Sorry USA, Europeans have better food and here's why.

[@TypeAshton]

Edit to the Video: There's a slip-up in the numbers I presented - 2.2% of the American population is (roughly) 7.5 million people, and not 2.5 million people. Although hey! for what it's worth: Chicago is still a great visualization. It is just that instead of the city proper, you can consider the "Chicago Metropolitan Area" for a size comparison. Cheers! ❤

[@randyross5630]

@TypeAshton If Europe has better anything than America it is only because we Just Don't Provide European Security but World Security, and You are Not Even Allies, But Leeches! Now Show Some Respect for the People that have Fought and Died for Your Freedom you Ingrate!

[@dontsaycant2448]

I was actually just doing the math as I watched and thought 300M x 2% - 6M, but my numbers were estimates, I am just glad you updated it. There are far too many Americans who not only dont have regular access to nutrition, but even more that do not understand it!

[@normandiebryant6989]

Imagine all those US workers on the $7 minimum wage (or $2-something if they can get tips), working 3 jobs or over 60 hours a week, not having time to cook with proper food and just going to those "food-swamps" to get fast-food for their families. I think there are fewer "working poor" employees in Europe because of their better workplace laws. Plus, it's a culture thing. When touring New York City, we could only find Pizzas, Mexican and Italian restaurants near our hotel. Cheese on everything and almost no vegetables. Don't get me started on the USA's preoccupation with "mince-meat sandwiches" (hamburgers), with even more cheese.

[@PauloFerreira-nz3ml]

​@@normandiebryant6989europe is poor and poor, where are you living? Probably in marte. Joe your comment is ridiculous, europe can not even compete with south america. Europe is poor.

[@JouMxyzptlk]

Where is your "I need to over-engineer this" husband when you need him :D

[@hansbruegger5085]

Over a decade ago, my wife was prescribed diuretic medication to control the swelling in her lower extremities. We then visited my folks in Switzerland, where we ate a variety of (local recipe) foods, whatever looked good to us. about 36h after arrival in Switzerland, my wife's swelling subsided, and she no longer needed to take the medication during our 3 weeks stay. 24 hours after arrival back in the Midwest, my wife's swelling came back and she had to go back to take the medication again. Today we buy food at farmers markets / health food stores and local farms (heirloom tomatoes for all kinds of sauces and salsas) meat from Belti Cows (a.k.a. "Orio-Cows). I make my own European style, dark, splintering, full aroma crusty bread, with organic flour from the USA and some from Canada. My wife does no longer need the medication.

[@marcohorodnichev9489]

Im glad your wife’s feeling better and you found the solution! People from Europe too can suffer from that, but it really depends on the family they grew in and what they are used to eat

[@rvansteensel420]

bruh i just saw ur comment on another video

[@juliii_g]

Key with oedema is salt intake! So your wife most likely had less salty meals/ food in Europe 👌

[@markgun6527]

That is wonderful news! Next time (if conditions allow of course) try Italy or Greece, food there is of even higher quality than in the north of Europe..

[@christiankasermann7266]

@@markgun6527 funny that you consider Switzerland north of Europe...

[@marcohorodnichev9489]

Here in Italy smaller tomatoes are often preferred to larger ones. They pack the most flavour most of the times!

[@nedludd7622]

@@azure-2837 First of all, he didn't imply anything. As for GMO's, it depends on what you mean by safe.

[@azure-2837]

@@nedludd7622 gmo's are safe.

[@BabzV]

​@@azure-2837Not considered safe here in Europe.

[@jimmiekarlsson4458]

@@azure-2837 What u want said with this? he never implied ANYTHING . And who says GMO´s are safe? Monsanto ? the big american company that was one of the 4 big ones that introduced GMO´s ? wich also has a parent company Up john wich is a medical company? that have claimed there medicines they are selling are safe to use to? U Americans know literaly NOTHING about food safety, even your dyes you are using in skittles and mountain dew are causing cancer and other ilnesses and are banned in Europe. Your average americans health and weight is good enouth evidence to see that u know nothing about food safety.

[@ha2de2]

@@azure-2837 Hola, hola, man muss nicht gleich aggressiv werden, bloß weil jemand seine Meinung sagt!

[@dudoklasovity2093]

EU: food additive is acceptable when proven harmless USA: food additive is acceptable unless it's proved harmful BTW absolutely correct information you have about the farmer's markets , here in Slovakia every town and village has farmer's markets on town square where we buy fresh veggies and fruit. (The ones from the store look nice, but they taste like a wet postcard).

[@florimond.]

yup same here in France, at least once a week but usually 2-3 times for larger towns ^^

[@MrMajsterixx]

the problem is proving a negative is almost impossible

[@olivergarcia2304]

Same here in Switzerland. I like fresh milk. Milk turns after a couple of days. I was astonished how long milk didn't turn when I was in the USA. That made me 🤔 (think), wtf am I drinking????

[@Suraknar]

Result : America struggles with Obesity, Cancer, Heart Related Diseases. Please Continue, voting in Politicians that will accept the Lobbying Check instead of your Health.

[@shaunigothictv1003]

excellent analysis @dudos

[@monikasuszek3434]

I am Polish and I can confirm, that we care about seasonal food. Why would I buy strawberries out of season that taste as if they were washed in a washing machine and are terribly expensive? What’s the point? And there are plenty of different seasonal food that are worth waiting for. There’s a special season even for potatoes here - in the summer we buy only the young potatoes that have completely different taste and texture than the ripe ones in the autumn.

[@thomasnittel4561]

In Germany there is of course a season of potatoes, too. The potatoes of fresh harvest in summer (Frühkartoffeln) don't taste good. During the storage period from autumn to spring next year the species of potatoes which are offered in supermarkets change depending on their ability of being stored.

[@NoiseWithRules]

UK too! Us oldies wait for the 'Jersey Royal' new potatoes in season. Youngsters buy whatever is cheap, don't seem to care about taste. I've home-grown spuds and they tasted fantastic, no comparison to dull supermarket clods.

[@jean-pascalesparceil9008]

In France too there are two seasons for potatoes, but for different varieties, summer potatoes are smaller, we call them "pommes de terre nouvelles". And in the region where the soil is very sandy, asparagus, strawberries and carrots are grown, so there are seasons for those too, later than in Spain, earlier than in Germany. I visited both Poland and Germany, I had some excellent meals in both, and beers too, even if I am more used to drink wine (tasted good wine in two regions of Germany too).

[@echinorlax]

I love the "young" potatoes. The taste is distinct enough I actually prefer completely different meats, salads and side dishes with them than with the "all year round" taters.

[@ajuc005]

@@echinorlax young potatoes can be "scrubbed" instead of peeled, and they taste divinely that way. They can be the whole meal :)

[@edward_j_leblanc]

On one of my first trips from the US to northern Germany after meeting my German wife, my mother-in-law was unable to pick us up from the airport and have a meal waiting for us when we arrived. Instead, we went to a greek restaurant nearby after arriving by train and dropping off our luggage. I ordered something that came with a salad and was amazed at how the red bell peppers smelled and tasted. It smelled more like a red pepper than anything I had previously eaten. I asked the waiter/proprietor why the pepper smelled and tasted so good. He explained that he gets up early in the morning three days a week to go to the wholesale market in Hamburg, about 100 miles away. There he buys vegetables that have been only lightly cooled during the entire way from Southern Europe to Hamburg. It turns out that when you cool red peppers (and other vegetables) too much, they lose aroma and flavor. It is important enough for people in Europe to have these aromas and flavors that they take extra effort to handle food in ways to preserve its flavor. (Of course they also keep it safe to eat.) I now live in Karsruhe, at the northern end of the Black Forest, in southern Germany, and have been very satisfied living in Germany for many years. BTW, not everyone cares as much as that restaurant proprietor, but the fact that he was _able_ to get those peppers says volumes.

[@monkeymanbob]

If anyone wants to do a practical test of this. Tomatoes. I never put tomatoes in the fridge because they lose any flavour. And should you ever grown your own (quite an easy crop to grow in aa house or apartment) be prepared to actually taste something amazing.

[@a0flj0]

​@@monkeymanbobIt also depends on the seed. Fortunately, you also have access to tasty heirloom tomato seeds mostly anywhere in Europe.

[@tabithacollins6003]

I live not far from you, with our nearest city being the historical Speyer, a UNESCO World Heritage, designated city, which is just beautiful:-) I too noticed a difference in the quality of the fruit and vegetables, over here, compared to the UK, especially regarding the tomatoes and strawberries…. The village where I live, has lots of strawberry fields, which when in season, smell’s truly amazing when walking the dog, and are the sweetest which I have ever tasted, unlike the small hard tasteless ones, which sometimes are found in the UK, like often the tomatoes. 😞 Our village is also famous for the growing of white asparagus, which until settling over here, I had only ever eaten green asparagus, so the white asparagus, although really expensive, and nicknamed locally as “white gold”, is currently now in season, and we buy both this and the strawberries fresh from our local farmers 🙂 We even have a village “Spargel Prinzessin” ! :-) Just a quick question, how was the culture shock for you - like all the shops being closed every Sunday, and in our surrounding villages, where they still adhere to the old ways, where they close all their shops from midday on Saturday and all day Sunday… Here in my village, unlike probably in your city of Karlsruhe, from Monday to Saturday, between the hours of 12.30 - 14.30, there is “the quiet time”, where you cannot use a lawnmower…or have your dog even bark 😞 In the UK, we used to spend Sunday’s mowing the lawn, and washing the family car on our drive-way,’s, which here is completely forbidden - a foreign work colleague thought that we had been joking, until the local’s reported him after washing his car on his driveway, and the local Police turned up and fined him! Anyway, sending you all the best from another ex-Pat, who had the courage to step out of their “comfort zone”, to relocate to this beautiful and fascinating Country 🙂

[@werpu12]

Yes... it says, welcome to the EU...

[@nedludd7622]

"lose". This makes a difference here. You might want want those products to "loose aromas and flavors" but not "lose aromas and flavors".

[@franziskabertram3286]

German here: Watching this video while cutting up local potatoes and in season local broccoli. So yes, seasonal and regional is important to me while buying/cooking/eating food. It is a cost factor as well (seasonal is a lot cheaper) but definately taste too. I don`t buy winter crops in summer when they taste bitter and cost 3 times as much. I do buy a few tomatoes in winter (just cant resist) but pure tomato + mozarella salads are a weekly thing in summer. :) I think we`re lucky in Europe that areas with totally different growing zones are quite close too. E.g. citrus from Southern Europe are just 300-500km away. Same with Olive oil (or french cheese if I would be so inclined.).

[@tabithacollins6003]

When dating my now German husband, I brought potatoes and parsnip’s over from England, in order to cook a traditional Sunday Roast beef lunch for him and his parent’s. I remember, at the time, my now husband, saying to me “are you crazy, bringing potato’s over to the Palatinate area! “…. Well the roast beef dinner, with Yorkshire puddings and roast potatoes, was a success, and both his parent’s left his home, both clutching their stomach’s, where his Mother said to him, opon leaving, “well with this one you will never starve…” which coming from an excellent cook, touched me deeply… This is my last post, as I have now have to cook Thai Green curry , with Jasmine rice for my husband… :-)

[@tobias_dahlberg]

I believe that the culture/tradition of cooking your own meals is a factor too. Sometimes when I look up recipes online I'll stumble across an American one. In way too many of these recipes will you find "Add 1 cup of whatever brand name pre-made mix". "Crush 5 oreos", do this, do that with some processed brand name product. Here in Sweden you bake with the basic ingredients, you cook with the basic ingredients. Very seldomly do you use pre-made mixes or processed food in your own cooking/baking.

[@testthewest123]

I think that is the main difference. Few germans actually have the time to go to a farmer to buy food, but usually the food I buy at a supermarket is raw vegetables, fruit, cheese, meat and cook it. No finished dishes, besides sometimes a frozen pizza, but that's a rare thing.

[@shimone6116]

That is what surprised me a lot when I lived in the US for about 2 years. Having a party or just inviting some friends for a barbecue people offered much more often to bring some food along compared to germany. However it almost every time was either directly bought at a supermarket or was a mix of processed food. Rarely something with real personal contribution. Another wonderous thing happened when I looked for a good chili recipe with real Anchos etc. All so called award winning recipes from chilicontests etc. included a lot of processed goods and some even ingredients with glutamate.

[@tofu_golem]

I'm American, and I agree. I especially detest some of the spice mixes. For example, what we Americans call chili powder is mostly cumin and has very little chili peppers in it. If you see an American recipe that calls for chili powder, substitute ancho powder, or a blend of ancho powder and cumin. One thing that really bothers me are prepared ingredients made from things most people have in their pantries already. I keep seeing "gyoza sauce" at Japanese stores in America, when that is made from two ingredients every Japanese person has in the pantry. "Ponzu" is rarely made from uniquely Japanese citrus. You can make it by combining soy sauce with lemon or lime. But the worst offender is honey mustard sauce, which many Americans have in their refrigerator. It's made from two ingredients THAT ARE IN THE NAME. There is no excuse for buying bottles of the stuff. If you're using it as a salad dressing, add a tiny amount of mayonnaise for creaminess.

[@tofu_golem]

Americans also buy "salsa" when pico de gallo is ridiculously easy (although a little time-consuming) to make. Tomatoes + onion + jalapeño + fresh garlic + salt + cilantro + lime. It's nice as a dip, garnish, or flavor booster. Think of it as tex-mex mirepoix, but with more possible applications as a raw ingredient/garnish.

[@andrekoniger3020]

​@@tofu_golemAmericans have longer working hours on average and therefore less free time maybe that's a contributing factor in dietary preferences.

[@JmelhouckTGGB]

I went to Germany in December of 2023. As an American, I was blown away. The food not only tasted better (even McDonald’s was way better), but it had a different effect on the body. I noticed I got satiated faster, ate less, had more energy, and never felt overly stuffed. The lack of overly processed food made a huge difference.

