4.29.2005
quick revelations
A few little tidbits I've picked up today.
a) French bread tastes better in France. OK, like, duh. It's like saying that Irish Ales are better in Ireland or Chinese food is better in California. But still... It's important to note that by French Bread I mean a baguette, and according to the French there is an actual set way that a baguette has got to be made. There are certain measures which are charming, if a little totalitarian: A baguette must weight 250 - 300g, and measure in the strict vicinity of 70cm long and 6cm in diameter. I just went to the supermarket here, and to my astonishment, they were just putting out the baguettes. In fact, they were still warm. And at 45p each, I bought two. They were the right length, but much too fat. And that fatness really does cut down on that wonderful crunchiness of the crust. The interior was bland, with only a hint of salt and a very faint (perhaps imaginary?) idea of yeastiness. Bummer. Still, it beats a lot of the bread that I've been eating recently.
b) French baguettes are not good for peanut butter and jelly. Again, duh. But really. PB&Js are all about the gooiness and the wonderful mixture of tastes. Baguettes are about the intoxicating complexity of yeasty dough which somehow becomes a clean foundation for just about savory filling, and sweet jams. The mixing of peanut butter and jelly really doesn't work as well. Too bad - as I had a hankering.
A grand happy birthday to my friend Bill at Queen's. He's a musician and a fantastic alto singer as well, which is why it pains me to know that he's going to be a lawyer in a few years. It was his house we stayed at in Salisbury. Well, Chilmark. OK. Let's go see my advisor and see if that paper I wrote for him is any good...
a) French bread tastes better in France. OK, like, duh. It's like saying that Irish Ales are better in Ireland or Chinese food is better in California. But still... It's important to note that by French Bread I mean a baguette, and according to the French there is an actual set way that a baguette has got to be made. There are certain measures which are charming, if a little totalitarian: A baguette must weight 250 - 300g, and measure in the strict vicinity of 70cm long and 6cm in diameter. I just went to the supermarket here, and to my astonishment, they were just putting out the baguettes. In fact, they were still warm. And at 45p each, I bought two. They were the right length, but much too fat. And that fatness really does cut down on that wonderful crunchiness of the crust. The interior was bland, with only a hint of salt and a very faint (perhaps imaginary?) idea of yeastiness. Bummer. Still, it beats a lot of the bread that I've been eating recently.
b) French baguettes are not good for peanut butter and jelly. Again, duh. But really. PB&Js are all about the gooiness and the wonderful mixture of tastes. Baguettes are about the intoxicating complexity of yeasty dough which somehow becomes a clean foundation for just about savory filling, and sweet jams. The mixing of peanut butter and jelly really doesn't work as well. Too bad - as I had a hankering.
A grand happy birthday to my friend Bill at Queen's. He's a musician and a fantastic alto singer as well, which is why it pains me to know that he's going to be a lawyer in a few years. It was his house we stayed at in Salisbury. Well, Chilmark. OK. Let's go see my advisor and see if that paper I wrote for him is any good...
