious I find I really miss those meaty claws.

While discovering completely new foods in a foreign country is amazing, so is trying a food you’ve eaten many times before and finding a completely new flavor in it. I’ve found many foods in other countries have so much more flavor than the American versions of them. For example, many pastries and items like mozzarella cheese in Italy have so much more flavor than the kind at your nearest grocery store.The taste and texture of a food somewhere else can be so different that it may seem like you are trying a new food for the first time!

I’ve found that tasting new food while traveling is definitely reason enough to go back to a country someday. Going to a new place, trying new dishes and experiencing new flavors also means you get to come home with new things to try in your own kitchen. Sure, what you make might not taste exactly like what you had while traveling but at least you have some new recipes to try!

Take vacations, go as many places as you can. You can always make money, you can’t always make memories.