Not washing eggs that are sold is by EU regulation. It's the same in Germany. Yes, sometimes you get an egg with poop on it or more charmingly, a feather stuck to it, but it washes off easily. In the US you don't know how clean the wash water is and then the eggs are coated in mineral oil to provide the protection that was washed off but not as good, so the eggs have to be kept cold, thereby increasing the energy requirements to ship and store eggs. Rather ridiculous, really.
Wow, I did not know about the mineral oil coating! Love that Germany is in this same boat. Also the feather stuck to the egg is very much part of our daily experience and it really is charming ☺️
Was this way in the US when I was young. I also (barely) remember the milk box on the front steps where we got fresh milk delivered every day. Also in the fall when the apple man came by and my dad bought a bushel of fresh apples. Fond memories.
I'm not sure how it is in France, but eggs sold in Germany are stamped with a KAT-code, which is from an organization promoting hygiene and good animal raising practices. This organization also promotes stopping the mass killing of male chicks of egg laying breeds (they are commonly shredded) and moving to dual-use breeds (for eggs and meat). You see KAT-codes even on eggs sold from farm stands. For example, 0 means organic and DE means Germany. The rest is a producer code. I avoid NL (Dutch) eggs. Though generally cheaper, they often taste like fish. In northern Germany, the eggs are delicious!
Yes! France has a coding system as well, and I believe '0' means organic and free-range, so that's the number we look out for. Love that Germany has the extra KAT system! Also: Dutch eggs tasting like fish - why? How? What are the Dutch chickens eating fish? So curious!
I’ve experienced that more than once. I expect the chickens are given fish meal in their feed. The Northern German eggs have hint of fresh grain in the flavor. KAT-code and explanation from the egg carton attached. We prefer organic eggs from farms that raise the male chicks. Anything biodynamically raised is that way and otherwise it is stated on the carton.
Ha! The dorm room fridge is the perfect comparison. Ours has also shrunk dramatically in terms of what actually needs to be in it. Italy and France seem to be on the same page 😊
It is so different for sure. Country life. I love it. Not in France, but just as rural. Yesterday, I had a bag of crispy fresh picked mangetout of my neighbour. So sweet.
Fresh mangetout from a neighbor is a great example of this. It doesn't matter what country, that exchange is the beautiful thing. Beautiful country life 💛
Oui, c'est si bon! We really are still in the unfolding of it all. Still enchanted, still bewildered sometimes. Your experience tells me something good about what's ahead 😊
great post! I also live in rural France and can confirm everything you've written about it - our 400 year old house also stays cool during "canicule" days. And I've now joined La Chasse and I love it! 😊
Before moving my family to this new part of France (I've been living in different parts of France since 1978) I stayed in a B&B hosted by a former hunt master who invited me to their St Hubert mass because it was going to be celebrated on the Amboise castle grounds for the 1st time. I went and I was blown away by the event! So I began to follow their hunts & since I ride, they invited me to follow the hunt on horseback as well... and the rest is history! I have my hunting permit now, I've been with them for 20 years & I'm still learning about it every time, it's fascinating.
These are all so accurate and hit home for me. I was surprised to find La Chasse could wander on your own property, sending your dog into a fit. And while my love for cheese at the end of a meal has grown like yours, that woman still did you dirty on your birthday by not also ordering you a proper dessert. My very French belle mère would never allow such a tragedy.
Ha! You're completely right - the cheese was not the offense, the ABSENCE of a birthday dessert alongside it was. My very young self deserved both and received only one. The belle mère would have handled it correctly.
On the vous & tu. Filipinos also have versions of the respectful, less familiar terms. It's "po" and "opo". Opo is the respectful yes esp when talking to older people, regardless of whether you're related to them or not: and also to anyone in authority. Po, on the other hand, is a word to add "respectfulness" to a conversation. Example - "have you eaten?" ... you answer OPO - yes. "What did you eat?" you answer (let's say) - i had an egg, PO. Other examples of PO - "Good morning po"..."thank you po"..."hello po" 😊
I love this so much - the respectfulness being embedded in how you answer rather than only in how you ask. Such a different approach and a beautiful one. Thank you Dinna!