[@sandraankenbrand]

And as a European i has the same experience in Asia... there cooking is even fresher. Even eating more I lost 12 pounds in a month... whole I gained that weight in about a week in New York (not eating fast food at all, just the regular italian or steak restaurants) My mother visiting me in asia didn't need insuline anymore...

[@JmelhouckTGGB]

@@sandraankenbrand That’s awesome! I was in Germany for 10 days and lost 16 pounds. I ate all kinds of food and drank beer. I will say though, I did walk a whole lot more than normal since where I live is more car centric.

[@sandraankenbrand]

@user-dr2vg9vj2y in comparison to the US way better

[@gerhardma4297]

@user-dr2vg9vj2y Generalizations are always bad. Awareness of good and healthy food is growing and the kitchen is also adapting. I do think that you can eat very well and healthily in Germany.

[@DSP16569]

@user-dr2vg9vj2y Traditional German food (compared to France and Italy - the european "neightbours") isn't "fancy". Has to do with the history. While in France the absolut (wealthy) monarchy (and lower ranked royal families) made it possible that cooks have access to fancy spices (from the colonies), meat, vegtables and other food from all over france and exotic sstuff grown especially for the Royals in Germany the 300+ tiny dukedoms and kingdoms (that are now Germany) with their mostly poor local leaders could only afford "standard" food from the region. Additional the inherit rules in large parts of Germany (all land is divided to the sons instead of "the oldest son gets all") leads to smaller and smaller farms that barely could feed the farmers themself. The Eifel Region (Better known as Ardennes - even if not exactly the same) or the nearby Westerwald was known for a long time as the poorest areas in Germany (a reason why so many german farmers emigrated to the US and elsewhere). Having enough farm land to grow a pig - was seen as unbelievable wealthy (the Saying "Schwein gehabt" - for "You where happy" (Schwein gehabt = You have a pig) comes from this times). Raising a cow for food unthinkable for most farmers (thats why germans eat mostly chicken or pig meat). Additional most parts of Germany where regions where salt was extremly expensive (have to be imported from France or Spain - or cooked from fresh source water what means a lot of cooking water for only a few ounzes of salt). Spices like pepper - nobody could pay (except maybe the richer royals from the bigger countries). As I said, no colonies where you can import cheap). Without fancy spices available, with expensive salt, unpayable sugar (maybe a little bit honey for sweetness) and maybe ever month a chicken to feed a family of 8 people the food was more based on "Fill the stomage" than exotic, hot spicy food made from vegtables, spiced with herbs from the near by forrest, in season mushrooms. Literally make the best out of the available stuff that you can eat without been poisoned. The reputation of boring tasteless german food is still available. The good part is, that because of "use what is available and never put food in the garbage" - attitude (that is still a little bit engraved in our minds) we experiment a little bit more with food. Like the shocks I often see when americans react to "A German MIXES coca cola and orange fanta and call this Spezi" with a face expression as someone did a war crime that must be punished with death penalty.

[@rasmuswi]

Just a little anecdote. As a Swedish child of the 70s, I have picked strawberries directly in the fields. There used to be those farms where you could just go out in the field and pick as many boxes full of strawberries as you wanted. Once you were done, you would walk over to the farmer and either pay for the number of boxes you'd filled, or by weight. And there was a succession of strawberries that ripened at different times. The first ones were of a type called Precosa, around midsummer, it was deliciously sweet and perfect for immediate consumption, with a little milk and sugar poured over them. A few later came a type called Zephyr, still very sweet, but not as sweet as Precosa. And last, Sengana, an even less sort, mainly suitable for making jam or cooking. I don't know if it still exists, but it has at least become very rare. Cheap labor from Eastern Europe meant the farmers started employing professional berry pickers, that cleared the fields way more systematically than five year old kids and their parents would. The numer of self-pick fields shrank, and the berries were increasingly no longer sold directly at the farm, and you would be clueless about whether it was Precosa, Zephyr, or something else. Also, families wanted more exciting things to do than spending hours picking strawberries. But it was very definitely a very direct connection to the food you ate, one that is now being lost. But Swedes are at least still very excited about strawberry season.

[@philiptaylor7902]

There are still many farms in the UK where you can do this. It's traditional to try one or two, warm from the sun, just to check the quality. Just make sure the farmer isn't watching

[@jensschakies1414]

@@philiptaylor7902 Ha! I remember my childhood, when here - in northern Germany - we went to the countryside every now and then to "collect berries ourselves". If we didn't have an insider tip about where a wild berry field grew in a forest, we could fill the buckets we brought with us ourselves in a strawberry field. The farmer collected by weight. The joke: it was expressly allowed to “try” the strawberries. So we started by devouring the berries - and throwing a few into the bucket while our mouths were still full! But the fruit was so filling that after a few bites we lost our appetite and concentrated on gathering. The farmer knew this from experience, so he didn't need to forbid it.

[@artpost854]

In southern Germany, this method of strawberry picking is still practiced today.

[@anamariaclaragrama-asztalo5562]

Austria. I am waiting for the strawberry season to eat my full for the year. Maybe make a few jars of jam.

[@FriedrichHerschel]

The village were my grandparents live as one of these farms. In the summer the road to it gets sooo crowded, we have to use a small detour to avoid this road when visiting them. We get our strawberries then from our grandparents who get them for us outside of tourist hours.

[@tmpBO]

Oh boy is there a lot to say on this subject. Well done. I’m a chef that has travelled to Italy for 21 years and have now lived in Italy for 10. The cultural priorities and preferences cannot be emphasized enough. As you mentioned, bad ingredients with no flavor and too many preservatives would not be acceptable here. The basic knowledge that so many Italians have about seasonality and what products are local is so often impressive. Italians are also taught more about nutrition and exercise so there is an overall better understanding about how to take care of oneself. (And a desire to do so.) One thing I always notice when I go to the US to visit is the packaging. There is so much plastic. You’ll see pre-prepped vegetables with pictures of cute little veggies with smiley faces all wrapped so perfectly and conveniently with no connection to the earth and where the food comes from. In Italy there is much more natural food available. You’ll see vegetables with their tops attached, dirt and evidence that the product was from the ground. People like knowing exactly where their food is from. You can’t do that when the product was harvested so long before in another country. I often have friends and family tell me that there are food items that make them sick in the US but they can eat them freely here. It’s incredible. When we moved here it was rather shocking at first to see how quickly items went bad. What have I been eating my whole life? Broccoli last only a few days here but weeks in the US? It’s scary. Convenience is definitely the priority in the US. On a visit home I once made my daughter homemade waffles and my husband’s family could not understand why I would bother when there were Eggos in the freezer! The flavor difference and the lack of chemicals in the homemade version meant nothing to them. Another thing I find interesting is that there are convenience foods here but the ingredient lists are so short comparatively and not too bad. High fructose corn syrup for example is banned in the EU. One Italian friend once mentioned a connection between national healthcare and the incentive to take care of oneself and to educate the public so that there is a healthier populace. It taxes the healthcare system less that way. In the US with our for profit healthcare, what incentive to leaders have to educate the public? The health insurance and drug companies are making much more money this way… A sick population gives them higher profits.

[@peter_meyer]

"A sick population gives them higher profits." Oh. My. God.

[@Hodoss]

Totally agree with your Italian friend, I've noticed the same thing here in France. We have quite the "nurse state", it's omnipresent, for example ads for unhealthy foods are obligated to show the message "For your health you must eat at least 5 fruits or vegetables per day", 2L soda bottles have been banned (1.75L max), etc... It makes sense within the Universal Healthcare system. The State is effectively our main Health Insurance, making it in their interest to try their best to keep us healthy and prevent rather than cure ailments. It may feel overbearing to an American, and even to me sometimes, like when I suddenly couldn't buy my usual 2L coca bottles, I drink it reasonably and bigger bottles are cheaper, so I felt unjustly penalised, I guess they made some general calculation that predicted it would improve health overall. But those are trivial frustrations compared to what I see in the US, which seems to be the perverse reverse. You may feel more free at first, until your body starts failing, then the for-profit system has you caught in their web.

[@tmpBO]

@@Hodoss web indeed. I much prefer the preventative side of things. It’s better for one’s quality of life and health. Our bodies should not be for profit. It’s so brutal and cruel.

[@SurpriseMeJT]

American life is a huge scam. You make money so someone else can steal it from you. The whole government, the lawyers, the doctors all support it and don't give two craps about people. I used to work in Healthcare and the doctors lobbied against universal healthcare. Americans will never get universal healthcare because it keeps people desperate for their jobs which provide the insurance, giving all the power to the employers.

[@TheCyborgEnchi007]

As someone born and still living in the US, who has only visited one other country (Costa Rica) my entire life, discussions with my German friend have focused a LOT about how different Germany is vs the United States. Health "care" (scoff) is ABSOLUTELY for profit here. I've spoken with him about the 7+ years I've been dealing with this ridiculous for-profit medical system, hitting walls every time I try to gain knowledge about why I'm in so much pain 24/7. I've gone through tons of specialists, had surgery, finally caved on taking medication... to no avail. The general consensus is that it's "all in my head" (sure, totally imagining this chronic pain 😑)... If you were in constant pain, your mental health would deteriorate, too, yeah? But I digress... I can't afford truly organic, healthy food (can't work due to physical/mental issues). Our farmer's markets are quite expensive, and even still, I don't know how they farm their food. I'd like to believe that it's all ethically sourced and avoids pesticides etc, but it doesn't really matter because the prices are so high. Yet another reason why I would REALLY like to be able to move out of this country and somewhere with better and actual health CARE and food, amongst many other benefits we don't have here.

[@-AJaj]

I'm from Germany, I love Italian food. When the food is cooked and prepared directly by an Italian, everyone in Europe knows that it only contains the best ingredients! the French are similarly meticulous. However, I like the Italian dishes best. Mediterranean. the Italians have a good nose for the best restaurants. If you ever see Italian tourists outside of Italy sitting in a restaurant, you know that this is the best restaurant in the area! If you're on holiday in Italy, it's a holiday for your taste buds!

[@Nr4747]

I absolutely agree on Italian food - on average, it's the best ! However, having a great nose for finding the best restaurants is something that can be learned by non-Italians aswell. I'm German, too, but I have a great nose for finding the best places - I've been a "foodie" my whole life and it's trained me well xD

[@CaptainDangeax]

I'm French and I totally agree. We went to Italy in spring, the food is so good there. In Portugal 2 years ago, it was also wonderful. Astrian food (we went there this summer) is not that good and we had to go to Italian and Turkish restaurants to find good meat

[@reestyfarts]

@@CaptainDangeax Only problem is some major piece of equipment will break down with parts impossible to find.

[@lucianorosarelli-xr5lr]

is true we are truffle dog for a goodness delikatessen restorant too and we are proud of this hi from venice

[@ZenoLee0]

Tomatoes are an excellent example. The tomatoes I've experienced in Italy, Albania, and Greece are a world apart from the softball sized, bland monstrosities that are the norm in American supermarkets. I remember sitting at a random restaurant in the mountains of Albania and ordering a tomato salad that consisted nothing other than olive oil, tomatoes, and salt, and it tasted so good. In France, I can go to any random supermarket and buy a peach. It's sweet, juicy, and soft. In the US, they are huge, and taste like cardboard, even when it's considered "organic", from Whole Foods.

[@Robynhoodlum]

My aunt and I live in Minnesota and when peaches come into season we buy a crate of peaches directly from a small grower in Colorado and have it shipped to us. Best peaches I’ve ever eaten. I can’t stand store bought peaches now. I only wish we could grow peaches locally!

[@mikomikasa3958]

Peaches used to be amazing. I live in GA, I'm an EXPERT on this peach shit. Growing up we had juicy, run-down-your-chin, sticky, sweet peaches that just could make your whole summer afternoon. You'd smell them on your hands after eating them, even after you washed your hands. I'm talking peaches from the local supermarket, not even straight from the farm or anything. Those pick-your-own peaches were on a whole other level! Now, in the same place where we profess to have the best peaches on offer in the US, they taste like cardboard. Hard, no flavor, you can taste the pit more than anything. I never buy peaches anymore. They bring them to the store unripe and peaches don't ripen off the tree. They can soften, but they don't ripen anymore. My daughter has NEVER had the kind of peach I had in my childhood, I literally cannot find them, and that makes me incredibly sad.

[@youoptigan]

The best tomatoes I ever had was in Syria. Firetruck red, super juicy, fleshy and tasty beyond belief. They harvest them three times a year.

[@petergaskin1811]

I frequently sail in Greek waters on holiday. I love Greek tomatoes. The uglier they look, the better they taste.

[@YourBeingParanoid]

I have the same attitude towards men@@petergaskin1811

[@pumpjackpiddlewick]

I came across this argument as a guide in France to mostly American tourists. Many tried foods, such as French breads or cheeses, when at home they said they would not eat them. And then told me they had less or no reaction. Which made me really wonder what all is put in American foods. I would take my guests to local French markets and buy something seasonal for them to taste, such as strawberries or raspberries. The comment was always how cute, and small, these fruits were. And then, after tasting, how amazingly flavourful. I appreciated food here in France before, but now even more so. Thank you for your insightful and very well researched video.

[@Arltratlo]

i got ask by Americans why I, a German, travel to France.... food, girls and sun... and i like to sight seeing old buildings!

[@RoonMian]

Additives in food products in Europe and the USA are very differently regulated. The FDA has a much more laissez-faire approach. That's the reason why for example fruit loops cereal in the USA has popping neon colours and is much more muted in Europe.

[@piccalillipit9211]

@@RoonMian Most US food is literally illegal here in the EU. Even if we have the same brand name product - its a completely different set of ingredients.

