Monday, October 10, 2011

What's The Problem With Gourmet Ingredients?

When was the last time you bought some gourmet ingredients? If you're like the overwhelming majority of people, it's likely to be either so long ago you can't really remember, or you may admit to having never actually bought any gourmet ingredients at all yourself. Yet why is this so often the case?

Is it because we don't feel we deserve gourmet food, or that we don't really know what to do with ingredients like that once we've got them? Is it because the local supermarkets don't stock gourmet products, offering instead the general, bland everyday food which sells well? Perhaps it's that we don't entirely know what we mean by gourmet, and imagine that if we buy French food from a restaurant, that's as close as it gets.

Sadly many people have a combination of these misunderstandings and assumptions, meaning that very few of us really tend to go out and choose gourmet items to cook with, or to enjoy as they are. Yet in truth it is neither hard to find such items, nor is it difficult to incorporate them into our everyday cooking. In fact many of your favourite recipes which you can happily put together yourself any day of the week could easily be transformed into something quite extraordinary thanks to just one or two gourmet ingredients being used in place of your normal ones. So first of all, let's challenge any possible assumption that we don't deserve gourmet food.

We have all been born with tongues, taste buds and the ability to enjoy good food. Indeed, eating is a pretty fundamental part of life, and so we might as well enjoy it. It is our right to enjoy the food we eat, but all too often we become so accustomed to the everyday convenience food offered by the supermarkets, that we can become extraordinarily pleased with ourselves if we happen to upgrade our standard beige steak pie for an "Extra Special, Customers' Choice" steak pie, which comes in a different coloured cardboard box. This isn't gourmet food, and it isn't what we deserve to have all of the time.

Now I'm not suggesting for one minute that we all dump our normal food and upgrade to first class gourmet dining for breakfast, lunch and dinner. But there's also no reason why every single meal of every single day has to be of the same standard. It would be great to treat yourself and your family and friends to something a bit special. And to be honest once you find out how easy it is, you'll wonder why you didn't switch sooner. So in terms of deserving gourmet food, if you have a mouth and a stomach, then of course you do.

The next question then is where to buy French food and gourmet items that can be used in your favourite recipes. Unfortunately many of the supermarkets offer a very limited selection, if anything at all, and so it can be hard to find the sort of thing you need locally. However, with the internet just a click away it's actually very easy to buy gourmet French products, by visiting a specialist retailer online, ordering your food and then waiting to have it delivered to your door. It really couldn't be much easier.

Finally, how do you integrate gourmet ingredients into your everyday cooking? You'll actually find that most of the better online retailers will provide a selection of ideas, suggestions and recipes, such as using goose fat for roast potatoes and vegetables, or using dried porcini mushrooms in your risotto. Take a look online today for gourmet ingredients and places where you can buy French food - your taste buds deserve no less!

For a wide selection of gourmet ingredients, recipes, tips and ideas visit The Good Food Network where you can buy French food and specialist ingredients online.


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