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* Béchamel: a white sauce made with a roux (flour cooked in butter) and seasoned with white pepper and sometimes nutmeg.
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* Béchamel: a white sauce made with a roux (flour cooked in butter) and seasoned with white pepper and sometimes nutmeg. As noted above, it is an ancient sauce, far predating French cuisine; the French will tell you they perfected it, which might be true. ''Might'' be true.
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Changed line(s) 21,22 (click to see context) from:
Much of what Julia Child (and her writing partners Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle) wrote about fell into this category; Child's cuisine in particular was essentially middle-class home cooking of the 1930s through 1950s[[hottip:*:More properly known as ''bourgeois'', i.e. middle class, or ''bonne femme'' or "good wife", basically home cooking for well-off working families.]], with some diversions into restaurant dishes, high-end patisserie (particularly elaborate cakes like her signature Queen of Sheba chocolate rum cake), and even occasionally street food; France, in turn, had authors like Evelyn Ebrard (writing as "Mme. E. Saint-Ange", her maiden name) and Ginette Mathiot, and the UK had the classically trained Dione Lucas, one of the very first television chefs. Edouard de Pomiane (a radio chef!) wrote what may be one of the first convenience cookbooks in 1930, published as ''Cuisine en dix minutes''. This was the cuisine that broke the US out of its traditional mold of heavy, stodgy cooking and made the era of MadMen and space shots much tastier and more daring.
to:
Much of what Julia Child (and her writing partners Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle) wrote about fell into this category; Child's cuisine in particular was essentially middle-class home cooking of the 1930s through 1950s[[hottip:*:More properly known as ''bourgeois'', i.e. middle class, or ''bonne femme'' or "good wife", basically home cooking for well-off working families.]], with some diversions into restaurant dishes, high-end patisserie (particularly elaborate cakes like her signature Queen of Sheba chocolate rum cake), and even occasionally street food; France, in turn, of course, had their own authors like Evelyn Ebrard (writing as "Mme. E. Saint-Ange", her maiden name) and Ginette Mathiot, and the UK had the classically trained Dione Lucas, one of the very first television chefs. Edouard de Pomiane (a radio chef!) wrote what may be one of the first convenience cookbooks in 1930, published as ''Cuisine en dix minutes''. This was the cuisine that broke the US out of its traditional mold of heavy, stodgy cooking and made the era of MadMen and space shots much tastier and more daring.
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Changed line(s) 71 (click to see context) from:
And lastly, let us not forget the humble crêpe; although widely made throughout the Mediterranean (and in other places -- the Russian/Jewish blinchiki are essentially crepes, as are Japanese okonomiyaki), these eggy pancake-wrapper-flatbread things are popular not only as a dessert (like crêpes suzette) but as a quick lunch or even as part of a hearty dinner, made into cannelloni or something similar.
to:
And lastly, let us not forget the humble crêpe; although widely made throughout the Mediterranean (and in other places -- the Russian/Jewish blinchiki are essentially crepes, crêpes, as are Japanese okonomiyaki), these eggy pancake-wrapper-flatbread things are best known under their French name, and are popular not only as a dessert (like crêpes suzette) but as a quick lunch or even as part of a hearty dinner, made into cannelloni or something similar.
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Changed line(s) 59,60 (click to see context) from:
Or in English, wine. France is famous for its fine wines and the French government has a lot of quality controls on them. The wines of Bordeaux are world-famous and can cost hundreds of dollars a bottle, but France doesn't lack for good, inexpensive local wines. (It also doesn't lack for cheap plonk; at one point during the 1990s, there was such a surplus of wine that even some of the good stuff wound up being recycled into industrial ethanol because there was too much to sell.) Beer is not uncommon, especially in the once-German Alsace and Lorraine areas, and Normandy is known for its cider and Calvados (a type of apple brandy).
to:
Or in English, wine. France is famous for its fine wines and the French government has a lot of quality controls on them. The wines of Bordeaux are world-famous and can cost hundreds of dollars a bottle, but France doesn't lack for good, inexpensive local wines. (It also doesn't lack for cheap plonk; at one point during the 1990s, there was such a surplus of wine that even some of the good stuff wound up being recycled into industrial ethanol because there was too much to sell.) Beer is not uncommon, especially in the once-German Alsace and Lorraine areas, areas and along the Belgian border, and Normandy is known for its cider and Calvados (a type of apple brandy).
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Changed line(s) 7,8 (click to see context) from:
Also known as "Le Grand Cuisine", Haute Cuisine (literally "High Cooking") has its roots in the cuisine of the middle ages and of the Ancien Régime but really took off after the French Revolution when the guilds were disbanded and anyone could be a chef if they wanted. It was eventually codified by Georges Auguste Escoffier in the late 19th century. This is the cuisine of fine restaurants and hotels, of the well to do who could afford cooks. Haute Cuisine uses spices very sparingly in contrast to the heavily spiced medieval dishes of France, but uses fresh herbs more liberally. Most recipes call for extraordinary amounts of cream and butter, and deglazes and reductions based on wine are common. Fresh ingredients are pulled from all over France, from Normandy and Brittany to Lorraine and Provence, so you will find a truly astonishing variety, but it does not take on much of the regional character. If you go to an expensive French restaurant, this is most likely what you will be served, if it isn't Nouvelle cuisine (see below). At its best, it's a bit antiquated but very enjoyable; at its worst, you get what Calvin Trillin once described as "stuff-stuff with heavy": indifferently prepared with leaden, pasty sauces and dull flavors, barely worth putting on a buffet table, never mind in front of a $50/plate diner.
to:
Also known as "Le Grand "La Grande Cuisine", Haute Cuisine (literally "High Cooking") has its roots in the cuisine of the middle ages and of the Ancien Régime but really took off after the French Revolution when the guilds were disbanded and anyone could be a chef if they wanted. It was eventually codified by Georges Auguste Escoffier in the late 19th century. This is the cuisine of fine restaurants and hotels, of the well to do who could afford cooks. Haute Cuisine uses spices very sparingly in contrast to the heavily spiced medieval dishes of France, but uses fresh herbs more liberally. Most recipes call for extraordinary amounts of cream and butter, and deglazes and reductions based on wine are common. Fresh ingredients are pulled from all over France, from Normandy and Brittany to Lorraine and Provence, so you will find a truly astonishing variety, but it does not take on much of the regional character. If you go to an expensive French restaurant, this is most likely what you will be served, if it isn't Nouvelle cuisine (see below). At its best, it's a bit antiquated but very enjoyable; at its worst, you get what Calvin Trillin once described as "stuff-stuff with heavy": indifferently prepared with leaden, pasty sauces and dull flavors, barely worth putting on a buffet table, never mind in front of a $50/plate diner.
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Added DiffLines:
And lastly, let us not forget the humble crêpe; although widely made throughout the Mediterranean (and in other places -- the Russian/Jewish blinchiki are essentially crepes, as are Japanese okonomiyaki), these eggy pancake-wrapper-flatbread things are popular not only as a dessert (like crêpes suzette) but as a quick lunch or even as part of a hearty dinner, made into cannelloni or something similar.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 21,22 (click to see context) from:
Much of what Julia Child (and her writing partners Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle) wrote about fell into this category; Child's cuisine in particular was essentially middle-class home cooking of the 1930s through 1950s, with some diversions into restaurant dishes, high-end patisserie (particularly elaborate cakes like her signature Queen of Sheba chocolate rum cake), and even occasionally street food; France, in turn, had authors like Evelyn Ebrard (writing as "Mme. E. Saint-Ange", her maiden name) and Ginette Mathiot, and the UK had the classically trained Dione Lucas, one of the very first television chefs. Edouard de Pomiane (a radio chef!) wrote what may be one of the first convenience cookbooks in 1930, published as ''Cuisine en dix minutes''. This was the cuisine that broke the US out of its traditional mold of heavy, stodgy cooking and made the era of MadMen and space shots much tastier and more daring.