[@MasterShake9000]

A good example with bread is that most American bread uses quick yeasts, which don’t break down as much gluten as traditional yeast does. Further, most American wheat varieties have very high gluten loads to begin with compared to the varieties more common in Europe (esp with items that have DOP status and typically require a heritage variety be used). Finally, because we have laws in America that lost basic breads must be fortified with vitamins, a common tactic for making white flour is to take out the bran as normal, but then bleach it, grind it, and add it back. This is because it has roughly half of the nutrients in whole wheat, and it’s cheaper to do this than to make genuine white flour and then add even more vitamins and minerals on top. Half the gluten is also in that bran, so this means American white flour also has double the gluten. TL;DR: European white flour: lower starting gluten levels in the wheat, half removed when making it white flour, more removed by the traditional yeast American white flour: much higher gluten levels in wheat, effectively none removed by making it “white” flour, little removed by yeast fermentation. Hence why it’s very common for Americans to have gluten intolerances (in general, not celiac in particular) to American breads but don’t suffer with French baguettes or German rye bread or Italian pasta.

[@somerandomdude3651]

​@@RoonMian In another video comparing European and American bread, the creator mentioned that American bread (considered 'Toast' here in Germany) contains a softener that is otherwise used in polymer foams such as yoga mats and is totally illegal as food ingredient in the EU. Bon appetit 😵

[@Knelgax]

When I was 16 years old in the early 80s, visiting the US for the first time, my host parents ordered a whole bucket of chicken wings from KFC. We dined at 'all you can eat' restaurants and paid only 5 dollars for it. For me as a young German it was fascinating and repulsive at the same time.

[@lorrilewis2178]

People can choose to eat that way, but most don't. My US household doesn't.

[@svensulzmann4282]

Not every American eats at KFC there are much more options especially today. I don’t feel that KFC is repulsive it taste pretty good for what it is and has its place.

[@philipprinkens4659]

@@svensulzmann4282 my guess would be the quantity was the repulsive/fascinating part not the quality?

[@svensulzmann4282]

@@philipprinkens4659 the quality isn’t bad it tastes quiet good. Wouldn’t eat KFC always but sometimes it’s fun.

[@mobsiesixsixsix9785]

@@svensulzmann4282 The chicken is still full of really bad stuff even if you don't go to KFC.

[@kernoelnerd]

Greetings from a former part time small (or, in terms of average US farm sizes: microscopic) farmer from Austria growing peaches for about 20 years. On the the average, we sold about 75 to 100 % of the fruits directly from the farm (some people bought 0.5 kg, some 40 to 60 kg and above), sometimes customers waiting for the harvesting, sometimes even strolling through the lines with the trees while we were just harvesting the fruits they were going to buy a few minutes later. And of course my parents were keen that each child who wanted to could fetch his/her own peach from the tree (under guidance to correctly grab this sensitive fruit). Quite romantic view, I know and also not possible if a family's income really depends totally on farming, but nevertheless a time in my life I wouldn't like to have missed.

[@cujoyyc4453]

When I was about 8, my thrifty (she complained if a loaf of bread was more than 20¢ at the store), widowed mom took me to the area north of Quebec City to ensure I experienced something special. We stopped at a roadside artisanal bakery that used a wood-fired outdoor clay or brick oven. She bought me a slice, a SINGLE SLICE of freshly baked bread with hand churned butter for 25¢! It worked. All these decades later, it's a wonderful memory.

[@MrKieras666]

I could never understand people who skimp money on basic foods.

[@cujoyyc4453]

"widowed mom" She was on a tight budget for years. Thankfully, she was a great cook and made virtually all of our meals and was thrifty enough that she could squeeze a nickel into a quarter - in SPITE of complaining about 'expensive' loaves of bread at the grocery store. @@MrKieras666

[@gwirgalon3758]

@@MrKieras666 has to do with abuse survivor histories, usually...

[@artpost854]

In our small village of 600 people in the south of Germany, we still have a family bakery that has existed for many centuries and bakes only 2 types of bread using old-fashioned technology in a wood-fired oven. The bread there is a bit more expensive than the usual chain bakeries, where the bread is also quite good, but here it is much tastier and smells better. So I buy a loaf of fragrant bread from them at least once a week...

[@inelouw]

I live in North Macedonia and pepper season is a cultural phenomenon here, everyone goes out and buys the freshest peppers to make their own ajvar. You can smell roasting peppers everywhere at the end of September.

[@ericsemrow231]

Sounds like I have somewhere to be at the end of September!

[@fannyfatale404]

I love how every European country has their obsession with a particular vegetable or fruit. Hope you'll have a good harvest this year!

[@panuntukan]

Once you have tasted homemade Ajvar, you cannot bear ketchup anymore.

[@aleksandars.7782]

@@panuntukan Never put Ajvar and ketchup in the same sentence.

[@m.aj11]

As a Serbian girl obsessed with juicy tasty peppers and ajvar I second that! Where I live (western Europe) peppers are pathetic, as are pretty much tomatoes, any kind of berries etc...

[@Maria..Carina-y6x]

Most people don't know that the taste of fruits/vegetables, is mainly given by the nutrients they have. tasteless fruits/vegetables, don't have minerals, vitamins, and other nutrients. so buying in season and buying organic, if posible, it's a win win situation. it's healthier, more nutritious, better for the environment, and sometimes even cheaper.

[@IsmaelLuceno]

This. Exactly. It tastes good because taste evolved to guide us to eat food that is nutritious.

[@TheFamousMockingbird]

organic will not inherently be bette,r in season will though. you can have non organic fruit and vegetables that have the same minerals, vits and other things but more reliably

[@florisvansandwijk6908]

In the 1980s and 90s, Dutch tomatoes were called Wasserbombe (water bomb) in Germany because they were big and looked very good, but they tasted like water, and the Dutch tomatoes lost their market share because of it.

[@marcromain64]

Also known at this time as the three states of matter: solid, gas and Dutch tomatoes. 😉

[@mina_en_suiza]

One has to admit that Dutch Tomatoes have hugely in quality since then. Especially in Summer, they can be pretty good.

[@ronaldderooij1774]

True, but it triggered a lot of research to bring back the flavor of tomato into Dutch tomatoes. And they seem to be better now. Not top notch, but not water bombs either anymore.

[@pumpjackpiddlewick]

I remember this. And have seen the argument that a lesson has been learned. And yet, still one is not inclined to purchase Dutch tomatoes. The memory sadly still lingers.

[@mina_en_suiza]

@@ronaldderooij1774 True. Whilst flavour has come back to Dutch tomatoes, there are still pretty low on the quality scale. Nothing beats the tomatoes freshly picked from the own balcony or garden. Next come locally produced fresh tomatoes during the season, then organic ones from sunny countries and well after that, the greenhouse products from Spain and Holland.

[@lizziemallow]

I'm French. I had a school exchange in Florida a few years ago, and I was baffled at how different food culture is in America. Frying bacon is considered cooking skill. Everything tastes bland. Vegetables look like they're grown directly in their plastic bag. Biscuits and cereals are colored so crazy it makes you doubt how safe for consumption it is. And I don't mean to disrespect, I'm just highlighting how alien it looks from a European perspective

[@libertyman3729]

My three son's learned how to cook when they were four or five, adults now and passing it down now to there children. Not all parents can really cook much less teach there kids, I mean really cook from scratch and make three meals a day, My one son can also bake from scratch(meaning starting with flour not a box mix ) . It's about education and it's a parents responsibility, stop pushing off parental responsibility. 🇺🇸

[@lizziemallow]

@@libertyman3729 there’s a broader sense of culture to take into account. Cooking isn’t necessary learned from your parents. I don’t know about the US, but here, it’s common practice to ask a friend their recipe when you come over for dinner. Because you invite your friends to a full course meal, which would be mostly handmade, though a lot of people just buy the dessert at a pastry shop. At school, it’s common practice to prepare a homemade cake on your birthday to share with class. Box mixes are expensive and not very common, so of course you’d make it from scratch.

[@Mehwhatevr]

everything tastes bland? You should have came and visited us in New Orleans. :D

[@lizziemallow]

@@Mehwhatevr if I get the chance one day I'll happily oblige :D

[@Mehwhatevr]

@@lizziemallow I should add that it's not lost on me that you're French and New Orleans... lol. :D ( technically there's a bit of spanish and west african thrown in there too, but nevertheless)

[@burggva]

I am from the Czech Republic. It is quite common here to find trees along roads connecting villages where apples, pears, walnuts, cherries, plums, and even sour cherries grow, and you can pick them completely for free. Not only people without money have access to fresh fruit during the season, but they can even earn some extra income by picking and selling them afterward. We have forests here where you can pick blueberries, wild strawberries, mushrooms. None of what I've mentioned here did I see as an option when I visited the USA (Washington).

[@whatacnut]

In the USA someone would eventually pick all the fruit and nuts from the trees, and then sell it. It‘s mainly a different mentality than we have in Europe.

[@iglidor]

​@@whatacnut You absolutely can do that in Czech Republic too. Its just not effecient to do on massive scale since you can not compete in quantity or quality with regular farmers. There is also law making it illegal to use industrial methods for harvesting bushes and trees outside of farm fields,mostly to prevent careless individuals from causing damage. I am talking about machines that shake entire tree for you, or the rake-box that can gather berries fast (but also can kill the plant if you are careless). If you want to earn a bit of cash, you can always just pick what you can find and sell it for cheap by the road. But what is most common is that drivers will take a break, park on side of the road and go grab bunch of fruit to snack on.

[@MaartjeTosca]

those trees are a legacy from the days of communism.

[@einflinkeswiesel2695]

@@whatacnut In Germany someone would pick most of the fruits, sell them and then go to jail because they didn't have a trade certificate

[@weird-guy]

in mine most aren´t fruit trees but yes can pick from them, most people with land/gardens have fruit tree like oranges,clementaines, pears,apples ect and neighbours give them out to your althought most end up no been picked, some old people still produce wine,olive oil, make marmelade and work the farms even after retirement, unfortunately even here food quality is going down for years especially if you buy cheap, because of ukraine war most bakeries sell sh*t bread still probably better than usa bread😂 Big food culture here although the younger generations is more americanized so our culture will probably die.

[@scodellina5482]

I am italian and my uncle grows crop to feed bulls and get great meat. It is a small business with 200ish animals and he sells them as certified, high quality meat bread and fed locally. Also, I have a small garden where I grow tomatoes and I can confirm that they taste better than the ones I buy at the supermarket. with 12 plants I feed my family tomatoes all summer and autumn long. I also grow hot peppers, green beans, salad, onions, fennel and radicchio depending on the season. Next to me lives an old couple in retirement and he has the passion for gardening and he grows a lot of stuff which he then gives us and others for free. Obviously we (us and the other people he gives vegetables and fruits to) are happy to help when we can when they have problems.

[@Aine197]

After traveling in the US for a few weeks, I was so happy to finally find a bakery that offered sour dough bread. And the I was very disappointed because the bread tasted so sweet that it resembled a Hefezopf in Germany. This seems to be a general rule - every food item in the US is usually much sweeter than its equivalent in Germany

[@666Tomato666]

that's corn subsidies to you, it gets to the point that if it doesn't have HFCS, it's not food in the US.

[@SkipGole]

Yes, finding good bread is very difficult in the USA. Ashton talked about how we accentuate convenience over quality, which is the best way to explain the problem. I live in the D.C. area, and there are a couple of authentic bakeries, which have good bread.

[@maidsua4208]

Even wheat flour tastes sweet.

[@BrandonLeeBrown]

@@SkipGole When we lived in Arlington, there was a very good, small bakery down the street and we could smell fresh bread baking at 4:30AM. Back when I lived in Germany, there were maximum price controls are basic food items, such as bread and milk. Of course everybody sold them at the same maximum allowed prices.

[@erastvandoren]

Make it yourself

[@allie2253]

I just got home 2 weeks ago, from a two week vacation in France. in the US, I am unable to eat bread or gluten products and dairy. I have been diagnosed with celiac disease and lupus, and can confirm that eating either of these classes of food cause me headaches, joint pain, gas, bloating, diarrhea, nighttime reflux, runny nose, itchy skin, and more. I can't drink coffee without having instant severe heartburn. yet when I visit Europe, I can eat a daily breakfast of bread with butter and jam and cafe au lait without any discomfort. I can eat the wonderful ham and butter baguette sandwiches for lunch, cheese course after dinner, Italian pasta and pizza, an afternoon espresso- all without any stomach upset. and after just a few days there, despite walking miles every day as a tourist, I have way more energy, no headache, don't wake up in the morning aching all over, and sleep beautifully. in the two weeks since I've been home, despite sticking to my US 'can't-eat-that' rules of no dairy or gluten and cooking mostly at home, I feel my body stiffening, my gut rebelling, my reflux has returned with a vengeance, and I can't sleep more than 3 hours at a stretch. I want to return to Europe permanently. not just because I physically feel like a functional human there, but because the culture and life norms there are just kinder and more humane in almost every way

[@k.schmidt2740]

If I were a betting person, I would bet that you are allergic to the pesticides etc. with which the grains and the coffee are sprayed.

[@Bobrogers99]

In much of the US, our food purchasing is car-centered. We drive to the supermarket in our big SUVs once a week, or every two weeks, so food that "keeps well" is important. That's reflected in the size of an "American style" refrigerator referred to in European real estate videos. In Europe, smaller shops within walking distance allow more frequent food purchases, so the bread they buy is more likely to have been baked that day, and the produce is more likely to have been recently picked from more local gardens. They don't need huge refrigerators and freezers. As pointed out here, shelf life is a big deal in the US, and the handful of huge corporations that provide most of our foods favor breads with additives to keep it "fresh" and vegetables that can spend ten days in a freight car and still look good. Taste and nutrition are not important. I once had a supermarket tomato that I bought just as the local ones were becoming available, and it sat forgotten on the counter for over three weeks. It looked exactly the same, though when I sliced it open I saw that its seeds were germinating. What kind of tomato never goes bad? One that tastes like plastic or cardboard, I guess. ;-)

[@thomasnittel4561]

The same thing with tomatoes in German supermarkets 🙁

[@jessicaely2521]

You can shop once a month and still get good food that lasts. It's called the freezer. I go to the store once a month and my garden or farmers market once a week for fruits/vegetables, milk, or eggs. Bread is made by me and frozen, pasta is made by me, pizza dough is made by me, etc. People think they need garbage in their food for it to last, but this isn't true.

