One of the things that is significant in French culture – or at least in the French culture we observe here in Albertville – is that there is a high value on food quality. What I mean is that people here highly value food that is fresh, local and in-season. I think that is why there are three different open air markets a week, all of which are within walking distance of where we live.
The first is the Wednesday market which has predominantly Arabic vendors and shoppers. This is honestly my favorite market to go to for produce. The people there are so friendly and patient with my weak French and the prices are hard to beat. There is also a really tasty kebab stand there!
The second is the Thursday market which is the main French market. There are tons of vendors with produce, cheese, bread, meat, baked goods and so on. This is our go to market for whole bean coffee. Admittedly France has not had the best coffee scene compared to what we were used to in the States so we are thankful to have found this vendor (we were a little spoiled coming from living next door to an amazing coffeeshop, in a town with several other incredible coffee shops and a tea lounge!)
The final market is on Saturday morning and, while in a different location, has many of the same vendors as the Thursday market. We don’t visit this one as regularly, but do enjoy stopping by on a Saturday morning family walk when we’re going that direction.
As you can see the options for fresh produce and other food is abundant which is good since there is such a strong desire to support local. In general it seems that the French think most anything that is made or grown in France is best as well. For example, our neighbor who is French has a car and takes several of us women grocery shopping on Mondays. The other day I had grabbed some pears that were from Portugal (all the produce is very clearly labelled based on where it’s from) and she pointed out that there were pears right next to the ones I had grabbed that were far superior because they were grown in France. It was rather humorous to me, but I decided to buy one of each pear anyway to see which was better. And, admittedly, the French pear was significantly better so perhaps there is something to that way of thinking!
In the States I was so accustomed to just buying whatever produce was available and looked good and generally had no idea or concern about which country it had originated in. I have also noticed an emphasis here on buying what’s in-season, both from my friend who takes me grocery shopping and in the lessons we have done in class on food. Again, my choices on what to buy or not buy were more often dictated by price than if something was in-season, especially since most fruits and vegetables are available year round in large grocery stores in the States. This is one area of many in which we have really enjoyed learning about French culture. And we are also really enjoying all the fresh, local foods we get to try!
-Selina
