*crispy waffle*

The other week, the fam and I hit up an exhibit at the Volkenkunde Museum (the National Museum of Ethnology) in Leiden, called Food: Traditions, Taboos and Delicacies. I don't think it's something I would have paid to attend, but with the free entry (with the best deal in the Netherlands, the 25 euro Museumkaart) it was worth a go.

The kids really dug this area (entitled 'Strange Fruit')-- even with the giant photo of red cabbage. (This, however, was balanced with a giant picture of a pomegranate, so hey!)

Here are the kiddos in another area about etiquette.

My favorite area was a display of different utensils from all over. Although I love my KitchenAid, my Global santuko knife and my granite mortar and pestle, I'm all about finding out about other gear (ask Kyle about our crammed kitchen). This is a picture of one of my faves at the exhibit: a Mexican tin can barbecue. I am all over that. Hand me a Fanta can.

I couldn't resist a giant photo of, yes, my favorite trashtastic Asian condiment-- three letters: MSG. I am a definite "Chinese restaurant syndrome" denier. If MSG makes you loco, then (as Jeffrey Steingarten asked) why doesn't everyone in China have a headache? That reminds me-- I gotta go against the grain and post some recipes with MSG. Go authentic!

But by far the best discovery at the exhibit was an area dedicated to a book called Hungry Planet: What the World Eats. The premise of the book is a comparison of what 30 families in different countries eat in one week-- and what they spend for their food during that week. The family is then photographed, together, with that one week's worth of food. It is utterly fascinating. The differences are astonishing: one family in Australia spends the equivalent of U.S. $376 for food, while a family in Bhutan spends just over $5. At the same time, it's a great equalizer (the French family gives in to fast food and shop at a big box grocery rather than the neighborhood boulangerie, the Okinawan family had Spam in their grocery list). There are also loads of country statistics. It's the sort of information overload that I enjoy, and the photos are beautiful and illuminating (this book is a great example of how a picture is worth a thousand word), so I went right out and bought the book.

Links:
Volkenkunde Museum: Eten
Amazon.com: Hungry Planet

Labels: travel

posted by sheryl | 3:06 PM | comments (2)