6 ms·

That’s a bit of a generalization. I’m from germany, so definitely a western culture. At the moment I have at least 10 different kinds of flour from at least fiv

That’s a bit of a generalization. I’m from germany, so definitely a western culture. At the moment I have at least 10 different kinds of flour from at least five kinds of grain (including spelt, buckwheat and millet) in my cupboard. This is certainly above average, but neither of them is hard to find. They’re all from the store next door. At least buckwheat and spelt are widely available in all supermarkets, some more exotic grains like emmer or einkorn are available in most organic supermarkets. What’s harder to get are different types of flour, some of which are fairly regional. For example “Spätzlemehl” is commonly available in the south, but generally unavailable in the north. Italian Tenero 00 flour is only available in select places. Whenever Swiss friends come visit I ask them to bring some Ruchmehl - Standard Swiss wheat flour - as it’s generally unavailable in Germany (unless you order online at your friendly local mill)

shusson 6y ago
I can say moving from Sydney to Amsterdam, there does seem to be a lot more variety of grains at the average supermarket. Especially buckwheat, spelt and rye.
vinay427 6y ago
I'm currently living in Switzerland and I was going to post something along these lines. That being said, in the US there are also plenty of interesting grains/lentils/legumes available in stores thanks in part to inherited culinary traditions: cornmeal, corn masa, wild rice, couscous, black beans, pinto beans, various types of quinoa, various types of lentils, etc. Spelt seems less common there but there isn't a tradition of cultivation of it so that makes sense. I do think the bean selection here in Switzerland is lower than I would prefer, but a few specialty stores mitigate that.
gambiting 6y ago
Germany is really good about this. So is Poland in fact. But UK is like a desert of food variety. You want to buy some barley? Well, maybe the "health" isle in a supermarket will have some in 300g packets, because no one buys this stuff. Flour? Like.....white or wholemeal? That's about it. There are different brands of course but the variety is exactly zero. And don't get me started on meat and butchers - I'm conviced that British people don't know what an actual butcher is. The biggest joke are always "butchers" in a meat isle like in Morrisons, who are only allowed to serve very specific cuts of the 4-5 meats they have on display. Try asking if you can just buy some bones for broth(sorry mate, not allowed to sell them), or the horror ask if you can buy some giblets, like chicken hearts or stomachs - nope, they never get them from "the factory". So....are you a butcher? Or a glorified cashier? And it's the same even at proper markets, where you'd think they'd have more flexibility - "nah mate, health and safety mate, can't sell you these". Just piss off.
- C1sc0cat 6y ago
  There are still a few proper butchers in the UK normally the ones that sell game as well.
- string 6y ago
  Where in the UK do you live? I bake my own bread and have around five different types of flour in the cupboard bought from regular supermarkets, and a few more from smaller speciality shops. There's loads of variety. I don't eat meat so I can't comment on the butcher thing.
  - gambiting 6y ago
    North East.
    - string 6y ago
      That explains it.
      - detritus 6y ago
        Explains what how, exactly?
- te_chris 6y ago
  I live in London, so I appreciate the difference, but I can get literally any food and ingredient I want walking distance from my house. Only thing is, none of it's from the supermarkets. Do you not have a local butcher or whatever around you?
  - gambiting 6y ago
    There is one or two on the local high street, but my experience was the same - I tried ordering some chicken hearts, nope, they don't get them, can't order them, guy had no idea how you'd go about getting any. Ok fine - can I buy some rabbit? Or pheasant? They can bring some frozen one in for me - great, not really interested. Ok, how about like chicken carcass and beef bones to make stock out of? Nope, they don't sell those.
stevenjohns 6y ago
Is Germany truly considered to carry “Western culture” within the English-speaking world? “Western culture” to me, when mentioned by the English-speaking world, has really just meant the shared ideals of the metropolitan parts of English-first first world countries (that’s a mouthful). This would include major cities in countries like the UK, USA, Australia, Canada and New Zealand but would also exclude their rural areas. Not that I agree or disagree with it or that I’m trying to make a political statement - it’s just an observation I’ve found.
- TheAdamAndChe 6y ago
  The terms Western, Eastern, and Third world stem from the Cold War. Western countries sided with USA and adopted capitalism, where Eastern countries sided with Russia and mostly adopted communism. The Third World countries didn't take a side. This is why Germany is considered Western.
  - frosted-flakes 6y ago
    Which is why Australia is part of the Western world, even though it's part of the eastern world (note the case).
- twic 6y ago
  As a Brit, i absolutely consider Germany western. I'd say unambiguous westernness in Europe stretches about as far as the Czech Republic.
- DyslexicAtheist 6y ago
  > Is Germany truly considered to carry “Western culture” within the English-speaking world? apart from the political explanation there are also the philosophical roots of Greece as the birthplace of Western civilization. A country that builds on this can be part of the Western World. The books in this category give you a better picture of what belongs. Needless to say the English language or Anglo-Saxon culture is not a yardstick as to what belongs here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Books_of_the_Western_World https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Books_of_the_Western_Wor...

