History UsefulNotes / SnailsAndSoOn

The "daughter" sauces can themselves have "daughters" (although they are never called "granddaughter" sauces), with demi-glace in particular having two quite famous "children" of her own: bordelaise (demi-glace+bone marrow+butter+shallots+dry red wine, preferably Bordeaux)[[note]]This one itself has a "daughter" in classic ''haute cuisine'': bordelase+puréed duck liver=rouennaise. This rich and expensive sauce was famous in Escoffier's time as what he served over his famous recipe for pressed duck. Ducklings served with rouennaise was also famously served at the notoriously extravagant "[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Emperors_Dinner Three Emperors' Dinner]]" hosted by King Wilhelm I of Prussia (the future [[UsefulNotes/ImperialGermany Wilhelm I, German Emperor]]) for the Russian Emperor Alexander II, Alexander II's son (future Emperor Alexander III), [[TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers and]] UsefulNotes/OttoVonBismarck at the Café Anglais during the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1867. (Contrary to what some less-informed food people might tell you, Napoleon III was not present, even though he was not only an emperor at that time, he was hosting the Expo.) Note also that New Orleans has a sauce called "bordelaise" for a kind of sauce with garlic and butter; this has different roots and, while good, should not be confused with the French version.[[/note]] and chasseur ("hunter's") (demi-glace+mushrooms+shallots, often served over game or gamey meat and intended to evoke what a hunting party might make with its kill using fresh ingredients from in and around the woods; it can also be made directly with Espagnole, however).

* Béarnaise: Hollandaise, but the lemon juice is replaced with a reduction of white wine vinegar, shallot, and tarragon, seasoned with black pepper[[note]]Chefs like to debate whether the black pepper should be introduced as whole peppercorns cooked with the shallots and tarragon in the vinegar reduction, or if it should be added finely ground at the very end[[/note]] and finished with fresh herbs (adding fresh tarragon is a must; chervil may also be added). A traditional French accompaniment to ''entrecôte'', i.e. grilled steak, especially strip or Porterhouse, aficionados often describe it as the greatest steak sauce in the world.

Also known as "La Grande Cuisine", Haute Cuisine (literally "High Cooking") has its roots in the cuisine of the Middle Ages and of [[UsefulNotes/LEtatCestMoi the Ancien Régime]] but really took off after UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution, when the guilds were disbanded and anyone could be a chef if they wanted--if they could hack it. The founder of the modern form of this style is generally considered to be [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie-Antoine_Carême Marie-Antoine Carême]], who was one of the first celebrity chefs (and a chef to celebrities: he spent much of his career in the employ of the French diplomat/politician [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Maurice_de_Talleyrand-Périgord Talleyrand]]). Carême's dishes, made for heads of state and diplomats and designed to impress, could be quite complex, and there was a lot of variation in the early-to-mid-19th century, as not everyone adopted his techniques and ideas right away. However, Carême gradually became the gold standard by which other French chefs are measured, and by the late 19th century, Georges Auguste Escoffier would cement Carême's status by developing a [[TropeCodifier codification]] of French cuisine developed by adapting and simplifying Carême's recipes.

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 [[GrandfatherClause 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).

Snails. They actually taste like mussels (not surprising, since they are near relatives, both being molluscs and all that). Considered a delicacy, and not eaten that often either (many Frenchmen are just as disgusted as Americans by the idea of eating them), they are nonetheless considered high-class cuisine in some quarters. The French recipe for them calls for removing the snails from their shells, cooking them in garlic butter and/or stock and/or wine, pouring the resultant mixture back into the shells, and garnish with parsley, pine nuts, or just more garlic. Snails are in fact occasionally eaten in most countries of southern Europe and North Africa (anyone who's ever been in a Moroccan bazaar can testify to the presence of carts full of gigantic dishes of stewed snails). [[note]]Snails were also British peasant food until they went out of favour sometime in the late 1700's; they are known by the traditional euphemism as ''wall-fruit'' and are still regularly eaten in places like Somerset and Norfolk [[/note]]; the European tradition of eating snails goes back at ''least'' to [[UsefulNotes/TheRomanEmpire the Romans]]. More recently, French gourmets have started consuming snail eggs, which they liken to caviar (and which is about as expensive).

The stock involved in making many of these sauces will include ''mirepoix'', the defining flavor bases of French cooking; it consists of carrots, onions and celery; it will also be used in stews.

* Velouté (velvet): A white sauce similar to a béchamel, but made with fish or chicken stock instead of milk. If a lot of stock is used, it can be served as a soup.[[note]]Technically, so can a béchamel, but for some reason the soups that amount to runny béchamel with stuff in them tend to be called something else--for instance, in English, béchamel-based soups are usually called "cream of [ingredient]" or "[ingredient] cream" soup--while soups that amount to runny velouté with stuff in them are often called velouté.[[/note]]

* Velouté (velvet): A white sauce similar to a béchamel, but made with fish or chicken stock instead of milk. If a lot of stock is used, it can be served as a soup.[[note]]Technically, so can a béchamel, but for some reason the soups that amount to runny béchamel with stuff in them tend to be called something else--for instance, in English, béchamel-based sauces are usually called "cream of [ingredient]" or "[ingredient] cream" soup--while soups that amount to runny velouté with stuff in them are often called velouté.[[/note]]

Snails. They actually taste like mussels (not surprising, since they are near relatives, both being molluscs and all that). Considered a delicacy, and not eaten that often either (many Frenchmen are just as disgusted as Americans by the idea of eating them), they are nonetheless considered high-class cuisine in some quarters. The French recipe for them calls for removing the snails from their shells, cooking them in garlic butter and/or stock and/or wine, pouring the resultant mixture back into the shells, and garnish with parsley, pine nuts, or just more garlic. Snails are in fact occasionally eaten in most countries of southern Europe and North Africa (anyone who's ever been in a Moroccan bazaar can testify to the presence of carts full of gigantic dishes of stewed snails). [[note]]Snails were also British peasant food until they went out of favour sometime in the late 1700's; the are known by the traditional euphemism as ''wall-fruit'' and are still regularly eaten in places like Somerset and Norfolk [[/note]]; the European tradition of eating snails goes back at ''least'' to [[UsefulNotes/TheRomanEmpire the Romans]]. More recently, French gourmets have started consuming snail eggs, which they liken to caviar (and which is about as expensive).

