Cheese

[oregonknl]

I think the whole concept of dairy foods is very new to China, and part of official government policy. In the last 5 years or so, there has been a concerted government effort to introduce dairy farming in the Jilin province, in part to fund jobs of displaced oil field workers --- since the fields have nearly depleated, but the government work force has not. The effort has been successful, --- some of the dairy herd stock came from the US..

 

I think Louisa is right about Northen Chinese, (being taller and stronger) who were more inclined to have some yogurt in their diet (part of the Mongol food culture)..

 

When I first went to China in 1997, milk was hard to find in stores, and even in the hotels catering to westerners they charged extra even for a small amount for your coffee (except the White Swan in GZ) --- this last summer, even in YueYang, Hunan ---- not exactly a western cultural crossroad --- millk was served like tea at major meals --- didn't even have to ask...

[Phil & Ningning]

Something I noticed from chinese people is that they don't use deodorant in their daily life, I wonder if it has to do with the food they eat or is it genetic?

The first time I visited Jiening, she was suprised that I did not stink when she met me in Zhuhai at the Macau border. She thought I would be ripe after such a long trip, and to tell the truth, I was. Of course I had taken the opportunity to freshen up a bit at the airport before actually meeting her. Later I showered at her apartment and she saw me put on my deodorant and asked what it was.

She tried it, a bit scared at first, but instantly loved it. Of course I left it with her when I returned home. The next time, I brought her five or six sticks of various brands and she shared them with her sister. It seems suprising to me that the "westernization" of China has not yet included this simple item.

[MarkLuvsShuPing]

ShuPing and her family drank a lot of milk when I visited QiQiHaer. Breakfast included milk and rice from Beijing to QiQiHaer, but it was always heavy milk, which took me some time to get used to again (skim or soy milk man here). They had these bread stick things, kind of like the texture of a doughnut without being sweet, that we soaked in milk and ate. (Come to think of it, we had these in GuiLin too).

 

But I tend to agree with the theory that dairy products are more prevalent in Northern China, which I believe, is cattle country for China. ShuPing's family certainly didn't have any problem comsumming mass quantities.

 

However, the day after our wedding, I cooked breakfast for ShuPing's mama and oldest sister. We went to FuMart and I intended to make omelettes, but couldn't find any cheese to add to them. (Ever try to cook an omelette in a wok? How about a pancake?) I've never found any cheese in China except on a pizza at Pizza Hut.

 

My son is very sensitive to smells and the single thing he remembers most about China is the smell. Garbage in the streets and the smell of sticky people. I never noticed if ShuPing used deodorant or not, she never stinks. QiQiHaer was too cold to shower/bathe every day, but she insisted we use a washcloth everyday and Nanning is too friggin' hot not to shower every day, but I never noticed the deodorant thing.

[LiuXia's Husband]

The milk my Chinese mother bought for me came in foil pouches. It was much thicker than 2%. Ice cream wasn't the same either.

I like tofu! Have it grilled as an appetizer or chilled for dessert.

But Tofurkey for Thansgiving? NEVER!

[IceBreaker]

The cheese in the supermarkets in China is not real cheese. That sliced Kraft crap does not count. So far I regard dairy in China as a failed effort, except maybe yougurt but it's hard to find. Same goes for Italian food. This all reminds me how I hate most food in China and right now in Guangzhou I miss the foods from home, as well as France with all their supreme cheese (and wine.)

[beijingjenny]

Depends where you are Icebreaker. It may not be France but not all cheese is Kraft slices. You are saying in GZ you can't find better than that, or yogurt? This stuff is everywhere in BJ. Even real French cheese if you really want it.

[awch]

Depends where you are Icebreaker. It may not be France but not all cheese is Kraft slices. You are saying in GZ you can't find better than that, or yogurt? This stuff is everywhere in BJ. Even real French cheese if you really want it.

Jenny- Beijing is a different world as far as food is concerned. Only Carrefour here carries cheese- Wal Mart has it about every 4 months for about a week. And it's only the block cheese. It's expensive too- about 30 RMB for one "block".

 

I keep thinking I should move to Beijing cuz I HATE Chinese food... everyday is a struggle to find something to eat.

[Jeikun]

I don't know why, but I was so amused in carrefour seeing Kraft macaroni and cheese, and campbell's soup in the "international foods" section (I mean I KNOW it is international for China... but not exactly gourmet stuff)

[Martytb]

I asked my wife if she eats cheese.....she started laughing

[egolessvegan]

Is she vegan?

B)

[Martytb]

Is she vegan?

    B)

Not quite, she does eat some meat and fish. She does push the vegies and fruit constantly with me. I have to tell her what I had at each meal, and she'll get angry if I don't mention enough fruit or vegatables.

[egolessvegan]

The Chinese people do eat a fairly healthy diet. You do not see too many overweight individuals. Although McDonalds and KFC have become popular recently.

I am 100 % pure vegetarian.

On my visits to Guangzhou this year I have been very happy with all the delicious fruits and vegetables. The persimmons in September were outrageous.

My fiancee Qing says that the food is not sprayed so technically everything is organic.

B)

[oregonknl]

Ken has a good point about Chinese produce.... Its the old saw: "what do you have more of, time or money?" ---- China has plenty of agricultural labor (time) But not a lot of money (which would be used to buy labor saving pesticides, for instance) --- I have always been impressed on my cross-country trips to see how small the acreage is under cultivation, usually around 20-40 acres... too small by American mechanized standards, but intensely farmed by small multifamily (or extended family) co-ops... And the produce is beautiful!

 

Sadly, Chinese agriculture is really behind the eightball in the world market, where both the US and Europeans subsidize agriculture, and keep markets closed to protect "family" farms.. I have always thought if China were allowed to compete on a level playing field in agriculture, it could lead the way to more healthful farming practices here in the US as well..

[Kaige]

He He half to laugh about the cheese bit most people there don't eat it, Yan does eat some though, pizza, not like me sliceing off a peice of halipino cheese and eating it as a snack, on the deoderant thing not all people there need it only some, never looked for cheese in the store or tried soy milk, hope it is better than bean curd as this has a taste of what you are cooking, does the soy milk come in chocolate flavers? might try it then as it is hard to wreck this

[egolessvegan]

The Chinese seem to be very efficient period.

I love walking down the streets in Guangzhou and stopping into the produce markets. I feel like a kid in the candy store.

The prices are so low, the quality so superb.

The quality of their produce far surpasses that of USA even with all our technology and capital.