Do I feel guilty about praising French stuff like everyone else? Well, I'm writing a fifth post, so you bet I do.

In How the World Really Works, Vaclav Smil writes:

Think of what you might be missing: those paper thin slices of jamón ibérico; that well-roasted pig …; that well-cooked polpo gallego …. If we were to stake longevity (accompanied by healthy and active life) solely on the prevailing diet … then Japanese eating has a slight edge, but an only slightly inferior outcome can be had by eating as they do in Valencia.

Screw you, Vaclav! How much you seem to know about global energy matches only how little you seem to know about good Japanese food, sitting in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada (population < 0.3% Japanese).

American cuisine assigns a “classy” premium to European cuisine. However, I, who does not hold authenticity dear, will gladly mix Sichuanese chilies into the French butter as some small form of “fusion” cuisine.