The "daughter" sauces can themselves have "daughters" (although they are never called "granddaughter" sauces), with demi-glace in particular having two quite famous "children" of her own: bordelaise (demi-glace+bone marrow+butter+shallots+dry red wine, preferably Bordeaux)[[note]]This one itself has a "daughter" in classic ''haute cuisine'': bordelase+puréed duck liver=rouennaise. This rich and expensive sauce was famous in Escoffier's time as what he served over his famous recipe for pressed duck. Ducklings served with rouennaise was also famously served at the notoriously extravagant "[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Emperors_Dinner Three Emperors' Dinner]]" hosted by King Wilhelm I of Prussia (the future [[UsefulNotes/ImperialGermany Wilhelm I, German Emperor]]) for the Russian Emperor Alexander II, Alexander II's son (future Emperor Alexander III), and UsefulNotes/OttoVonBismarck at the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1867. Note also that New Orleans has a sauce called "bordelaise" for a kind of sauce with garlic and butter; this has different roots and, while good, should not be confused with the French version.[[/note]] and chasseur ("hunter's") (demi-glace+mushrooms+shallots, often served over game or gamey meat and intended to evoke what a hunting party might make with its kill using fresh ingredients from in and around the woods; it can also be made directly with Espagnole, however).

* Velouté (velvet): A white sauce similar to a béchamel, but made with fish or chicken stock instead of milk. If a lot of stock is used, it can be served as a soup.[[note]]Technically, so can a béchamel, but for some reason the soups that amount to runny béchamel with stuff in them tend to be called something else, while soups that amount to runny velouté with stuff in them are often called velouté.[[/note]]

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 Carême. You'll want to read Escoffier's ''Guide Culinaire'' for the traditional treatment, as well as ''Le répertoire de la cuisine'' by Escoffier's student Louis Saulnier; for a more modern approach, Joel Robuchon's ''Tout Robuchon'' [[note]]The Complete Robuchon[[/note]], Jacques Pepin's ''Complete Techniques'', and ''The Elements of Cooking'' and ''Ratio'' by Michael Ruhlman are all good introductions. François Tanty, a French chef who trained under Carême 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 Française]] in 1893, which may have been one of the first such books published in the United States.

Arguably, this Cuisine is no longer New; 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.

Foie gras itself dates back to Roman times if not earlier (there are Ancient Egyptian wall paintings of farmers overfeeding geese), but the process of making it mostly became LostTechnology in the confusion of the fall of the Roman Empire.[[note]]It did, however, impact the ''languages'' of medieval Europe. In classical Latin, the word for liver was ''iecur'', but foie gras was so popular in Roman cooking that the Latin term for it, ''iecur ficatum'' ("figged liver", so called because the birds were usually force fed figs in classical times) overtook the classical term in Vulgar Latin for all meanings of liver (culinary, medical, zoological, etc.). Thus root of the words for "liver" in the Romance languages of today is ''ficatum'', "figged". It’s most obvious with the Italian "fegato" and Romanian "ficat", but knowledge of Romance sound laws shows the connection to words like the Spanish ''higado'' and indeed ''foie''.[[/note]] Thus foie gras became popular in modern Europe thanks to Jewish dietary laws, which forbid lard outright and ban butter for cooking meat. Jewish people in the Mediterranean used olive oil, and in Mesopotamia and Persia they used sesame oil, but neither were easy to get in the northern parts of Europe. Central and Eastern European Jews thus tended to use poultry fat (''schmaltz'' in Yiddish), which naturally required a fat bird--typically a chicken, duck, or goose. To get the most fat out of each bird, the Jewish community began overfeeding the ducks and geese kept for the purpose, which had the side effect of enlarging the bird's liver. The liver, which grew bigger in part because of additional fat in it, was considered so tasty that Christians would buy it from Jewish shops, and so foie gras swept the continent--including France, where the Christians picked up the custom from visiting Germans (French Jews--for the periods that Jews were allowed in France[[note]]France had an annoying habit, like many other European realms, of letting some Jews into the country, letting them settle in, only to kick the Jewish population out again a couple of generations later, and then invite them back in again because the Church still banned Christians from making loans and the King needed money.[[/note]]--used olive oil and had no more use for fattened poultry than the next Frenchman).

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Beer is not uncommon, especially in the once-German Alsace and Lorraine areas and along the Belgian border--the Nord ''département'' consists of the western part of Flanders and Hainaut (the rest of which are in Belgium), and shares in the famous Belgian brewing tradition. Normandy is known for its cider and Calvados (a type of apple brandy). Brittany, or at least its cultural area, is also known for its cider, as well as Chouchenn (of the same family as Calvados) and more uncommonly mead. A good way to invoke BerserkButton in Brittany or Normandy is to state the other invented cider/ has the best cider. Note that French cider generally tends to be much lighter in alcohol content than English cider from the south-west, is rarely served outside of Brittany and Normandy where it is almost a national pride, and tends to be the kind of thing you serve to children as a substitute for beer (attitudes towards alcohol are completely different to what can sometimes be seen outside of Europe).