Bread culture

We all know that Germany has the greatest bread in the world, but Ulm takes it one step further by offering the Museum of Bread Culture. Since we have our museum passes which we got visiting the Ulmer Museum a few weeks ago on another bad weather Sunday, we went to the bread museum today. It's a pleasant place, not too big, but with what seemed like the largest collection of bread-themed art around. There were even some well-known artists represented, among them Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Picasso, or Dali. Unfortunately, they didn't have the plush pretzels that appeared in various places in the museum available in the gift shop. A missed marketing opportunity.

Laugenbrötchen

Germany gets a point for soft pretzel products. Italy, though, also gets a point for the availability of pasta with tomato sauce and/or cheese pizza at every restaurant in the country. There is always a respectable vegetarian option.

Hamburger Bun Instructions

That's right. These are the instructions on the back of the package that explain to you in detail how to toast a hamburger bun (it also lets you know that they can be eaten at room temperature).

"Per una buona tostatura Vi consigliamo di portare la piastra ad una temperatura di circa 200-220^oC, di tagliare a meta' il panino e di appoggiare per circa 1 minuto sulla piastra la parte interna (mollica) senza schiacciare. Il panino puo' essere scaldato anche in altro modo (es. infrarossi); e' importante, pero', rivolgersi sempre la mollica verso la fonte di calore. I panini 'non tostati' devono essere consumati a temperatura ambiente."

It's not important if you don't speak Italian, the point is that there is a paragraph describing what to do with the bun. I would have to conclude that this is not a familiar subject here. Everyone knows what a hamburger is, but some of the details don't make it. Often they just eat the meat by itself.

Tuscan Bread Salad (a.k.a. Panzanella)

It's summer, and mighty hot, so there's not much motivation to turn on the stove. On the other hand, the produce these days is quite good, so here's a nice no-cook meal for these hot days.

• 150g (stale) Italian bread
• 400g tomatoes
• 1 small red, 1 small green bell pepper
• 1 bunch green onions
• 1 bunch each Italian parsley and basil
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2-3 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
• salt, pepper
• 5 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 Tbsp. capers

Cut the dry bread into cubes, combine with diced tomatoes and bell peppers, as well as thinly sliced green onions. Wash and chop the herbs and add to the bread along with the garlic, minced. Add salt and pepper to vinegar, then stir in the olive oil. Add to bread along with the capers. Let stand for about an hour, it doesn't hurt for it to stand longer. A light red wine goes well with this dish.

Things You Don't See in the US #3

Stores devoted to schiacciata.

Conclusions about Florence after a month here

1. the concept of customer service is nonexistent
2. everybody smokes
3. Italians like to talk
4. they use "permesso" more than "scusi"
5. they speak slowly enough to pronounce every syllable, unlike the Spanish speakers I've encountered, who can't get through the words quickly enough
6. apparently they don't consider sliced bread the best thing
7. they don't have portabello mushrooms. It's all about porcini.
8. the fake meat products in the US are far superior (especially, and you should try these, Morningstar Farms "grillers prime" veggie burgers, Veat breasts, and Quorn chicken nuggets, chicken tenders, and "grounds")
9. they capitalize only the first letter of acronyms, e.g., "Usa"
10. I have seen very few Vespas. The motor scooters are other brands.
11. I have been asked for directions 4 or 5 times by Italians
12. I would describe Italian fashionable clothing, as in the rest of the world, as "ugly." The standard procedure for dressing yourself, I imagine, is to take 8 or 9 pieces of fashionable clothing from your closet that don't match, and put them all on together. You must include large plastic jewelry that is not necessarily the same color as anything else you're wearing. I was excited, however, that Converse- and Keds-style sneakers seem to be popular. Also, the hot weather clothing seems to be better, except for the face-engulfing sunglasses, since it generally consists of a tank top, shorts or skirt, and sandals.
13. The city is more racially diverse than I expected
14. English is used in unhelpful places like T-shirts. Some text on T-shirts I've seen: "Wild Monkey High School," "I'll come right to the point," "you drive me crazy," "monster on the dance floor," "I play in a garage band," and "now give mummy a smile." There is also a store called "Sexy Shop Kickdown," which recalls: "I know those words, but that sign doesn't make any sense." -Lisa Simpson. Actually, sex stores are usually called "sexy shop"s, but I can't explain "kickdown."
15. Despite the exchange rate, you can still find things that cost the same amount as they do is the US.
16. "Old" here is pre-1600, in contrast to the "historic" items in the US from the 18 or 1900s.
17. I have killed an average of 1 or 2 mosquitoes a day since I've been here
18. cashiers will always ask you if you have some amount of money other than the amount you're trying to pay with. They don't seem to like to count more than one coin or a couple of bills for change. Unlike the Central and South American countries I've been to, however, they will accept units of currency larger than one.
19. McDonalds is the only American fast food chain I've seen so far. And they have "McDrives" (drive-throughs).
20. I don't think they have crickets
21. cranberries are solely a US/Canada thing