French Cuisine

France cuisine is one of the most ancient & well-known cuisines in the world, it’s also known as Provencal Cuisine, which is part of Mediterranean cuisine. The cooking style in the rest of the country's is, however, very different from Provence. The modern style of French cuisine, which is popularly served in hotels and restaurants, is understood to have started in Paris and then spread to other parts of the world. French cuisine has undergone a lot of changes over the years. In the olden medieval times French cuisine flaunted elaborate buffets with elegant presentation and decorations. The food was richly flavored with spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves, and use of cold meat and charcuterie was prominent. In the 17th century the emergence of haute or high cuisine. This style was popularized by famous chef La Varenne Who modified the heavy dishes of medieval times and made dishes that were light and easy to prepare.

French cuisine under the guidance of chef Marie-Antoine, who is credited for creating and classifying mother sauces & basics of culinary preparations. Speciality dishes such as souffle were created during this time. In 19^th century French cuisine was modernized & popularized in hotels. The Father of modern French cuisine Chef Escoffier was responsible for creating the kitchen brigade system & organizing the French cuisine. The twentieth century saw many innovations in the classical French cuisine. This beginning of this period is around 1960, when Portuguese travellers immigrated to France during colonial wars that were being fought between Portugal & African colonies. The salient features of this style, popularly called the nouvelle cuisine or new cuisine, were the presence of light sauces, small portions, & multiple courses. The cooking principles were made simpler & the ingredients were cooked just until done to retain the flavours & textures. Heavy sauces laced with butter were replaced with reduced stocks to form fumets which thickened with cold butter. Its preference healthy cooking styles & fresh with minimum flavours & sauces.

Some popular ingredients of French cuisines are, Pig Trotters, Herring, Belon oysters, Charolais, Tripe, Agneau de Pauillac, Escargots, Poultry of Bresse, Moutarde de Dijon, Camargue Rice, Globe Artichoke, Chicory, Périgord Truffle, Brie Cheese, Roquefort, Saint- Nectaire, Petit Basque, Rocamadour, Brillat-Savarin, Neufchatel, Chaource, Langres, Munster Gerome (Cheese), camembert, Saint-Marcellin, & Beurre Echire.

Popular Dishes of France

Baguette- Long thin loaf bread made by lean dough, its known for its length, crisp crust, & slits.

Puree Saint Germain- Puree soup made of green peas & bacon, classical soup of medieval French cuisine.

Sauerkraut- prepared from cabbage & allowed to ferment, taste is sour as per name Sauerkraut.

Quenelle de brochette- Pureed meat or vegetables with form texture, oval shaped known as quenelle. Usually poached & served masked with cream sauce.

Bouillabaisse- Traditional fish stew prepared with different kinds of cooked fish, herbs & spices are used, its popular Provencal dish.

Ratatouille- Traditional vegetable dish, ratatouille niçoise & stewed vegetables, generally served as side dish.

Pot-au-feu- It means “Pot on Fire”, tougher cuts of meat stewed on slow fire with root vegetables & herbs until soft & gelatinous.

Boeuf Bourguignon- Preparation of chunks of beef with root vegetables in red wine-based sauce, classical dish from Burgundy.

Gateau Opera- It’s a traditional cake with almond sponge that layered with chocolate truffle, & coffee butter cream.

Tarte Tatin- Dessert from Normandy sauteing apples in sugar & butter & baked on oven. Baked puff forms base & caramelized apples from top.

Madeleine- Traditional cake from France, very small-shaped cake which has shell like appearance.