Regions of France and Foods - Article Example

French Cuisine Student Name Student ID Course Code Project Name Lecturer Name Date French Cuisine Regions of France and foods they are famous for As mentioned earlier, French cuisine has both national and regional appeal. Each region has its own style that is diverse and unique. 20 regions of France that are famous for their dishes include Paris, Champagne, Lorraine, Alsace, Picardy, Brittany, Normandy, Nord Pas-de-Calais, Loire Valley, Central France, Burgundy, Franche-Comte, Limousin, Lyon-Rhone-Alpes, Poitou-Charentes, Bordeaux, Centre Region, Gascony, Perigord, and Toulouse (Ferguson, 2006). These regions are known individually for their unique and diverse cuisine styles. Each region is known for certain types of foods. Paris is famous for the French omelet and chocolate croissant, Champagne for ham and game, Lorraine for fine fruit and quiche, Alsace for white asparagus and baeckeoffe, Picardy for duck pate and leek pie, Brittany for lobster and mussels, Normandy for calvados and sea food, while Nord Pas-de-Calais is famous for endives and potatoes (Ferguson, 2006). Loire valley is known for cherries and melons, central France for wild game and young vegetables, Burgundy for Boeuf Bourguignon beef stew and poultry from Bresse, Franche-Comte for cancoillotte cheese and trout, Limousin for pork meat and beef, Lyon-Rhone-Alpes for abundance cheese and sausages, and Poitou-Charentes for cognac and pineau (Ferguson, 2006). Bordeaux is famous for fish and grapes, Centre Region for goat cheese and rillettes from Tours, Gascony for confits and terrines, Perigord for Armagnac and magret, while Toulouse is known for the saucisse de Toulouse sausage and truffles (Ferguson, 2006). There are several dishes that originate from French cuisine. They include ficelle, French stick, crepes, macarons de Nancy, matelote, teurgoule, choucroute garnie, foie gras, coq au vin, and fondue savoyarde. Nouvelle cuisine This term refers to a technique of cooking and presenting food at the table that focuses on how dishes are prepared and how they are presented. The main feature of the approach is its great emphasis on the presentation of dishes (Locricchio, 2003). The technique was popularized by two chefs namely Gault and Millau. The new style of cooking ad presenting food had distinct characteristics that chefs were required to follow. Nouvelle cuisine has changed French cuisine in ten different ways. It focuses on simple cooking, reduced cooking time for light meals in order to preserve their natural flavors, uses fresh ingredients, encourages short menus, exclusion of strong marinades in preparing meat, and exclusion of heavy sauces in preparing cuisines (Ferguson, 2006). In addition, it uses regional dishes to make cuisines, and utilizes new techniques and equipment. Chefs pay more attention to the needs of guests and use their creativity to mix different ingredients to come up with new combinations that are tasty and nutritious (Locricchio, 2003). French cookbook The first cookbook was written by François Pierre de la Varenne. It was known as Le Cuisinier François. Marie Antoine Careme and Auguste Escoffier Careme is historically regarded as the first celebrity chef who developed a complex and intricate cuisine in the 19th century. His cuisine was referred to as the haute cuisine (Locricchio, 2003). This cuisine was primarily created for the wealthy and politically influential individuals in French society. The cuisine was developed from the adoption of strict culinary principles that were existent at the time. Careme’s culinary prowess was exceptional because he emphasized the why and how of cooking (Locricchio, 2003). On the other hand, Escoffier was a chef and writer who is credited for making French cooking techniques known in various parts of the world (Ferguson, 2006). As a culinary writer, he updated French cooking methods and played a key role in the development of French cuisine. Many of his techniques incorporated ideas and concepts borrowed from Careme. Escoffier invented many recipes and popularized cooking to an extent that it became one of the most respected professions (Locricchio, 2003). He accomplished this feat by intruding discipline and systematic procedures into his work areas. The two chefs made specific changes to the French cuisine. Careme introduced the idea of using French ingredients in preparing cuisine and emphasized the importance of artful presentation of dishes (Locricchio, 2003). These two ideas contributed to the development of a culinary ethic that is characteristic of French cuisine. On the other hand, Escoffier simplified French cooking and wrote several cookbooks that are used today in the preparation of French cuisine (Ferguson, 2006). For example, he commercially canned tomatoes, created dried soups and veal stock, and developed the recipes for numerous dishes. In addition, he brought order into the kitchen in order to reduce chaos and created an orderly system of preparing and presenting dishes. French bread Examples of French bread include baguette, ficelle, flute, fougasse, French stick, pain bis, and pain de champagne. Baguette is a French bread made from wheat flour, yeast, common salt and water that is characterized by its length of approximately 65 centimeters and a crust. It is long (diameter of 5-6 cm) and possesses a crisp crust. Ficelle is bread made with yeast, water, flour and salt, and is much thinner than the baguette. It is cylindrical and has a brown crust. Flute is made from the same ingredient as baguette but is twice its size (Locricchio, 2003). Fougasse has various variations that differ from region to region. For example, some versions of the bread resemble an ear of wheat while others contain coloring additions such as cheese and olives. Pain bis bread is prepared from second grade flour and has a distinct light brown color. French stick is made with sugar, salt, vegetable oil, whole wheat flour, and yeast. Unlike other types of bread, it is not made using water. Pain de campagne is large and circular and is made from several ingredients some of which are combinations (Locricchio, 2003). White flour can be combined with rye flour and either leavening or baker’s yeast can be used. French desserts French cuisine is known for its wide range of desserts that are prepared from different ingredients and using different techniques. Many of them can be prepared easily within a short of period of time. Examples include Buche de Noel, Clafoutis, Croquembouche, éclair, Frasier, galette des rois, and macaron. Buche de Noel is a desert that comprises sponge cake that is made in the shape of a log (Locricchio, 2003). Its preparation excludes the use of what flour and instead uses chocolate whipped cream. In certain cases, it is embellished with confectioner’s sugar in order to give it a snowy appearance. Clafoutis is a dessert made from fruit and black cherries. It is baked and usually dusted with powdered sugar and presented in a buttered dish with a covering (Locricchio, 2003). Croquembouche was created by Careme and comprises choux pastry balls that are arranged to resemble a cone. The balls are held together by threads of various confectionaries and the dessert is sometimes decorated using additions such as chocolate and almonds. An éclair is created from choux dough that is first passed through an oblong-shaped mold and then baked (Locricchio, 2003). After preparation, it is stashed with additions such as vanilla’ fruit-flavored fillings, chestnut puree, and whipped cream. Frasier dessert is prepared by layering strawberries, whipped cream, and raspberry butter cream between vanilla cakes made form ingredients that include what, eggs, milk, and almond flavor. The Galette de rois is dessert prepared primarily to celebrate the Christian festivity of epiphany and is made from almond cream, butter, sugar, puff pastry, eggs, and cognac (Locricchio, 2003). Macaron is a dessert prepared with eggs, icing sugar, butter cream, and food coloring, and it has a squared top and flat base. It has several flavors that depend on the ingredients used. References Ferguson, P. P. (2006). Accounting for Taste: The Triumph of French Cuisine. Chicago, Illinois: University of Chicago Press. Locricchio, M. (2003). The Cooking of France. New York, NY: Marshall Cavendish. Read More