The French tradition - Give us our daily baguette
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As part of my effort to eat more locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables (the “real food” part of Real Food in Moderation), I’ve now changed my pattern to follow what I consider to be a French approach to grocery shopping. Rather than stocking up on tons of food that will keep for weeks, if not months (or for Twinkies, years), I shop every few days for the fresh things that I should be eating, including (gasp!) bread, which should really be eaten fresh, without preservatives. This goes for cheese, milk, and meat as well, and its working - I got on the scale this morning, and I’m now over the 22 lb mark for the year, all while eating what I would have considered indulgences before, like fresh bread, high quality full fat ice cream, and good bacon, all in moderation.
(Little Ed. side note: While you may consider the Twinkie shelf-life thing to be a bit of an urban legend, I had a writing teacher who had a packaged Twinkie in his garage from his time in Vietnam - and after 17 years, it remained mold-free.)
I learned this practice of shopping for less quantity but more often firsthand on a visit to Paris, which I’ve briefly described here, and have since confirmed it time and again with friends who have lived in France for long periods and in different locations. For example, in France it is very common to make a daily stop at the local bakery (boulangerie) on the way home to pick up a freshly baked baguette. In fact, often the neighborhood boulangerie will have a line out the door a little after 5PM, when the evening’s selection is fresh out of the oven.
The best part of this practice? The French have an informal custom of twisting and tearing off le quignon (literally, “the crust”), or what we think of as the heel of the loaf and eating it on the way home, freshly warmed by the baker’s oven. (For a great article on the joy of le quignon, see David Lebovitz’s wonderful description, here.)
So rather than opening that .99 cent oversized “single serving” of Doritos and a 44oz fountain drink of Pepsi, they satiate all of the senses with a bit of bread - incredibly delicious bread, warm and indescribably soft, with a crackle when its is torn off that to me, is the sound of comfort for the centuries of my ancestors literally breaking bread together. When I twist and tear off that heel, and then begin to savor it, I can hear the collective satisfied sigh of hundreds of years of my predecessors who had the same sense of overwhelming satisfaction when eating bread.
Once home, the baguette is generally immediately eaten as part of the evening meal since it is at its peak of freshness. If the whole loaf is not used, the remainder is wrapped in a towel and saved for the following morning to be toasted and spread with butter or soft cheese.
There are few more sumptuous things than a small bit of fresh, crusty baguette with butter, brie, or camembert, accompanied by a warm cup of coffee with cream.
Of course, I can already hear the readerly clamor: “How do you have time to do that? How do you afford it? Do you not have kids? A life? A job?” — All valid questions. To answer those and many more, and to provide suggestions on how you can implement this in your life (and why its important), I’ll be posting a series of articles next week on how to shop for better quality, more often - without breaking the bank.
It is much more possible than you might think, and you may actually save money.
Ed. note: I took these photos this morning of a baguette from Grand Central Bakery in Portland. Grand Central is one of the best local sources of breads and baked goods in the Pacific Northwest, and well worth a visit.
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healthranker.com Says: 20.03.08 at 1:03 pm
The French tradition - Give us our daily baguette | AlmostFit.com…
Excerpt: “There are few more sumptuous things than a small bit of fresh, crusty baguette with butter, brie, or camembert, accompanied by a warm cup of coffee with cream.”…
pligg.com Says: 20.03.08 at 1:48 pm
The French tradition - Give us our daily baguette | AlmostFit.com…
Excerpt: “There are few more sumptuous things than a small bit of fresh, crusty baguette with butter, brie, or camembert, accompanied by…”…
life calls but I had to comment
first? we americans overdo everything huh? all things in european moderation and we’d be far better off.
and
I do fear I break the bank
with my food bills but I am a firm believer it’s so worth it and tell myself that I shall save on medical bills later.
I hope so anyway!
(thanks for the link. Im getting mine together. finally. switched from wordpress to a different site and got all sorts of discombobulated)
You’ve brought back great memories of cool evenings on Alki beach in West Seattle. I used to love picking up a fresh baguette from the Metropolitan Market to enjoy on a bench by the water in the summer evenings. I’m interested to hear your suggestions for shopping more often for fresher food. Keep up the great work!
I love this idea and need to embrace it more! Thanks
I like to make my own bread. This helps to avoid preservatives. Then the whole house smells wonderful.
Oh, fresh bread is one of my favorites, and the only thing I indulge with real butter.
Have you tried whole grain bagettes?
@MizFit: Yep, I agree. Its difficult to get over that mental hurdle of accepting the idea that maybe paying a little more for a little less is a good idea, but it pays big dividends in the long run I do believe. Thanks for stopping by!
@Zach: I know that spot, and love Metropolitan Market. Very easy to get my wallet in trouble there if I don’t think ahead…
@Christine: I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately - somewhere in the blogosphere I read about a book that I believe is called something like Make Bread in just 5 Minutes a Day (will have to hunt that down). This summer I actually want to build a wood-fired oven in the backyard and see if I can bake a loaf of rustic bread or two. Maybe a home-made pizza or two as well…
@Lisa: I’m definitely right there with ya. On the whole grain variety, yes i have, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. I’m a big fan of 12-grain breads as well, although I’ve cut back significantly compared to what I used to eat. I used to fall in the trap of thinking if its whole grain, that’s what’s important - forgetting that 4 pieces of toast over the span of a morning (two at breakfast, and two mid morning, at times) were a heap of calories. Of course, all of that whole grain probably didn’t hurt my cholesterol scores, which were fine even before I changed my habits from the moderation perspective.
Thanks to everyone for your comments. I really do appreciate it.
Sounds perfect! I love baguette and actually much prefer a bit of that nice and warm over the doritos and soda anyday! Yummo!!
I love French bread. I love bakery fresh bread with no preservatives. It’s heavenly. I should make bread, but I forget. The smell of fresh bread. I know I read in some diet book or on a health blog that French bread was one of the worst food you could eat on a diet. I disagree. It’s a healthy food. I think French bread has a place in a healthy diet. I ate nearly a loaf of rye bread today and still stayed in my Spark People calorie range of 1200 to 1550 calories a day. I recall years ago someone says that bread was a good diet food since it was filling. I
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It’s amazing that more people don’t write about French beaches. There are so many areas along the coast that are enjoyable. I’ve found in my travels that asking the locals where they go - or where the tourists go (normally two different places), you’ll find the very best options. Hasn’t failed me yet. Kind regards, Dave Jackson Three Best Beaches
Dave Jacksons last blog post..Daytona Beach Shops