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Germany = (+/-) France >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Italy
What's with all the bread that resembles bricks and without any salt??? I tried bread/rolls from probably a dozen different Tuscan bakeries (in Pistoia, Prato, Florence, Pisa, Lucca, San Gimignano, Sienna, and several other small towns) over the last 5 days, and it was a constant, not just an aberration from a poorly chosen bakery. Fresh bread (baked that day), without salt, and hard as Tuscan marble. Not just a crispy crust (which the French and Germans do to perfection), but rather so-hard-that-I-can't-eat-without-some-kind-of-beverage-because-I'll-break-the-ridiculously-expensive-dental-work-I-just-had-done. I felt absolutely no attraction. Maybe it's just a Tuscany thing?
I did like the pizza though. Buy it at the out-of-the-way deli or bakery by the kilo, warm or cold. Good stuff.
And the anything with "prosciutto" or "speck" in the name is ridiculously good - although not really any better than German equivalent. But it's cheaper than in Germany and more widely available with all the different varieties. The subtle differences between all the different versions were fun to discover and compare.
I also developed a bit of a man-crush on mortadella. I was much more impressed than I thought I'd be. I know it's only bologna with chunks of pork fat, but I like it.
The french kick the crap out of everyone else when in comes to pastries though. If my company offered to pay me in apple-rhubarb tarts instead of $$$ (we were mostly in Normandy), I'd have to seriously consider their offer...
What's with all the bread that resembles bricks and without any salt??? I tried bread/rolls from probably a dozen different Tuscan bakeries (in Pistoia, Prato, Florence, Pisa, Lucca, San Gimignano, Sienna, and several other small towns) over the last 5 days, and it was a constant, not just an aberration from a poorly chosen bakery. Fresh bread (baked that day), without salt, and hard as Tuscan marble. Not just a crispy crust (which the French and Germans do to perfection), but rather so-hard-that-I-can't-eat-without-some-kind-of-beverage-because-I'll-break-the-ridiculously-expensive-dental-work-I-just-had-done. I felt absolutely no attraction. Maybe it's just a Tuscany thing?
I did like the pizza though. Buy it at the out-of-the-way deli or bakery by the kilo, warm or cold. Good stuff.
And the anything with "prosciutto" or "speck" in the name is ridiculously good - although not really any better than German equivalent. But it's cheaper than in Germany and more widely available with all the different varieties. The subtle differences between all the different versions were fun to discover and compare.
I also developed a bit of a man-crush on mortadella. I was much more impressed than I thought I'd be. I know it's only bologna with chunks of pork fat, but I like it.
The french kick the crap out of everyone else when in comes to pastries though. If my company offered to pay me in apple-rhubarb tarts instead of $$$ (we were mostly in Normandy), I'd have to seriously consider their offer...
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