to:
Much of what Julia Child (and her writing partners Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle) wrote about fell into this category; Child's cuisine in particular was essentially middle-class home cooking of the 1930s through 1950s, 1950s[[hottip:*:More properly known as ''bourgeois'', i.e. middle class, or ''bonne femme'' or "good wife", basically home cooking for well-off working families.]], with some diversions into restaurant dishes, high-end patisserie (particularly elaborate cakes like her signature Queen of Sheba chocolate rum cake), and even occasionally street food; France, in turn, had authors like Evelyn Ebrard (writing as "Mme. E. Saint-Ange", her maiden name) and Ginette Mathiot, and the UK had the classically trained Dione Lucas, one of the very first television chefs. Edouard de Pomiane (a radio chef!) wrote what may be one of the first convenience cookbooks in 1930, published as ''Cuisine en dix minutes''. This was the cuisine that broke the US out of its traditional mold of heavy, stodgy cooking and made the era of MadMen and space shots much tastier and more daring.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 59,60 (click to see context) from:
Or in English, wine. France is famous for its fine wines and the French government has a lot of quality controls on them.
to:
Or in English, wine. France is famous for its fine wines and the French government has a lot of quality controls on them.
them. The wines of Bordeaux are world-famous and can cost hundreds of dollars a bottle, but France doesn't lack for good, inexpensive local wines. (It also doesn't lack for cheap plonk; at one point during the 1990s, there was such a surplus of wine that even some of the good stuff wound up being recycled into industrial ethanol because there was too much to sell.) Beer is not uncommon, especially in the once-German Alsace and Lorraine areas, and Normandy is known for its cider and Calvados (a type of apple brandy).
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'''Sauces and garnishes'''
French food relies heavily on its sauces, which Escoffier divided largely into five categories:
*Béchamel: a white sauce made with a roux (flour cooked in butter) and seasoned with white pepper and sometimes nutmeg.
*Velouté (velvet): A white sauce similar to a béchamel, but made with fish or chicken stock instead of milk.
*Brown sauce: Similar to velouté, but with a long-cooked brown roux and the addition of herbs and tomatoes. The traditional form is called Sauce Espagnole; although no one knows exactly why it's called that, the association of Spain with tomatoes seems to be the reason. (When extra stock is added, and the whole thing simmered together and repeatedly skimmed until well-reduced, you get demi-glace, which is sort of like gravy with a PhD.)
*Butter emulsion sauces like Hollandaise and Béarnaise are something like hot mayonnaise, and beginning cooks usually find them terrifying, which is why you will find many, many shortcuts to making Hollandaise in particular.
*Tomato sauces (although they aren't necessarily used as much in French cuisine as they are in other parts of the world like Italy and Mexico).
*There's also cold sauces like mayonnaise, aioli (basically garlic mayo), and rouille, and dessert sauces like crème Anglaise and caramel.
A lot of dishes, especially in classical cuisine, are defined by their garnishes, which are often named for one specific area or person. There are a lot of these, and many are seldom-used.
French food relies heavily on its sauces, which Escoffier divided largely into five categories:
*Béchamel: a white sauce made with a roux (flour cooked in butter) and seasoned with white pepper and sometimes nutmeg.
*Velouté (velvet): A white sauce similar to a béchamel, but made with fish or chicken stock instead of milk.
*Brown sauce: Similar to velouté, but with a long-cooked brown roux and the addition of herbs and tomatoes. The traditional form is called Sauce Espagnole; although no one knows exactly why it's called that, the association of Spain with tomatoes seems to be the reason. (When extra stock is added, and the whole thing simmered together and repeatedly skimmed until well-reduced, you get demi-glace, which is sort of like gravy with a PhD.)
*Butter emulsion sauces like Hollandaise and Béarnaise are something like hot mayonnaise, and beginning cooks usually find them terrifying, which is why you will find many, many shortcuts to making Hollandaise in particular.
*Tomato sauces (although they aren't necessarily used as much in French cuisine as they are in other parts of the world like Italy and Mexico).
*There's also cold sauces like mayonnaise, aioli (basically garlic mayo), and rouille, and dessert sauces like crème Anglaise and caramel.
A lot of dishes, especially in classical cuisine, are defined by their garnishes, which are often named for one specific area or person. There are a lot of these, and many are seldom-used.
Changed line(s) 57 (click to see context) from:
The French also eat pizza (understandable, since they share a border with Italy); in practice, most French pizzerias offer only a handful of styles of pizza, but France also has its own native type, the anchovy and onion-laden pissaladière of Provence. Also not uncommon is fougasse, a type of bread similar in both name and style to northern Italy's focaccia, though the French often make them sweet, sometimes with fruit like grapes baked in.
to:
The French also eat pizza (understandable, since they share a border with Italy); in practice, most French pizzerias offer only a handful of styles of pizza, but France also has its own native type, types, like the anchovy and onion-laden pissaladière of Provence.Provence and the Alsatian onion/cream/bacon flammekueche. Also not uncommon is fougasse, a type of bread similar in both name and style to northern Italy's focaccia, though the French often make them sweet, sometimes with fruit like grapes baked in.
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Not to be confused with a dish with rats. That would be gross. Pronounced as ra-ta-too-wee, a Southern French dish composed of mixed vegetables like tomatoes, carrots, eggplant, zuchinni, bell peppers, and certain herbs and spices like marjoram and basil. Very popular with dieters due to the nutritional value of the dish. Dish can be found in the film ''{{Ratatouille}}''. Also not to be confused with rouille, which is a type of garlic and red pepper mayonnaise used to season...
to:
Not to be confused with a dish with rats.rats (or a [[{{Ratatouille}} dish made by rats]]). That would be gross. Pronounced as ra-ta-too-wee, a Southern French dish composed of mixed vegetables like tomatoes, carrots, eggplant, zuchinni, bell peppers, and certain herbs and spices like marjoram and basil. Very popular with dieters due to the nutritional value of the dish. Dish can be found in the film ''{{Ratatouille}}''. Also not to be confused with rouille, which is a type of garlic and red pepper mayonnaise used to season...
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Changed line(s) 55,56 (click to see context) from:
Although the French do eat potatoes and couscous quite frequently (they formerly had a certain notoriety for not being able to handle rice, though), the big traditional starch of a French meal is bread, by far the most famous being the long, crispy stick of bread known as the baguette. Properly made, a baguette is ideal for both a meal and a sandwich bread; however, it's not the only French bread. The family of breads sometimes known as ''pain de campagne'' ("country bread") tend to be flattened balls or wheels of greyish-brown bread; at its worst it's barely distinguishable from white bread, but the bread of Poilane bakery in Paris (now in its third generation of ownership) is considered among the best and most imitated in the world. Also, there's brioche -- an eggy, buttery bread used for breakfast, desserts, holiday pastries, and uses like that. [[hottip:*:Brioche was also the "cake" used in the misattributed-to-Marie-Antoinette quote "Let them eat cake", which, if it was ever really said by the person people mistook Marie Antoinette for, was less a brushoff and more an invitation for the poor people to raid the bakeries.]] Finally, there's the originally-Austrian croissant -- a yeasted relative of puff pastry and danish, and one of the three most popular breakfast breads in the USA, along with biscuits and bagels. (Chocolate croissants -- the rectangular, chocolate-filled ''pain au chocolat'' -- are very popular after-school snacks for French kids.)
to:
Although the French do eat potatoes and couscous quite frequently (they formerly had a certain notoriety for not being able to handle rice, though), the big traditional starch of a French meal is bread, by far the most famous being the long, crispy stick of bread known as the baguette. Properly made, a baguette is ideal for both a meal and a sandwich bread; however, it's not the only French bread. The family of breads sometimes known as ''pain de campagne'' ("country bread") tend to be flattened balls or wheels of greyish-brown bread; at its worst it's barely distinguishable from white bread, but the bread of Poilane bakery in Paris (now in its third generation of ownership) is considered among the best and most imitated in the world. Also, there's brioche -- an eggy, buttery bread used for breakfast, desserts, holiday pastries, and uses like that. [[hottip:*:Brioche was also the "cake" used in the misattributed-to-Marie-Antoinette quote "Let them eat cake", which, if it was ever really said by the person people mistook Marie Antoinette for, was less a brushoff and more an invitation for the poor people to raid the bakeries.bakeries -- it was said in context of lack of the affordable breads: the bakeries tended to churn out much more expensive brioches and such, which few working-class people could buy regularly, instead of cheaper breads, as they had higher profit margins. By inviting them to eat brioche, the speaker more or less encouraged the poor to "regulate" the bakeries themselves. Ironically, almost the same situation happened in Saint-Petersburg some 120 years later.]] Finally, there's the originally-Austrian croissant -- a yeasted relative of puff pastry and danish, and one of the three most popular breakfast breads in the USA, along with biscuits and bagels. (Chocolate croissants -- the rectangular, chocolate-filled ''pain au chocolat'' -- are very popular after-school snacks for French kids.)
