The food of France
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These notes were made during a few weeks' trip to France. These are just our food experiences and you may have a very different experience depending on your budget, where you travel and where you eat.
Notes from July 2005
It is amazing the amount of French cuisine that is infiltrated into Australian eating. Consomme, boullion, aparetif, hors-d'oeuvre, entree, ragout, crepes, aioli, bearnaise, julliene, bisque, bechamel, hollandaise, fondue, crem caramel, gateau, souffle, bon appetit ... the list goes on. Eating commonly involved large cooked meals for both lunch and dinner (although we were spoiled staying with friends, this may not always be the case for the working population). The streets are lined with cafes and restaurants with people sipping coffee. Restaurants usually have meals of the day “menu de jour” which includes either an entree and main, or main and dessert. Also coffee and a pastry come at a special price. Fruit stalls are very common. Snails were witnessed on the menu but never tried them, and I never saw frogs legs anywhere, although I don’t know the French name for them.
Crepes
This dish has to be the most commonly eaten in all of France. They are served sweet or savory. Sweet combinations like sugar and lemon, chocolate (really Nutella), chocolate and banana. Savory combinations with cheese, tomato, ham and egg.
Quiche
Another French staple, with a pastry base, with egg, cream and other fillings like ham/bacon and onion(Lorraine), and spinach (Florentine).
Baguettes
Everybody eats baguettes, all the time! Usually filled with salad and meat or cheese. There are loads of great bakeries, called boulangerie, with wonderful products all over France. Banette is a little baguette, and a restaurant is a big baguette. Baguettes are eaten with every meal. Panini are toasted baguettes.
Croissants
France has the best croissants! Of course. They are light and fluffy, sometimes filled with chocolate. There is also a range of pastries on offer.
Fromage
Cheese is plentiful, with the biggest assortment of types you could imagine.
Meat
Cured meats are also very common
Pate
Pate is very different from at home. It is not a smooth paste of liver, but coarse meat and liver, which is stringy and held in a jelly-like mold. Frais Grois is fattened geese liver, which is more of a fine paste.
Terrine
Like a meatloaf but more jellied like the pates, occasionally having a pastry crust. Served from the dish in slices.
Bouillabaisse
Rich fish stew, a specialty of Marseilles. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to try this dish as we were only passing through.
Stuffed vegetables
Aubergine, tomatoes and peppers, usually with cheese.
Salads
Salad is very common on all menus. One of the most famous is Nicoise Salad, made of lettuce, tomato, tuna, egg, anchovies, potato and olives. See Nicoise Recipe. Also seen commonly was
Seafood Salad and
cous cous, which was noticed more in the south of France.
Pizza
Pizza is common and is usually served uncut, unless you ask.
Snacks
We found donuts, sugared with white cheese in the center, and an aniseed-flavored pretzel-like snack.
Breakfast
Breakfast cereal commonly contains chocolate.
Wine
Wine is a special produce of France which they are proud of. Majority of wines are red, and Rose is also available. Wine is very inexpensive, plus the cheap ones still taste good.
Corsica Region
Corsicans are very proud of their food and typical products, which include cured meats (charcuterie), cheeses, wine, beer, pate. The cuisine is influenced by Italian eating due to its proximity to Sardinia. Chestnuts are grown here and made into an array of products including beer, ice cream, cake and an interesting sweet spread that goes on bread or in crepes. Wild boar is a specialty of the area, I ate it cooked in a tomato-based sauce and served with pasta on the side, very tender! Goat is also eaten here.
Some of the home-cooked meals in Corsica we had included:
- tomato, mozzarella and herb tart
- bacon and cheese quiche
- lasagna
- pasta with roquefort cheese and cream
- rice salad; white rice with sliced black olives, sliced boiled egg and tuna
- side dish of tomatoes and chickpeas
- salad de musean - a sausage-like meat made from pig snout, which is sliced and mixed with onions and vinegar dressing
- an assortment of cheese for after dinner
- Embrucciata is a special Corsican cake made with broccini cheese, which is a little similar to ricotta, and the cake reminded me of a baked ricotta cheesecake, but a little sweeter.
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