[@mobsiesixsixsix9785]

So basically people in the USA are full of bad preservative, chlorine and steroids..... Nice...

[@EvaCornelia]

In the 2000s I noticed that the tomatoes I bought in my German supermarket felt like plastic and tasted like nothing. Around the same time I noticed that chicken meat bought from another cheap German supermarket tasted like poop. That was when I started calculating if I could afford to buy and eat mostly organic products. I needed to drive a bit to find the next organic supermarket and mostly bought price reduced items, but they all tasted SO well and I also needed to eat much less to feel saturated. I am still mostly eating organic food nowadays, and I also don't want to support factory farming or have my eggs from chicken who never saw the light of day. It's a pity that organic food is so much more expensive, and in Austria it's even more expensive than in Germany, and that so many households won't be able to afford this kind of food.

[@baramuth71]

Exactly, and that's the bad thing about the American food industry that they put food with so many chemicals and harmful ingredients on the market. It should be clear to them that these are harmful to humans, but they are not. They don't care about people, the only thing that counts is the money in their pockets. They don't care whether a person is harmed by it or not, you can go and see an expensive doctor, what an irony and the cycle shows itself every day.

[@stefanheinzmann7319]

To be fair, by residing in Freiburg, Ashton has probably chosen the most food-oriented region in Germany. With France's Alsace region just across the border, you literally wade in excellent produce of all sorts. It also shows in the restaurant business, with a fairly high density of high class restaurants, and even the "simple" restaurants frequently offering excellent food. Just look at the number of Michelin stars to be found either side of the Rhine within an hour's drive from Freiburg! A gourmet's paradise!

[@alrichardsonfrench6287]

Excellent video. I live in the States, but generally spend up to six weeks a year in Europe, France mostly. During these trips, I always lose weight. Two factors: I walk more in Europe and the meal portions are somewhat smaller. Smaller they may be, but they are almost always more satisfying than what is on offer here. I think that the entire food supply chain is infused with a sense of pride in the product that is lacking here.

[@holgerschurig4430]

You need to add more food to your diet that has fiber (roughage?). They swell inside your stomach, and create a feeling of satisfaction earlier than food without it. Also, they are not digested in the stomach, but go to you intestines. Where a whole lot of helpful bacteria feast on them, creating short-chained fat acids from them. Which in turn is very healthy and ALSO help with weight.

[@Joffboff-do1nn]

Sugar is also a factor... The amount of sugar americans put in things like store-bought bread is astonishing.

[@Robynhoodlum]

@@Joffboff-do1nnTHIS! I’m diabetic and I can’t even trust meat, dairy, fruits, or veggies at face value. Forget about grain-based items like bread!😂

[@hans-jurgenoberfeld343]

Just take a potato. Potatoes come from the American continent and Farmer has worked with the potato and experimented with breeding. German potatoes taste great and are healthy. US American potatoes have been bred to be huge and taste like nothing.

[@terranaxiomuk]

It's because the whole health insurance and pharmaceutical industry is massive money in America. In europe we pay tax for a service. A healthcare system that we are entitled to. Healthcare is a right in europe.

[@stevecochrane9531]

Thanks, Ashton! I am Canadian, spent 15 years in New York City, and am approaching four years living in sunny Valencia, Spain. When we lived in NYC, we enjoyed restaurants that catered to the European philosophy about eating - find the best, freshest ingredients based on the area and the time of year. One place we liked offered different specials based on what was fresh that day or season, and we always enjoyed that. Moving to Spain moved this philosophy to a whole new level! In our geographic area, we grow rice, tomatoes, peppers, olives, artichokes, onions, and many types of seafood. "Jamon" (ham) is everywhere in Spain, too. It's funny that you spent more time talking about tomatoes, but in my experience the foods that have the biggest difference in taste between North America and here are tomatoes, peppers (green and red - not spicy), and olives. One can even enjoy an artichoke beer here! Saffron and paprika are abundant here, too, which adds to many dishes. Hopefully, more areas in the U.S. and Canada can adopt the "zero-km meal" philosophy, even if it is done restaurant by restaurant. Take care!

[@nickgooderham2389]

We live in the Ottawa Valley about an hour west of Ottawa. In the summer there are farmers markets everywhere. We get all our meat and vegetables from local growers at better prices than the grocery store chains. It's only in winter that we have to rely on the chain stores. You can get the same if you live in Ottawa proper, you just have to pay a little more and make the trip to the local farmers market.

[@Lea-zf7lm]

I live in the Montreal area and grow a lot of my vegs, and buy the rest at farmers' markets to either freeze or jar for the winter. I usually don't buy much veg or fruits until spring rolls around. I bake bread every 3 days using locally grown and ground unbleached flour. I make all my food from scratch because it's cheaper, easier, and tastier.

[@andymod]

I moved to Toronto from overseas, and my main grocery shopping point is St Lawrence Farmers Market in the downtown. And I'd say that even in supermarkets there are a lot of fresh and good quality food (if you choose it, as there are always American-style crap nearby). In general, after being many times in different European countries and having relatives here (so I know not only restaurant food), I'd say that if you will be a little careful and picky here in Canada, it is possible to get there nearly the same quality food as in Europe.

[@stevecochrane9531]

@@Lea-zf7lm Good plan! My grandmother used to live a few blocks from the Jean-Talon market. As kids, we went there once in a while, but only since we moved to Spain did we really focus on this philosophy. If we move back to Montréal, we might look at Park Ex, or maybe near the Atwater Market.

[@marilarue]

Yes, Valencia has a winter seasonal tomato that’s a killer. I got it at the Mercado Central and with a dash EVOO and a pinch of salt it was pure heaven. Tarragona also has a variety that doesn’t leave outside their territory and the tomato is used for bread and tomato rub. Though you find some varieties tomatoes in the US nothing compares to the local produce of Spain.

[@patrickburnand1404]

If you can't make it your kitchen, it's not food. Many US citizens never cook from scratch.

[@Nertez]

My mom was in Cali few years back for like a month or two and she said it was a nightmare to buy groceries there. We are used to cook. Every dayu. I rarely eat out or order. The culture in Europe is HOME COOKING. In my country, Slovakia, local (european) vegetables and fruits are one of the cheapest items in the supermarket. You can get bag full of basic healthy vegetables and pay few €. But everything was super expensive in USA and the only cheap thing was like... almond milk (well, because Cali I guess). No wonder no one cooks there when you can get a "dollar menu" in some fast food garbage chain.

[@lorrilewis2178]

I'm in the US and we cook all our meals - pretty sure we aren't unicorns. I moved to a rural area and we have a regional grocery store, Walmart, and a farmers market during growing season. Even Walmart has plenty of organic produce nowadays.

[@miskatonic6210]

​@@lorrilewis2178"Home cooking" has a very different meaning in the US 😅

[@mina_en_suiza]

I get confused every time I read "Cali". For me, it is the city in Colombia, not "Fornia".

[@svensulzmann4282]

I think fast food isn’t garbage it has its place but as with all things in life too much isn’t good. Home cooking in California is a growing thing and you can save money at least with 3 people house holds.

[@Zynt0xik]

​​@@miskatonic6210not necessarily. I'm European and moved to the US and I'd say it's a mix. I love cooking and definitely cook more than my husband's family. I have never encountered people that cook so little in my entire life, and the few times I've seen them "cook" it has been mostly pre-made stuff maybe mixed together and then heated up, nothing from scratch, and are easily impressed by home made mayo or pie crusts. But then I have also met people that are completely opposite and make *everything* that they viably can make themselves from scratch, which even to me seems exhausting. I just feel like there is less of a middle ground here compared to what I've seen in Europe.

[@antoniskalakonas1876]

I am from Greece and the farmers market is the way to go for getting quality ingredients for your home kitchen. The prices are better than the Supermarket, the selection is great, you support financially the farmers in a direct way and seasonal products are the King! also, complimentary tasting on the spot is actually encouraged by the farmers, so you never feel that you have to do a blind test for the produce you get. extra bonus all the limited quantity special harvests that you find! Every neighbourhood gets them at least once a week, sometimes 3 times a week is different locations.

[@micheltbooltink]

I live in the Netherlands. For a few years now we have been getting almost all our vegetables, fruit, meat and eggs from a number of local farms. Even the flour we use to bake our bread (or pizza) at home is grown and ground locally. The price is about the same as the supermarket, but the taste is 1000x better.

[@mina_en_suiza]

Just a general remark on the channel: I don't know, how it is possible to put out a high quality video (well researched, well written, well presented, well produced) every single week without a large team behind it. Having seen many big KZbin channels dying in the last year or so, due to total exhaustion of the makers. I hope, this doesn't happen to this one. I'd be totally happy to see it switching to a fortnightly schedule, but Ashton keeping her health.

[@wordsmithgmxch]

Oh, she'll do okay. "She" recently contacted me because of a comment, saying she wanted to chat. I bit, and soon found myself in a chat with a (probably) non-native English speaker inviting me to participate in a give-away (Iphone, MacAir) and asking for my FULL contact info, age, etc. so she could send the swag. Um, NO. Dunno what the scam is, but I got the impression that the channel is staffed, and being monetiized on multiple levels.

[@oddmented]

@@wordsmithgmxch sounds like a clear scam which has nothing to do with this channel.

[@mina_en_suiza]

@@wordsmithgmxch I'm sorry to tell you, you fell for a scammer. These scams by people impersonating channels' hosts are not uncommon on KZbin (they have become less frequent lately, though).

[@bobfry5267]

You were being scammed by someone else. Stay alert. @@wordsmithgmxch

[@dr.paulwilliam7447]

She can keep up because she is super motivated. That simple. And she is a very intelligent woman. No doubt ;)

[@luciafrau125]

I spent 1 year in south carolina, i dindt regulrly eat at McDonald's or nothing like that but i gained so much weight i went from thin to overweight... when i came back to spain i didnt diet or started excercising but i started loosing weight anyway. I'm positive its because of how much sugar anerican ingredients have

[@janrandle2896]

Have heard this before

[@o21211671]

Unfortunately, I am very overweight even though I live in Germany. What would I look like if I lived there? On my last vacation to the USA, I tried out an US-McDonalds out of curiosity. I admit, also go here every now and then to eat a BigMac or McNuggets and when I compared these directly, I had the impression that even the German-McDonalds tasted much better than the one in the US. The McNuggets in particular were downright disgusting compared to their German counterpart. You could tell the McD-brand taste, but also the difference. I've had some good food in the US, but I prefer our regional seasonal food over the highly processed food. (in average, of course) As a side effect, I have to add, I produced more garbage during one week (business trip to a supplier) in the USA than in three month here. Everything is wrapped in plastic, people often eat from disposable dishes and drink almost exclusively from plastic cups. And everything is very sweet. Even in a very good steak house I got my drink in an can.

[@Arltratlo]

i got offered some home made cookies...i ate less than half of one, its tasted like biting a sugar cube!

[@ronald3836]

Portions are also much bigger. I remember ordering a chicken sandwich for lunch, and what I got on my plate was enough to feed a family for a week. But it tasted great and I ate it all with pleasure.

[@martinkasper197]

Say thanks to olive oil based meals? 🤔🤓🤣

[@WawaDvd]

Having half of family from the USA and half from France, i can definitely say that when i go visit my american family, everything seems to taste sweeter. Traditional meals, fast-food or takeaway all seem to be have this sugar taste. Maybe because of sauces or idk what but it's as if everything had flavor enhancers and mostly thanks to sugar.

[@paulm2467]

They sweeten everything with corn syrup or artificial sweeteners like saccharine or aspartame, it’s so ubiquitous that they don’t know what the real flavour should be.

[@regitzeillum6713]

In Denmark, we rave about the early potatoes. Yes, we have a potato season! Plus the strawberry season.

[@discasting]

In Finland we have potato and strawberry seasons too!

[@Marit123]

And in Norway 😅

[@lakrids-pibe]

We also have seasonal local apples (somewhat - you can still buy the foreign ones year round) And also white asparagus.

[@Tessa_Gr]

In Germany as well. The new potatoes you can eat with the skin are always so good and you don't have to use time to peel them! Always exciting every year.

[@mobsiesixsixsix9785]

Erm who doesn't?

[@cinnamoon1455]

In Switzerland there is an organisation called 'Pro Specie Rara'. They are dedicated to protecting and saving old species of produce and livestock. It's so worth partaking if you happen to have space to grow some veggies and fruit yourself. The taste on some of these is incredible..

[@janeviemuz524]

Also 200 years old beer yeast :D

[@Robynhoodlum]

In America, those are called “heirloom” and there are many gardeners and nurseries who specialize in heirloom plants and seeds.

[@solinvictus1234]

You should be on the Italian Canton of the Switzerland. Pro Specie Rara it's an Italian phrase. It mean "Protecting rare species" where Pro is the abbreviation of "Proteggere" Protect.

[@cinnamoon1455]

@@solinvictus1234 it's actually Latin but those are obviously pretty close.

[@solinvictus1234]

@@cinnamoon1455 If it's Latin so the only thing it changed in the phrase is the word Pro, that in Latin mean "in favour of". Meanwhile Specie Rara (singulare) or Specie Rare (plural) arr equal both in Italian and Latin. Just as info.

[@Squagliafrittata]

Thanks for your respectful perspective on our food. As an Italian, I couldn't say in a better way our relationship with food and tradition. A big hug!🤗

[@inigoromon1937]

Thanks Good, the French and Italians were founding members of the EU, and have resisted fiercely against neoliberal savage and ignorant market policies. So much for the USA.

[@suicidalbanananana]

To be fair another 7-10 countries were involved in that, all wanting to get exclusivity on certain produce, which they mostly did get (albeit the rules are more along the lines of "it was made 'at the source' so it's the real deal" vs "nobody else can make this because we said so")

[@666Tomato666]

@@suicidalbanananana the certificate of origin just means that if you buy Parmigiano Reggiano, it means it was made in Italy, in Lomabardy, and was aged 12 months. You can still buy parmesan-style cheese, it just can't be simply called "parmesan". (The difference between "I can't believe it's not butter" and butter)

[@CarlosRamirez-wb7zu]

I'm from the U.S.A, and I'm happy to discover that other countries can have biased people as well. Our food has flavor, like wine, and your food is bland, like water.

