French cuisine

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French cuisine is characterized by its extreme diversity. Despite France's history of centralization (Paris), each region has its own distinctive specialities: cuisine from North-West France uses butter and cream; Provençal cuisine (from the southeast) favours olive oil and herbs; and northeastern French recipes are reminiscent of German cuisine, including sausages, beer and sauerkraut. Wine and cheese are an integral part of French cuisine, both as ingredients and accompaniments. For French people, cooking is part of culture, and they consider cooking as a way of life.

Strongly traditional and slow to embrace influences from abroad, French cuisine can broadly be divided into three categories:

Categories

Cuisine bourgeoise

Cuisine bourgeoise, which includes all the classic French dishes which are not (or no longer) specifically regional, and which have been adapted over the years to suit the taste of the affluent classes. This type of cooking includes the rich, cream-based sauces and somewhat complex cooking techniques that many people associate with French cuisine. At the 'top end' of this category is what is known as haute cuisine, a highly complex and refined approach to food preparation and kitchen management.

Because this kind of cuisine is what is often served abroad under the name of "French cuisine", many foreigners mistakenly believe that typical French meals involved complex cooking and rich, un-dietetic dishes. In fact, such cooking is generally reserved for special occasions, while typical meals are simpler.

Cuisine du terroir

Cuisine du terroir, which covers regional specialities with a strong focus on quality local produce and peasant tradition. Many dishes that fall in this category do not stand out as stereotypically "French," sometimes because regional cooking styles can be quite different from the elaborate dishes seen in French restaurants around the world.

Cuisine nouvelle

Cuisine nouvelle or nouvelle cuisine, which developed in the 1970s as a reaction to traditional cuisine, under the influence of chefs such as Michel Guérard. This type of cooking is characterized by shorter cooking times, much lighter sauces and dressings, and smaller portions presented in a refined, decorative manner. Its modern, inventive approach sometimes includes techniques and combinations from abroad (especially Asia) and has had a profound influence on cooking styles all over the world.

Today

Food fashions and trends in France tend to alternate between these three types of cuisine; today (2004) there is a distinct focus on cuisine du terroir, with a return to traditional rustic cooking and the "forgotten" flavours of local farm produce. The "fusion" cuisine popular in the English-speaking world is not widespread in France, though some restaurants in the capital have a "fusion" theme, and many modern French chefs are influenced by a variety of international cooking styles.

Vegetarianism is not widespread in France, and few restaurants cater for vegetarians. Veganism is hardly known or represented at all.

Foreign cuisines

Foreign cuisines popular in France include:

• some dishes from the former colonies of France in north Africa, especially couscous;
• Vietnamese and Chinese food.

Famous French dishes

• Cuisses de grenouilles (Frogs' legs) (well-known, but unusual and somewhat old-fashioned)
• Blanquette de veau
• Coq au Vin (chicken with wine)
• Tartiflette (a Savoyard gratin with potatoes, Reblochon cheese, cream and pork)
• French breads
• Cheeses

Desserts

• Crème brûlée
• Crêpes (a speciality of Brittany)
• Chocolate Mousse (Mousse au chocolat)
• Pastries
• Mille-feuilles

Specialities by region/city

• Alsace:
  • Choucroute garnie (sauerkraut with sausages, salt pork and potatoes)

• Alps
  • Raclette (melted cheese served with potatoes, ham and often dried beef)
  • Fondue savoyarde (fondue made with cheese and white wine into which cubes of bread are dipped)

• Brittany:
  • Crêpes
  • kik ar fars (boiled pork dinner with a kind of dumpling)
  • kouign amann (a form of shortbread made with a very large proportion of butter)

• Burgundy:
  • Boeuf Bourguignon (beef stewed in red wine)
  • Escargots de Bourgogne (snails baked in their shells with parsley butter)
  • Fondue bourgignonne (fondue made with oil in which pieces of meat are cooked)

• Lorraine:
  • Quiche lorraine

• Côte d'Azur/Provence:
  • Bouillabaisse (a stew of mixed Mediterranean fish, tomatoes, and herbs)
  • Ratatouille
  • Pieds et paquets Lambs' feet and tripe 'parcels' in a savoury sauce

• Nimes:
  • Brandade de morue (puréed salt cod)

• Normandy:
  • Tripes à la mode de Caen (tripe cooked in a highly seasoned sauce)

• Auvergne:
  • Tripoux (tripe 'parcels' in a savoury sauce)
  • Truffade(potatoes sautéed with garlic and young "tomme" cheese)
  • Aligot (mashed potatoes blended with young "tomme" cheese)

• Southwest:
  • Cassoulet (a dish made with beans, sausages and preserved duck or goose)
  • Foie gras (the liver of a forcefed duck or goose)

See also

• Cuisine, Haute cuisine
• Antoine Careme
• Auguste Escoffier
• French paradox
• List of recipes
• List of French cheeses
• Larousse Gastronomique

de:Französische Küche eo:Franca kuirarto fr:Cuisine française it:Cucina francese ja:フランス料理 zh:法国烹饪

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