It was heartening to spy through the mist from our friends Susan and Jean-Michel’s bathroom window in Strasbourg (Alsace–Lorraine in NE France) a sea of allotments stretching a hundred yards to the elevated road on the horizon.
Dotted with little sheds and pockets of green (but no sign of anyone working–well it’s winter!)–they at least were proof that vegetables are grown in this part of France.
Heartening in both senses–good news and good for the heart–after several veg-free meals eaten over a weekend in the restaurants of this ancient regional capital.
Meat is big here–the displays of it in butchers’ windows are impressive.
And often it seems little else on the plate.
True there is the chou (white cabbage)in the ubiquitous choucroute (sauerkraut) but that is not a fresh vegetable and it’s true there are potatoes but they are not an option for me.
Even white fish is served with sauerkraut here!
Vous allez manger bien la-bas! [You’ll eat well there!] we were assured enthusiastically by our friend and neighbor, Thierry, an amateur [fan] of good food when he heard we were heading to Strasbourg for the weekend.
Heavy–yes but bee-an!
At a reception in the celebrated Wine Cave Historique des Hospices de Strasbourg, the guide casually mentioned that there is more cadiovasular disease and Type 2 diabetes in this region than any other in France!
In a cave underneath the hospital of Strasbourg great casks of local wine are stored--including the oldest cask of drinkable wine in the world--so they say!
Our host in Strasbourg, Jean-Michel–(who by the way cooked me a delicious omelette for lunch on Saturday!)–said this part of France had the lowest life expectancy.
Cause and effect?
QED!
But it made me think how difficult it is to change ingrained habits….
The people of Alsace are clearly proud of their cuisine.
It reflects centuries of tradition and daily consumption, deeply connected with the customs and rural way of life autrefois (in times gone by).
But “in times gone by” the people (peasants) worked hard all day in the fields and the food they ate in this northern climate stoked their boilers.
Times have changed–but not the way of eating it seems.
Come to think of it a couple of days hard digging at the allotment would take care of at least two plates of choucroute–and there’d be some vegetables to see for the effort too!!
Robin Ellis 
Dear Robin, how wonderful to find ourselves in your blog today! As Jean-Michel put it, “c’est très gentil de ta part” . You have really captured the local culinary customs, especially in winter… But you will have to come back in the summer, you’ll be overwhelmed with the fresh vegetables and all the wonderful berries! xxSusan p s
The berries sound wonderful–tempting even!
That is not something that one would expect to see of an area in France. I am from a Welsh mining town and we cooked and ate what we could, we were always hungry because we were always busy. I had no input to the daily meals that my Mother would produce, but I remember Cawl (pronounced Cowl) which was a scrag-end of neck lamb stew that took two and a half days to cook on the hob (next the fire) and if she put pearl barley in there I would hate it, but if red lentils – I’d love it. I think we had more vegetables than meat. Certainly chicken would only appear at Christmas, but what a treat it would be.
Thanks for the heads up. I will be traveling to Strasbourg this coming summer as part of a music trip with students.
Looking forward to visiting the Alsace region, however heavy the food may be!
Gosh I don’t think I could handle all that meat, which isn’t to say I don’t like meat, but I seem to eat less and less as I get older. As an aside, most of the butcher shops back home in the Northeast seem to be closing down.
It seems they have also “Krauts” in France ! The cuisine in Alsace is similiar to the cuisine in the southwest of Germany (Baden, Saarland, Pfalz). Marked by the use of pork in various form, onion tart, tarte flambee, wine and sauerkraut of course. The Eating of raw sauerkraut is healthy and has a lot of B and C vitamins in it. It is available in organic markets. This year I was surprised how many tourists ate sauerkraut and roasted sausages on our christmas market here in Munich.
A friend of mine worked as a cook at an airport base and recommended me roasted sauerkraut with onions. In this form it was better digestible for the pilots. Another way is to add caraway.
The Alsace was a apple of discord between two neighbour countries for decades and was always again in different possesion so this was not an easy situation for them. I think one of the reasons why they keep hold on to their eating traditions. Cuisine is like the language a symbol of identification.
It should be not a daily way of eating. Instead modern innovative cuisine which has developed with traditional styles as the basis, identified by the use of quality products and healthier ingredients.
And what do you say always eating in moderation !
Visitors always enjoy tasting traditional local cuisine, served in these charming restaurants known as “winstubs”, but be reassured there are plenty of modern restaurants here in Strasbourg serving food prepared in the Mediterranean, Italian, Thai, Japanese, Vegetarian and many other ways.
And the market stands are heaped with vegetables and fruit for home consumption. Come visit!
Nice to see the allotments… even near Amsterdam you see these.In Holland there is a lot of zuurkool(=sauerkraut) too. Also we eat curly kale with massed potatotoes with sausage and red kale with baken apple.Yes lot’s of food for farmers and hard working people but it is healthier than modern food isn’t it. Do you know the painting by van Gogh “the potatoe- eaters” that is not healthy(only potatoes) but when you are so poor that’s the only thing to feed yourself. I wonder if wine is possible for diabetic I see it often in your recepies.
Best wishes Caroline