In the Netherlands, there’s a saying that goes like this: “What the farmer doesn’t know, he doesn’t eat.”
In a general sense, the expression means that a person is not open to trying new things and only sticks to what they already know. The expression can also literally refer to a person who doesn’t want to try out new types of food, but only eats food they know.
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Interestingly enough, this also applies to cultures as a whole. For instance, a Thai person would literally vomit if they would need to eat bread as breakfast. Basically, the Thai barely eat bread, and if they do it’s rather toasted or perhaps part of a hamburger, but they usually would not start the day with bread. Typically, the Thai eat warm foods in the morning, such as rice, vegetables, and meat, or a noodle soup.
I grew up eating lots of peanut butter — all kinds, from crunchy to creamy to spicy. I would eat it on bread, in soups, or as a sauce on meats. But when I moved to France, I could hardly find peanut butter at all. And that was in Paris, the “international city.”
Talking about the French, well, they eat cheese as dessert — after their dinner. Now, although I grew up with cheese it was unthinkable (and unpalatable) for me to have it as dessert. Dessert for me meant having something sweet. But after a while I got used to having cheese after dinner, and nowadays I even like it.
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Back to peanut butter. Until about fifteen years ago, you couldn’t find peanut butter in Brazil. Nonetheless, Brazil lists in the top ten of peanut producing countries, but the thing is that Brazilians just didn’t eat it because it was not culturally associated with something you would smear on your bread, mix with soup, or consume as a sauce on meats.
However, today peanut butter has become quite popular in Brazil and it’s easy to find. Nevertheless, it’s not consumed as a breakfast item or as an accompaniment to other foods.
In fact, peanut butter is marketed as a fitness food and health food, driven by a health and wellness movement in Brazil that positions peanut butter as a source of high protein, healthy fats, and sustained energy, which makes it particularly appealing for athletes and fitness enthusiasts. Therefore, peanut butter is rather consumed as a “health shake.”
Well, as the saying goes: “What the farmer doesn’t know, he doesn’t eat.” And if he gets to know it, he might only drink it.
