In France, everyone peels apples, pears, potatoes, peaches, cucumbers, and anything else that one can peel. Now, I do not necessarily report this as a bizarre act. Perhaps one could have an aversion to the fuzziness of a peach or the juxtaposition of texture between the interior of the cucumber and its exterior lair. Perhaps. The perplexing part to me is this: why does no one in the States peel an apple and everyone in France does? I have never seen a French person eat a non-peeled apple just as I have never seen an American eat a peeled apple. Yes for pie or cobbler or any other delicious baked apple treat, Americans peel apples, but not for a simple snack.
So I asked a French woman why she peels apples.
“Did you know that no one in America peels apples?”
“No. We do here in France. Or at least, my mother did, so I do.”
“Why do you peel your apples? Just because of your mother?”
“No. I suppose they are too crunchy if you don’t peel them, too.”
“Too crunchy?”
“Yes.”
“In America, one of an apple’s merits is its level of crunchiness.”
Thursday, September 25, 2008
In France, they peel things.
Posted by padraic timothy sullivan at 3:01 PM
Labels: first impressions
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3 comments:
actually, my father and i peel our apples. so do some ladies when making pie.
i conceded the pie making fact.
but your father isn't american.
and you lack classifiability.
Timothy Sullivan,
Very astute observation about the apple peeling. I never would have even considered it had it not been for your informative journalism.
Me, I'm in Chicago, keeping the Cision company up and running. I have my new cubicle and just recently found out I passed the bar exam.
Hope my ex-Paris is treating you bien. I've been struggling speaking to the Quebequois, but I just pass those on to Kristin E.
Word is bond.
-Jonathan
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