France & America’s Very Different Obsessions with Food
Choosing between wanting it right and wanting it right now
There’s nothing like the salty smell of aged goat cheese first thing in the morning.
Walking through a local street market in France will forever be Exhibit A when dissecting the different food mentalities between France and the United States.
On this particular Saturday morning, half of the small Burgundian village of Charlieu has come out, even though a spring thunderstorm raged through only minutes before. Water droplets are still tumbling off of the occasional leaf, striking an unsuspecting forehead.
Along a simple pedestrian island between two one-way roads, street vendors cozy up next to each other, each filled with fragrant offerings for the casual passer-by.
Walking through the fruit stand brings the rich smell of fresh strawberries in one nostril and cantaloupe in the other. The fruit king stands guard over his mountain of cantaloupe, proudly explaining to an older woman with a rolling grocery cart how the cantaloupe has started to ripen in France. This means they’re slightly less sweet than their Spanish cousins, but a full day fresher.
He then points to his strawberries.
“These are picked…
