This is a funny piece and I resonated so much with cooked meals as "the real food", while sandwiches are snacks, and snacks are not food. Greece and Romania (where I was born) have similar cultures, including food culture. I remember my parents stating the same truths about what's real food and what's not.
I never heard the idea that you only need warm food once a day... it sounds intriguing, but also some sort of myth; just like the myth that a sandwich is not real food. :)
No, ofc a sandwich is food. It is more to point out that food should not just be a chore, like putting gas in a car to keep it going. It is more than that, it should also be food for the soul. And while cold food will keep you going, like gas, it will not feed your soul.
From my experience, Germans are very big on having a hot lunch - and traditionally that being the main meal of the day. Dinner is often bread with cold meat slices and cheeses and pickles, things like that. I always thought it was because working parents don't have the energy or time to cook a full meal in the evenings.
My American self always cooks dinner, and just does a cold lunch - the opposite. That's how I was raised. Even though it might make sense to do the reverse (and also to let the schools' feed my kids the hot lunch).
I got the impression that there was no staple, just that one warm meal was enough. For some it could be lunch and for some dinner.
I think these habits also change a lot over the generations. If you had only one working parent, then you would probably eat a warm meal more often than now, that it is common for both parents to work full time jobs.
I agree! Coming from northern Italy there is a bit of that 'bread and cheese is an okay dinner' vibe but always with a big mug of something warm, or potato hash. Now I am closer to Asian ways of eating and they have something very similar but in relation to some more abstract temperature of the food and the body. In summer they would eat cucumber as a cold food, but in winter you should eat more warm foods (not literally but intrinsically) and if you had to eat 'cold food' you needed to turn it warm (either literally by warming it up, or by pairing it with intrinsically warm spices)
Yes, I think they are called energetically warm/cold foods. I did some Chinese medicine therapy and the doctor told me I should either eat energetically warm foods, or if they are cold (like tomatoes), I should cook them up - so warm them artificially. I must say it did improve my overall health very much!
Ok you guys are waaay ahead of me in chinese medicine😅
Have any of these techniques been adopted by modern medicine? Or are they nowadays considered obsolete and "the way my grandma would try to cure diseases in the village"?
It became its own branch recognized by the WHO as Traditional Chinese Medicine, and I saw some Chinese Unis offering courses in it way back when. I can't be entirely sure, but I think TCM is comfortable remaining in its own sphere relative to Western medicine. Someone from China could probably shed light on this subject
This is a funny piece and I resonated so much with cooked meals as "the real food", while sandwiches are snacks, and snacks are not food. Greece and Romania (where I was born) have similar cultures, including food culture. I remember my parents stating the same truths about what's real food and what's not.
I never heard the idea that you only need warm food once a day... it sounds intriguing, but also some sort of myth; just like the myth that a sandwich is not real food. :)
No, ofc a sandwich is food. It is more to point out that food should not just be a chore, like putting gas in a car to keep it going. It is more than that, it should also be food for the soul. And while cold food will keep you going, like gas, it will not feed your soul.
Totally agree. If I have a sandwich for lunch I need a massive post-lunch coffee break with cake shortly after, it just doesn't fill you up!
I like the use of the word "massive" in this context 😋
Big it up for the massive coffee break!
I think you hurt salads feelings…
Haha my apologies to salad! I love salads, but do you think they belong in the "meal" category?
From my experience, Germans are very big on having a hot lunch - and traditionally that being the main meal of the day. Dinner is often bread with cold meat slices and cheeses and pickles, things like that. I always thought it was because working parents don't have the energy or time to cook a full meal in the evenings.
My American self always cooks dinner, and just does a cold lunch - the opposite. That's how I was raised. Even though it might make sense to do the reverse (and also to let the schools' feed my kids the hot lunch).
I got the impression that there was no staple, just that one warm meal was enough. For some it could be lunch and for some dinner.
I think these habits also change a lot over the generations. If you had only one working parent, then you would probably eat a warm meal more often than now, that it is common for both parents to work full time jobs.
I agree! Coming from northern Italy there is a bit of that 'bread and cheese is an okay dinner' vibe but always with a big mug of something warm, or potato hash. Now I am closer to Asian ways of eating and they have something very similar but in relation to some more abstract temperature of the food and the body. In summer they would eat cucumber as a cold food, but in winter you should eat more warm foods (not literally but intrinsically) and if you had to eat 'cold food' you needed to turn it warm (either literally by warming it up, or by pairing it with intrinsically warm spices)
Interesting about Asia, I didn't know that. So as long as it makes you sweat, it is "warm"?
I'd say so, but surely it's deeper than that and has roots in eastern medicine...
Yes, I think they are called energetically warm/cold foods. I did some Chinese medicine therapy and the doctor told me I should either eat energetically warm foods, or if they are cold (like tomatoes), I should cook them up - so warm them artificially. I must say it did improve my overall health very much!
Ha! Thanks for the info. Judging from the comments here, everyone knows more about Chinese medicine than I do 😅.
It's a fascinating world, isn't it?
Yes it is!
interesting piece! this hot and cold concept is also quite prevalent in Chinese cuisine and indeed traditional chinese medicine (TCM).
I dont know about medicine, but I am certainly in better mental health after a nice meal! 😋
Thanks! That's what I was trying to say in my comment haha
Ok you guys are waaay ahead of me in chinese medicine😅
Have any of these techniques been adopted by modern medicine? Or are they nowadays considered obsolete and "the way my grandma would try to cure diseases in the village"?
It became its own branch recognized by the WHO as Traditional Chinese Medicine, and I saw some Chinese Unis offering courses in it way back when. I can't be entirely sure, but I think TCM is comfortable remaining in its own sphere relative to Western medicine. Someone from China could probably shed light on this subject