French Cuisine: a Hallmark of Tradition
One cannot think of France without drooling over their fantastic
food. French cuisine is renown all over the world for its elegant and
refined styles. It is generally the benchmark against which all other
types of cooking are measured, and it is a high standard indeed! The
most famous chefs in history are French, and even those acclaimed
non-French international chefs derive much of their knowledge and style
from French cooking tradition. Unlike the general belief, French cuisine
is very varied and has adopted numerous influences over the centuries.
Each region of France has its own culinary traditions, a concept
referred to as “terroir”. In general, French cuisine utilizes numerous
types of sauces and gravies, but each region has its own specificities
as described below:
- Northwestern France produces cuisine that tends to use products
such as milk, cream, apples, and butter. It produces rich and heavy
meals.
- Southwestern France produces cuisine that uses ingredients such
as foie gras, duck fat, mushrooms and gizzards.
- In southeast France, the tendency is towards using olive oil,
herbs and tomatoes. One may recognize Italian influences in the
cooking.
- In eastern France, German influences entail the use of lard, and
meat products such as sauerkraut and pork sausages.
- In Northern France, a lot of potatoes, beer, endives and pork
are used, showing Flemish influences.
There are many reasons why French cuisine is so highly regarded
in the world. Firstly, French cuisine is the fruit of centuries of
tradition, trickling down from the epoch of Charlesmagne to the
present day. Each period has had its own contribution in refining
the taste and bringing closer to perfection. This endeavor is still
present among modern French chefs. Second is the use of the freshest
ingredients that spark the most delightful sensations on the palate.
French cuisine use only products that are harvested the same day.
All products are locally grown, from the vegetables (green beans,
truffles, mushrooms, carrots), the fruits (apples, oranges, peaches,
apricots…etc.) to the meat (poultry, turkey, duck, pork, foie gras…etc.)
to the fish (cod, sardines, salmon, trout…etc). Thirdly, the
presentation style of the meal is also outstanding. The French are
masters of presentation, making unique displays out of each meal.
And finally of course is the extraordinary taste. The horde of herbs
and spices employed in French cuisine make some of the most
distinctive tastes ever.
Paris alone has over 13000 restaurants. The huge number of
restaurants offering haute cuisine in France makes it a veritable
conundrum for the consumer as each may offer a priceless experience.
It is nigh on impossible for the consumer to know in advance what to
expect from a particular restaurant. In an effort to provide more
transparency and give the consumer a fair understanding of what to
expect at each restaurant, Michelin published its guidebook. This
guidebook, published annually, attributes ratings to each of the
listed restaurants—the famous star system. One star implies “very
good cuisine in its category”; two stars means “excellent cuisine,
worth a detour” and three stars imply “exceptional cuisine, worth a
special journey”. Michelin relies on anonymous inspections in order
to award the stars. Michelin claims that it visits an establishment
at least once every 18 months in order to keep ratings up to date.
Although initially the purpose was to guide the consumer, the rating
has become a matter of prestige for restaurants.
Famous French dishes include:
- Savory crepes served with fillings such as cheese,
asparagus, and ham.
- Sweet crepes with fruit fillings, and whipped cream
- Escargot (small snails) prepared in garlic butter
- Coq au vin—a fricassee of rooster cooked with wine, salted
pork, mushrooms and garlic. Salted pork is cut in small strips
and boiled to remove excess salt. More oil can be put in order
to give the chicken pieces color. Cut carrots, onions and celery
as well as minced garlic is added and allowed to cook. Wine is
added as well as traditional seasonings such as thyme, salt,
pepper…etc.
- Beef Bourguignon—a famous French traditional recipe. It is a
stew prepared with beef and red wine. Beef broth is prepared
with garlic, onions, and carrots and adorned with pearl onions
and mushrooms.
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