A little jealous not gonna lie, but happy to be inspired. I’m seeing in you the awe and fun of a new life. I also know how hard it can be too. I’m loving this!
This is so fun and so real. I love how it’s just little everyday things that nobody tells you until you’re living it.
The eggs sitting out still makes me laugh. Like, in my head, eggs should always be in the fridge, but in France they’re just… on the counter. And cheese as dessert? That honestly makes so much sense once you hear it, but it’s still such a twist from everything I grew up with.
And the pharmacy giving real advice? That’s the kind of thing you don’t think about until you’re missing it. It’s special to have places where people actually talk to you and help instead of just handing you something.
I really enjoyed this because it feels like a warm, honest look at what moving to rural France actually looks like, not the glossy version. It’s funny, relatable, and full of those small details that make life there feel so different.
Yes! Three years in and I still do a tiny double take at a warm egg carton. Some things don't fully normalize and I think that's fine. And the 'warm honest look' is exactly what I try to achieve, so it means a lot that you've noticed that 😊
Yes to all of these. And I still remember with deep gratitude the warmth that flooded my heart when our French friend said, "no no no, you must say "tu", stop saying "vous", we're friends now".
That moment of being corrected into familiarity - being told you've been too formal - is one of the best feelings I've had here. So glad you know it too 💛
Not washing eggs that are sold is by EU regulation. It's the same in Germany. Yes, sometimes you get an egg with poop on it or more charmingly, a feather stuck to it, but it washes off easily. In the US you don't know how clean the wash water is and then the eggs are coated in mineral oil to provide the protection that was washed off but not as good, so the eggs have to be kept cold, thereby increasing the energy requirements to ship and store eggs. Rather ridiculous, really.
Wow, I did not know about the mineral oil coating! Love that Germany is in this same boat. Also the feather stuck to the egg is very much part of our daily experience and it really is charming ☺️
Yes, it is! Seeing a feather on an egg is like seeing real straw in a basket of strawberries.
I had one this morning in Rome with a poopy feather stuck to it. Bio eggs bought from the grocery store.
Same in the UK! Eggs are kept on the shelf 😊
Was this way in the US when I was young. I also (barely) remember the milk box on the front steps where we got fresh milk delivered every day. Also in the fall when the apple man came by and my dad bought a bushel of fresh apples. Fond memories.
I'm not sure how it is in France, but eggs sold in Germany are stamped with a KAT-code, which is from an organization promoting hygiene and good animal raising practices. This organization also promotes stopping the mass killing of male chicks of egg laying breeds (they are commonly shredded) and moving to dual-use breeds (for eggs and meat). You see KAT-codes even on eggs sold from farm stands. For example, 0 means organic and DE means Germany. The rest is a producer code. I avoid NL (Dutch) eggs. Though generally cheaper, they often taste like fish. In northern Germany, the eggs are delicious!
Yes! France has a coding system as well, and I believe '0' means organic and free-range, so that's the number we look out for. Love that Germany has the extra KAT system! Also: Dutch eggs tasting like fish - why? How? What are the Dutch chickens eating fish? So curious!
I’ve experienced that more than once. I expect the chickens are given fish meal in their feed. The Northern German eggs have hint of fresh grain in the flavor. KAT-code and explanation from the egg carton attached. We prefer organic eggs from farms that raise the male chicks. Anything biodynamically raised is that way and otherwise it is stated on the carton.
BTW, I love your posts!
Népal eggs taste like fish too. I was an expat there as well. It's because they feed the chickens fish meal. I did not like the taste.
Love this article and the berries that go rotten?
That's my everyday🇮🇹
I now understand why our refrigerator is not much larger than the one in my daughter's dorm room at uni.
You shop daily
You eat daily
No preservatives
The end
Ha! The dorm room fridge is the perfect comparison. Ours has also shrunk dramatically in terms of what actually needs to be in it. Italy and France seem to be on the same page 😊
It is so different for sure. Country life. I love it. Not in France, but just as rural. Yesterday, I had a bag of crispy fresh picked mangetout of my neighbour. So sweet.
Fresh mangetout from a neighbor is a great example of this. It doesn't matter what country, that exchange is the beautiful thing. Beautiful country life 💛
Your discoveries take me back to when all of this was unfolded to me. French life. C’est si bon!
