As a Hungarian, where the agriculture has a long tradition, I am lucky to have experienced it despite of living in Budapest. My grandparents are from the countryside, but despite of moving to the capital they haven`t lost their habits of agriculture. So, I was lucky not only to eat fresh (and so called "bio") fruits and vegetables, but I experienced sticking a pig, killing hens or stuffing goose for foie gras as well. (It might sound brutal, but as for me, it is still more human than having the animals in small cages until they face death on a conveyor belt.)
A word than a hundred, I got used to the natural food, which is getting more and more rare nowadays.
Going to Japan, I had to face a totally different style in food: as for the most obvious, Japan is surrounded by sea, and mostly covered by mountains which makes the agriculture almost impossible, while Hungary has no sea, but all we have is fields and meadows.
And now, here in Mexico, I am experiencing another culture of food. Although, if I had to compare, I would say, the food and agriculture is closer to the Hungarian one than the Japanese. The vegetables are cultivated under the sun, not in green houses, the meat tastes delicious and look good. Unfortunately, there are hygienic problems, but I`ll talk about it later.
First of all, about fish and meat:
Although many would think that all Japanese eat fish and rice every day, due to the westernization it shifts to meat and bread nowadays. Because the fish consumed in Japan decreases year by year, the price of it increases and a good fish costs almost as much as the imported meat.
Since Japan has very limited sources and meat is not the traditional food of Japan, it is very very expensive. Therefore, don`t expect to have a nice thick slice of steak when you go to Japan. Instead, the meats in the supermarkets are neatly (and thinly) cut and displayed in plastic boxes for stew or shabu shabu.
I was very surprised when I first wanted to make gulyas soup and needed a good 500 grams of meat in one piece: the people in the shop looked at me as at an alien to ask 1) for such a "huge" amount, 2) to ask for meat in one piece.
The other interesting thing for me was the type of meat: as for me, I think the most popular meat is pork or chicken in Hungary. In Japan, the best meat is thought to be beef. Fatty beef... They call it "shimofuri" which refers to a meat where the fat is inside the meat, not around it. (I call it metabolic meat, because if the fat is inside the meat (the muscles) it is called metabolic syndrome for humans...)
As for chicken, it is the typical factory-chicken. The chicken chicken that tastes as anything. The meat and the skin is pale which shows that those poor animals have never seen the sun or any good food.
However, in Mexico, the chicken (and the meat in general) is delicious. I first bought "factory chickens breasts" that are neatly cut and packed without skin, and even those were delicious. The meat is not pale and tastes good. Later, I found more "pure" meat, that are clearly processed in the supermarket where it`s sold with bones and skin on it and it is just amazing! It takes time to cut the meat off the bones etc., but the meat is beautifully yellow and juicy, and you can make a good chicken soup out of the bones left.
(It just reminds me, that the other thing bothered me in Japan is that you can`t buy meat with bones! (except the chicken wings.) Therefore to make a good chicken paprikas, not to mention a good consome soup, you need to walk your legs off to find some good meat.)
Because Mexico is bordered by the Atlantic-ocean on the West and by the Carribean on the East, there is a good repertoire of sea food as well. I had fish here only at the sea side, but there is was amazingly fresh and delicious! While in Japan the fish is mainly cooked and boiled or eaten raw as sashimi, in Mexico it is rather grilled.
Secondly, about vegetables and fruits:
Personally, my absolute favorite vegetable is tomato heated up by the sun, ripped off directly from the stem. (This is one of my childhood memories that I can`t forget.)
The Japanese were most surprised of the Hungarian vegetables that we also have the so called "daikon" (we call it "jegcsap retek"(icicle raddish) because it has the shape of an icicle) and "hakusai"(Chinese cabbage). What I couldn`t find in Japan (and in Mexico as well) are "karalabe"(kohlrabi), "feherrepa" (parsnip) and what I really miss:"soska"(sorrel). It also seems, that only the Hungarian eat the root of the cellery (at least of these 3 countries). Therefore, I tend to say, these are the really typical Hungarian vegetables.
As for Japan, I was amazed how much vegetables (especially leaf types) are there in Japan, like spinach, mizuna, and there are many types of leaves from China as well. Japanese use the root of the burdock ("bojtorjan" in Hungarian) as well.
However, as for the fruits, Japanese handle them as desserts. I got some looks and comments when I took a whole apple to school and started to eat it as my lunch. :) For a Japanese, an apple should be peeled, cut into pieces and be eaten by four. (Although, I have to say that an apple in Japan is almost like the size of a handball.) In Japan no fruit is sour (there are no sour apples for example) and the sugar contents are always shown (because the fruit has to be sweet! Because they`re desserts...). There are no fruits measured by kilo, you buy the apples, pear, kiwis etc. by piece. (Again, because they`re desserts.) The fruits in Japan are very very expensive (one piece of apple can be 250 yen) - because (for the last time), they`re treated as desserts. And also, because the fruits are very strictly selected: all the apples have to be the same size, the same shape and of course can`t have any cosmetic defection (small hole or bruise). Therefore, I think many fruits are wasted every year because of this selection. I really don`t like it, because 1) it`s a waste (I just hope the "failed" ones go to animals at least), and 2) it artificially keeps the prices high (and the consumption low).
And finally, Mexico. Mexico is very rich in both vegetables and fruits. Although they don`t have burdock or parsnip as in Japan or Hungary, the potato, tomato, avocado and corn has spread around the world from Mexico, not to mention the million types of chili. (I was so happy to see "Chili Hungaro", the Hungarian yellow paprika here, as well.) And of course, another inevitable vegetable for Mexican food: beans.
I don`t know if it goes to the vegetable category, but another "plant" very very Mexican is the cactus. I have tried fired cactus once, and I have to say, it is tasty! It is quite sour, with a texture close to aloe. It goes well with meat.
I have to confess, I love the potato here. I still have to find out the type of the potato, but it`s big and yellow, and just gives the best taste as fried potato!
As for the fruits, next to the "typical" fruits (such as apples, pears, peaches, melons etc) there are many tropical fruits as well. The mangoes or pinapples are yet the most common amongst it... (Good thing is that while one piece of apple mango is about 500 yen in Japan, here you can have 1 kilo for 20 pesos (140 yen).) But there are guavas, papayas, star fruits, dragon fruits, mamey (very sweet, papaya-like fruit), tuna (the fruit of a cactus) etc. 