[@maxbarko8717]

@@CarlosRamirez-wb7zuThe reason European food tastes bland to you is that you are used to overly processed, sugary, salty, spicy, artificially flavoured food. I even after more than 10 years in Canada I don’t like the chips here as they are way too salty. Most products also have too much sugar. If you have the chance to eat natural food for 3-6 weeks you will learn to taste natural flavours.

[@etienne8110]

Not enough imho. Even just recently, se signed free teade accords with chile and new zealand... Not great places for food (at least, worse than ours)

[@Kelsea-2002]

As a child, I looked forward to my way to school every morning, because it led me directly past a small family bakery. The smell of freshly baked bread will stay in my nose forever. Something that you don't know at all in the USA, or can hardly experience. If there's one food I'll never do without, it's fresh German bread straight from the local bakery.

[@deirdrevergados971]

Greek bread is delicious too but for me nothing can comparefo the aroma and texture of fresh pumpenikle bread.

[@Kelsea-2002]

@@deirdrevergados971 In the southern European countries the white bread is more at home and I'm not a fan of that. Pumpernickel is delicious, but for guests in Germany it certainly takes more than some getting used to.

[@crunchyscorpio9186]

@@Kelsea-2002 The funny thing about German Bread is that it more or less started back in ye olden day, when the soil of the flatter northern part of Germany was unsuitable for wheat. So rye was the grain of choice (as well as barley, oats and spelt). Rye did have less gluten then wheat so it needed a different proofing method... so sourdough became all the norm. It was seen as inferior to wheat and wheat bread. So they improved the methods of making/baking until today, where it is more likely you'll get clobbered with an uncut loaf if you tell them their bread is bad.

[@Warentester]

I moved from Germany to the UK - 10 years later and I still miss the bread and the smell of freshly baked bread. You haven't been partying like a German if you haven't bought freshly baked goods directly at the back entrance of the local baker before official opening hours on your way home from the club.

[@Warentester]

I always find it amusing when I (German) and my wife (British) visit Germany and she wants to go to the bakery at 5pm expecting them to have a full selection... Not happening in Germany. There are 30 different types of bread at the start of the day and they will not be replenished during the day - not like the UK where the variation is maybe 5 types of bread and it is easy to predict demand.

[@DavidWadleigh]

In our repeated trips to Ireland, we always notice their food is awesome, and usually for one obvious reason. They do smaller portions but better quality, more farm/boat to fork.

[@cento13]

Having moved to northern Europe after living in California most of my life, I have mixed feelings. For access to fresh produce from farmers markets and even direct weekly home deliveries from farms, California was an embarrassment of riches. So many people don't realize what an agricultural powerhouse California is (even most folks living in there don't know). But in terms of what I can buy in a grocery market, restaurant, and all sorts of specialty markets... it's no contest. The quality is just so much better here where I live in Europe.

[@boele0707]

You are spot on!! This is why europeans strongly dislike to huge amount of sauces which is put on the salad and other food in the US. When the produce itself is good and has nice flavor, you really don't need more than just a lit bit of oil, herbs and/or spices.

[@nikedoesthings]

Omg, this!! I just put lemon juice or oil on salads, nothing else. I truly dislike ranch or super flavorful sauces that contain a lot of overwhelming tastes. I want to enjoy the ingredients of my salad tyvm.

[@paulm2467]

It’s spreading to the UK, shop bought sandwiches all have mayonnaise on them, it doesn’t add anything, it just overpowers any true flavours.

[@daelra]

@@paulm2467 Mayonaise with everything. I can't stand the stuff. Also things like Alioli. It's not supposed to have egg in it. Egg was only added to stabilize the emulsion and make the recipe more suitable for mass production. Now people think that's how you're supposed to make it. I wonder how many other 'traditional' recipes have changed just to cope with mass production?

[@justachannel8600]

This isn't entirely true. German food used a lot of sauces for instance, but it's very different than the American style. Or tomato sauce in Italy.

[@beth12svist]

​@@justachannel8600 I think you missed the "on salads" in the original post, which changes the point being made considerably. 🙂

[@123batina]

Regarding fruit / veggies a year around... in Croatia we have that but! You usually buy stuff when in season. As I remember per season: WINTER - nothing obviously, as a kid I remember mostly eating pickled stuff SPRING - kale, and similar greeneries, with apricots, cherries and strawberries coming to full season by the end, best stuff, cheap as well (usually free as a kid from some public orchard in the city I lived in). Still remember the diarrheas I got eating warm cherries directly off a tree in late spring and drinking water afterwards. And strawberries in full season cost like 2E / kilo... and are sold at every street corner. And just to mention wild asparagus season, those are expensive even then but there is like 3 week window those are available and thats it. No more wild ones that year. SUMMER - watermelons and tangerines plus figs and tomatos are in full season, best to eat those then (you dont even have tangerines / watermelons except for wierd imported ones out of season), watermelons in high summer are priced at 30c / kilo. Meaning you can grab a beast of 10 kilo for like 3E. Tangerines come late summer and cost something 1E / kilo when in top season. AUTUMN - you name it, but mostly we crave good grapes, apples and pears which are fresh off the trees as that point and definitely best to eat To make myself clear - these are things I personally crave when I see coming into season. Because its local and infinitely better then crap imported from 10000 km away. You can buy something resembling those products around the year but its not it.

[@hape3862]

I often hear Americans or Asians say that European and especially German food tastes "bland". But overuse of (hot) spices and MSG doesn't make it better, it just makes everything taste similar. I like our "bland" cuisines where the ingredients can show their genuine taste.

[@PradeepChandran_RPC]

You said that hot spices make food taste similar but that is not how people from the region feel. They can distinguish between the various spice combinations easily.

[@fliplefrog8843]

MSG is 'the wonder spice' in the US and Asia. In EU MSG regulated. Chinese Restaurants use it a lot. And i have to say: I allways get that thirsty after MSG-food! And the next day, it seems (my body) i smell like the MSG food! So don't use MSG! Did you hear me, Uncle Roger? ;D

[@brocode113]

@@PradeepChandran_RPC The problem ist though: For a person that only cooks with lots of chili, anything without chili tastes bland. And for a person not used to chili, anything with chili tastes nothing but hot.

[@hape3862]

@@PradeepChandran_RPC Yes, the _spice_ combinations! But what remains of the taste of the _actual_ ingredients? How much cauliflower, tomato, chicken or mushrooms can you taste among all the spices and umami that explode in your mouth? Of course, with enough spices, Soja Sauce and MSG I can make even old underpants taste "yummy" …

[@svensulzmann4282]

I think that is a strict matter of subjective taste some like it super spicy. Some don’t both is perfectly fine and doesn’t make the food bad.

[@DisinterestedObserver]

I’m old enough (As a kid, Apollo missions were my generation’s fascination) to remember eating food produced by local farms. It did taste good. I still try to buy local produce and even subscribed to a farmers’ co-op for a few years that guaranteed me an assortment of local produce every week. The problem was sometimes I got too much of one product to use. Unfortunately, those farms that I grew up with have all shuttered and their land is now one acre single family lots. In the next town, the last farm was forced to close because the new neighbors that bought these houses didn’t understand one of the documents that stated a working farm was next door and that certain facts of farming had to be anticipated. After several years, the neighborhood decided they were unhappy with the status quo and got the town’s board of health to indirectly shut the farm down by demanding expensive mitigation measures. One of my favorite restaurants has its own pastures and vegetable fields. They subscribe to idea that menus change with the seasons.

[@lolphdundgren4328]

A similar story, but with a different ending, was near Munich. There is a beer garden there called Waldwirtschaft. It is located in one of the nearest suburbs of Munich, where it is quite prestigious to live. It happened that several people almost simultaneously bought houses near the beer garden, which closed at 23:00. Since the beer garden is not a quiet place, the new property buyers even went to court to demand that the beer garden closes an hour earlier. The court, however, refused them with the justification - you have seen the beer garden near your future houses, but nevertheless you have decided to move here, so please accept the existing order.

[@scotty_p15]

The tomatoes in Southern Italy are on a completely different level.

[@caffeineuser5949]

Ashton, fantastic video! Two observations on American food: 1) American cuisine is normally (much) sweeter. Sugar and / or Corn Syrup makes my brain liking the food. 2) Soo many recipes in the US start from a processed product ("take 1 cup of Ranch Dressing", "crush 5 Oreos", "add 1 package of Pillsbury cookie dough", etc.). When I grew up it was all about 1 cup of sugar, 3 tbsp of cocoa, etc. Oe final comment though - I seldom walk away hungry from an American dinner table 🙂.

[@trirain146]

I was looking for some slow cooker recipes. Most of them are useless for me because most of them have ingredients like "can of cream of champignons soup" "onion soup mix" "box of mac and cheese" etc.

[@tobias_dahlberg]

Finally someone says it. The usage of processed goods is insane in US-recipes. It's so strange as a Swede to look up recipes and then see "Add 1 package of whatever mix", add 1 cup of this, one cup of this brand thing. Even something as simple as making pancakes, many people use pancake mix. This is almost unheard of here, you make your own pancakes, it's fast, easy and very cheap when you simply buy the raw ingredients yourself.

[@benjaminmeusburger4254]

"crush 5 Oreos" lmao So in the end it is (processed food)² ? the only thing i can think of that actually is similar are "Flädlesuppe". You slice up omlettes and dump them into a soup. But those are things to process leftovers (e.g. hardened bread/rolls).

[@silentviper88]

Its not just the sweetness, it also happens with meat. Look at recipes for steaks. They all start with overseasoning the meat and fry it in so much butter that a european already gets a stroke from just looking at the video. The meat is mostly overcooked or how the american term is: "well done" which tastes bland and has a strange texture. Europeans however tend to cook their steaks max. on medium and then sprinkle a little salt, pepper and olive oil on top. People in the US are so used to bad crops without any taste (like bland supersized tomatoes and cucumbers) and have sugar in literally everything, their taste buds won't react to this basic bad quality food. The expectation for good food is the size and immaculate experience. Thats why they grab the big stuff and not the good stuff. In italy nobody cares if the tomatoe has sprinkles, the cucumber is curved, the apple has brown spots etc. - its the taste that makes the difference - something people from the US wouldn't notice because they are used to overseasoning. If I see recipes on instagram, I normally immideatley notice if the cook is american or european. Different philosophies in food quality, seasoning and taste.

[@chellehansen]

I can actually get a little bothered when i see some dish, cake or dessert that looks really delicious and i then go and search for a recipe and find out that it is an american recipe, because they never make anything from scratch, i have even tried to go and search for other recipes of the same thing and still half of it is some kind of processed food, some of it we cant even get here and if we can get it, it will be importet and too expencive. I also noticed that they use a lot of sugar, i always lover the sugar content in the recipes because i think it gets too sweet if i dont.

[@nijinoshita3301]

we of course also have incredibly tasteless strawberries for example available in the supermarkets here in germany, but having some Strawberry plants in the garden, I also know what they can taste like, it is a world of difference. but yeah in season you can also get the good tasting strawberries in the supermarkets

[@buschhuhn9197]

Not to forget you can pick strawberries from fields during season. If course they are expensive non the less but if you aim for a really tasty strawberry jam it is worth it.

[@anderslagerqvist2642]

As a Swede from the northern part I really miss the locally produced groceries 😢 And on tomatoes, the large tomatoes are often tasteless here... and the smaller tomatoes are usually MUCH more nutricious. The large strawberries are awful....

[@upnorth2421]

Food desert seem like a dreadful concept. But it has to also mean lack of public transportation and lack of bike and walking lanes. Since less that 2 km to closest shop is nothing in a buss or a bike. Love from Finland.

[@Arltratlo]

i walked once 2km to a supermarket in the USA, my hosts ask me why i didnt ask them to be driven by them... they couldnt understand that people like to walk outside.... i told them that my mother, my sister and i sometimes go shopping with bicycles...my mom at the early 70s years old! they wasnt able to understand it to the first time they visited me...they walked a lot here...

[@gyorkshire257]

I wouldn't live anything more than a mile from a supermarket. I like to be able to walk there and back with my weekly shop. Two kilometres is just a bit too far to comfortably carry a week's worth of food for a family of 5, but a mile is ok. During the lockdown I used to go further, there was an international supermarket three miles from my gaff and it gave me an excuse to get out of the house. Going there was great, but walking for 40 minutes with a week's food shop is quite tiring!

[@lisaphares2286]

@@Arltratlowhen I was in college in Kent, OH they had a bus service for Kent, Ravenna and Stow in addition to the college campus. I walked everywhere on campus and used the bus service to go shopping. I once bought a 20# bag of cat litter because it was such a good price, but carrying it home from the bus stop with the other groceries was almost more than I could do. It was then I decided to buy smaller bags locally but I still bought groceries there. But most people would car pool with someone who had a car and took the bus on campus. The Kent bus service also was used by locals who could buy a discount bus pass for a period of time rather than per trip.

[@christopherellis2663]

The US is an asylum for the inept

[@christopherellis2663]

​@gyorkshire257 one mile is 1,6 km. But 2 km, or 32 km, is too far? 😅😅😅

[@fliplefrog8843]

I am german, living 10km (6.2miles) from next city. But we have a supermarket 1km apart. The supermarket supports lokal farmers, so despite the industrial (non processed food) there are offered potatoes, salads, fruits and vegetables from lokal farmers right from their fields! Nothing tastes better than these fresh products, and i prefer them ALLWAYS! Pricely they are some few cents above the others, but absolutely affordable. I am glad, the EU has banned these processed foods. Cheese in the US isnt actually Cheese. It's 'Cheese like' if you read the package. I want cheese, not chemicals which assumes to be cheese...

