Fed up of the food.

syklops

Hi,

Have been living abroad(eastern europe) for 9 months, and while I am finding it fine for the most part I am started to get tired of the food. At first I was happy to experiment a bit if I went out for food. Then I found a few dishes that I really liked and would have them when out, but also starting cooking at home alot also. I enjoy cooking, and had quite a collection of dishes i could make.

However recently, I am no longer happy with most of the things I get when out, and am running out of ideas of things to cook when at home.

Has anyone else experienced this? Is it basically a type of homesickness? Does it pass?

lil_lisa

Well to be honest, in nearly every country I've ever been to, I've found that they have so much more of a choice when it comes to food. I'm eating foods I've never heard of on top of everything you'd get at home or similar items. There are so many new flavours and dishes to be appreciated. That's actually the one thing I miss when I go home. I want to get back out into the world.

Surely, in eastern Europe you haven't run out of possibilities yet? They use so many spices and herbs and different meats, even different ways of cooking, and most of these foods are fresher than buying a sack of potatoes in Ireland. Eastern European countries have the ability to grow almost everything they eat. Have you tasted the veg and fruit they have?

Sorry, I don't mean to be pushy about this but the lack of sun at home puts a barrier on the amount of foods and the quality of foods that you will find there!

keithclancy

lil_lisa wrote: »

Well to be honest, in nearly every country I've ever been to, I've found that they have so much more of a choice when it comes to food. I'm eating foods I've never heard of on top of everything you'd get at home or similar items. There are so many new flavours and dishes to be appreciated. That's actually the one thing I miss when I go home. I want to get back out into the world.

Surely, in eastern Europe you haven't run out of possibilities yet? They use so many spices and herbs and different meats, even different ways of cooking, and most of these foods are fresher than buying a sack of potatoes in Ireland. Eastern European countries have the ability to grow almost everything they eat. Have you tasted the veg and fruit they have?

Sorry, I don't mean to be pushy about this but the lack of sun at home puts a barrier on the amount of foods and the quality of foods that you will find there!

Eastern European food is particularly bland, its more about providing sustinance than taste. Pretty much the same with Germany, lots of meat, something resembling mashed spuds + some sort of gravy, and sloppy cabbage.

Invite people over and have a cook night, bring going out to home.

I live in the Netherlands quite close to Germany, the food ain't great... i miss the Kerr Pinks ..

They do sell Kerrygold butter in Germany though .. YUM !

The selection of Beer is better though.

syklops

keithclancy wrote: »

Eastern European food is particularly bland, its more about providing sustinance than taste. Pretty much the same with Germany, lots of meat, something resembling mashed spuds + some sort of gravy, and sloppy cabbage.

Invite people over and have a cook night, bring going out to home.

I live in the Netherlands quite close to Germany, the food ain't great... i miss the Kerr Pinks ..

They do sell Kerrygold butter in Germany though .. YUM !

The selection of Beer is better though.

I do cook most nights. Delia helps me out alot. And they sell Kerrygold here aswell which is great. Unfortunately the flat we have is not really suited to entertaining. Its basically just a bedsit, but I have held a dinner party at a friends house, and done the cooking for it, so thats not a problem. I suppose my question was more do other people feel this from time to time? What do you do to get out of that mood?

...most of these foods are fresher than buying a sack of potatoes in Ireland.

Considering on Monday it went above zero for the first time in 3 months, I dont think thats true. Most of the fresh veg here is from the same places fresh veg in Ireland is from, which is imported from hot countries. Sure in summer there is lots of fresh things to be had, but not in Febuary.

Maybe thats just it, that I was spoiled for freshness when I arrived, and as Keith said, in the winter it is more about sustenance than taste.

keithclancy

syklops wrote: »

I do cook most nights. Delia helps me out alot. And they sell Kerrygold here aswell which is great. Unfortunately the flat we have is not really suited to entertaining. Its basically just a bedsit, but I have held a dinner party at a friends house, and done the cooking for it, so thats not a problem. I suppose my question was more do other people feel this from time to time? What do you do to get out of that mood?



