FRENCH CUISINE
French cuisine is characterized by its extreme diversity. French cuisine is considered to be one of the world's most refined and elegant styles of cooking, and is renowned for both its classical ("haute cuisine") and provincial styles. Many of the world's greatest chefs, such as Taillevent, La Varenne, Carême, Escoffier, or Bocuse are or were masters of French cuisine. Additionally, French cooking techniques have been a major influence on virtually all Western cuisines, and almost all culinary schools use French cuisine as the basis for all other forms of Western cooking.

 

French History
French cuisine originated from Italian cuisine (or rather the Italian City States common cooking methods) which was brought to the French court upon the marriage of Catherine de Medici to King Henri II of France. She was so disgusted by the cooking methods of the French at this time that Catherine de Medici brought her own Chefs from Italy who taught the French Chefs the Italian method of enhancing the flavours of the ingredients rather than to hide them. So was born French cuisine.

Diversity of French cuisine
Traditionally, each region of France has its own distinctive cuisine:

Cuisine from northwest France uses butter, cream, and apples;
Cuisine from southwest France uses duck fat, foie gras, porcini mushrooms, and gizzards;
Cuisine from southeast France uses olive oil, herbs, and tomatoes, and shows Italian cuisine influences.
Cuisine from northern France uses potatoes, pork, endives and beer, and shows Flemish cuisine influences.
Cuisine from eastern France uses lard, sausages, beer, and sauerkraut, and shows German cuisine influences.
Besides these five general areas, there are many more local cuisines, such as Loire Valley cuisine, Basque cuisine and the cuisine of Roussillon, which is similar to Catalan cuisine. With the movements of population of contemporary life, such regional differences are less noticeable than they used to be, but they are still clearly marked, and one traveling across France will notice significant changes in the ways of cooking and the dishes served. Moreover, recent focus of French consumers on local, countryside food products means that the regional cuisines are experiencing a strong revival in the early 21st century, especially as the slow food movement is gaining popularity.

What is often known outside of France as French cuisine is the traditionally elaborate haute cuisine, served in restaurants for high prices. This cuisine is mostly influenced by the regional cuisines of Lyon and northern France, with a marked touch of refinement. It should be noted, however, that average French people do not eat or prepare this cuisine in their everyday life. As a general rule, elderly people tend to eat the regional cuisine of the region where they are located, while younger people will be more inclined to eat dishes from other regions and foreign dishes.

French wine and French cheese are an integral part of French cuisine, both as ingredients and accompaniments. France is known for its large ranges of wines and cheeses.

Exotic cuisines, particularly Chinese cuisine and Vietnamese cuisine and some dishes from former colonies in Northern Africa have made inroads.

 

Ingredients
French regional cuisine uses locally grown vegetables, such as these:

Common fruits include:

Meats commonly consumed include:

Seafood commonly consumed includes:

Fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as fish and meat, are purchased either from supermarkets and grocery stores or smaller markets. Street markets are held on certain days in most localities; towns of a certain importance generally have a more permanent covered market in which food shops, especially meat and fish retailers, have better shelter than the periodic street markets. Generally, a street market for vegetables takes places on certain days outside such covered markets.

Present-day food and drink in France For French people, cooking is a part of culture, and cooking and good food are well appreciated. The French generally take a high pride in the cuisine of their country, and some, particularly in the older generations, are reluctant to experiment with foreign dishes.

 

Structure of meals
The normal day begins with a light breakfast in the morning, generally consisting of:

bread with jam and spreads, often replaced nowadays by breakfast cereals,
coffee or tea or some fruit
Hotel breakfasts often contain croissants, but most people eat croissants at breakfast at home only on special occasions.

Lunch is had at some point between noon and 2 p.m., and dinner in the evening after 7:30 p.m. A normal complete meal consists of:

The meal may be preceded by an apéritif, typically some dose of flavoured Vermouth or some Pastis. Wine is often drunk with the meal. Occasionally, people consume beer though the frequency depends on the region of the country. Typically, wine or beer is chosen to match with the food.

The meal may be followed by a digestif — some small dose of liqueur or other high alcoholic spirit.

Festive meals may include several main dishes. Some meals incorporate a trou normand — some small dose of a highly alcoholic liquor or sorbet, perhaps calvados, which props up appetite for what follows.

In large cities most working people and students eat their lunch at a cafeteria. In the case of smaller companies, it is commonplace for employers to distribute lunch vouchers that workers use to pay for meals in neighbouring budget restaurants. It is to be noted that corporate and school cafeterias normally serve complete meals; it is not usual for students to bring sandwiches. In smaller cities and towns, some working people leave their offices to return home for lunch, generating four rush hours during the day.

