I was told that on the mackerel there is a kind of very thin and transparent « skin » that gives this peculiar taste which i am not fond of , this skin being not so difficult to take out .. can you confirm ?
I don't really know anything about this, because once descaled and washed, there shouldn't be any "film" left - mackerel skin is very thin. But I have never heard this before. Mackerel needs to be very fresh, but even in prime condition oily fish is not for everyone. I love it, but I know some don't.
I think this is overall right on! I am happy to announce, however, that among our French friends we no longer wait for latecomers before starting apéro. Apéro gets underway as soon as we have hit a quorum. I'm not sure if I instigated this system, but it's working well.
Having lived in France for the best part of 10 years, I have mainly come to appreciate the more refined approach to manners in France versus in the UK, but it was a learning curve and I was on the receiving end of some downright scorn earlier in my French life! I remember being at a bistro in the Latin Quarter and asking for some butter for my bread... the waiter looked genuinely offended, outraged, horrified and eventually said "on n'a pas de buerre dans ce restaurant, madame" (surely not true but I suppose he simply couldn't bring himself to humour my base request). Another time, when I was a teaching English, I had half an hour between back to back classes all day and was starving, so I bought a sandwich and ate it as I walked. A guy passing me said something that was certainly much more rude than eating on the street... but I never did it again.
I was told that on the mackerel there is a kind of very thin and transparent « skin » that gives this peculiar taste which i am not fond of , this skin being not so difficult to take out .. can you confirm ?
I don't really know anything about this, because once descaled and washed, there shouldn't be any "film" left - mackerel skin is very thin. But I have never heard this before. Mackerel needs to be very fresh, but even in prime condition oily fish is not for everyone. I love it, but I know some don't.
I think this is overall right on! I am happy to announce, however, that among our French friends we no longer wait for latecomers before starting apéro. Apéro gets underway as soon as we have hit a quorum. I'm not sure if I instigated this system, but it's working well.
Having lived in France for the best part of 10 years, I have mainly come to appreciate the more refined approach to manners in France versus in the UK, but it was a learning curve and I was on the receiving end of some downright scorn earlier in my French life! I remember being at a bistro in the Latin Quarter and asking for some butter for my bread... the waiter looked genuinely offended, outraged, horrified and eventually said "on n'a pas de buerre dans ce restaurant, madame" (surely not true but I suppose he simply couldn't bring himself to humour my base request). Another time, when I was a teaching English, I had half an hour between back to back classes all day and was starving, so I bought a sandwich and ate it as I walked. A guy passing me said something that was certainly much more rude than eating on the street... but I never did it again.
Also, re 7, what is your take on "bonne dégustation"? A fellow diner was commenting that it seems to have become commonplace in restaurants.