Considering on Monday it went above zero for the first time in 3 months, I dont think thats true. Most of the fresh veg here is from the same places fresh veg in Ireland is from, which is imported from hot countries. Sure in summer there is lots of fresh things to be had, but not in Febuary.

Maybe thats just it, that I was spoiled for freshness when I arrived, and as Keith said, in the winter it is more about sustenance than taste.

No way .. I've the Delia Smith "How to Cook" book
Your Kerrygold probably comes from the Factory I pass on the way home

I'd say your best bet would be looking for Indian/Chinese restaurants as their pretty good at making stuff from less than fresh foods.

syklops

keithclancy wrote: »

No way .. I've the Delia Smith "How to Cook" book
Your Kerrygold probably comes from the Factory I pass on the way home

I'd say your best bet would be looking for Indian/Chinese restaurants as their pretty good at making stuff from less than fresh foods.

Its funny you should say that i am going out for indian tomorrow night with a friend. Hopefully the mood will pass after a chicken vindaloo.

I have the Delia smith cookery course. Its really good. I find Jamie oliver to be crap. He will start off with " a really easy quick and simple dish" and then the ingredients list will take you 2 hours walking the streets of town to find.

InTheTrees

Luckily its not a prob in the US.

But I still miss Home food. The food thats familiar is all just slightly different here.

Tom Dunne

That certainly happened me when I lived in the US - just got tired of the food and no amount of home cooking solved it.

It did pass with time, I found it might happen one or two days a week, then I would be fine, then it would come back a week or two later.

Never quite could put my finger on it.

Now that I am living in the Middle East, I thought I might encounter the same problems, but my shopping trolley each week is pretty much identical to back home (and around half the price, I might add). Plus, I am only here six months at this stage, so I am still discovering new foods and restaurants.

Dont be at yourself

In fairness, if you're looking for Kerrygold, Kerrs Pinks and so on, you're not really giving the country a chance. I've lived in Japan, am currently living in Germany, and I've found that the best way to cope with the food is to completely forget your normal diet, and go native.

There is a huge variety of food in every culture, if you're willing to look for it.

Tristram

Currently living in Japan and not missing food from home at all. Every day is an adventure foodwise That said I think I'm lucky. Some of my friends seem to really miss stuff from their homelands, judging by the way they harp on about it anyway To be honest a new cookbook might help you a lot! Are there foods you don't like or are you willing to give everything a go?

Tom Dunne

Somebody asked me the other day what was I missing from home. About the only food that I really miss is Clonakilty black pudding.

I am reliably informed that our visitors arriving in the next week or so will come with a suitcase full of the stuff.

GiftsDirect

ah there's nothing like the clonakillty black pudding. One thing I missed when I was in South America and Australia were sausages. Closest thing I got to a sausage in oz had almonds in it! Who puts almonds in sausages for Gods sake! SA had plenty of spuds though so I was sorted!

syklops

NekkidBibleMan wrote: »

In fairness, if you're looking for Kerrygold, Kerrs Pinks and so on, you're not really giving the country a chance. I've lived in Japan, am currently living in Germany, and I've found that the best way to cope with the food is to completely forget your normal diet, and go native.

There is a huge variety of food in every culture, if you're willing to look for it.

Not a very helpful comment in fairness. I've been here 9 months. its not like I have been here a week, looked at a few menus and decided I dont like the food. I have and am giving the country a chance.

The question I asked was has anyone else ever felt fed up with the food? I also asked was it basically a form of homesickness, where you miss the familiar.

So far only tom dune and keith clancy have given me an answer to that question.

Also comparing japan with eastern europe is not really the same. I love asian food and could eat it everyday because of its variety. Japan is an Island, where as the country I am living in is land locked, with over 600 km to the sea, so there is not alot of fresh fish. As has been pointed out its more about sustenance than taste. Pork is the main meat, every part of the pig is eaten including its brains and genitals in some cases. I think you can agree it is easy to get tired of pork.

