French cuisine
French cuisine is characterized by its extreme diversity. French cuisine is considered to be one of the world's most refined and elegant styles of cooking, and is renowned for both its classical ("haute cuisine") and provincial styles. Many of the world's greatest chefs, such as
Taillevent,
La Varenne,
Carême,
Escoffier, or
Bocuse are or were masters of French cuisine. Additionally, French cooking techniques have been a major influence on virtually all Western cuisines, and almost all culinary schools use French cuisine as the basis for all other forms of Western cooking.
French cuisine originated from
Italian cuisine (or rather the Italian City States common cooking methods) which was brought to the French court upon the marriage of
Catherine de Medici to King
Henri II of France. She was so disgusted by the cooking methods of the French at this time that she brought her own chefs from Italy; they taught the French chefs the Italian method of enhancing the flavours of the ingredients rather than hiding them. So was born
French cuisine.
Traditionally, each region of
France has its own distinctive cuisine:
*Cuisine from northwest France uses
butter,
cream, and
apples;
*Cuisine from southwest France uses
duck fat,
foie gras,
porcini mushrooms, and
gizzards;
*Cuisine from southeast France uses
olive oil,
herbs, and
tomatoes, and shows
Italian cuisine influences.
*Cuisine from the extreme northern part of France uses
potatoes,
pork,
endives and
beer, and shows
Flemish cuisine influences.
*Cuisine from the extreme eastern part of France uses
lard,
sausages,
beer, and
sauerkraut, and shows
German cuisine influences.
Besides these five general areas, there are many more local cuisines, such as
Loire Valley cuisine,
Basque cuisine and the cuisine of
Roussillon, which is similar to
Catalan cuisine. With the movements of population of contemporary life, such regional differences are less noticeable than they used to be, but they are still clearly marked, and one traveling across France will notice significant changes in the ways of cooking and the dishes served. Moreover, recent focus of French consumers on local, countryside food products means that the regional cuisines are experiencing a strong revival in the early
21st century, especially as the
slow food movement is gaining popularity.
What is often known outside of France as French cuisine is the traditionally elaborate
haute cuisine, served in restaurants for high prices. This cuisine is mostly influenced by the regional cuisines of
Lyon and northern France, with a marked touch of refinement. It should be noted, however, that average French people do not eat or prepare this cuisine in their everyday life. As a general rule, elderly people tend to eat the regional cuisine of the region where they are located, while younger people will be more inclined to eat dishes from other regions and foreign dishes. Exotic cuisines, particularly
Chinese cuisine and
Vietnamese cuisine and some dishes from former colonies in Northern Africa have made inroads.
French wine and
French cheese are an integral part of French cuisine, both as ingredients and accompaniments. France is known for its large ranges of wines and cheeses.
French regional cuisine uses locally grown vegetables, such as these:
*
potatoes
*
green beans
*
carrots
*
leeks
*
turnips
*
aubergine (eggplant in the US)
*
courgette*
Mushrooms,
oyster mushrooms,
Porcinis,
truffles, and other vegetables, in order of increasing rarity and price.
Common fruits include:
*
oranges
*
tomatoes
*
tangerines
*
peaches
*
apricots
*
apples
*
pears
Meats commonly consumed include:
*
chicken*
turkey*
duck*
goose, a holiday dish
*
beef*
veal*
pork*
mutton and
lamb, a holiday dish
*
rabbitHorse meat is available from special butcher stores, but few people consume it.
Seafood commonly consumed includes:
*
cod*
sardines, canned
*
tuna, canned
*
salmon: used to be a luxury food but is now quite common.
*
trout *
mussels*
oysters, a holiday dish
*
shrimp,
calamari, etc.
Fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as fish and meat, are purchased either from
supermarkets and grocery stores or smaller markets. Street markets are held on certain days in most localities; towns of a certain importance generally have a more permanent covered market in which food shops, especially meat and fish retailers, have better shelter than the periodic street markets. Generally, a street market for vegetables takes places on certain days outside such covered markets.
For French people, cooking is a part of culture, and cooking and good food is well appreciated. The French generally take a high pride in the cuisine of their country, and some, particularly in the older generations, are reluctant to experiment with foreign dishes.