Oui, c'est si bon! We really are still in the unfolding of it all. Still enchanted, still bewildered sometimes. Your experience tells me something good about what's ahead 😊
As Van Morrison quoted, “The best is yet to come.”
great post! I also live in rural France and can confirm everything you've written about it - our 400 year old house also stays cool during "canicule" days. And I've now joined La Chasse and I love it! 😊
You joined La Chasse! I want to hear everything about this. How did that happen?
Before moving my family to this new part of France (I've been living in different parts of France since 1978) I stayed in a B&B hosted by a former hunt master who invited me to their St Hubert mass because it was going to be celebrated on the Amboise castle grounds for the 1st time. I went and I was blown away by the event! So I began to follow their hunts & since I ride, they invited me to follow the hunt on horseback as well... and the rest is history! I have my hunting permit now, I've been with them for 20 years & I'm still learning about it every time, it's fascinating.
These are all so accurate and hit home for me. I was surprised to find La Chasse could wander on your own property, sending your dog into a fit. And while my love for cheese at the end of a meal has grown like yours, that woman still did you dirty on your birthday by not also ordering you a proper dessert. My very French belle mère would never allow such a tragedy.
Ha! You're completely right - the cheese was not the offense, the ABSENCE of a birthday dessert alongside it was. My very young self deserved both and received only one. The belle mère would have handled it correctly.
Thank you for this detailed and lovely description of French village customs.
Thank you, Kathryn! There are always more to add - France keeps providing ❤️
On the vous & tu. Filipinos also have versions of the respectful, less familiar terms. It's "po" and "opo". Opo is the respectful yes esp when talking to older people, regardless of whether you're related to them or not: and also to anyone in authority. Po, on the other hand, is a word to add "respectfulness" to a conversation. Example - "have you eaten?" ... you answer OPO - yes. "What did you eat?" you answer (let's say) - i had an egg, PO. Other examples of PO - "Good morning po"..."thank you po"..."hello po" 😊
I love this so much - the respectfulness being embedded in how you answer rather than only in how you ask. Such a different approach and a beautiful one. Thank you Dinna!
A little jealous not gonna lie, but happy to be inspired. I’m seeing in you the awe and fun of a new life. I also know how hard it can be too. I’m loving this!
The awe is real and so is the hard - thank you for seeing both. It's not all bluebell forests and it helps to say that. So glad you're loving it!
This is so fun and so real. I love how it’s just little everyday things that nobody tells you until you’re living it.
The eggs sitting out still makes me laugh. Like, in my head, eggs should always be in the fridge, but in France they’re just… on the counter. And cheese as dessert? That honestly makes so much sense once you hear it, but it’s still such a twist from everything I grew up with.
And the pharmacy giving real advice? That’s the kind of thing you don’t think about until you’re missing it. It’s special to have places where people actually talk to you and help instead of just handing you something.
I really enjoyed this because it feels like a warm, honest look at what moving to rural France actually looks like, not the glossy version. It’s funny, relatable, and full of those small details that make life there feel so different.
Yes! Three years in and I still do a tiny double take at a warm egg carton. Some things don't fully normalize and I think that's fine. And the 'warm honest look' is exactly what I try to achieve, so it means a lot that you've noticed that 😊
Yes to all of these. And I still remember with deep gratitude the warmth that flooded my heart when our French friend said, "no no no, you must say "tu", stop saying "vous", we're friends now".
That moment of being corrected into familiarity - being told you've been too formal - is one of the best feelings I've had here. So glad you know it too 💛
Oooooh so relatable ❤️
Right?! We need to exchange more stories sometimes ☺️
I simply love your stories. Reminds me of my German home village.
That's such a lovely thing to hear - thank you Anne. And I love hearing about your German village 💛
I left my village many decades ago and lived in many countries overseas, right now in the US. But I often long for that rural life of my childhood.
Enjoy the warmth and love. True comfort.
Thank you, Muhammad. Warmth and comfort is the goal 😊
Beautiful snippets of a rural life in France! Love the story about cheese as dessert!
Thank you! The cheese dessert revelation was a long time coming and very worth it.