The English, sadly, have no concept of dark bread. What they call "brown bread" is about as dark as pine wood. I had to find a german supermarket to find real black rye bread. It tastes great with anything, and is much more nutritious.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Black bread
OK, I admit it, when I'm in a good mood, I'm easily amused. In this case by the similarity of the mayo pattern on the two slices.
The English, sadly, have no concept of dark bread. What they call "brown bread" is about as dark as pine wood. I had to find a german supermarket to find real black rye bread. It tastes great with anything, and is much more nutritious.
The English, sadly, have no concept of dark bread. What they call "brown bread" is about as dark as pine wood. I had to find a german supermarket to find real black rye bread. It tastes great with anything, and is much more nutritious.
Considering what vile things the English seem to think taste good, I'm surprised they wouldn't like something as obviously nasty as black bread. ;)
ReplyDeleteYes - it's nice stuff, I admit - but it ain't bread.
ReplyDeleteBread is soft and fluffy.
I beg to differ! Soft and fluffy bread is an aberration which only exists in Anglian countries and in the last few decades.
ReplyDelete"I beg to differ! Soft and fluffy bread is an aberration which only exists in Anglian countries and in the last few decades."
ReplyDeleteNot so. White (or let's say pale) bread has been known for a long time, but was a privilege of the rich.
Joe,
ReplyDeleteYou need to get some spotted dick and black pudding to see how great these delicacies are. Also, why do American only eat the streaky bacon? Why don't they have the meatier back bacon cuts we have in England (mmm Danish Bacon).
As for tongue, the Salvadorians do it better.
Alex
White bread is quite popular and comon in Mediterranean countries, like Greece, Italy, Portugal, France, Croatia etc. I think it is unhealthy, being a 'junk' that's rid of any vitamins and minerals you can find in the dark cereal breads. However, in some countries they fake the dark bread using caramel to adjust the colour of otherwise white bread... Sad enough I think...
ReplyDeleteVery sad. And a further testimony to the fact that most people not only get fooled by fakes, but sometimes seem to actively prefer them.
ReplyDeleteAlex, I hope you know I was joking! I think you do. :-)
ReplyDeleteBtw I had spotted dick once - didn't like it! But some antibiotics cleared it up!
Civilized people in prosperous countries eat white bread.
ReplyDeleteYep, and they also have an obesity epidemic.
ReplyDeleteThere is no such thing as bread in the UK. In fact, during my many years there I never came across a baker worthy of the name.
ReplyDeleteIf you want proper bread, Belgium is the place to go.
anonymous said: "Civilized people in prosperous countries eat white bread."
ReplyDelete:D Ha, that's why they die so early... :D
The color of the bread has hardly any relevance. Paler bread, at least traditionally, was simply made of finely sifted flour, which was a privilege of the rich. Conversely, the variety of black bread reserved to the poor was made of rotting flour, which had no longer any value. You like dark bread, you say?
ReplyDeleteThe problem with "white bread" nowadays has little to do with its color, but rather with the source of the flour. Industrial processing of foods was never a good idea, for you can be sure that profitability is far more important than edibility for the "food giants".
The expression "enriched white flour" always made me smile. Yeah, sure, the flour is enriched with iron. Iron that come from the wear off the industrial mills used to grind the grain...
The tradition of bread is as old as agriculture, and has taken many forms throughout the world. It is only natural that making bread has become an art form for many. There is nothing that I like more than Indian nan bread, aside perhaps from real Belgian white bread (I do agree with Anon on this one). And both are very healthy, thank you very much.
Joe,
ReplyDeleteI thunked you waz kidding.
In the UK they have some very strange things, like cabbage that has been boiled for 20 minutes in salted water. The pour the flavour down the drain and splop soggy leaves on your plate. They then pour a tepid brown sauce, which vaguely tastes of beef and salt over the waterlogged cabbage and soggy potatoes and thinly sliced meat.
Seriously though I was glad to be introduced to sauteed cabbage.
British food does have some classics like "Yorkshire Pud" a raised baked pancake, made from a slightly thick crepe batter, "Black Pud" which is blood and oats formed into a sausage and pan fried or broiled, "Steamed Pud" which is a dense suet based cake which is steamed for an hour or so, the bast variants either have Jam cooked onto the base, or have raisins cooked into, the latter being Spotted Dick.
I was very glad to escape the UK and experience a wider range of food, though I do miss Black Pud, "real" bacon, Cumberland Sausage and "French" bread, which is like Vietnamese bread in the US, not like the chewy crusted "French" bread you get in the US.
Sweetmeats are done well in the UK, don't confuse these with the middle easter Sweet Breads, which is not the same as a sticky bun.
Maybe EO needs to find some bara brith. Not a rye bread, but an interesting bread.
:D Ha, that's why they die so early... :D
ReplyDeleteOh, I don't know...my country has one of the highest life expectancies, and white bread seems to far outsell the other stuff. Not that I eat it. I generally get whole-wheat stuff from an actual bakery, rather than, say, this stuff.
bert said:
There is nothing that I like more than Indian nan bread, aside perhaps from real Belgian white bread (I do agree with Anon on this one). And both are very healthy, thank you very much.
I too love nan bread. I have never had Belgian bread, partly because I've never been to Belgium, and there is probably not a large enough Belgian population around to be able to get the stuff. There's Portugeuse and Italian and Polish stuff out the wazoo, but as far as I know nothing Belgian. I'll have to look around.
I'll even give this black bread Eolake loves a try.
Poilane's bread is unique.
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lionel_Poilâne
Really simple, amazingly dense.
On the website you can get some stuff sent to you, but a few things you can only get in the shop.
ReplyDelete