Did you know? - Food Edition

The subjects of food, eating and mealtime has been for me one of the most interesting and most different from what I'm used to. I thought it deserved something special. A few points of interest:

• Cake really can be a meal! We have cake as a meal for every Sunday lunch.
• There is a German concept of cold meals and warm meals. One should eat a warm meal everyday, but probably no more than that.
• For the other meals there'S BREAD!
• Did you know that Germany has the most types of bread in the world? Wow, cool huh.
• One can put cheese or salami or wurst on bread for a savory treat
• Or one can choose from Nutella, many different types of marmalades/jams/jellies/honey for a delicious breakfast.
• One may have a sweet or savory breakfast, but one may not have a sweet dinner. It just isn't done.

Table manners are really important here:

• We enjoy very little napkin usage here. Only during formal meals and then sparingly. Germans shouldn't need them, supposedly.
  
• It is impolite to eat improperly and if you eat messily, you might be looked down upon.
• There is a right way to use a fork and knife. Many Germans use knives when they really aren't neccessary because then it is all a bit more orderly.
• My host mother was shocked when I told her that sometimes people in America use their hands to put for on the fork. Mostly just nudges here and there, but in Germany that would be a shocking occurance because they all use their knives.
• Always the hands on the table. Who knows what might be going on where we can't see....
• But not the elbows or the forearmson the table.
• Always knive in the right hand and fork in the left hand. A person needs two hands to eat.
• When you're finished, you put both the fork and the knife together on the plate on the right side at approximately 3 o'clock position.
  
• If you're not finished, lay the knife on the right and fork on the left, but only so that the mesy part is on the plate. The handle should be on the table.
  

In my family, we eat all of our meals together at the table, when we're at home. And I don't think that potluck, buffet style would really work at a family gathering.

I can't get over it. I still think it's crazy. But it just is so, here. And it pleases me.

Til then. I love you!