shusson 6y ago

I can say moving from Sydney to Amsterdam, there does seem to be a lot more variety of grains at the average supermarket. Especially buckwheat, spelt and rye.

vinay427 6y ago

I'm currently living in Switzerland and I was going to post something along these lines. That being said, in the US there are also plenty of interesting grains/lentils/legumes available in stores thanks in part to inherited culinary traditions: cornmeal, corn masa, wild rice, couscous, black beans, pinto beans, various types of quinoa, various types of lentils, etc. Spelt seems less common there but there isn't a tradition of cultivation of it so that makes sense. I do think the bean selection here in Switzerland is lower than I would prefer, but a few specialty stores mitigate that.

gambiting 6y ago

Germany is really good about this. So is Poland in fact. But UK is like a desert of food variety. You want to buy some barley? Well, maybe the "health" isle in a supermarket will have some in 300g packets, because no one buys this stuff. Flour? Like.....white or wholemeal? That's about it. There are different brands of course but the variety is exactly zero. And don't get me started on meat and butchers - I'm conviced that British people don't know what an actual butcher is. The biggest joke are always "butchers" in a meat isle like in Morrisons, who are only allowed to serve very specific cuts of the 4-5 meats they have on display. Try asking if you can just buy some bones for broth(sorry mate, not allowed to sell them), or the horror ask if you can buy some giblets, like chicken hearts or stomachs - nope, they never get them from "the factory". So....are you a butcher? Or a glorified cashier? And it's the same even at proper markets, where you'd think they'd have more flexibility - "nah mate, health and safety mate, can't sell you these". Just piss off.

C1sc0cat 6y ago
There are still a few proper butchers in the UK normally the ones that sell game as well.
string 6y ago
Where in the UK do you live? I bake my own bread and have around five different types of flour in the cupboard bought from regular supermarkets, and a few more from smaller speciality shops. There's loads of variety. I don't eat meat so I can't comment on the butcher thing.
- gambiting 6y ago
  North East.
  - string 6y ago
    That explains it.
    - detritus 6y ago
      Explains what how, exactly?
te_chris 6y ago
I live in London, so I appreciate the difference, but I can get literally any food and ingredient I want walking distance from my house. Only thing is, none of it's from the supermarkets. Do you not have a local butcher or whatever around you?
- gambiting 6y ago
  There is one or two on the local high street, but my experience was the same - I tried ordering some chicken hearts, nope, they don't get them, can't order them, guy had no idea how you'd go about getting any. Ok fine - can I buy some rabbit? Or pheasant? They can bring some frozen one in for me - great, not really interested. Ok, how about like chicken carcass and beef bones to make stock out of? Nope, they don't sell those.

stevenjohns 6y ago

Is Germany truly considered to carry “Western culture” within the English-speaking world? “Western culture” to me, when mentioned by the English-speaking world, has really just meant the shared ideals of the metropolitan parts of English-first first world countries (that’s a mouthful). This would include major cities in countries like the UK, USA, Australia, Canada and New Zealand but would also exclude their rural areas. Not that I agree or disagree with it or that I’m trying to make a political statement - it’s just an observation I’ve found.

TheAdamAndChe 6y ago
The terms Western, Eastern, and Third world stem from the Cold War. Western countries sided with USA and adopted capitalism, where Eastern countries sided with Russia and mostly adopted communism. The Third World countries didn't take a side. This is why Germany is considered Western.
- frosted-flakes 6y ago
  Which is why Australia is part of the Western world, even though it's part of the eastern world (note the case).
twic 6y ago
As a Brit, i absolutely consider Germany western. I'd say unambiguous westernness in Europe stretches about as far as the Czech Republic.
DyslexicAtheist 6y ago
> Is Germany truly considered to carry “Western culture” within the English-speaking world? apart from the political explanation there are also the philosophical roots of Greece as the birthplace of Western civilization. A country that builds on this can be part of the Western World. The books in this category give you a better picture of what belongs. Needless to say the English language or Anglo-Saxon culture is not a yardstick as to what belongs here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Books_of_the_Western_World https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Books_of_the_Western_Wor...