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| Tips
on food and cooking (1) |
An also :
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 Photo: "Bio" bread baker Michel
Moisan in his shop in the 14th arrondissement. Try the pain au
basilic! |
Five secrets of the French
diet ...
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Americans are always amazed that the
French " eat so much and remain so slim ". How do they
manage? Is there a French mystery ? What is the secret of the
French woman
? Read Lithe!
Slender! French! about the best selling book, "French
Women Don't Get Fat".
- No eating between meals (no snacks!) : don't eat when you're hungry, eat
when it's time to eat. With regular meal hours, you're never
hungry ! French parents tell their children that only animals
are hungry...
- Complete meals (several courses)
with small portions.
- Food bought fresh from
the market : Although the French shop in supermarkets or "hypermarkets",
they also enjoy a once or twice a week outing to outdoor markets
for fresh fish, fruit, vegetables. Bread is not bought for the
day - fresh baguettes are purchased meal by meal.
- Lots of vegetables and olive oil.
- No guilt!! Chic French women watch their weight like hawks
but when they go out to dinner or a party, they're ready to celebrate.
Champagne? A piece of delicious "tarte aux fraises"
(strawberry tart)? Of course! Even if our French person is "on
a diet", he or she won't say it. After all, a party is a
party! The pleasure the French take in the conviviality of food
is one of their most endearing qualities and quite probably keeps
them slim as well!
The result : the % of obese
people is 7,4% in France, compared to 39,1% in the USA (but
it is growing....) See comparative
figures.
If you liked "French Women Don't
Get Fat", you'll love French Fried,
Harriet Welty Rochefort's tale of how she learned the French
secret for staying slim while enjoying the thinking about, shopping
for, preparation of, and savoring of sitdown meals, whether for
family or for company, informal or formal. French Fried
explores Harriet's forays into the MINDS of the French and the
way they think about food. Conclusion: for the French, food is
a delight and there's nothing that can beat assembling a meal
and pairing food and wine.
For more on the French and their healthy, sane attitude toward
food, read "French Fried" which the only nine-star
chef of France, Alain Ducasse, called a "lively, hilarious,
and insightful" book.
|
 Drawing by Cabu, in Le Canard Enchaine April 19,
2000 about little Elian Gonzales ("Today/Tomorrow : The
danger for the little Cuban if he stays in Miami too long")
- Why are the French (and particularly
French women
) so slim? The answer "They have a croissant in the morning
and they smoke the rest of the day" is funny but wrong...)
One secret
of French cooking
...
Don't follow a recipe ! Most French chefs rely on smell, feel
and taste and don't worry about the exact quantities. After all,
they're in a kitchen and not a pharmaceutical company! The exception
to this is pastry where temperature, quantities and ingredients
have to be extremely precise. Click here
for more information about the metric system.
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USEFUL
TIP ON ...... TIPS : in France, in restaurants, cafés,
etc..., the TIP IS ALWAYS INCLUDED. You may leave a little
something (the yellow coins in a café, 1 or 2 Euros in
a restaurant, more in a very fancy restaurant) but you do not
have to and nobody is expecting it.
DID YOU KNOW
THAT ...? In France coffee is not served with dessert.
It is a separate course and will come after it, even if you are
very specific when ordering. That's a French custom !
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Have you ever tasted
....?
- The mirabelle is a delicious
small yellow plum, which grows mostly in the region of Lorraine
; the season is very short (two or three weeks, late August)
: not to be missed!
- Do you know
Gaperon ? It is a
tasty slightly-garlic-flavored cheese from the mountainous region
of Auvergne in the center of France. It is pasteurized, so you
might be able to find it in the States or, at least, bring it
back home.... And what about Cancoillotte ? It is a very soft, buttery liquid
cheese from the East of France that you spread on bread.
- Less well-known vegetables : you can
find them everywhere and they are delicious ; among them, salsifis
(oyster plant, purple goatsbeard), topinambour (Jerusalem
artichoke), bette (garden beet, chard), etc...
- You haved tasted Cognac (brandy),
but do you know Armagnac ? Coming from
a region called "Gers", it is a wonderful brandy, different
from cognac (which tastes a little drier). Floc (armagnac mixed with wine) is a delicious
before-dinner drink, as is its equivalent in the cognac region,
pineau des Charentes, or in Burgundy, Ratafia..
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- Always try regional
delicacies such as Crème de cassis (creamy alcohol
from black currant) in Burgundy, piment d'Espelette (sweet
red pepper) in Basque country, poiré (cider made
of pears) in Normandy, huile de noix (chestnut oil) in
Quercy, etc...
- More to come...
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DID YOU KNOW THAT...... ? The story of
Parmentier and the history of the potato in France : Antoine
Parmentier (1737-1813) is famous for having contributed to the
introduction of the potato in France. The French are very conservative
and it was difficult to convince people to plant and eat this
new vegetable ; he succeeded by using two tricks which illustrate
a profound understanding of the French character:
- Snobbism : Parmentier convinced King Louis XVI to wear a potato
flower on his jacket : nobles of the court immediately thought
the potato was a fashionable plant
- Lack of civic sense : Parmentier had a field of potatoes guarded
by soldiers (instructed to be bliend and do nothing) : people
immediately came and stole them.