Structure of meals
Breakfast
The normal day begins with a light
breakfast in the morning, generally consisting of:
*
bread with jam and spreads, often replaced nowadays by
breakfast cereals,
* a hot drink such as
coffee,
tea or
chocolate flavored milk,
*
viennoiseries (not as a rule, see below),
* some fruit or fruit juice.Hotel breakfasts often contain
croissants, but it is uncommon for french people to eat croissants at every breakfast; they may be replaced with other kinds of viennoiserie such as
pains au chocolat,
madeleines etc.
Typical lunch and dinner
Lunch is had at some point between noon and 2 p.m., and dinner in the evening after 7:30 p.m. However there are large variations depending on the local regional cultures. The dinner is usually between 6 p.m and 7:30 p.m in
Alsace region for example while it is usually after 8:30 p.m in southern France. A normal complete meal consists of:
* appetizers, often consisting of
crudités, or a salad
* a main dish, usually meat or fish with a side of vegetables, pasta, rice, or fries
* salad
* some
cheese * dessert: fruit or cakeMeals, particularly lunch, are often followed by a tiny cup of espresso
coffee.
Alcoholic products may be consumed as follows:
* The meal may be preceded by an
apéritif, for example some dose of flavoured
Vermouth or region-specific drinks and cocktails such as
Pastis or
Kir.
* Wine is often drunk with the meal. Occasionally, people consume beer though the frequency depends on the region of the country. Typically, wine or beer is chosen to match with the food; festive meals will typically accompany each dish with a different wine.
* The meal may be followed by a digestif â€" some small dose of
liqueur or other high alcoholic spirit.
In most cities, street markets sell fresh vegetables, meat and fish, and evening or weekend meals are very often cooked with fresh ingredients.
Variations
Festive meals may include several main dishes. Some meals incorporate a trou normand â€" some small dose of a highly alcoholic liquor or
sorbet, perhaps
calvados, which props up appetite for what follows.
In large cities a majority of working people and students eat their lunch at a corporate or school
cafeteria, which normally serve complete meals as described above; it is therefore not usual for students to bring their own lunch food. It is common for
white-collar workers to be given lunch vouchers as part of their employee benefits. These can be used in most restaurants, supermarkets and delis; however workers having lunch in this way typically do not eat all three dishes of a traditional lunch due to price and time considerations. In smaller cities and towns, some working people leave their workplaces to return home for lunch, generating four rush hours during the day. Finally, an also popular alternative especially among
blue-collar workers is to lunch on a
sandwich possibly followed with a dessert; both dishes can be found ready-made at bakeries and supermarkets for budget prices.
Drink
Traditionally, France has been a culture of
wine consumption. While this characteristic has lessened with time, even today, many French people drink wine daily. The consumption of low-quality wines during meals has been greatly reduced.
Beer is especially popular with the youth. Other popular alcoholic drinks include
pastis, an
aniseed flavoured beverage drunk diluted with cold water, or
cider.
The legal drinking age for most people is 16. Usually, parents tend to prohibit their children from consuming alcohol before these children reach their early teens. Students and young adults are known to drink heavily during parties, but usually drunkenness is not displayed in public. Public consumption of alcohol is legal, but driving under the influence can result in severe penalties.
Schematically, French
restaurant cuisine can be called asCuisine bourgeoise, which includes all the classic French dishes which are not or no longer specifically regional, and which have been adapted over the years to suit the taste of the affluent.
Famous French Dishes
*
Baguette*
Blanquette de veau*
Boeuf a la mode*
Coq au Vin*
French Cheeses*
Navarin*
Oysters*
Pot-au-feu*
Steak au poivre*
Soufflé* Fondue bourguignonne (not to be mistaken with the Cheese
Fondue- this dish is actually a part of Savoyarde and Swiss cuisine)
Quick Food
The following dishes can generally be ordered in
brasseries:
* Steak frites-
steak with fries; fries can often be replaced by
string beans* Poulet frites-
chicken with fries
*
Croque-monsieur-a grilled Swiss cheese and ham sandwich
Generally speaking,
fries are a common side order for lower end French style restaurants. The French generally consider fries to be of
Belgian origin, although there is no evidence for this; a typically Belgian dish is steamed mussels with a side of fries.