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Changed line(s) 9,10 (click to see context) from:
Classical French cuisine is one of the best-documented and codified in the world. Parts of it have roots going back into ancient times (the Greeks made bechamel sauce long before Béchamel existed), but it was popularized in more or less its current form in the 19th century by one of the first celebrity chefs, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie-Antoine_Carême Marie-Antoine Carême]]. You'll want to read Escoffier's ''Guide Culinaire'' for the traditional treatment, as well as ''La repertoire de la cuisine'' by Escoffier's student Louis Saulnier; for a more modern approach, Joel Robuchon's ''Tout Robuchon'' [[hottip:*:The Complete Robuchon]], Jacques Pepin's ''Complete Techniques'', and ''The Elements of Cooking'' and ''Ratio'' by Michael Ruhlman are all good introductions. There's even public domain material from the 19th century; François Tanty, a French chef who trained under Carême and had cooked for the Russian royal family; as a very old man, he retired to the United States with his sons and wrote [[http://digital.lib.msu.edu/projects/cookbooks/html/books/book_46.cfm La Cuisine Français]], which may have been one of the first such books published in the United States.
to:
Classical French cuisine is one of the best-documented and codified in the world. Parts of it have roots going back into ancient times (the Greeks made bechamel sauce long before Béchamel existed), but it was popularized in more or less its current form in the 19th century by one of the first celebrity chefs, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie-Antoine_Carême Marie-Antoine Carême]]. You'll want to read Escoffier's ''Guide Culinaire'' for the traditional treatment, as well as ''La repertoire de la cuisine'' by Escoffier's student Louis Saulnier; for a more modern approach, Joel Robuchon's ''Tout Robuchon'' [[hottip:*:The Complete Robuchon]], Jacques Pepin's ''Complete Techniques'', and ''The Elements of Cooking'' and ''Ratio'' by Michael Ruhlman are all good introductions. There's even public domain material from the 19th century; François Tanty, a French chef who trained under Carême and in the early 19th century, had cooked for the Russian royal family; as a very old man, he retired to the United States with his sons and wrote [[http://digital.lib.msu.edu/projects/cookbooks/html/books/book_46.cfm La Cuisine Français]], Français]] in 1893, which may have been one of the first such books published in the United States.
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Changed line(s) 9,10 (click to see context) from:
Classical French cuisine is one of the best-documented and codified in the world. You'll want to read Escoffier's ''Guide Culinaire'' for the traditional treatment, as well as ''La repertoire de la cuisine'' by Escoffier's student Louis Saulnier; for a more modern approach, Joel Robuchon's ''Tout Robuchon'' [[hottip:*:The Complete Robuchon]], Jacques Pepin's ''Complete Techniques'', and ''The Elements of Cooking'' and ''Ratio'' by Michael Ruhlman are all good introductions. There's even public domain material from the 19th century; François Tanty, a French chef who had cooked for the Russian royal family and retired to the United States with his sons, wrote [[http://digital.lib.msu.edu/projects/cookbooks/html/books/book_46.cfm La Cuisine Français]], which may have been one of the first such books published in the United States.
to:
Classical French cuisine is one of the best-documented and codified in the world. Parts of it have roots going back into ancient times (the Greeks made bechamel sauce long before Béchamel existed), but it was popularized in more or less its current form in the 19th century by one of the first celebrity chefs, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie-Antoine_Carême Marie-Antoine Carême]]. You'll want to read Escoffier's ''Guide Culinaire'' for the traditional treatment, as well as ''La repertoire de la cuisine'' by Escoffier's student Louis Saulnier; for a more modern approach, Joel Robuchon's ''Tout Robuchon'' [[hottip:*:The Complete Robuchon]], Jacques Pepin's ''Complete Techniques'', and ''The Elements of Cooking'' and ''Ratio'' by Michael Ruhlman are all good introductions. There's even public domain material from the 19th century; François Tanty, a French chef who trained under Carême and had cooked for the Russian royal family and family; as a very old man, he retired to the United States with his sons, sons and wrote [[http://digital.lib.msu.edu/projects/cookbooks/html/books/book_46.cfm La Cuisine Français]], which may have been one of the first such books published in the United States.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
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Changed line(s) 9,10 (click to see context) from:
Classical French cuisine is one of the best-documented and codified in the world. You'll want to read Escoffier's ''Guide Culinaire'' for the traditional treatment, as well as ''La repertoire de la cuisine'' by Escoffier's student Louis Saulnier; for a more modern approach, Joel Robuchon's ''Tout Robuchon'' [[hottip:*:The Complete Robuchon]], Jacques Pepin's ''Complete Techniques'', and ''The Elements of Cooking'' and ''Ratio'' by Michael Ruhlman are all good introductions. There's even public domain material from the 19th century; Francois Tanty, a French chef who had cooked for the Russian royal family and retired to the United States with his sons, wrote [[http://digital.lib.msu.edu/projects/cookbooks/html/books/book_46.cfm La Cuisine Francais]], which may have been one of the first such books published in the United States.
to:
Classical French cuisine is one of the best-documented and codified in the world. You'll want to read Escoffier's ''Guide Culinaire'' for the traditional treatment, as well as ''La repertoire de la cuisine'' by Escoffier's student Louis Saulnier; for a more modern approach, Joel Robuchon's ''Tout Robuchon'' [[hottip:*:The Complete Robuchon]], Jacques Pepin's ''Complete Techniques'', and ''The Elements of Cooking'' and ''Ratio'' by Michael Ruhlman are all good introductions. There's even public domain material from the 19th century; Francois François Tanty, a French chef who had cooked for the Russian royal family and retired to the United States with his sons, wrote [[http://digital.lib.msu.edu/projects/cookbooks/html/books/book_46.cfm La Cuisine Francais]], Français]], which may have been one of the first such books published in the United States.
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Changed line(s) 7,8 (click to see context) from:
Also known as "Le Grand Cuisine", Haute Cuisine (literally "High Cooking") has its roots in the cuisine of the middle ages and of the Ancien Régime but really took off after the French Revolution when the guilds were disbanded and anyone could be a chef if they wanted. It was eventually codified by Georges Auguste Escoffier in the late 19th century. This is the cuisine of fine restaurants and hotels, of the well to do who could afford cooks. Haute Cuisine uses spices very sparingly in contrast to the heavily spiced medieval dishes of France, but uses fresh herbs more liberally. Most recipes call for extraordinary amounts of cream and butter, and deglazes and reductions based on wine are common. Fresh ingredients are pulled from all over France, from Normandy and Brittany to Lorraine and Provence, so you will find a truly astonishing variety, but it does not take on much of the regional character. If you go to an expensive French restaurant, this is most likely what you will be served, if it isn't Nouvelle cuisine (see below). At its best, it's a bit antiquated but very enjoyable; at its worst, you get what CalvinTrillin once described as "stuff-stuff with heavy": indifferently prepared with leaden, pasty sauces and dull flavors, barely worth putting on a buffet table, never mind in front of a $50/plate diner.
to:
Also known as "Le Grand Cuisine", Haute Cuisine (literally "High Cooking") has its roots in the cuisine of the middle ages and of the Ancien Régime but really took off after the French Revolution when the guilds were disbanded and anyone could be a chef if they wanted. It was eventually codified by Georges Auguste Escoffier in the late 19th century. This is the cuisine of fine restaurants and hotels, of the well to do who could afford cooks. Haute Cuisine uses spices very sparingly in contrast to the heavily spiced medieval dishes of France, but uses fresh herbs more liberally. Most recipes call for extraordinary amounts of cream and butter, and deglazes and reductions based on wine are common. Fresh ingredients are pulled from all over France, from Normandy and Brittany to Lorraine and Provence, so you will find a truly astonishing variety, but it does not take on much of the regional character. If you go to an expensive French restaurant, this is most likely what you will be served, if it isn't Nouvelle cuisine (see below). At its best, it's a bit antiquated but very enjoyable; at its worst, you get what CalvinTrillin Calvin Trillin once described as "stuff-stuff with heavy": indifferently prepared with leaden, pasty sauces and dull flavors, barely worth putting on a buffet table, never mind in front of a $50/plate diner.
