Souschef
Sous Chef
I also subscribe to the Cruise Critic forums. One couple from Toronto was concerned after reading some menus from a European River cruise.
They said," We have fairly simple North American taste in food and unfortunately we are not very adventurous to try new foods, all of the dinners on these cruises seem very gourmet and many items we have never eaten". Furthermore, they also said,"I must admit we are very leery of the sample menus we have viewed......we don't eat any fish.....and have seen veal, lamb, duck....which we have never eaten".
The comments from other posters were supportive, explaining they could get their meat and potatoes on the cruise.
The most interesting one came from someone posting derivations of "American Food"
Almost all so-called American food is directly derived from foods from other countries. Most American recipes came from Europe. The biggest difference between American food and the European counterpart is that cooks used what was locally available to make the same dish. For example:
Macaroni and Cheese came from Italy where it is known as Cacio e Pepe and made with Parmesan Cheese instead of American Cheese.
Pizza (all types) came directly from Naples, Italy. Neopolitan pizza is about the highest quality of ingredients. Americans added more ingredients and lower quality.
Meatloaf is actually from 5th Century Rome.
French Fries likely came to France and then the US by way of Spain and then Belgium.
Pasta came to America via China and then Italy.
Pot Roast is essentially and Americanized recipe for French braised beef or Daube de Bouef.
Chicken pot pie's origin began in ancient Egypt and Greece, then spread all over the Roman Empire before making its way to Medieval Europe. In the early days, the crust was used more as a pot lid or to preserve the food than something people would eat. In Europe the pastry was refined by the Italians and French and then crossed over to Britain and finally was brought to North America by English Pilgrims.
Probably you already are eating all kinds of European classic dishes ALL the time and don't even know it. So do go on this lovely river cruise and enjoy the wonderful food they have onboard. Perhaps you can take advantage of the lunch buffet to try small amounts of foods which are new to you. After all, they are included in the price of the cruise anyway. You may find a new favorite or two.
Do you enjoy trying new foods when they are available? When we travel, trying local cuisine is part of the travel experience.
The one place that blew us away was the Les Halles market in Lyon, France! On the same trip we loved going through the local farmer's market in Nice, France. We bought some neat Herbes de Provence spice grinders for ourselves and some of our friends.
They said," We have fairly simple North American taste in food and unfortunately we are not very adventurous to try new foods, all of the dinners on these cruises seem very gourmet and many items we have never eaten". Furthermore, they also said,"I must admit we are very leery of the sample menus we have viewed......we don't eat any fish.....and have seen veal, lamb, duck....which we have never eaten".
The comments from other posters were supportive, explaining they could get their meat and potatoes on the cruise.
The most interesting one came from someone posting derivations of "American Food"
Almost all so-called American food is directly derived from foods from other countries. Most American recipes came from Europe. The biggest difference between American food and the European counterpart is that cooks used what was locally available to make the same dish. For example:
Macaroni and Cheese came from Italy where it is known as Cacio e Pepe and made with Parmesan Cheese instead of American Cheese.
Pizza (all types) came directly from Naples, Italy. Neopolitan pizza is about the highest quality of ingredients. Americans added more ingredients and lower quality.
Meatloaf is actually from 5th Century Rome.
French Fries likely came to France and then the US by way of Spain and then Belgium.
Pasta came to America via China and then Italy.
Pot Roast is essentially and Americanized recipe for French braised beef or Daube de Bouef.
Chicken pot pie's origin began in ancient Egypt and Greece, then spread all over the Roman Empire before making its way to Medieval Europe. In the early days, the crust was used more as a pot lid or to preserve the food than something people would eat. In Europe the pastry was refined by the Italians and French and then crossed over to Britain and finally was brought to North America by English Pilgrims.
Probably you already are eating all kinds of European classic dishes ALL the time and don't even know it. So do go on this lovely river cruise and enjoy the wonderful food they have onboard. Perhaps you can take advantage of the lunch buffet to try small amounts of foods which are new to you. After all, they are included in the price of the cruise anyway. You may find a new favorite or two.
Do you enjoy trying new foods when they are available? When we travel, trying local cuisine is part of the travel experience.
The one place that blew us away was the Les Halles market in Lyon, France! On the same trip we loved going through the local farmer's market in Nice, France. We bought some neat Herbes de Provence spice grinders for ourselves and some of our friends.
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