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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") or grande cuisine and provincial styles. Many of the world's greatest chefs, such as Taillevent, La Varenne, Marie-Antoine Carême, Georges Auguste Escoffier, Fernand Point, and Paul 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 cuisine beyond its borders is often known by its traditionally elaborate haute cuisine, served in high-end restaurants rated by the Guide Michelin. This cuisine codified by chefs like Carême and Escoffier, is a refined cuisine based on combinations of dishes with traditional garnishes and sauces. Many of the dishes are also refinements of dishes found in regional cuisines in France, but refined for the "Parisian" table. This cuisine today is found more often in city centers such as Paris, the everyday French citizen would not prepare this cuisine at home. As a general rule, adult bourgeoisie tend to eat their regional cuisine, while younger urbanites will be more inclined to eat other regional or foreign dishes.
In the late 1960s until the late 1980s the style of serving known as nouvelle cuisine became extremely popular. This style of cooking based on lighter cooking techniques, lack of heavy sauces, and lean toward as use of local and fresh ingredients (particularly vegetables) was in part a lightening of haute cuisine, but some suggest a process that started after World War II when animal proteins were in short supply during its occupation by the Germans.[1]
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
French cuisine is characterized by its extreme diversity, and style. Traditionally, each region of France has its own distinctive cuisine:
Besides these five general areas, there are many more local cuisines, such as Loire Valley cuisine, Basque cuisine, cuisine of Provence 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,traveling across France one would may notice significant changes in the cooking and 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 has gained popularity.
Special note on French Fries<br /> The term French Fry denotes the cut of potato as they are cut in a "Frenched" manner, which does not denote their origin. However, French fries may be a common side order in some lower-end French restaurants. Many French consider French fries to be of Belgian origin, not French.
French cuisine varies according to the season. In summer, salads and fruit dishes are popular because they're refreshing and the produce is inexpensive and abundant. Greengrocers prefer to sell their fruit and vegetables at lower prices if needed, rather than see them rot in the heat. At the end of summer, mushrooms become plentiful and appear in stews everywhere in France. The hunting season starts in September and runs through February.[2] Game of all kinds is eaten, often in very elaborate dishes that celebrate the success of the hunt. Shellfish are at their peak as winter turns to spring, and oysters appear in restaurants in large quantities.
With the advent of the deep-freeze and the air-conditioned hypermarché, these seasonal variations are less marked than hitherto, but they are still observed because in some cases it's the law. Crayfish, for example, have a very short season and it's illegal to take them outside that time.[3] Moreover, they do not survive freezing very well.
<div style="-moz-column-count:2; column-count:2;"> French regional cuisines use locally grown vegetables, such as:
Fish and seafood commonly consumed includes:
Herbs and Seasonings vary by region and include:
</div> Fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as fish and meat can be purchased either from supermarkets or specialty shops. Street markets are held on certain days in most localities; some towns have a more permanent covered market in which food shops, especially meat and fish retailers. These have better shelter than the periodic street markets.
The normal day begins with a light breakfast in the morning, generally consisting of:
Lunch is usually eaten at some point between noon and 2 p.m., and dinner in the evening after 7:00 p.m. However there are large variations depending on the local regional cultures. The dinner is usually between 7:30 p.m and 8:30 p.m in northern France for example while it is usually after 8:30 p.m in southern France. In Paris restaurants the peak hours are 1:00 p.m. lunch, 8:00 p.m. dinner.[4] Younger metropolitan populations tend to have dinner later, around 9:00 to 11:00 as to the food; festive meals will typically accompany each dish with a different wine. The meal may be followed by a digestif — some small dose of liqueur or other highly alcoholic drink.
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 a majority of working people and students eat their lunch at a corporate or school cafeteria, which normally serve complete meals as described above; it is therefore not usual for students to bring their own lunch food. It is common for white-collar workers to be given lunch vouchers as part of their employee benefits. These can be used in most restaurants, supermarkets and delis; however workers having lunch in this way typically do not eat all three dishes of a traditional lunch due to price and time considerations. In smaller cities and towns, some working people leave their workplaces to return home for lunch, generating four rush hours during the day. Finally, an also popular alternative especially among blue-collar workers is to lunch on a sandwich possibly followed with a dessert; both dishes can be found ready-made at bakeries and supermarkets for budget prices.
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 alcohol purchase age is 16. 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.
Below are sections which list some of the common dishes available in France on a national level.
Many dishes, including relatively sophisticated ones, are available as canned or frozen food in supermarkets. These products are sometimes endorsed by famous chefs.
The following dishes are considered typical of French cuisine.
Hewitt, Nicholas. The Cambridge Companion to Modern French Culture. Cambridge: The Cambridge University Press, 2003.
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