A typical simple, cheap, quick meal consists of
pasta, often
spaghetti, with
tomato sauce.
Common Canned Food
*
Cassoulet*
Choucroute garnieMost dishes, including relatively sophisticated ones, are available as canned or frozen food in supermarkets. These products are sometimes endorsed by famous chefs.
Common Savory Pies
*
Tarte flambée from
Alsace*
Flamiche from
Artois and
Picardy*
Quiche from
Lorraine*
Pissaladière from
NiceFamous But Atypical Dishes
The following dishes are considered typical of French cuisine in some foreign countries, but actually are rarely eaten in France:
*
Frog legs*
EscargotsDesserts
*
Crêpes, a speciality of
Brittany*
Chocolate Mousse*
Pastries*
Mille-feuille*
Choux a la creme*
Baba au rhum*
Tarts |
The salade landaise is a popular dish mixing together typical Southwestern ingredients: gizzards, pine nuts, and possibly duck or goose confit. |
*
Alsace:
**
Choucroute garnie (
sauerkraut with sausages, salt pork and potatoes)
**
Spätzle**
Baeckeoffe**
Kouglof**
Bredela**
Beerawecka**
Mannala*
Alps**
Raclette (the cheese is melted and served with potatoes, ham and often dried beef)
**
Fondue savoyarde (fondue made with cheese and white wine into which cubes of bread are dipped)
**
Gratin dauphinois**
Tartiflette (a Savoyard gratin with potatoes,
Reblochon cheese, cream and pork)
*
Artois-
Picardy:
**
andouillette of
Cambrai**
Carbonnade (meat stewed in beer)
**
Potjevlesch (a four-meat terrine)
**
Waterzoï (a sweet water fish stew)
**
Escavêche (a cold terrine of sweet water fish in wine and vinegar)
**
Hochepot (four meats stewed with vegetables)
*
Auvergne:
**
Tripoux (tripe 'parcels' in a savoury sauce)
**
Truffade (potatoes sautéed with garlic and young
Tomme cheese)
**
Aligot (mashed potatoes blended with young
Tomme cheese)
**
Pansette de Gerzat (lamb tripe stewed in wine, shallots and blue cheese)
*
Brittany:
**
Crêpes
**
Far Breton (a flan with prunes)
**
Kik ar Fars (boiled pork dinner with a kind of dumpling)
**
Kouign amann (a type of
galette made flakey by a very high proportion of butter)
|
Gruyère Cheese Gougères. |
*
Burgundy:
**
Boeuf Bourguignon (
beef stewed in red wine)
**
Escargots de
Bourgogne (snails baked in their shells with parsley butter)
**
Fondue bourguignonne (fondue made with oil in which pieces of meat are cooked)
**
Gougère (cheese in chou pastry)
**
Pochouse (fish stewed in red wine)
*
Lorraine:
**
Quiche Lorraine**
Potée Lorraine**
Pâté Lorrain*
Côte d'Azur/
Provence:
**
Bouillabaisse (a stew of mixed Mediterranean fish, tomatoes, and herbs)
**
Ratatouille (a vegetable stew with sautéed eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, bell peppers, tomato and basil)
**
Pieds paquets Lambs' feet and tripe 'parcels' in a savoury sauce
*
Nimes:
**
Brandade de morue (puréed salt cod)
*
Normandy:
**
Tripes à la mode de
Caen (tripe cooked in
cider and
calvados)
**
Matelote (fish stewed in cider)
* Southwest:
**
Cassoulet (a dish made with
beans, sausages and preserved duck or goose)
**
Foie gras (the
liver of a force-fed
duck or
goose)
**
Basque cuisineUn-French dishes
The following dishes may be thought of as French but really are not.
*
Crème brûlée, literally "burnt cream," actually invented in
Switzerland, or perhaps in
Spain.
*
Peach Melba invented in
England by chef Auguste Escoffier for an Australian opera diva.
*
Antoine Carême *
Auguste Escoffier*
French paradox*
List of recipes*
List of French cheesesLarousse Gastronomique*
Breton Recipes*
Norman Recipes & Gastronomy*
Provençal Cuisine Guide and Recipes*
Provence-Hideaways Provençal Cuisine