Changed line(s) 55 (click to see context) from:
Although the French do eat potatoes and couscous quite frequently (they formerly had a certain notoriety for not being able to handle rice, though), the big traditional starch of a French meal is bread, by far the most famous being the long, crispy stick of bread known as the baguette. Properly made, a baguette is ideal for both a meal and a sandwich bread; however, it's not the only French bread. The family of breads sometimes known as ''pain de campagne'' ("country bread") tend to be flattened balls or wheels of greyish-brown bread; at its worst it's barely distinguishable from white bread, but the bread of Poilane bakery in Paris (now in its third generation of ownership) is considered among the best and most imitated in the world. Finally, there's brioche -- an eggy, buttery bread used for breakfast, desserts, holiday pastries, and uses like that.
to:
Although the French do eat potatoes and couscous quite frequently (they formerly had a certain notoriety for not being able to handle rice, though), the big traditional starch of a French meal is bread, by far the most famous being the long, crispy stick of bread known as the baguette. Properly made, a baguette is ideal for both a meal and a sandwich bread; however, it's not the only French bread. The family of breads sometimes known as ''pain de campagne'' ("country bread") tend to be flattened balls or wheels of greyish-brown bread; at its worst it's barely distinguishable from white bread, but the bread of Poilane bakery in Paris (now in its third generation of ownership) is considered among the best and most imitated in the world. Finally, Also, there's brioche -- an eggy, buttery bread used for breakfast, desserts, holiday pastries, and uses like that.that. [[hottip:*:Brioche was also the "cake" used in the misattributed-to-Marie-Antoinette quote "Let them eat cake", which, if it was ever really said by the person people mistook Marie Antoinette for, was less a brushoff and more an invitation for the poor people to raid the bakeries.]] Finally, there's the originally-Austrian croissant -- a yeasted relative of puff pastry and danish, and one of the three most popular breakfast breads in the USA, along with biscuits and bagels. (Chocolate croissants -- the rectangular, chocolate-filled ''pain au chocolat'' -- are very popular after-school snacks for French kids.)
The French also eat pizza (understandable, since they share a border with Italy); in practice, most French pizzerias offer only a handful of styles of pizza, but France also has its own native type, the anchovy and onion-laden pissaladière of Provence. Also not uncommon is fougasse, a type of bread similar in both name and style to northern Italy's focaccia, though the French often make them sweet, sometimes with fruit like grapes baked in.
The French also eat pizza (understandable, since they share a border with Italy); in practice, most French pizzerias offer only a handful of styles of pizza, but France also has its own native type, the anchovy and onion-laden pissaladière of Provence. Also not uncommon is fougasse, a type of bread similar in both name and style to northern Italy's focaccia, though the French often make them sweet, sometimes with fruit like grapes baked in.
Changed line(s) 59,60 (click to see context) from:
Not to be confused with a dish with rats. That would be gross. Pronounced as ra-ta-too-wee, a Southern French dish composed of mixed vegetables like tomatoes, carrots, eggplant, zuchinni, bell peppers, and certain herbs and spices like marjoram and basil. Very popular to dieters due to the nutritional value of the dish. Dish can be found in the film ''{{Ratatouille}}''. Also not to be confused with rouille, which is a type of garlic and red pepper mayonnaise used to season...
to:
Not to be confused with a dish with rats. That would be gross. Pronounced as ra-ta-too-wee, a Southern French dish composed of mixed vegetables like tomatoes, carrots, eggplant, zuchinni, bell peppers, and certain herbs and spices like marjoram and basil. Very popular to with dieters due to the nutritional value of the dish. Dish can be found in the film ''{{Ratatouille}}''. Also not to be confused with rouille, which is a type of garlic and red pepper mayonnaise used to season...
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Not to be confused with a dish with rats. That would be gross. Pronounced as ra-ta-too-wee, a Southern French dish composed of mixed vegetables like tomatoes, carrots, eggplant, zuchinni, bell peppers, and certain herbs and spices like marjoram and basil. Very popular to dieters due to the nutritional value of the dish. Dish can be found in the film ''{{Ratatouille}}''.
to:
Not to be confused with a dish with rats. That would be gross. Pronounced as ra-ta-too-wee, a Southern French dish composed of mixed vegetables like tomatoes, carrots, eggplant, zuchinni, bell peppers, and certain herbs and spices like marjoram and basil. Very popular to dieters due to the nutritional value of the dish. Dish can be found in the film ''{{Ratatouille}}''.
''{{Ratatouille}}''. Also not to be confused with rouille, which is a type of garlic and red pepper mayonnaise used to season...
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What pizza and Chinese-American food are to the US and curry is to the UK and Ireland, couscous and certain other North African dishes are to France -- cheap, tasty, convenient (usually takeout), not typical of what usually goes on the table, and thoroughly naturalized despite eaters' perceptions of exoticness to the contrary. Couscous is a small, pebbly, quick-cooking pasta eaten from Morocco to Sicily and Libya, and cooked and served alongside meals like tagine (a Berber meat stew traditionally cooked in a pot with a characteristic conical lid) or vegetable stew; it's sometimes even used as a dessert, served with honey or sugar and spices.
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What pizza and Chinese-American food are to the US and curry is to the UK and Ireland, couscous and certain other North African dishes are to France -- cheap, tasty, convenient (usually takeout), not typical of what usually goes on the table, and thoroughly naturalized despite eaters' perceptions of exoticness to the contrary. Couscous is a small, pebbly, quick-cooking pasta eaten from Morocco to Sicily and Libya, and cooked and served alongside meals like tagine (a Berber meat stew traditionally cooked in a pot with a characteristic conical lid) or vegetable stew; it's sometimes even used as a dessert, served with honey or sugar and spices. Because of their origins in Islamic countries, these dishes are usually made with lamb or beef, never pork; a spicy beef or lamb sausage called merguez is fairly common as well.
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'''Couscous and other North African imports'''
What pizza and Chinese-American food are to the US and curry is to the UK and Ireland, couscous and certain other North African dishes are to France -- cheap, tasty, convenient (usually takeout), not typical of what usually goes on the table, and thoroughly naturalized despite eaters' perceptions of exoticness to the contrary. Couscous is a small, pebbly, quick-cooking pasta eaten from Morocco to Sicily and Libya, and cooked and served alongside meals like tagine (a Berber meat stew traditionally cooked in a pot with a characteristic conical lid) or vegetable stew; it's sometimes even used as a dessert, served with honey or sugar and spices.
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Also known as "Le Grand Cuisine", Haute Cuisine (literally "High Cooking") has its roots in the cuisine of the middle ages and of the Ancien Régime but really took off after the French Revolution when the guilds were disbanded and anyone could be a chef if they wanted. It was eventually codified by Georges Auguste Escoffier in the late 19th century. This is the cuisine of fine restaurants and hotels, of the well to do who could afford cooks. Haute Cuisine uses spices very sparingly in contrast to the heavily spiced medieval dishes of France, but uses fresh herbs more liberally. Most recipes call for extraordinary amounts of cream and butter, and deglazes and reductions based on wine are common. Fresh ingredients are pulled from all over France, from Normandy and Brittany to Lorraine and Provence, so you will find a truly astonishing variety, but it does not take on much of the regional character. If you go to an expensive French restaurant, this is most likely what you will be served, if it isn't Nouvelle cuisine (see below). At its best, it's a bit antiquated but enjoyable; at its worst, you get what CalvinTrillin once described as "stuff-stuff with heavy": indifferently prepared with leaden, pasty sauces and dull flavors, barely worth putting on a buffet table, never mind in front of a $50/plate diner.
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Also known as "Le Grand Cuisine", Haute Cuisine (literally "High Cooking") has its roots in the cuisine of the middle ages and of the Ancien Régime but really took off after the French Revolution when the guilds were disbanded and anyone could be a chef if they wanted. It was eventually codified by Georges Auguste Escoffier in the late 19th century. This is the cuisine of fine restaurants and hotels, of the well to do who could afford cooks. Haute Cuisine uses spices very sparingly in contrast to the heavily spiced medieval dishes of France, but uses fresh herbs more liberally. Most recipes call for extraordinary amounts of cream and butter, and deglazes and reductions based on wine are common. Fresh ingredients are pulled from all over France, from Normandy and Brittany to Lorraine and Provence, so you will find a truly astonishing variety, but it does not take on much of the regional character. If you go to an expensive French restaurant, this is most likely what you will be served, if it isn't Nouvelle cuisine (see below). At its best, it's a bit antiquated but very enjoyable; at its worst, you get what CalvinTrillin once described as "stuff-stuff with heavy": indifferently prepared with leaden, pasty sauces and dull flavors, barely worth putting on a buffet table, never mind in front of a $50/plate diner.