Im willing to give most things a go. I do draw the line at pig brains and scrambled egg though.

Sorry if I seem ungrateful for the comments.

Dont be at yourself

I understand where you're coming from. Like I said, I'm living in Germany now, and you can't move for pork and potatoes. But it's not the be-all and end-all of the cuisine. Just like Japan, with its preference for fresh fish, if you look you can find all sorts of food.

As you suggested, it's a form of homesickness. And just like homesickness, longing for it won't address the problem. Put thoughts of Irish breakfast and king crisps out of your head, and embrace the local food. Don't scour shops shelves for ingredients common back home, try something new. Don't go home and cook Delia Smith, try out some authentic eastern European dishes.

It may sound glib, but it is the best way to tackle the problem.

InTheTrees

Nothing wrong with homesickness.

We have more resturants than I can count of every imaginable ethnicity wihtin walking distance but I still miss Beans, rashers and toast with a mug of tea...

keithclancy

You could try one of the online British shops:
http://www.expatdirect.co.uk/

Some of the things we get (although not from there)
Bisto
Ballymaloe Relish
Sarsons Vinegar
Barrys Teabags (Yorkshire tea is almost the same though if you can get your hands on it)
Good cheddar cheese.
Rashers (Although whenever I buy them in the UK they say their a product of Holland !, but i can never find them in Holland!)
Sausages

Rashers and sausages we usually seperate and freeze, also never had a problem bringing them on the plane.

With the above you can have a touch of home every so often .. we actually brought a suitcase in a suitcase last time we went back and filled the second one with shopping when going home

Also found you can find some local alternatives if you experiment a bit too.

helimachoptor

InTheTrees wrote: »

Nothing wrong with homesickness.

We have more resturants than I can count of every imaginable ethnicity wihtin walking distance but I still miss Beans, rashers and toast with a mug of tea...

Agreed, spent some time in Kosovo and Spain and tried a lot of the local stuff, one time in Kosovo they give about 5 chips with dinner it was christmas eve so I asked the guy for a massive bowl of chips! fantastic meal

keithclancy

NekkidBibleMan wrote: »

In fairness, if you're looking for Kerrygold, Kerrs Pinks and so on, you're not really giving the country a chance. I've lived in Japan, am currently living in Germany, and I've found that the best way to cope with the food is to completely forget your normal diet, and go native.

There is a huge variety of food in every culture, if you're willing to look for it.

Generally I find the more beer you drink in Germany the better the eating experience ;P

You anywhere in Nordrhein-Westfalen ?

Dont be at yourself

You anywhere in Nordrhein-Westfalen ?

In Frankfurt am Main, so not a million miles away!

keithclancy

NekkidBibleMan wrote: »

In Frankfurt am Main, so not a million miles away!

Damn...

Wish there was a forum for the Dutch, Belgium, Northwest German region, would be cool to have a meetup, or even let people know whats going on with local events etc.

Toytowngermany and Expatica are full of brits looking for information on tax and stuff

InTheTrees

keithclancy wrote: »

Damn...

Wish there was a forum for the Dutch, Belgium, Northwest German region, would be cool to have a meetup, or even let people know whats going on with local events etc.

Toytowngermany and Expatica are full of brits looking for information on tax and stuff

You could atsrt a thread and ask a moderator to make it a sticky?

syklops

Id be on for a forum of that ilk. Im in the czech republic, which is not a million miles from germany.

Back on topic, I fixed my problem with a half dozen fresh oysters from a Sushi restaurant, followed by a chicken vindaloo in an Indian restaurant. Both meals cost more than a weeks shopping, but it was worth it.

In the meanwhile I have picked up a virus which means I cant eat anything. I am now in the unfortunate position that I would love some zhebra, or Gulas, but cant have it.

In the words of Robbie Burns
Some hae meat but canna eat.

Thanks for the replies.