[@NoctLightCloud]

the vegan movement will make this only worse. You'll see "cheese", "salami" etc that's supposed to be vegan🤢

[@justafan5179]

We have real cheese here too, buddy. Just because there's a type of highly processed, cheese-product here, trademarked as "American cheese" doesn't mean that's all that's here. We still have cheddar, Swiss, provolone, mozzarella, munster, available... it'll cost about 3x more than the fake stuff, but it's still there, and prominently displayed in the dairy aisle. Still, marketing has done its damage, and I agree it should either be banned, or mandated to cost more than real cheese... because when you're broke, but still want to eat... you can buy 1 pound of fake stuff for $1, whereas the cheapest real cheese would cost $3... and most real cheese is $4 to $7 per pound. Unfortunately any push to outlaw the fake stuff, will be followed by politicians parading around the impoverished, claiming poor people will starve to death if these regulations banning cancerous garbage are passed. Take care, my friend!

[@Bezimienny1598]

@@NoctLightCloud Non-vegan cheeses and other products are not at all in danger in the EU. Like this video said, Europeans love their traditional products so any French person would definitely notice a drop in flavor or such in their cheese. Spaniards would definitely notice a difference in their meats etc. A product being vegan doesn't inherently mean it's somehow more or less healthy or flavorful, they are different products for different demographics. A non-vegan would usually only eat a vegan alternative out of curiosity while a vegan would need to pick a vegan option.

[@boomshanka8743]

Actually, your cheese is chemicals too - everything is chemicals. American cheese is good for things like burgers because of the way it melts, it is a texture thing. Just use the appropriate cheese for the thing you are cooking, and then everyone is happy.

[@susanford2388]

Local produce is always better, you are so right. My aunt lived in Italy for 35 years & ate food that was in season, she now lives in Portugal & does likewise.

[@lifenature5463]

Nice vlog! I agree with everything you said. I am Italian and have visited and eaten in almost every European country, from Sweden to Greece. I also lived in California for four years, so I can compare cultures and cuisines. The tomatoes I grow in my small garden, in addition to being plentiful - we give them to family and friends in large quantities - taste much better than those bought in local stores. The same concept applies to eggs from chickens free to eat worms, insects, and other free-range foods. The yolk's red color and flavor are much more intense and make you want never to buy eggs in stores again.

[@danmayberry1185]

I don't like a ham sandwich. But in France I ate a fresh baguette with local butter and ham .. I nearly wept, it was so good.

[@chucku00]

Jambon-beurre is the quntessential French sandwich, bakeries that sell bad ones can't do it without damaging their reputation. However, avoid pre-packaged supermarket ones (Daunat or Sodebo industrial crap) like the plague.

[@danieldpa8484]

French food is just amazing, however each region in Europe has its amazing products that need to be discovered

[@marcgp6927]

If you loved the French jambon-beurre, you have to try the Iberian curated ham from Spain. Prepare for more tears to follow.

[@chucku00]

@@danieldpa8484 True, and "French food" term can be quite vague for French people because there is a huge amount of great local/regional specialties, some quite well known (choucroute (sauerkraut) in Alsace, cassoulet around Toulouse, boeuf bourguignon in Burgundy) but many others are flying under the radar (kig ha farz in Brittany, grattons in Dordogne...).

[@chucku00]

@@marcgp6927 Hey Marc, that's not fair! Pata Negra is not ham, it's heaven on Earth. BTW, there are more and more bakeries in France that are selling Pata Negra (and fuet) sandwiches.

[@jonzax7063]

We moved from California to Massachusetts a couple of years ago and the first thing the struck us was how much better the produce tasted here. While CA is a huge food producer, there are many more small family farms here and seasonal produce is more defined, like the asparagus season is just a few weeks in the spring and we see the sweet corn as it grows by the side of the road and when it's ready everyone eats it. Thanks for your posting.

[@zangtt]

I've lived in various parts of California for most of my life, and it really varies. Farmer's markets in San Francisco, Berkeley, San Diego, the North Bay and Santa Monica are often excellent, with produce much closer to the European standards discussed in the videos. But they are also more expensive, and located in expensive neighborhoods. I've lived in the UK for the past decade, though, and while the UK is sort of in between the state of affairs described in the US and the rest of Europe in the video, farmers markets and farm stores with high-quality local produce are much more universally available. (There is still a lot of very bad processed food here, though, and unfortunately a preference for it has become part of the regional/urban/class identity for many English and Scottish people.)

[@nihonkokusai]

A lot of ingredients in US are banned in EU and Japan. All the weird colour names e.g. RED 10, BLUE 30, Purple 50 are banned. Also HFCS are banned in the food although it tastes better with HFCS

[@henrikmulders8633]

Thank you Ashton for another video about cliché versus statistics. Some counterintuitive things (I’ve heard somewhere in tv reports and can’t give you the source of): Tomatoes. Germans are among the most picky tomato consumers in Europe. They have to look perfect and Germans are prepared to pay high prices for tasty premium tomatoes. The Holland-Tomate, tomatoes produced in green houses in the Netherlands, had gotten a terrible reputation a few decades ago: tasteless, hard and watery. Instead consumers were looking for tomatoes from Italy and Spain. The Dutch producers reacted to this. Researchers found that the taste did not depend so much on growing conditions, greenhouse vs open field, as to the tomato variety. There is also a trade off between hard texture, good for durability, and flavor. The softer the tissue the more easily the aromatic compounds can reach from your mouth to your nose. Dutch producers then did prioritize flavor in tomatoes varieties. Nowadays the situation is almost flipped. Spanish produce has a bad reputation for using durable but tasteless varieties. The growing conditions in Spain are famous for pesticides and a sea of plastic tunnels that get carried away by the wind and pollute the environment. The workers are often exploited immigrants with unsafe legal status that amounts to modern slavery. Strawberries: The first strawberries of the season come from Spain. They look great but are usually hard and tasteless. That’s why we don’t buy Spanish strawberries but wait a little longer for regional ones. Then again you can get snobbish here in Freiburg and debate if the strawberries from the big producers like Wassmer are any good…

[@TheEstampe]

I agree. Tomatoes produced in NL or BE taste quite good and are much better than the cheaply grown tomatoes from the Spanish Almería region, called the plastic sea because of the insane amount of plastic greenhouses that cover the whole area. That doesn't mean all tomatoes produced in Spain are bad but those available in supermarkets around Europe don't. And Belgian strawberries are so much tastier than the Spanish ones. We even have "protected designation of origin" for some regional productions and farmers changes varieties throughout the spring/summer period to always have the best fruits available.

[@franciscomoliner1296]

The statements about pesticides in Spain being too much and polluting are simply not true! We are an EU country with exactly the same regulations and controls as the rest of Europe. I do agree that certain varieties of tomatoes (and maybe some fruits) that are "created" for appereance and duration are less tasty. Still, that is not a Spain only problem. Regards

[@michelbeauloye4269]

Agree! Belgian strawberries from the Antwerp region can be delicious inside the season. Otherwise, less tasty. Why ???

[@lenakohl2339]

Die berühmt berüchtigten spanischen Kampftomaten :))

[@srebrnaFH]

About strawberries - same in Poland. You can see small plastic packages (200-250g) early in the year, but nearly NOBODY buys them (they are OK if you need to decorate a cake, but not much more, if you ask me). They are durable, pretty, have a shine. No taste. Once the local strawberries kick in, you get stalls EVERYWHERE all around any town or village, proudly advertising Polish strawberries, to be bought by a basket, and everyone is just stuffing themselves with them. Same for cherries and any kind of berry that can be farmed. Off-season everyone knows they would be buying small sad bags of water. I'd rather buy frozen but picked mid-season than fresh in winter.

[@LJMahomes]

The first time going to Italy can be so eye opening. They don’t do anything too differently, but their ingredients are all highly local and of the highest quality. The range in taste you can get out of a few slices of tomato, mozzarella, basil and a bit of olive oil is incredible, even if you don’t change the „cooking“ process at all. My feeling is America likes to experiment with the cooking, while Europe likes to experiment with the ingredients

[@inigoromon1937]

The USA (please, America IS a continent witha much better food) experiment with cooking?? Just say one example.

[@svensulzmann4282]

That sounds right US and Europe are just two different food traditions.

[@LJMahomes]

@@inigoromon1937 have you seen any short videos in the last few years? There are always Americans coming up with new combinations and ways to make the food, but it’s always the same shredded cheese in 5kg bags, beef patties, kraft mac n cheese and so on.

[@wolfgangwalk337]

@@inigoromon1937 , have you seen what they did to pizza? ;-)

[@tsurutom]

@@LJMahomes Short videos, even if there seem to be many, are hardly representative of a culture. Rather, what you get presented by social media and in your stores and cheap restaurants go back to the same source. It sells, it outcompetes, and the handful of people making obscene amounts of money somehow get away with it, the end. What Americans have been indoctrinated and forced to eat isn't what "America likes", if they still had the capacity to make informed decisions on the matter.

[@rotciv1492]

I'm Spanish living in Ireland, also a subscriber to Steve1989MRE. In my recent birthday(1 month ago) I decided to try and order a military MRE, and since the most convenient result was a USA field combat military ration from someone in the UK, then I took that just to try it out instead of a fancy cake. The best part of the ration was the discovery of the mixture of peanut butter and jelly over bread. I'd never tasted that before in my life, but since I knew it was a staple for US people, I put both the butter and the jelly over the piece of shelf-stable bread and had to accept that it is a match made in heaven. Now the worst part, which is the part relative to this video was... how sweet everything tasted. The bread was sweet, the pound cake was very sweet, the radioactive-looking lime beverage was sweet too, the beef stew tasted like it had some sweeteners into it, and the bag of skittles was the sweetest, most cloying(is that the word?) piece of 'food' I've had in years. I couldn't eat more than 3 and had to throw them away. I can't help but think that, if having such foods is a common trope in the markets from the USA, and knowing that most of them spend so much time driving cars instead of walking, plus the fact that the fast food is twice as cheap as where I live with the wages are twice as high, then being the most obese country in the world is only expected.

[@ThomasMunich-f1k]

Thank you for your deep diving and always very well researched videos on the United States and Europe. When it comes to my country Germany, unfortunately I see the same development as you describe it for the U. S. When I was a university student 40 years ago, alone in my tiny street there were three independent baker shops. They all had their own workshops and ovens and they all made the bread every day fresh from the dough. It was not always perfect. They only had six or seven types of rolls and five types of bread and some cake. The husband was working in the workshop in the basement and the wife was selling the items above. In the afternoon, most items were sold out and when the wife was in the hospital (no bad news, a very merry event) the husband had to run the business alone and he was really struggling counting the coins and wrapping the cake. But it was authentic. Now all these individual bakers and butchers have vanished and are replaced by chain stores which have a central factory and in the shops they do only selling.

[@robinholland1136]

A very balanced, well-researched piece. Whilst there seem to be major differences between the approach to food between Europe and the US, there are many differences between different parts of Europe and even within countries. I lived for some time in the Ardèche mountains in France. The vast majority of the food we ate was local, either from small suppliers, direct from the producer or small supermarkets which carried local produce. In the village (approximately 200 inhabitants) there was a bakery (subsidised by the state) and a small boucherie/charcuterie, which also functioned as a café/restaurant. The quality of the food was exceptional. It was fresh, full of taste and affordable. The butcher would go to the local livestock farmer, select the animals and slaughter them (apologies to those who don't eat meat). Animals that had been reared in the open air and on grass. There was an abundance of vegetables and a great many people had their own vegetable gardens. French people (in general), have maintained their deep ancestral and cultural links with the countryside and treat food with a passion, one reason being that, compared to somewhere like the UK, the move to vast urban industrialised urban areas occurred much later than elsewhere. The early industrial revolution in the UK saw the growth of the urban poor and, especially in the 19th and first half of the 20th century, food quality was questionable in terms of methods of production and nutrition. It is encouraging that this has changed, more especially in the last 40 years and is, I believe, a result of effective regulation and of the UK adopting many of the attitudes of its European neighbours. Of course, with the disaster that is Brexit, standards are now at risk and there is a worrying rise in food poverty and malnutrition and we are seeing the return of diseases such as rickets and scurvy amongst certain sections of the populace who have to rely on cheap, highly processed, foods. Food production and supply is intimately linked to the health and well-being of the people: it ain't just a business!

[@Robynhoodlum]

While farmers markets, bakeries, and butcher shops exist in America, I am impressed that your butchers can work directly with your farmers to slaughter meat. Did you know that in America it is illegal to slaughter your own animals if you are going to sell the meat? It MUST be sent to a slaughterhouse - which charge farmers a killing fee - before being sent to a butcher (many slaughter houses will also butcher meat for an extra fee). It’s considered a food safety thing, which I understand to some extent, but I wish their was some sort of certification that would allow farmers to process their own animals or have the option to hire a local butcher to come to the farm to kill the animals because it’s a lot less stressful for the animal and transporting a carcass is a lot easier than a live animal.

[@cathjj840]

@@Robynhoodlum US meat standards have apparently not been updated since the early 20th century when they finally came into existence after numerous scandals and deaths. They were adequate at the time given contemporary technical possibilities, but there's no way Europeans would accept the percentages of gristle, feces and other dangerous or non edible bits that are allowed and routinely found in USDA certified meat,(to say nothing of hormones, pesticides, antibiotics etc)..

[@bobsmith5441]

​@@RobynhoodlumDidn't know that about slaughtering meat in America, very interesting

[@roccociccone597]

It’s crazy what happens when your food is made from actual food and not chemicals. You guys should try it sometime

[@srebrnaFH]

A local, highly seasonal thing I have a strong attachment to - a yeast pastry (drożdżówka) with fresh bilberries. NOT blueberries, BILBERRIES (or, European blueberries). There is a vast difference in taste, colour and aroma. You can get them in late summer, and then all the bakeries, at least in the south of Poland, have a sudden peak of baking folded pastries with bilberries and powdered sugar or crumble on top. Later in the year you can get ones made with jam or berry marmalade, not the same :< August is top time for them.

[@NoiseWithRules]

Wimberries! Not commercially produced and very seasonal, very local. In the 1950s a few shops in Manchester sold Wimberry pies, now its hard to find them. I used to live in Glossop, Derbyshire near local sources. Their main outlet was a butcher's shop! BTW, not the same as blueberries or bilberries. Eat a pie and find your lips and tongue very blue!