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Also known as "Le Grand Cuisine", Haute Cuisine (literally "High Cooking") has its roots in the cuisine of the middle ages and of the Ancien Régime but really took off after the French Revolution when the guilds were disbanded and anyone could be a chef if they wanted. It was eventually codified by Georges Auguste Escoffier in the late 19th century. This is the cuisine of fine restaurants and hotels, of the well to do who could afford cooks. Haute Cuisine uses spices very sparingly in contrast to the heavily spiced medieval dishes of France, but uses fresh herbs more liberally. Most recipes call for extraordinary amounts of cream and butter, and deglazes and reductions based on wine are common. Fresh ingredients are pulled from all over France, from Normandy and Brittany to Lorraine and Provence, so you will find a truly astonishing variety, but it does not take on much of the regional character. If you go to an expensive French restaurant, this is most likely what you will be served, if it isn't Nouvelle cuisine (see below). At its best, it's a bit antiquated but enjoyable; at its worst, you get what CalvinTrillin once described as "stuff-stuff with heavy" -- indifferently prepared with leaden, pasty sauces -- barely worth putting on a buffet table, never mind in front of a $50/plate diner.
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Also known as "Le Grand Cuisine", Haute Cuisine (literally "High Cooking") has its roots in the cuisine of the middle ages and of the Ancien Régime but really took off after the French Revolution when the guilds were disbanded and anyone could be a chef if they wanted. It was eventually codified by Georges Auguste Escoffier in the late 19th century. This is the cuisine of fine restaurants and hotels, of the well to do who could afford cooks. Haute Cuisine uses spices very sparingly in contrast to the heavily spiced medieval dishes of France, but uses fresh herbs more liberally. Most recipes call for extraordinary amounts of cream and butter, and deglazes and reductions based on wine are common. Fresh ingredients are pulled from all over France, from Normandy and Brittany to Lorraine and Provence, so you will find a truly astonishing variety, but it does not take on much of the regional character. If you go to an expensive French restaurant, this is most likely what you will be served, if it isn't Nouvelle cuisine (see below). At its best, it's a bit antiquated but enjoyable; at its worst, you get what CalvinTrillin once described as "stuff-stuff with heavy" -- heavy": indifferently prepared with leaden, pasty sauces -- and dull flavors, barely worth putting on a buffet table, never mind in front of a $50/plate diner.
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Also known as "Le Grand Cuisine", Haute Cuisine (literally "High Cooking") has its roots in the cuisine of the middle ages and of the Ancien Régime but really took off after the French Revolution when the guilds were disbanded and anyone could be a chef if they wanted. It was eventually codified by Georges Auguste Escoffier in the late 19th century. This is the cuisine of fine restaurants and hotels, of the well to do who could afford cooks. Haute Cuisine uses spices very sparingly in contrast to the heavily spiced medieval dishes of France, but uses fresh herbs more liberally. Most recipes call for extraordinary amounts of cream and butter, and deglazes and reductions based on wine are common. Fresh ingredients are pulled from all over France, from Normandy and Brittany to Lorraine and Provence, so you will find a truly astonishing variety, but it does not take on much of the regional character. If you go to an expensive French restaurant, this is most likely what you will be served, if it isn't Nouvelle cuisine (see below). At its best, it's a bit antiquated but enjoyable; at its worst, you get what CalvinTrillin once described as "stuff-stuff with heavy".
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Also known as "Le Grand Cuisine", Haute Cuisine (literally "High Cooking") has its roots in the cuisine of the middle ages and of the Ancien Régime but really took off after the French Revolution when the guilds were disbanded and anyone could be a chef if they wanted. It was eventually codified by Georges Auguste Escoffier in the late 19th century. This is the cuisine of fine restaurants and hotels, of the well to do who could afford cooks. Haute Cuisine uses spices very sparingly in contrast to the heavily spiced medieval dishes of France, but uses fresh herbs more liberally. Most recipes call for extraordinary amounts of cream and butter, and deglazes and reductions based on wine are common. Fresh ingredients are pulled from all over France, from Normandy and Brittany to Lorraine and Provence, so you will find a truly astonishing variety, but it does not take on much of the regional character. If you go to an expensive French restaurant, this is most likely what you will be served, if it isn't Nouvelle cuisine (see below). At its best, it's a bit antiquated but enjoyable; at its worst, you get what CalvinTrillin once described as "stuff-stuff with heavy".heavy" -- indifferently prepared with leaden, pasty sauces -- barely worth putting on a buffet table, never mind in front of a $50/plate diner.
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Also known as "Le Grand Cuisine", Haute Cuisine (literally "High Cooking") has its roots in the cuisine of the middle ages and of the Ancien Régime but really took off after the French Revolution when the guilds were disbanded and anyone could be a chef if they wanted. It was eventually codified by Georges Auguste Escoffier in the late 19th century. This is the cuisine of fine restaurants and hotels, of the well to do who could afford cooks. Haute Cuisine uses spices very sparingly in contrast to the heavily spiced medieval dishes of France, but uses fresh herbs more liberally. Most recipes call for extraordinary amounts of cream and butter, and deglazes and reductions based on wine are common. Fresh ingredients are pulled from all over France, from Normandy and Brittany to Lorraine and Provence, so you will find a truly astonishing variety, but it does not take on much of the regional character. If you go to an expensive French restaurant, this is most likely what you will be served, if it isn't Nouvelle cuisine (see below).
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Also known as "Le Grand Cuisine", Haute Cuisine (literally "High Cooking") has its roots in the cuisine of the middle ages and of the Ancien Régime but really took off after the French Revolution when the guilds were disbanded and anyone could be a chef if they wanted. It was eventually codified by Georges Auguste Escoffier in the late 19th century. This is the cuisine of fine restaurants and hotels, of the well to do who could afford cooks. Haute Cuisine uses spices very sparingly in contrast to the heavily spiced medieval dishes of France, but uses fresh herbs more liberally. Most recipes call for extraordinary amounts of cream and butter, and deglazes and reductions based on wine are common. Fresh ingredients are pulled from all over France, from Normandy and Brittany to Lorraine and Provence, so you will find a truly astonishing variety, but it does not take on much of the regional character. If you go to an expensive French restaurant, this is most likely what you will be served, if it isn't Nouvelle cuisine (see below). At its best, it's a bit antiquated but enjoyable; at its worst, you get what CalvinTrillin once described as "stuff-stuff with heavy".
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some more typical dishes
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'''Boeuf Bourgignon'''
Possibly the quintessential French beef stew [[hottip:*:Escoffier also had a recipe for making it as a pot roast, but it didn't really survive past his era.]], or at least tied for first with the Daube Provencal, boeuf Bourgignon is named after the Burgundy region, where the world-famous local red wine of the same name is used to make it. In addition to big chunks of stew beef and a winey sauce, the dish also contains salt pork or bacon, mushrooms, and pearl onions.
'''French onion soup'''
Take a freshly made brown beef stock. Add piles and piles of carefully caramelized onions, then pour over a big chunk of toasted baguette, and brown some French or Swiss cheese (Gruyere is popular) over the top. Mediocre versions can be found everywhere, but it's authentic and a lot of fun to eat.
Possibly the quintessential French beef stew [[hottip:*:Escoffier also had a recipe for making it as a pot roast, but it didn't really survive past his era.]], or at least tied for first with the Daube Provencal, boeuf Bourgignon is named after the Burgundy region, where the world-famous local red wine of the same name is used to make it. In addition to big chunks of stew beef and a winey sauce, the dish also contains salt pork or bacon, mushrooms, and pearl onions.
'''French onion soup'''
Take a freshly made brown beef stock. Add piles and piles of carefully caramelized onions, then pour over a big chunk of toasted baguette, and brown some French or Swiss cheese (Gruyere is popular) over the top. Mediocre versions can be found everywhere, but it's authentic and a lot of fun to eat.
