Ideal diet

[MAD87]

Apart from avocado*, all the rest are grown in France (inc. bananas if one strictly defines France).
*We had South African clients a few years ago who were planning to grow avocados in Creuse.

All year round?

Surely eating out-of-season stuff is bad for the planet?

[niemeyjt]

Surely eating out-of-season stuff is bad for the planet?

Wasn't that what I said? And even transporting stuff that's in season in one corner of the country will need transport to the remainder. Just eat what's in season locally.

[tagh]

Spuds and cabbages, you must be joking!

[Bayleaf]

Spuds and cabbages, you must be joking!

Parp!

[exile]

Spuds and cabbages, you must be joking!

Which is of course why the locals used to be adept at preserving things for use during the "Hungry Gap".

[Quiksilver]

https://www.crowdfarming.com/fr/blog/20 ... terranean/ 'Exotics' are getting closer than you'd think At a price, of course.

[Quiksilver]

Spuds and cabbages, you must be joking!

Which is of course why the locals used to be adept at preserving things for use during the "Hungry Gap".

Have you ever eaten bottled Brussels or cauliflower? My dear, elderly friend used to produce hundreds of Kilner jars of veggies every year. Very rarely did the family eat anything fresh. So.....the veggies were blanched, then sterilised @100°C for anything up to an hour, then re-heated before eating. The result was unrecognisable as veg Carrots work, at a pinch. Tomatoes are OK, but brassicas....yuk!

[niemeyjt]

Have you ever eaten bottled Brussels or cauliflower? My dear, elderly friend used to produce hundreds of Kilner jars of veggies every year. Very rarely did the family eat anything fresh. So.....the veggies were blanched, then sterilised @100°C for anything up to an hour, then re-heated before eating. The result was unrecognisable as veg Carrots work, at a pinch. Tomatoes are OK, but brassicas....yuk!

Which is why we have freezers - have a look in Picard - most veg can be frozen nowadays.

[Bayleaf]

Talking of frozen veg. As they're frozen so quickly after harvesting, they contain more nutrients than "fresh" stuff. A handy hint from Jamie Oliver. He uses little cubes of frozen spinach added to stews/curries as a great extra nutrition, for a fraction of the cost of buying fresh spinach, and it's invisible in case there are any spinach-shy children at the mealtable!

[niemeyjt]

Freezing fresh herbs in ice cubes also is a useful tip. Then add one or more cubes to a stew or casserole.

Some say you can freeze any left-over wine in the same manner - though I am not quite sure I have ever seen this left-over wine stuff.