That is the way to deal with the French ! |
Most repulsive French
food....
|
Other than snails and frog legs,
if you want to experience the kind of food that the French enjoy
but which is most unusual for many Americans, try the following
:
- Boudin
: a blood sausage, delicious
with mashed potatoes, spicy when " Antillais " (from
the French Carribean Islands)
- Cervelle
(brains) : very delicate
(lamb or veal brains), with melted butter and capers : read a
funny letter
about it
| Civelles : baby-eels (one to two inches long),
eaten raw with a vinaigrette
(a delicacy in Nantes and Bordeaux) |
 credit |
- Cheval
(horse meat) : very tender
and fat free, recommended for children and convalescents (some
butcher shops, called "boucheries chevalines" sell
only horse meat)
|
- Huitres
(oysters) are eaten raw with
vinegar or lemon (yes, they're alive!)
- Lapin
(rabbit) : fried or in a
stew, delicious when roasted with mustard
- Pied de cochon
: fried pig's foot (many
bones and nails to suck...)
- Rognons
(kidneys) : fried, with a
mustard or a wine sauce
- Steak tartare
: mashed raw beef meat, mixed
with sliced onions, egg yolk, parsley, spices,...
- Testicles
(of billy goat or bull) :
very milky, fried or used in " bouchées-à-la-reine
" (a classical first course in banquets)
- Tête de veau (veal head)
is a delicacy including everything (nose, cheeks, ...) served
with a vinaigrette
- More generally, anything from
the interior of a pig (or a calf) : stomach, heart, intestine,
tongue, liver, kidney, sweetbreads, etc : called " les abats " (some shops, called" triperies
", sell only that)
- More to come
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USEFUL TIP.....
When is it best to eat oysters ? Answer : if the name
of the month includes an "r", i.e. not in Mai, Juin,
Juillet and Aout (all the other months include one "r")
! In Summer, oysters are perfectly edible but they are fat and
greasy.
DID YOU KNOW THAT....? The Foie Gras is
one of the most appreciated French delicacies and it is associated
with festive opportunities such as Christmas, New Year's Eve,
fancy dinners, elegant coktails. It is made of the liver of force-fed
geese or ducks. If you are offered "foie gras", never
call it "pâté" (it is much better and
much more expensive !). It was banned in April 2005 by the City
of Chicago (and by the State of California since 2004) in the
name of the defense of animals against cruel treatments. The
French thought that this was a very funny decision and that there
will be more foie gras left for them.
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Tips
on French food...
| About wine ... |
About cheese ... |
About bread ... |
- Do not drink it too cold : never
chilled, no ice cubes ! Why? Kills the taste.
- Do not serve yourself (at formal
dinners)
- Do not believe that wine gives
headaches (unless you drink too much !)
- Do not fill the glass more than
half
- Talk to people (who sell it
or who drink it with you) : they'll teach you a lot
- Remember that the "rules"
are flexible (for instance, certain white wines match perfectly
withe certain cheeses)
- More
about wine
|
- Do not cut too big pieces :
do not leave uneaten food in your plate. It means you did not
like it (and cheese is expensive!)
- Cheese is a living entity :
eat raw milk cheese (and do not keep it too long)
- It it traditional to offer cheese
only once and not propose a second helping
- Talk to people (who sell it
or who eat it with you) : they'll teach you a lot
- More about
cheese...
|
- NEVER forget bread if you have
French guests!
- Do not put bread ON your plate
: put it on the table.
- Buy fresh bread twice a day.
- Remember there are many kinds
of bread.
- More
DOs & DONTs...
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DID
YOU KNOW THAT... French eating habits and table etiquette are
very particular in France. For a humorous view of them, you may
enjoy an article by Harriet Welty Rochefort : "Don't Eat Your
Soup With a Fork -
And Other Conseils of French Politesse" !
USEFUL TIPS....
In France, people use much less ice cubes and it's an
absolute no-no to put ice cubes in wine, red or white, and in
champagne. Remember alos that a "limonade" is not like
US "lemonade". If you want a "lemonade" ask
for a "soda au citron" or you'll get either nothing
(because only children drink "limonade") or an extremely
sugarry and sticky beverage...
|
| DID
YOU KNOW THAT. ? In France, obesity is much less frequent
than in the USA (see : Why French Women Don't Get Fat
?) but
it is progressing. Measuring obesity by " Indice de Masse
Corporelle " = Weight (in kilos) / square of Height (in
meters) if larger than 30, the percentage of obese people in
the total population varied in France from 7 or 8 % in 1980 to
12 or 13% in 2005, when in the USA, for the same period, it varied
from 18 to 19% in 1980 to 42 to 44% in 2005. |
The Chocolate War...