[@srebrnaFH]

@@NoiseWithRules As far as wikipedia says, they are the same as billberries, and description of blue staining is consistent :)

[@johanna7502]

@@srebrnaFH Yep, they are the same: Vaccinium myrtillus.

[@jean-pascalesparceil9008]

Are they a mountain berry specie from Carpathian mountains ?

[@bettinapedersen4363]

Those are the ones that give you a blue tongue, I guess. They taste much better than the blueberries, you can buy all year round.

[@AdamMPick]

A big part of that is what you mentioned in passing. We have locals who are passionate about "their" product. That keeps the quality alive. People will keep growing good tomatoes and make good cheese, untill they die, even if the world around them switches to eating capsules. Others mentioned the plastic, water filled dutch tomatoes, we had in the past. Or more recently spanish veggies grown on landfills. There was a market for those, but they never pushed the good stuff out of the market. So, when the general public got fed up with the bad veggies, they could find better quality ones, still. In the US, quite often when the market pushes something out, it stays out. (local exceptions do apply, but generally, I think that is true.) When all supermarkets were selling dutch plastic tomatoes here in Germany, you could still go to a local kurdish, russian, polish, turkish or persian shop and buy the good stuff, or go to the bi-weekly farmer's market. It helps that the EU stance on additives is: guilty untill proven otherwise. While the US stace is: proven beyond a reasonable doubt, that it kills enough people, or we allow it.

[@Xiroi87]

Spanish vegetables grown on landfills? What are you on about?

[@AdamMPick]

@@Xiroi87 It might not be true for most stuff grown in Spain, but it is literally how other countries (aka Germany, can't say much about others) see Spanish produce. Grown with african migrant labour, using plastic, using ground water in areas that are dry and sometimes grown on top of landfills. That is how spanish wegetables look to us.

[@weird-guy]

Because of spain, i can´t afford olive oil🤣 9+euros/L.

[@Xiroi87]

@@AdamMPick Others countries aka Germany? Then say Germany. Spain has more sq km used for organic farming than any other European country, but hey, you keep on spreading lies. Ground water has been used since forever, as it doesn't rain 300 days a year like in Germany. Do I have to remind you that the serious bout of food poisoning in Germany that your government happily blamed Spain for ended up being caused not by the supposedly unhygienically grown Spanish cucumbers but some very German sprouts?

[@Xiroi87]

@@weird-guy more like because of the inflation all countries have experienced these past 2 years

[@SteveGouldinSpain]

When I first visited Spain in the 1980's the taste of the food was like going from black and white to colour. All the produce in the supermaket was 'more alive'. Even the dried pasta tasted better! So I eventually figured out a way to move from Britain to Spain. No regrets 20 years on!

[@andresyenes7261]

The first thing that I noticed when coming to live in Germany 6 years ago was that everything has less sugar than in my country (Chile). Now I find it normal. I was probably intoxicated with the amount of sugar I used to eat without realizing it

[@leob4403]

What I miss from Chile is the palta, avocado. I remember going to McDonald's or burger king in Chile and ther was always mashed avocado next to the ketchup and mustard. That was pretty great

[@musicofnote1]

ALmost 50 years ago, as a newly arrived Ami in Switzerland, I took my new wife to California to show off the US. We stopped in the Central Valley and I was raving about the terrific fruit. I'd been living a couple of years in Switzerland, so had forgotten exactly what California fruit was all about. time and time again, we bought great looking fruit in California, be it from a roadside stand or a supermarket, and were disappoint, that they were huge, beautiful and ... tasteless. Then we had my mother's cooking. Sorry, but you can't really have great cooked food if the ingrediants are relatively tasteless.

[@kevinh96]

I work for a large food distribution company that supplies the catering industry in the UK and the Designated Origin rules can be quite interesting. We used to have own brand Cornish Pasties sourced from a local supplier in Yorkshire, but when the Cornish Pasty was given protected status we had to rename ours to simply D Shaped Pasties. It's the same product, made in the same way it just isn't made in Cornwall. We do also supply several different brands of Cornish Pasties made in Cornwall as well as having our own brand of Cornish Pasties made by one of the big suppliers too, the Yorkshire made D Shaped Pasties we still supply and they are cheaper than the genuine article. Regarding food deserts they do still exist in the UK, mainly in very rural areas though. The village I live in is semi rural, but is still only 11 miles from the nearest small city and 18 miles from a major city. I am lucky in that within two miles I have three small supermarkets and within 4 miles is a medium sized Tesco too. There are also several small local stores all within a five or ten minute walk, all of which have a decent if small range of fresh produce. Public transport is a big issue in the US too, for me all of these supermarkets as well as the nearest cities are also easily reachable by frequent regular bus services and train services too. I think that makes a huge difference to people in the UK who don't drive.

[@melanierhianna]

Its even more interesting in the south west. They have designated origin rules as Cornish Pasties but people from Devon will argue that they actually invented them.

[@hans-jurgenoberfeld343]

My mother was a full-time housewife and we children got fresh food every day. She was a very good cook and I learned everything from her. So today I still cook five times a week and I enjoy excellent health. For me the kitchen is a big laboratory.

[@natalyaakselaleksander4502]

Same with me. I stay home and always make everything from scratch for my family! We even make sourdough bread and other baked goods from my starter. Sourdough cookies are so good!!

[@surlespasdondine]

I work part time and my kids definitely get fresh food every day. (I'm from Europe too)

[@surlespasdondine]

In Europe we don't specify that we cook from scratch- that's the only way.

[@k.schmidt2740]

Thanks for another well researched and produced video, Ashton! Since 1974, I have been trying to offer healthy, ecologically grown food to my family in Europe. Until about the 90s, I was one of the odd folks who was constantly on the look-out for "bio" products and very short supply chains (e.g. eggs from the local chickens and flour from the mill, in which yard the chickens picked). Then - seemingly parallel to the wider development of industrial farming also in Europe - the "bio-movement" gained traction. I now live about 400 meters from the outlet of our local organic truck-garden that has its own store (not a supermarket) and supplies a stand that appears on farmers' markets across our county. You can also buy organic everything from most of the supermarkets in our town, and most people could even afford to do so, if that is what they want. I think what it boils down to is keeping the food supply close to the earth and as free as possible from laboratories and long-distance shipping. Yes, we do invest somewhat more of our money in what comes onto the table and therefore cannot fly to Timbuktu regularly, but we think our choices are worth a bit more cost and are better for the land, water and air - and they also taste a heck of a lot better.

[@emiliodonate]

I always thought we must educate our palate since we are children. I live in Spain, maybe one of the top 3 countries in Europe with better cuisine and good quality products. If you educate your palate to every flavour of every product (meat, fish, vegetables) you don't need to add anything to the products to cook and enjoy them, maybe some olive oil and vinegar in a salad and maybe some spices in other dishes. I think when a meal needs a lot of dressings is cause you have to disguise a mediocre taste of the product. Maybe it's why Mediterranean countries (Spain, Italy, Portugal or Greece) don't abuse in the number of ingredients and use few sauces (maybe a litle of olive oil, garlic, salt and parsley in a tasty grilled fish, for example)

[@JustSomeTommy]

2.2 percent of the United States is about 7.3 million people. Despite the minor error, this is a fantastic video on a very important topic.

[@DottorVinz]

Yes, where does her number comes from?

[@JustSomeTommy]

@@DottorVinz Mistakes like this are common and can happen to anyone. She likely used incorrect data without realizing, as such calculations are usually straightforward. I've made a similar error with numbers at work not long ago myself.😅

[@TheRockkickass]

@@JustSomeTommysorry but what other mistakes are in these videos

[@mobsiesixsixsix9785]

@@TheRockkickass Not many. Nowhere near as much as a Trump rally.

[@autokorrektor8166]

JustsomeTommy, You sound like a real pain in the a$$. I wonder if your acquaintances enjoy having you around....... This classy lady makes great interesting videos that are nice to watch. You probably spend most of your time online "fact checking"...........

[@Inaf1987]

This must also be the reason why they spend less money on healthcare

[@cerebrumexcrement]

we spend more on healthcare actually. its just that its privatized.

[@caterinabolognesi5368]

I can talk only about Italy, where I'm from, but it seems to me that there is a bigger difference between italian (and european) approch to food and americans. In the US, food is fuel, a necessity, sometimes a bother. In EU food is something we need to enjoy, a moment to share with other people we care about. And therefore, the priorities are different.

[@ArmAlKay]

I wonder if there is anything like a „Schrebergarten“ culture in the US. Growing your own food in a Schrebergarten has a long tradition in Germany.

[@dirkfromhein]

I’m going to say no. Yes there are some - very few - exceptions. In “wealthy” hipsters neighborhoods- say Cambridge MA there are some “community” gardens. In Germany we are still leasing the same 1/8 acre plot my father got outside our “town” in 1972 for something crazy like 99€/yr. However, to be fair, in the US many people do have their own gardens in their yard. Remember, In most suburban towns in New England the minimum plot of land for a single family house is 1acre (4,000m2). Since the Pandemic it has become much more popular to have a garden in New England.

[@magicsheepmom7790]

We loved seeing the garden plots along the rail lines in Germany as we traveled through various towns. In my neighborhood in Florida, USA, we can only have a tiny garden hidden behind our fences. We have strict homeowners associations here that tell us what kind of grass we can have in our yard, how high the fence can be and what material and color, what colors we're allowed to paint our homes, etc. Lots of limitations. I don't know of any community gardens in my city, but many schools have gardens that the students care for, so there is hope! They are learning.

[@Redrally]

You mean allotments? Popular in Britain but councils keep wanting to sell them off!

[@magicsheepmom7790]

Yes, lots of allotments in Germany along the train tracks, many with gardens. We also saw a couple of community gardens. I think every country should have them!

[@Sine-gl9ly]

I think in the USA there are some of what they call 'community gardens'. Your schrebergarten culture is fairly similar to our UK allotment culture (but your allotment associations are usually more organised and formalised than ours, from what I've seen). We do have what we call 'community gardens' here in the UK. They are often part of a city park and intended to help people who are living in the local community, but who have mental health issues, are intellectually disadvantaged or have other issues. Different ones for different groups, often! They are often volunteer-led, may get grants from local authorities, and we allotmenteers may offer them plants, seeds etc. I don't know what a community garden is in the USA, but I don't think it's like y/our concept of allotment or schrebergarten. Btw, what do you call someo e with a schebergarten? We call some one with an allotment, an allotmenteer. Do you use the term, schrebergartner?

[@BlueFlash215]

I lived in NC for quite a while and wanted to cook for my family. Fresh ingredients like peppers, tomatoes, etc were really expensive. I was planning on making a tomato, carrot, herb soup, followed by homemade pasta with homemade meatballs. The ground beef, even though I picked a more expensive one, had small punctures in a pattern all over the surface. I later found out why: Water was leaking out. My brother-in-law then showed me on how it is legal to inject water into meat since it's considered a natural ingredient. The beef had an unnatural red color and when opened it, it didn't even turn a little brown when oxydizing. The Tiramisu I made was close to what it would taste in Europe. I just couldn't find biscuit sticks. In Europe they are already sweat with the sugar coating but they even put more sugar into the biscuit sticks (the dough) itself. It was soooo sweat. I noticed it beforehand and used a darker coffee and no Amaretto. Instead I used a Grappa to avoid making it somehow sweater. I really had to adept over the next couple of months and even though the stores were huge, I had trouble finding affordable fresh ingredients. How can fresh oranges in NC cost more than in northern Europe? The frustration often took over and we went to a Sonics, Chilli's, Panera Bread, or Bojangles. Almost forgot Cr. Barrel. We went straight into the fast food loop. I wouldn't even consider the latter restaurants. They were food chains with no individual feeling. On the other hand: To our trip to the ocean and later on our trips to the Smokys we found some places run by locals. I tried to talk to them about running a restaurant and they said it's difficult but once established customers come by, it keeps running. The owners were interested in where I come from and we talked about food they were pretty hesitant when I asked them where I could get good meat so I can cook BBQ and dinner. Somehow almost all of them didn't mention fresh ingredients. A couple knew a butcher but they said it's expensive and only special customers taste the difference between meat from the butcher and the one from the supermarket. When I asked if I was a special customer who got meat from the butcher, they smiled and said of course. I wasn't sure since it didn't stood out and was chewy. The said if I come back, I'll be a special customer for sure. Sadly we didn't went back. Would love to have tried the different meat. It was a great experience living there but I'm glad I'm back in Europe. Back with affordable food without having and ingredients list for "cheese".

[@Lazmanarus]

sweet not sweat, sweat is the liquid that comes out of your body when you're hot.

[@grahvis]

Meat often has water injected into it, chickens are a prime example.

[@justinsayin3979]

You probably couldn't find the "biscuit sticks" because _biscotti savoiardi_ are called "ladyfingers" in the US (a name that refers to okra in India). They have them in grocery stores _(supermercati)_ there. _Biscotti_ are generally called "cookies" in the US; "biscuits" are a softer, hot bread made with shortening.

[@DanorthxD]

The thing that really stuck out for me when visiting France years ago was how fresh everything tasted. More regulations in the EU regarding preservatives i believe was the cited cause... even bottled sodas were tastier, although they did stale faster after opening.

[@realroadrunnr]

My go-to example for seasonal food is strawberries. In May/June, when they're coming fresh from the field we'll buy some almost daily. But once strawberry season is over and all you can get are the ones imported from spain we simply don't eat them anymore. Sometimes, when we're visiting my mother she'll have some of those and we'll eat them but they taste so bland in comparison.

the food in eu is not regulated by corn and soja lobbies like in usa and the food in usa is part of a major issue related to make the major corps even richer by isolated poor people and make them eat fast food the fresh food is far away from poor people and way expensive

[@PdGNL-h1o]

Me, being Dutch, when I went to the US three years ago, I had the best McDonald's quarter pounder ever. Nothing here in the Netherlands tasted like that one. I also do like seasonal foods. When it's asparagus time, cherry time, plumbs, apples, pears or whatever time, people in my neighborhood sell them on little stands along the road. Theres nobody around, it's all based on trust. Take your goods, put your money in the bin and go. Often, professional growers do have machines that have cooling and little doors that will only open if you pay the required amount. For me, and for lots of Dutch people (I suppose), we generally like when the money goes to the grower, instead of all these in between parties. I don't think there's farmers market over here?? Never heard of it, but along lots of roads there's lots to buy in the right season. Another thing, I also think, on vacation everything tastes better, because it brings with it the whole vacation experience.