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'''La baguette [[AndZoidberg (et les autres pains)]]'''
Although the French do eat potatoes and couscous quite frequently (they formerly had a certain notoriety for not being able to handle rice, though), the big traditional starch of a French meal is bread, by far the most famous being the long, crispy stick of bread known as the baguette. Properly made, a baguette is ideal for both a meal and a sandwich bread; however, it's not the only French bread. The family of breads sometimes known as ''pain de campagne'' ("country bread") tend to be flattened balls or wheels of greyish-brown bread; at its worst it's barely distinguishable from white bread, but the bread of Poilane bakery in Paris (now in its third generation of ownership) is considered among the best and most imitated in the world. Finally, there's brioche -- an eggy, buttery bread used for breakfast, desserts, holiday pastries, and uses like that.
Although the French do eat potatoes and couscous quite frequently (they formerly had a certain notoriety for not being able to handle rice, though), the big traditional starch of a French meal is bread, by far the most famous being the long, crispy stick of bread known as the baguette. Properly made, a baguette is ideal for both a meal and a sandwich bread; however, it's not the only French bread. The family of breads sometimes known as ''pain de campagne'' ("country bread") tend to be flattened balls or wheels of greyish-brown bread; at its worst it's barely distinguishable from white bread, but the bread of Poilane bakery in Paris (now in its third generation of ownership) is considered among the best and most imitated in the world. Finally, there's brioche -- an eggy, buttery bread used for breakfast, desserts, holiday pastries, and uses like that.
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'''Bouillabaisse'''
A traditional fish stew from the Mediterranean coast of France; it's hard to duplicate because to be truly authentic, you need to have local fish (especially ''rascasse'' or scorpionfish), but it's nevertheless one of the most famous of French seafood dishes.
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Also known as "Le Grand Cuisine", Haute Cuisine (literally "High Cooking") has its roots in the cuisine of the middle ages and of the Ancien Régime but really took off after the French Revolution when the guilds were disbanded and anyone could be a chef if they wanted. It was eventually codified by Georges Auguste Escoffier in the late 19th century. This is the cuisine of fine restaurants and hotels, of the well to do who could afford cooks. Haute Cuisine uses spices very sparingly in contrast to the heavily spiced medieval dishes of France, but uses fresh herbs more liberally. Most recipes call for extraordinary amounts of cream and butter, and deglazes and reductions based on wine are common. Fresh ingredients are pulled from all over France, from Normandy and Brittany to Lorraine and Provence, so you will find a truly astonishing variety, but it does not take on much of the regional character. If you go to an expensive French restaurant, this is most likely what you will be served, if it isn't Nouvelle cuisine (see below). You'll want to read Escoffier's ''Guide Culinaire'' for the traditional treatment; for a more modern approach, Joel Robuchon's ''Tout Robuchon'' [[hottip:*:The Complete Robuchon]], Jacques Pepin's ''Complete Techniques'', and ''The Elements of Cooking'' and ''Ratio'' by Michael Ruhlman are all good introductions.
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Also known as "Le Grand Cuisine", Haute Cuisine (literally "High Cooking") has its roots in the cuisine of the middle ages and of the Ancien Régime but really took off after the French Revolution when the guilds were disbanded and anyone could be a chef if they wanted. It was eventually codified by Georges Auguste Escoffier in the late 19th century. This is the cuisine of fine restaurants and hotels, of the well to do who could afford cooks. Haute Cuisine uses spices very sparingly in contrast to the heavily spiced medieval dishes of France, but uses fresh herbs more liberally. Most recipes call for extraordinary amounts of cream and butter, and deglazes and reductions based on wine are common. Fresh ingredients are pulled from all over France, from Normandy and Brittany to Lorraine and Provence, so you will find a truly astonishing variety, but it does not take on much of the regional character. If you go to an expensive French restaurant, this is most likely what you will be served, if it isn't Nouvelle cuisine (see below).
Classical French cuisine is one of the best-documented and codified in the world. You'll want to read Escoffier's ''Guide Culinaire'' for the traditionaltreatment; treatment, as well as ''La repertoire de la cuisine'' by Escoffier's student Louis Saulnier; for a more modern approach, Joel Robuchon's ''Tout Robuchon'' [[hottip:*:The Complete Robuchon]], Jacques Pepin's ''Complete Techniques'', and ''The Elements of Cooking'' and ''Ratio'' by Michael Ruhlman are all good introductions.
introductions. There's even public domain material from the 19th century; Francois Tanty, a French chef who had cooked for the Russian royal family and retired to the United States with his sons, wrote [[http://digital.lib.msu.edu/projects/cookbooks/html/books/book_46.cfm La Cuisine Francais]], which may have been one of the first such books published in the United States.
Classical French cuisine is one of the best-documented and codified in the world. You'll want to read Escoffier's ''Guide Culinaire'' for the traditional
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This turns out not to be the case.
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Also known as "Le Grand Cuisine", Haute Cuisine (literally "High Cooking") has its roots in the cuisine of the middle ages and of the Ancien Régime but really took off after the French Revolution when the guilds were disbanded and anyone could be a chef if they wanted. It was eventually codified by Georges Auguste Escoffier in the late 19th century. This is the cuisine of fine restaurants and hotels, of the well to do who could afford cooks. Haute Cuisine uses spices very sparingly in contrast to the heavily spiced medieval dishes of France, but uses fresh herbs more liberally. Most recipes call for extraordinary amounts of cream and butter, and deglazes and reductions based on wine are common. Fresh ingredients are pulled from all over France, from Normandy and Brittany to Lorraine and Provence, so you will find a truly astonishing variety, but it does not take on much of the regional character. If you go to an expensive French restaurant, this is most likely what you will be served, if it isn't Nouvelle cuisine (see below). Along with some signature dishes from regional cuisines, this is what Julia Child cooked on her famous show ''The French Chef''.
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Also known as "Le Grand Cuisine", Haute Cuisine (literally "High Cooking") has its roots in the cuisine of the middle ages and of the Ancien Régime but really took off after the French Revolution when the guilds were disbanded and anyone could be a chef if they wanted. It was eventually codified by Georges Auguste Escoffier in the late 19th century. This is the cuisine of fine restaurants and hotels, of the well to do who could afford cooks. Haute Cuisine uses spices very sparingly in contrast to the heavily spiced medieval dishes of France, but uses fresh herbs more liberally. Most recipes call for extraordinary amounts of cream and butter, and deglazes and reductions based on wine are common. Fresh ingredients are pulled from all over France, from Normandy and Brittany to Lorraine and Provence, so you will find a truly astonishing variety, but it does not take on much of the regional character. If you go to an expensive French restaurant, this is most likely what you will be served, if it isn't Nouvelle cuisine (see below). Along with some signature dishes from regional cuisines, this is what Julia Child cooked on her famous show You'll want to read Escoffier's ''Guide Culinaire'' for the traditional treatment; for a more modern approach, Joel Robuchon's ''Tout Robuchon'' [[hottip:*:The Complete Robuchon]], Jacques Pepin's ''Complete Techniques'', and ''The French Chef''.
Elements of Cooking'' and ''Ratio'' by Michael Ruhlman are all good introductions.
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Literally "New Cuisine", Nouvelle Cuisine was a backlash against "Cuisine Classique" (Classic Cuisine; arguably Nouvelle Cuisine is a subset of Haute Cuisine and what is defined above is Cuisine Classique, but usually Haute Cuisine usually means Cuisine Classique) starting in the 1960s. It involved a lot of experimentation and bringing in techniques, ingredients, and preparations from other cuisines, most notably Chinese and Japanese. Gault and Millau came up with a "formula" for what Nouvelle cuisine typically entails: a rejection of excessive complication in cooking, reduced cooking times in order to preserve the flavors of fish, poultry, seafood, and vegetables, which led to a lot of steaming, using the freshest ingredients possible, shorter menus, abandonment of strong marinades for fish and game, replacing heavy sauce with lighter applications of fresh herbs, butter, lemon juice, and vinegar, regional dishes as inspiration, incorporating modern inventions, and inventiveness. Arguably this is no longer "New Cuisine"; the innovations of Nouvelle Cuisine were hugely influential around the world (if you cook some of the above, like the emphasis on fresh food cooked very lightly might seem familiar) but has long since been incorporated into high restaurant cuisine and home cooking; many chefs will now use techniques from both Haute Cuisine and Nouvelle Cuisine, and probably incorporate ideas from other cuisines as well. Still, understanding the difference is useful for understanding French Cuisine as a whole.
