Meat

One of the hardest things for me about living in another country is trying to figure out the different cuts of meat in another language. I would give anything to have someone walk me through a meat section of a grocery store, or better yet a butcher shop, and tell me the American equivelant of all the meat. I tried to buy sirloin today (following a recipe for an Asian noodle stir-fry dish) and the English-speaking butcher man at the store told me he had never heard of that cut. (!) As he tried to figure out what I needed, he asked how I was planning to cook it. I explained I would be making a stir-fry and that I would be cooking it in small pieces. He looked confused, and said "But how long will you be cooking it for?" I went on to explain that I would be making it in a wok so it would be cooked very quickly and then I think I used some sort of strange hand motions to demonstrate what I meant by "stir-fry". Finally he got it. "Oh, you will make China food!" Yes, I guess you could say that. He suggested something called Rindshuft, and sort of pointed to his butt, which I guess means that's the part of the cow that the Rindshuft comes from. I'm sure that years from now, after we've returned to the US from our Swiss adventure, these are the kind of experiences I will miss. Or maybe I will just be really happy to go back to shopping at Harris Teeter.