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REAL chocolate is composed of
cocoa and cocoa butter - and no vegetable fats and traditionally
was the chocolate one bought in France. You can still find this
real chocolate in specialty shops and some supermarkets in France,
but buyers beware! Why? In March 2000 the European Parliament voted to permit
the addition of margarine and other oils into chocolate. The
burden is now on the buyer to read the label to see if the product
is the real thing. Which European countries started this movement
towards ersatz chocolate? England, followed by Ireland, Denmark,
Finland, Austria, Portugal and Sweden. Ah, the pitfalls of modern
Europe!
Conclusions :
1/ Down with globalization when it comes to quality food, and
2/ Never follow the eating habits of the English.
See the Raw-Milk-War
and the
Wood-Shaving-War.
|
To enjoy
REAL chocolate :
- La Maison
du Chocolat
225 rue du Faubourg Saint Honoré 75008 & 52 rue François
Premier 75008
- Christian
Constant
37 rue d'Assas 75006
- For more on
this subject, read French
Fried
on the French and their food.
|
| DID
YOU KNOW THAT ? In France there is a doctoral program called
" the Harvard of Taste " : at the university
of Reims, the " Institut des hautes études du goût,
de la gastronomie et des arts de la table " (IHEGGAT, Institute
of Advanced Studies on Taste, Gastronomy and Arts of the Table)
offers courses at a pre-Ph.d level with the help of prestigious
chefs like Alain Ducasse and the best experts from Champagne
and Cognac companies. |
Two radically
different defenders of French cuisine
José Bové
 |
His claim
to fame in France : With nine other members of the Confédération
Paysanne, Bové a sheep farmer and political activist,
dismantled a McDonalds under construction in the small town of
Millau in southwest France, an act for which he served one month
of prison in preventive detention and was brought to trial. The
trial, with more than 40,000 supporters from three continents,
turned into Woodstock - sur - Tarn. Bové announced that
the anniversary of the trial would become an annual meeting for
healthy and traditional food and against high productivity in
agriculture. In June 2003, José Bové was emprisoned
to serve an 8-month term. He is very active against GMO and he
ran for president of France in 2007 (he got a pretty meager score
!). |
|
(Photo:
Simon/AFP- Le Point)
José Bové is the controversial French hero of anti-globalization.
In August 1999 this mustachioed pipe-smoking English-speaking
leader of the Confedération Paysanne and one of the leaders
of the demonstrations in Seattle against the World Trade Organization
became a national hero.
|
This modern day Astérix,
the fisty Gaul of comic strip fame who fights the Romans, speaks
good English and likes America and Americans but not the "Americanization"
of European societies. (See "exception
culturelle".)
Harriet Welty Rochefort, along
with José Bové and Chicago chef Charlie Trotter,
spoke at a conference on "Taste, Technology and Terroir"
which took place at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wisconsin
on September 8, 2000.
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|
Alain Ducasse
 |
The only chef
in France to hold a coveted nine stars from the Michelin Guide,
Ducasse has establishments in Monaco, Paris, and the U.S. and
has inspired "Spoon" restaurants in Paris, Mauritius,
London, and Tokyo. In addition to contributing to and writing
cookbooks, the latest being "Le Grande Livre de Cuisine"
Ducasse is the president of the prestigious "Chateaux &
Hôtels de France" chain and has a training center
for chefs outside Paris. He also has a training center for young
chefs and each Sunday presents a new chef to the French public
in the "Journal du Dimanche". |
| Born on a
farm in Castelsarrazin in the Landes region of southern France,
French chef and businessman Alain
Ducasse is as outward looking as José Bové
is inward: while Bové was striking out at McDonalds in
France, Ducasse was busily increasing his fame and empire. Starting
at age 16, this tireless worker for whom the phrase "impossible
n'est pas français" was tailormade, worked for the
great French chefs Roger Vergé and Alain Chapel. At the
tender age of 33, he was Head of Cuisine and Chief Manager of
the Louis XV restaurant in Monte-Carlo which was awarded three
stars in the Red Guide. From then on, he has gone from success
to success. |
Ducasse occasionally
- and generously - endorses books about food. Here's what he
wrote about Harriet Welty Rochefort's book, French Fried: "In
a lively and hilarious style, French Fried gives an inside look
at the world of French cuisine and wine. This insightful book
reminds us that beyond cultural differences, it is important
to keep an open mind when it comes to food." |
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| DID YOU KNOW THAT....? In spite of Jose
Bové's demonstration, France is the most successful and
profitable country for McDonalds ! Not only that, but
the French are making their McDonalds French by redecorating
the interiors in French style and adding courses ! |
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To more
tips on food
To Wine
& Cheese Tastings with a talk on intercultural differences
by Harriet Welty
To French
recipes
To table
of contents
Back to home
page
|
Harriet Welty
Rochefort writes articles and books about France and the French.
Order her books :
- "French Toast, An American in Paris
Celebrates The Maddening Mysteries of the French", St.Martin's Press,
New York, 1999
- "French Fried, The Culinary Capers
of An American in Paris", St.Martin's Press, New York, 2001
More on Harriet's books (excerpts, upcoming
events, testimonials, etc..)
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