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Literally "New Cuisine", Nouvelle Cuisine was a backlash against "Cuisine Classique" (Classic Cuisine; arguably Nouvelle Cuisine is a subset of Haute Cuisine and what is defined above is Cuisine Classique, but usually Haute Cuisine usually means Cuisine Classique) starting in the 1960s. It involved a lot of experimentation and bringing in techniques, ingredients, and preparations from other cuisines, most notably Chinese and Japanese. Gault and Millau came up with a "formula" for what Nouvelle cuisine typically entails: a rejection of excessive complication in cooking, reduced cooking times in order to preserve the flavors of fish, poultry, seafood, and vegetables, which led to a lot of steaming, using the freshest ingredients possible, shorter menus, abandonment of strong marinades for fish and game, replacing heavy sauce with lighter applications of fresh herbs, butter, lemon juice, and vinegar, regional dishes as inspiration, incorporating modern inventions, and inventiveness. Arguably this is no longer "New Cuisine"; the innovations of Nouvelle Cuisine were hugely influential around the world (if you cook some of the above, like the emphasis on fresh food cooked very lightly might seem familiar) but has long since been incorporated into high restaurant cuisine and home cooking; many chefs will now use techniques from both Haute Cuisine and Nouvelle Cuisine, and probably incorporate ideas from other cuisines as well. Still, understanding the difference is useful for understanding French Cuisine as a whole.
whole.
Some well-known practitioners include Michel Roux, Thomas Keller, Alain Ducasse, and quite a few others of the world's top chefs.
Some well-known practitioners include Michel Roux, Thomas Keller, Alain Ducasse, and quite a few others of the world's top chefs.
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Much of what Julia Child (and her writing partners Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle) wrote about fell into this category; Child's cuisine in particular was essentially middle-class home cooking of the 1930s through 1950s, with some diversions into restaurant dishes, high-end patisserie (particularly elaborate cakes like her signature Queen of Sheba chocolate rum cake), and even occasionally street food; France, in turn, had authors like Evelyn Ebrard (writing as "Mme. E. Saint-Ange", her maiden name) and Ginette Mathiot, and the UK had the classically trained Dione Lucas, one of the very first television chefs. Edouard de Pomiane (a radio chef!) wrote what may be one of the first convenience cookbooks in 1930, published as ''Cuisine en dix minutes''. This was the cuisine that broke the US out of its traditional mold of heavy, stodgy cooking and made the era of MadMen and space shots much tastier and more daring.
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Snails. They actually taste like mussels. Considered a delicacy, and not eaten that often either (many Frenchmen are just as disgusted as Americans by the idea of eating them). While there is a specifically French recipe for them, snails are in fact occasionally eaten in most countries of southern Europe and North Africa.
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Snails. They actually taste like mussels. Considered a delicacy, and not eaten that often either (many Frenchmen are just as disgusted as Americans by the idea of eating them). While there is a specifically French recipe for them, snails are in fact occasionally eaten in most countries of southern Europe and North Africa.
Africa (anyone who's ever been in a Moroccan bazaar can testify to the presence of carts full of gigantic dishes of stewed snails).
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This is a UsefulNotes page. For a trope about the use of French cuisine in fiction, see '''FrenchCuisineIsHaughty'''.
French cuisine, which isn't just ''escargots'' and ''cuisses de grenouilles''. There are in fact three distinct components to French Cuisine:
French cuisine, which isn't just ''escargots'' and ''cuisses de grenouilles''. There are in fact three distinct components to French Cuisine:
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This is a UsefulNotes page.page about French cuisine, which isn't just ''escargots'' and ''cuisses de grenouilles''. For a trope about the use of French cuisine in fiction, see '''FrenchCuisineIsHaughty'''.
French cuisine, which isn't just ''escargots'' and ''cuisses de grenouilles''. There are in fact three distinct components to French Cuisine:
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Not to be confused with a dish with rats. That would be gross. Pronounced as ra-ta-too-wee, a Southern French dish composed of mixed vegetables like tomatoes, carrots, eggplant, zuchinni, bell peppers, and certain herbs and spices like marjoram and basil. Very popular to dieters due to the nutritional value of the dish. Dish can be found in the film {{Ratatouille}}.
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Not to be confused with a dish with rats. That would be gross. Pronounced as ra-ta-too-wee, a Southern French dish composed of mixed vegetables like tomatoes, carrots, eggplant, zuchinni, bell peppers, and certain herbs and spices like marjoram and basil. Very popular to dieters due to the nutritional value of the dish. Dish can be found in the film {{Ratatouille}}.''{{Ratatouille}}''.
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This is a UsefulNotes page about French cuisine. For a trope about the use of French cuisine in fiction, see '''FrenchCuisineIsHaughty'''.
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This is a UsefulNotes page about French cuisine.page. For a trope about the use of French cuisine in fiction, see '''FrenchCuisineIsHaughty'''.
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This is a UsefulNotes page about French cuisine. For a trope about the use of French cuisine in fiction, see FrenchCuisineIsHaughty.
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This is a UsefulNotes page about French cuisine. For a trope about the use of French cuisine in fiction, see FrenchCuisineIsHaughty.
'''FrenchCuisineIsHaughty'''.
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This is a UsefulNotes page about French cuisine. For a trope about the use of French cuisine in fiction, see FrenchCuisineIsHaughty.
French cuisine, which isn't just ''escargots'' and ''cuisses de grenouilles''. There are in fact three distinct components to French Cuisine:
'''La Haute Cuisine'''
Also known as "Le Grand Cuisine", Haute Cuisine (literally "High Cooking") has its roots in the cuisine of the middle ages and of the Ancien Régime but really took off after the French Revolution when the guilds were disbanded and anyone could be a chef if they wanted. It was eventually codified by Georges Auguste Escoffier in the late 19th century. This is the cuisine of fine restaurants and hotels, of the well to do who could afford cooks. Haute Cuisine uses spices very sparingly in contrast to the heavily spiced medieval dishes of France, but uses fresh herbs more liberally. Most recipes call for extraordinary amounts of cream and butter, and deglazes and reductions based on wine are common. Fresh ingredients are pulled from all over France, from Normandy and Brittany to Lorraine and Provence, so you will find a truly astonishing variety, but it does not take on much of the regional character. If you go to an expensive French restaurant, this is most likely what you will be served, if it isn't Nouvelle cuisine (see below). Along with some signature dishes from regional cuisines, this is what Julia Child cooked on her famous show ''The French Chef''.
'''La Nouvelle Cuisine'''
Literally "New Cuisine", Nouvelle Cuisine was a backlash against "Cuisine Classique" (Classic Cuisine; arguably Nouvelle Cuisine is a subset of Haute Cuisine and what is defined above is Cuisine Classique, but usually Haute Cuisine usually means Cuisine Classique) starting in the 1960s. It involved a lot of experimentation and bringing in techniques, ingredients, and preparations from other cuisines, most notably Chinese and Japanese. Gault and Millau came up with a "formula" for what Nouvelle cuisine typically entails: a rejection of excessive complication in cooking, reduced cooking times in order to preserve the flavors of fish, poultry, seafood, and vegetables, which led to a lot of steaming, using the freshest ingredients possible, shorter menus, abandonment of strong marinades for fish and game, replacing heavy sauce with lighter applications of fresh herbs, butter, lemon juice, and vinegar, regional dishes as inspiration, incorporating modern inventions, and inventiveness. Arguably this is no longer "New Cuisine"; the innovations of Nouvelle Cuisine were hugely influential around the world (if you cook some of the above, like the emphasis on fresh food cooked very lightly might seem familiar) but has long since been incorporated into high restaurant cuisine and home cooking; many chefs will now use techniques from both Haute Cuisine and Nouvelle Cuisine, and probably incorporate ideas from other cuisines as well. Still, understanding the difference is useful for understanding French Cuisine as a whole.
