Fascinating
Food:
The Culinary
Traditions of France
Kirsten Hawkins
French cuisine is
the amazingly high standard to which all other native cuisines must
live up to. The country of France is home of some of the finest
cuisine in the world, and it is created by some of the finest master
chefs in the world. The French people take excessive pride in cooking
and knowing how to prepare a good meal. Cooking is an essential part
of their culture, and it adds to one's usefulness if they are capable
of preparing a good meal.
Each of the four
regions of France has a characteristic of its food all its own.
French food in general requires the use of lots of different types of
sauces and gravies, but recipes for cuisine that originated in the
northwestern region of France tend to require the use a lot of apple
ingredients, milk and cream, and they tend to be heavily buttered
making for an extremely rich (and sometimes rather heavy) meal.
Southeastern French cuisine is reminiscent of German food, heavy in
lard and meat products such as pork sausage and sauerkraut.
On the other hand,
southern French cuisine tends to be a lot more widely accepted; this
is generally the type of French food that is served in traditional
French restaurants. In the southeastern area of France, the cooking
is a lot lighter in fat and substance. Cooks from the southeast of
France tend to lean more toward the side of a light olive oil more
than any other type of oil, and they rely heavily on herbs and
tomatoes, as well as tomato-based products, in their culinary creations.
Cuisine Nouvelle
is a more contemporary form of French cuisine that developed in the
late 1970s, the offspring of traditional French cuisine. This is the
most common type of French food, served in French restaurants.
Cuisine Nouvelle
can generally be characterized by shorter cooking times, smaller food
portions, and more festive, decorative plate presentations. Many
French restaurant cuisines can be classified as Cuisine Nouvelle, but
the more traditional French restaurant cuisine would be classified as
Cuisine du Terroir, a more general form of French cooking than
Cuisine Nouvelle. Cuisine du Terroir is an attempt to return to the
more indigenous forms of French cooking, especially with reference to
regional differences between the north and south, or different areas
such as the Loire Valley, Catalonia, and Rousillon. These are all
areas famous for their specific specialty of French cuisine. As time
has progressed, the difference between a white wine from the Loire
Valley and a wine from another area has slowly diminished, and the
Cuisine du Terroir approach to French cooking focuses on establishing
special characteristics between regions such as this.
As part of their
culture, the French incorporate wine into nearly every meal, whether
it is simply as a refreshment or part of the recipe for the meal
itself. Even today, it is a part of traditional French culture to
have at least one glass of wine on a daily basis.
About The Author
Kirsten Hawkins is
a food and nutrition expert specializing the Mexican, Chinese, and
Italian food. Visit www.food-and-nutrition.com for more information
on cooking delicious and healthy meals.
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