We're Not in Kansas Anymore

It's not that I have sardines on the brain or anything, but I came across the following line last night in a French food magazine:

Little children love sardine beignets sprinkled with some fleur-de-sel.

I don't know what it's like at your house, but had I handed our kid a fried sardine puff -- with or without ritzy salt -- I don't think I'd have been greeted with a grin.

Ah, those lucky French tots.  I love the thought that little ones might go from pureed peas and carrots directly to sardine beignets without stopping at Cheerios or peanut-butter sandwiches.  Of course, French children never get peanut-butter because their parents are convinced it's the root of all obesity. (I'm exaggerating only a smidgen.)  But that's a different story..

Comments

[Macky]

I just now discovered your blog and what a nice surprise! About obesity in America, there really is no mystery. It's called hydrogenated oils, which is found in both breakfast cereals and peanutbutter. None in France.

[Bronwyn]

Don't know about sardine beignets (not totally sure I like the idea even now), but I used to love sardine sandwiches when I was a kid. I loved peanut butter sandwiches too, though the American idea of jam/jelly with it (as seen in books and comics) was very peculiar. And I'm from New Zealand - which was very conservative with respect to food in those days.

[sigrid]

well, if you take it the other way round, it's just that we havn't been raised on peanutbutter so it's not something we're used to buy/eat/give to our children... But, hum , actually I wouldn't be sure about the sardine beignets neither :-)

[Pauline]

Dorie,

I love your blog- I'm French but expatriated in New York so reading your blog brings me back from France a little...anyway, I used to a be a baby-sitter and I'm glad new recipes that can introduce new flavors and diversity to children are coming up.

[Maria]

I think it is important to introduce children to a wide variety of foods so they can decide what they like. I also think the longer they stay away from pre-packaged junk food the better! Let them experiece real flavors! Bring on the sardines and beignets!

[Jane]

As a friend of Florence whom you recently met, I have just discovered your blog. I'm an American/Canadian living in the South of France for the last 15 years. I have five kids and I do have some experience regarding childrens diets. My kids have grown up in France and they are proposed a very wide variety of foods, mostly fresh and homemade. I figure they'll come to like what they see often. My kids are big fans of rye bread, thick crusted, country sourdough. They like fish, blue cheese, artichokes, asparagus. I think in the States the foods that we eat on a daily basis are only seen on special occasions and so they don't feel comfortable with them. I also think most kids go through a difficult stage of eating when they are very young but instead of serving them only simple or sugar foods, the other ones are always present and little by little they come to like them. We all come to love what we are familiar with... a notion in psychology.

[izzy's mama]

As a former teacher at the Lycee Francais de New York, I can attest to the fact that French children do seem to eat a wider range of foods than American children. It was while working there that I decided that one day, my future child would learn to eat the same way. And so it came to be that my five year old would most likely gobble down that sardine beignet. A year ago:
http://izzyeats.blogspot.com/2007/06/sardine-scene.html

[Greg]

I am so curious about your revelations about french weight vs. american. I am so burnt out on diets, superfoods, protein intake, saturated fat and your heart, on and on. What can the french teach us and can we do it in our cultural stew?
Have you read "French Women Don't Get Fat"?

[Jeannette Mara]

Obviously young children will eat what they are brought up on, if they've never tasted such things as peanut butter they won't have a taste for it! Unfortunately it is us adults who start them off on sweet stuff and unsuitable foods such as crisps/chips which are far too salty and addictive. Once tasted it is hard to break habits and the downward spiral in eating habits!

[Paul.]

Hmmm, I love me my sardines and my beignets but I think a sardine beignet might give even this adventuresome eater a moment of pause.

Peanut butter might just be an American thing. Not to start a flame war but I remember working at a gourmet food store (in the U.S.) where Australians, loaded down with Vegemite ("Can't you get bigger jars?"), would pronounce, as they passed our display of fancy peanut butter, "Peanut butter?! That's disgusting! How you Americans can eat that...!" A chacun son gout, I suppose.