'''La Cuisine Régionale'''
Haute Cuisine--both ''Nouvelle'' and ''Classique''--is the cuisine of chefs and foodies. While most French eat it at least occasionally, their everyday cooking will more likely resemble their regional cuisines, which are less formalized and more varied than the national cuisine. France was not always a modern nation state, and the different regions of France, Alsace, Lorraine, Champagne, Calais, Normandy, Brittany, Île-de-France, Burgundy, Provence, etc. all have their own culture and cuisine. Indeed, provincialism is quite strong in France, with most Frenchmen having a strong attachment to the city or town of their birth, even if they later move. In a French restaurant abroad you will at best find some of the most famous dishes of each region, and perhaps nothing regional at all, but it is still an integral part of the French national identity.
Some famous dishes:
'''Cuisses de grenouilles'''
Aka Frogs' Legs. They apparently do taste like chicken. The French don't eat them that often, it's more a touristy thing.
'''Escargots'''
Snails. They actually taste like mussels. Considered a delicacy, and not eaten that often either (many Frenchmen are just as disgusted as Americans by the idea of eating them). While there is a specifically French recipe for them, snails are in fact occasionally eaten in most countries of southern Europe and North Africa.
'''Le fromage'''
France has ''many'' kinds of cheese, from very strong to very sweet, from very hard to very creamy. Most popular cheeses include Camembert (a creamy cheese from Normandy, made with cow milk, rather strong taste), Roquefort (a very strong taste blue cheese, made with sheep milk, from the town of Roquefort), Comté (a hard cheese made from cow milk, originating in the region of Franche-Comté) and Crottin de Chavignol (soft and sweet goat cheese (though it becomes progressively harder and stronger if left to age more) made in the Loire valley). Note that Emmental and Gruyère are actually made in Switzerland (but are still very popular in France).
'''Vin'''
Or in English, wine. France is famous for its fine wines and the French government has a lot of quality controls on them.
'''Champagne'''
Under the Treaty of Madrid (1891) only sparkling wine made in the Champagne region of France can legally be called "champagne" in many countries. While does not apply to the US, Uncle Sam has subjected the use of the term "champagne" by American sparkling wines to certain conditions: it must actually be sparkling wine, it must have the actual location of origin (usually California) noted in fairly large type on the label, and it must have started calling itself champagne before 2006 (when the rules were instated). American wine producers have in recent years started gravitating away from using French names anyway (except for varietals, where it's hardly their fault), as they're trying to develop their regional identities (which, as various blind wine tastings have indicated, can be just as good as European ones).
'''Ratatouille'''
Not to be confused with a dish with rats. That would be gross. Pronounced as ra-ta-too-wee, a Southern French dish composed of mixed vegetables like tomatoes, carrots, eggplant, zuchinni, bell peppers, and certain herbs and spices like marjoram and basil. Very popular to dieters due to the nutritional value of the dish. Dish can be found in the film {{Ratatouille}}.
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<<|{{UsefulNotes/France}}|>>
French cuisine, which isn't just ''escargots'' and ''cuisses de grenouilles''. There are in fact three distinct components to French Cuisine:
'''La Haute Cuisine'''
Also known as "Le Grand Cuisine", Haute Cuisine (literally "High Cooking") has its roots in the cuisine of the middle ages and of the Ancien Régime but really took off after the French Revolution when the guilds were disbanded and anyone could be a chef if they wanted. It was eventually codified by Georges Auguste Escoffier in the late 19th century. This is the cuisine of fine restaurants and hotels, of the well to do who could afford cooks. Haute Cuisine uses spices very sparingly in contrast to the heavily spiced medieval dishes of France, but uses fresh herbs more liberally. Most recipes call for extraordinary amounts of cream and butter, and deglazes and reductions based on wine are common. Fresh ingredients are pulled from all over France, from Normandy and Brittany to Lorraine and Provence, so you will find a truly astonishing variety, but it does not take on much of the regional character. If you go to an expensive French restaurant, this is most likely what you will be served, if it isn't Nouvelle cuisine (see below). Along with some signature dishes from regional cuisines, this is what Julia Child cooked on her famous show ''The French Chef''.
'''La Nouvelle Cuisine'''
Literally "New Cuisine", Nouvelle Cuisine was a backlash against "Cuisine Classique" (Classic Cuisine; arguably Nouvelle Cuisine is a subset of Haute Cuisine and what is defined above is Cuisine Classique, but usually Haute Cuisine usually means Cuisine Classique) starting in the 1960s. It involved a lot of experimentation and bringing in techniques, ingredients, and preparations from other cuisines, most notably Chinese and Japanese. Gault and Millau came up with a "formula" for what Nouvelle cuisine typically entails: a rejection of excessive complication in cooking, reduced cooking times in order to preserve the flavors of fish, poultry, seafood, and vegetables, which led to a lot of steaming, using the freshest ingredients possible, shorter menus, abandonment of strong marinades for fish and game, replacing heavy sauce with lighter applications of fresh herbs, butter, lemon juice, and vinegar, regional dishes as inspiration, incorporating modern inventions, and inventiveness. Arguably this is no longer "New Cuisine"; the innovations of Nouvelle Cuisine were hugely influential around the world (if you cook some of the above, like the emphasis on fresh food cooked very lightly might seem familiar) but has long since been incorporated into high restaurant cuisine and home cooking; many chefs will now use techniques from both Haute Cuisine and Nouvelle Cuisine, and probably incorporate ideas from other cuisines as well. Still, understanding the difference is useful for understanding French Cuisine as a whole.
'''La Cuisine Régionale'''
Haute Cuisine--both ''Nouvelle'' and ''Classique''--is the cuisine of chefs and foodies. While most French eat it at least occasionally, their everyday cooking will more likely resemble their regional cuisines, which are less formalized and more varied than the national cuisine. France was not always a modern nation state, and the different regions of France, Alsace, Lorraine, Champagne, Calais, Normandy, Brittany, Île-de-France, Burgundy, Provence, etc. all have their own culture and cuisine. Indeed, provincialism is quite strong in France, with most Frenchmen having a strong attachment to the city or town of their birth, even if they later move. In a French restaurant abroad you will at best find some of the most famous dishes of each region, and perhaps nothing regional at all, but it is still an integral part of the French national identity.
Some famous dishes:
'''Cuisses de grenouilles'''
Aka Frogs' Legs. They apparently do taste like chicken. The French don't eat them that often, it's more a touristy thing.
'''Escargots'''
Snails. They actually taste like mussels. Considered a delicacy, and not eaten that often either (many Frenchmen are just as disgusted as Americans by the idea of eating them). While there is a specifically French recipe for them, snails are in fact occasionally eaten in most countries of southern Europe and North Africa.
'''Le fromage'''
France has ''many'' kinds of cheese, from very strong to very sweet, from very hard to very creamy. Most popular cheeses include Camembert (a creamy cheese from Normandy, made with cow milk, rather strong taste), Roquefort (a very strong taste blue cheese, made with sheep milk, from the town of Roquefort), Comté (a hard cheese made from cow milk, originating in the region of Franche-Comté) and Crottin de Chavignol (soft and sweet goat cheese (though it becomes progressively harder and stronger if left to age more) made in the Loire valley). Note that Emmental and Gruyère are actually made in Switzerland (but are still very popular in France).
'''Vin'''
Or in English, wine. France is famous for its fine wines and the French government has a lot of quality controls on them.
'''Champagne'''
Under the Treaty of Madrid (1891) only sparkling wine made in the Champagne region of France can legally be called "champagne" in many countries. While does not apply to the US, Uncle Sam has subjected the use of the term "champagne" by American sparkling wines to certain conditions: it must actually be sparkling wine, it must have the actual location of origin (usually California) noted in fairly large type on the label, and it must have started calling itself champagne before 2006 (when the rules were instated). American wine producers have in recent years started gravitating away from using French names anyway (except for varietals, where it's hardly their fault), as they're trying to develop their regional identities (which, as various blind wine tastings have indicated, can be just as good as European ones).
'''Ratatouille'''
Not to be confused with a dish with rats. That would be gross. Pronounced as ra-ta-too-wee, a Southern French dish composed of mixed vegetables like tomatoes, carrots, eggplant, zuchinni, bell peppers, and certain herbs and spices like marjoram and basil. Very popular to dieters due to the nutritional value of the dish. Dish can be found in the film {{Ratatouille}}.
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<<|{{UsefulNotes/France}}|>>