[@FONGOONGOtheREAL]

Freshness is so inportant for the tast. I was in south america and tasted papayas there. It was like eating a something different. So try to get your stuff regional and seasonal :)

[@chrissaltmarsh6777]

Roquefort tends to be a bit expensive (depends where you live),. And there are other very good blue cheeses without getting precious about provenance. But boy is it outrageously good. Some of that, good bread, olive oil and a glass of wine; your body and soul are fed.

[@yvesd_fr1810]

Agreed. though Roquefort is my favorite blue cheese (you may see here some gallic pride, but I was fed with when I was a baby !), I admit that there are other good blue cheeses such as bleu de Gex and Fourme d'Ambert in France, but also Castelmagno and Gorgonzola in Italy (including that made with goat milk), the British Stilton, just to name a few... And agreed, their "degustation" with red wine is just fabulous !

[@renehansen590]

Danish blue from Klemensker, Bornholm.🇩🇰.

[@mireiaortega4936]

Try Tresviso from Spain. It'll make you cry (literally, it is VERY strong-But oh so good).@@yvesd_fr1810

[@verttikoo2052]

My go to blue cheese is Aura from Finland. I never look for anything else. I am actually disappointed if I have to take home something else. Have to point out that I do love discovering new tastes. With blue cheese I always go back to Aura.

[@ane-louisestampe7939]

I went to Greece in the spring years back. When I came home to Denmark our tomatoes "suddently" tasted like cardbord!

[@wolkewolke7704]

When I make salad, I use just (sometimes) salt, balsamic vinegar and pumpkinseed oil and sometimes olive oil ... and some herbs. For potato salad I use also red onions. Potato salad with pumkin oil doesn`t look great maybe ... but the taste is delightful 😃. Greetings from Austria.

[@anashiedler6926]

you need to explain the taste. non-austrians can't even imagine what pumpkin seed oil tastes like. Its a very nutty, slightly bitter flavor.

[@baerlauchstal]

From Styria, specifically? I loved the pumpkin seed oil in Graz.

[@wolkewolke7704]

@@baerlauchstal there is also very good oil in Lower Austria, Carynthia and parts of Burgenland

[@bostjan-sj]

Yeah, it's hard to go back to salads with anything else once you've tasted the pumpkin seed oil.

[@michellemaine2719]

I prefer this type of dressing for both potato and cabbage salad, not a fan of mayonnaise.

[@peterkoller3761]

consider the Slow Food Movement here in Europe. they sum up what good and high quality food in the European tradition is all about.

[@CarlosRamirez-wb7zu]

European food is (in general) higher quality, but less variety and less flavorful. Whether a person prefers that or not becomes subjective.

[@peterkoller3761]

@@CarlosRamirez-wb7zu more natural flavour, less artificial flavour. and you got enormous variety between European cuisines!

[@jennyh4025]

@@CarlosRamirez-wb7zuwhat is less flavorful? The single ingredients or the finished dish? For the first I wouldn’t agree. The second: you could say that, but I didn’t like the taste in the USA, too much spices (not many, but the amount of the single spices, especially salt), and too little flavor from the ingredients.

[@CarlosRamirez-wb7zu]

@@peterkoller3761 without arguing, salt, pepper, butter, olive oil, garlic and onions are natural, not artificial. Same with spicy peppers. Full disclosure, I like Mexican spice, and Thai spice, but not Indian spice.

[@valm9462]

same. the blend is too much for me. mexican food is great. vietnamese pho is great tho so spicy @@CarlosRamirez-wb7zu

[@antjecasarez5059]

As a German who has lived in different parts of the world including the U.S. I disagree with that broad statement. 🤷🏼‍♀️ I miss our local farmers market in Texas with its amazing produce, homemade tamales, bison meat, wild fig jam, etc. The variety of ethnic foods were also much bigger than over here in my part of Germany and I’m not even talking about the non existing authentic Mexican restaurants over here. Even the supermarket in our Texan neighborhood offered a much better selection of fruit and veggies than all of the German supermarkets I know (including metro). I enjoy being able to drive to France in 1.5h and Italy in 4, I love shopping at the Italian supermarket around the corner…but the U.S. has a lot to offer as well. The culinary scene has been changed in the last decades and there are lots of smaller producers who make amazing products, like that delicious raspberry cheese from Wisconsin, finally found its way to my local supermarket. 🥰

[@GiorgioSilvioPatalani]

I am Italian. I lived most the time in Ravenna, north Italy, a place with wonderful food. Bad at 10 years ago i moved to Brindisi, Puglia. Each year I fond something new that I didn't know existed. I ciliege ferrovia, Mele fragola, Cachi vaniglia. And I didn't know that fresh zucchine can be sweet.

[@wolfgangwalk337]

As a German and frequent traveller to Italy I can only say that the Italian food is maybe matched by Indian, but nothing else is even in sight (sorry, France). And the regional variety is incredible. I hope you guys can keep that!

[@GiorgioSilvioPatalani]

@@wolfgangwalk337 I am doing it on my belly !!!!🤣

[@henningbartels6245]

@Giorgio Ashton had a different name for green and yellow zuchini which was odd for me. As a German it would be the same just different color - I would also say it tastes the same. Or do Italians make a difference?

[@GiorgioSilvioPatalani]

@@henningbartels6245 we call them Zucchine Chiare or zucchine scure. Light or dark zucchine.

[@hermione3muller674]

Again German here, I grw up picking strawbberries myslf in the fields because it is custom for strawberry farmers to set up signs in the picking season for selfpicking. You just go thre, pick the amount you want and pay for it at a cheaper price than at the supermarket. We did that every straberry season. Picking your food yourself is xost efficient and you have very fresh food, you also do not need to store it m just go and pick moree when you need it. They are fresh on the plants. Also, many of us have gardens and ultivate our own fruits and vegetables. Thus we exchange fresh fruits from our gardens with neighbours and value the flavours and varieties of flavours. Anothr season is grünkohl season. We even go on grünkohl tours ie excursions together just to eat this cabbage variety. In autumn we all harvest fruits and make cakes and jam and concentrated juice. Expecially with holunderbeeren we use this concentrated juice for vitamins throughout the winter. By early summer the last bottle was finished, one glass every day to keep us healthy.

[@tabithacollins6003]

As an ex-Pat from the UK, living in a village, which supplies both strawberries and Spargel to the major supermarket’s throughout the whole of Germany, to walk with my dog through these strawberry fields’s the smell is alway’s amazing! :-)

[@petergibson2318]

There was a brief period in Europe during the 1980s when really big tomatoes arrived in the shops. They tasted like cardboard and were very unpopular. Tomato producers quickly stopped producing them and they now produce much smaller and tastier tomatoes.

[@i86ij99]

I spent holidays on an Italian cruise ship which serves mostly Mediterranean food. I often hear complaints from USA passengers that the food is "bland", which to me is not, and I can only guess that they are too used to hidden additives and sugar in their food.

[@TucoBenedicto]

Well, while you may have a point, it's also entirely possible that what was served ON A SHIP during a cruise may have not been the top in freshness. I'd guess there was a lot of pre-frozen food in the menu.

[@zaqwsx23]

Some Italian companies sell products in the USA with modifications to the ingredients, adding some junk to make them more appealing to Americans. That says it all.

[@dimiathan]

I lived in the US for 3,5 years. I did my bachelor studies there. I went there with the dream of living permanently on that country but many factors led me to decide to move back to Europe. One of them was definitely the access to quality flavourful products. We eat 3-5 times per day so of course it is not a small part of our lives that we can simply ignore. It is easy to not realise this if you grew up there but coming from Greece, it was an extremely hard transition.

[@51tomtomtom]

Same here !

[@RichDoes..]

I live in the N.West of England, local potatoes from Pilling are exceptional, as is the salt marsh lamb. I was a chef for 3 decades and sourced locally whenever possible.

[@bobnieland4827]

I liked the way you qualified generalizations about food quality at the beginning. You're right about produce in the US becoming more bland over time due to the breeding of new strains that enhance shelf life. The sweet corn and strawberries I ate as a child are very different from what you can find here today, even at farmer's markets. Overall, the opinions you expressed in this video were spot on.

[@JustMe-uu3bh]

tomatoes in the stores are just light red with nary any flavor and yes, I too remember corn from the field, fresh, it was awesome and tomatoes out of the garden are incredible.......from the store "not so much". strawberries too.

[@chrisconklin2981]

Thank you for your presentation .Here in the USA, I am a home baker, grind my own wheat, and use sourdough. I have heard that Europeans worship bread and have local bakeries. Please, tell me more. 🌻

[@chrisack6663]

In France the law states that traditional baguettes have to be made on the premises they're sold and can only be made with four ingredients: wheat flour, water, salt and yeast. They can't be frozen at any stage or contain additives or preservatives (which also means they go stale within 24 hours).

[@cal9112]

Fresh bread bought everyday at local bakery for breakfast scrumptious greetings from Spain

[@buschhuhn9197]

German living in Africa. We bake our own bread because what they call bread here.... unless you can buy from catholic sisters who were influenced by Germans. Honestly, I go to great lengths to produce good bread for my household which has nutritious value and can be called a meal. As well as cooking from scratch.

[@suicidalbanananana]

Surely there are local bakeries in the US too?? I'm happy to accept that there will be less (especially when comparing to something like France) but surely you have at least some???

[@chrisconklin2981]

@@suicidalbanananana Mostly there are none. Many of the big box food stores have bakeries, but they just bake the frozen bread shipped to them. Doughnut shops bake yeasty white flour blobs. Our young people do not learn how to cook. We have only one restaurant that bakes it's own. The Panera coffee shops used to bake good bread, but they have cut back. Here and there there are start-up bakeries.

[@christinauhlmann2390]

I agree to what you observed in europe. Especially things like quality and regional specialties are very important. But in the recent decades the awareness, for example handcrafted cheese or bread, decreased. Most of all, the younger generation ist related to industrial processed food and very often they don't like the very special and somtimes various tastes of handmade products. Because that I'm afraid, we will loose this kind of foodculture. So I'm glad, you're pointing out this topic! Good job 👍

[@ane-louisestampe7939]

That's just not fair! I find the young people way more on the quality beat than the boomers. They are only concerned about the price. If you meet my sons at McD, you can't see on them, that they cook decent food 29 days a month.

[@christinauhlmann2390]

@@ane-louisestampe7939 Yes, there are of course lots of young people being aware of good products...and often the money is the problem. What I ment was this: For example l saw a report, that in France they habe problems to sell their handcrafted specialties of different regions. When they did cheese‐tastings the younger generation prefered more the industrial produced cheese. What I think is, that they haven't learnd to eat this very special poducts, with changing tastes ( because of season or cattle), of course not all. I heard that they've founded assosiationes in France, to awake the awareness again. They think it's something what's got to do with their culture. And I think that's fine, because the different specialties enrich the regions, for example when you are travelling. Best greetings from germany!

[@appstratum9747]

I don't agree. Like @ane-louisestampe7939 I find that younger people tend to eat more healthily than those of my generation and are generally much more aware of the rubbish that goes into processed food than my generation (that consumed it without question). This is the generation that shops at specialist stores rather than the department stores of their parents. They're much more influenced by variety and quality than simply refuelling at the dinner table. Those that can't or don't are usually limited by their budget. Not by their choice.

[@weird-guy]

i agree ,myself incluided i don´t like a lot of our traditional foods but love that they exist another thing is most young people now have a mostly american diet only when they live with parents or eat at grandparents they eat ´real´ food, Pizzas,hamburgers,potatoes chips, canned sausages,cup noodles,sweets ect all common with their diet and if they have kids their kids diet aswell. i can garantee that my generation and younger dont give a shit about been healthy they might talk although some are more into the gym because of self help influencers ,about it but do the opposite same thing about the enviromment issue, alot of talk but no real action.

[@beth12svist]

I suspect this will depend a lot on the region of Europe one is looking at. Here in Czechia, I've definitely seen an improvement over my life: the situation in the 90s and early oughts was pretty terrible, a mixture of lowered restaurant standards from communist times and an influx of American-style fast food, and a general preference for cheap prices over good quality. But then people from around my generation who still grew up with good quality fresh vegetables and the make-do mentality that communism forced many people into (growing your own because there was no guarantee the shops would have it, and you couldn't really travel so why not spend your free time in your garden, et cetera), well, we got fed up with it, and started looking for alternatives, and companies started catching up.

[@marshallbowen8693]

In southern Germany you can visit local towns or cities which have their own wurst and local beers so you can have a tasting/drinking tour. No one outside of Nuremberg would dare sell their famous wurst nor would you find Bamburg charcoal flavoured beer anywhere else. In contrast, Mecklenburg - West Pomerania doesn’t have wurst but seafood from the baltic is prevalent. I don’t think that there is as much local food diversity in North America at least not within easy driving distances. You can’t enjoy Quebec poutine one day and then feast on New Orleans’ sea food the next day with a simple car ride.

[@schattensand]

I heard that the food you can buy from the Amish - Mennonite farms or farmers markets have a good reputation for quality. If you happen to live in Lancaster county and have money it should be possible to eat good, healty stuff.

[@herrrorschach590]

15:45 as Italian I can say the values you want to protect with DOCG certifications are not only historical and cultural, but also the ultimate (or peculiar) quality/ies achieved for that kind of product.

[@AdZS848]

We grew our own tomatoes for a season and now, I can really taste an "eggy" taste on the store-bought ones.