In most cities, street markets sell fresh vegetables, meat and fish, and evening or weekend meals are cooked with fresh ingredients.

Drink
Traditionally, France has been a culture of wine consumption. While this characteristic has lessened with time, even today, many French people drink wine daily. The consumption of low-quality wines during meals has been greatly reduced. Beer is especially popular with the youth. Other popular alcoholic drinks include pastis, an aniseed flavoured beverage drunk diluted with cold water, or cider.

The legal drinking age for most people is 16. However, it is not customary for shopkeepers or bartenders to verify a client's age, and teenagers eating with their family in restaurants will be served wine if the family requests so. On the other hand, it is very unusual to witness the kind of public inebriation that is customary in cities of the United Kingdom or Scandinavia on Saturday nights. Usually, parents tend to prohibit their children from consuming alcohol before these children reach their early teens. Students and young adults are known to drink heavily during parties, but usually drunkenness is not displayed in public. Public consumption of alcohol is legal, but driving under the influence can result in severe penalties.

Divisions of Restaurant Cuisine
Schematically, French restaurant cuisine can be called as 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.

Quick Food
The following dishes can generally be ordered in brasseries:

Steak frites-steak with fries; fries can often be replaced by string beans
Poulet frites-chicken with fries
Croque-monsieur-a grilled Swiss cheese and ham sandwich
Generally speaking, French fries are a common side order for lower end French style restaurants. The French generally believe that fries are of Belgian origin, although there is no evidence for this origin; a typically Belgian dish is steamed mussels with a side of fries.

A typical simple, cheap, quick meal consists of pasta, often spaghetti, with tomato sauce.

 

Common Canned Food
Cassoulet
Ravioli
Paella
Couscous
Choucroute garnie
Most dishes, including relatively sophisticated ones, are available as canned or frozen food in supermarkets. These products are sometimes endorsed by famous chefs.

 

Common Savory Pies
Tarte flambée from Alsace
Flamiche from Artois and Picardy
Quiche from Lorraine
Pissaladière from Nice

Famous But Atypical Dishes
The following dishes are considered typical of French cuisine in some foreign countries, but actually are infrequently eaten:

Frog legs
Escargots
Crêpes, a speciality of Brittany
Chocolate Mousse
Pastries
Mille-feuille
Pâte à choux
Baba au rhum
Tarts

Specialties by region/city
 The salade landaise is a popular dish mixing together typical Southwestern ingredients: gizzards, pine nuts, and possibly duck or goose confit.

Alsace:
Choucroute garnie (sauerkraut with sausages, salt pork and potatoes)
Spätzle
Baeckeoffe
Kouglof
Bredela
Beerawecka
Mannala

Alps
Raclette (the cheese is melted and served with potatoes, ham and often dried beef)
Fondue savoyarde (fondue made with cheese and white wine into which cubes of bread are dipped)
Gratin dauphinois
Tartiflette (a Savoyard gratin with potatoes, Reblochon cheese, cream and pork)

Artois-Picardy:
andouillette of Cambrai
Carbonnade (meat stewed in beer)
Potjevlesch (a four-meat terrine)
Waterzoï (a sweet water fish stew)
Escavêche (a cold terrine of sweet water fish in wine and vinegar)
Hochepot (four meats stewed with vegetables)

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)
Pansette de Gerzat (lamb tripe stewed in wine, shallots and blue cheese)

Brittany:
Crêpes
Far Breton (a flan with prunes)
Kik ar Fars (boiled pork dinner with a kind of dumpling)
Kouign amann (a type of galette made flakey by a very high proportion of butter)

Burgundy:
Boeuf Bourguignon (beef stewed in red wine)
Escargots de Bourgogne (snails baked in their shells with parsley butter)
Fondue bourguignonne (fondue made with oil in which pieces of meat are cooked)
Gougère (cheese in chou pastry)
Pochouse (fish stewed in red wine)
Lorraine:
Quiche Lorraine
Potée Lorraine
Pâté Lorrain

Côte d'Azur/Provence:
Bouillabaisse (a stew of mixed Mediterranean fish, tomatoes, and herbs)
Ratatouille (a vegetable stew with sautéed eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, bell peppers, tomato and basil)
Pieds 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 cider and calvados)
Matelote (fish stewed in cider)

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

Un-French dishes
The following dishes may be thought of as traditionally French but they are disputed.

Crème brûlée, literally "burnt cream," actually invented in England, or perhaps in Spain. Crêpes Suzette invented in the United States by a French chef.
Peach Melba invented in England by chef Auguste Escoffier for an Australian opera diva.

 

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