4. French Food Culture

FRENCH FOOD CULTURE
GESB2001 Food, Eating and Culture

Jacey CHOE
jaceychoe@um.edu.mo
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Learning objectives
By the end of this lecture, you should be able to
• understand the history of French cuisines

• list the types of French cheeses and understand
their characteristics
• list diverse kinds of French foods
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• http://www.worldmapsgallery.com/world-map/
http://www.worldmapsgallery.com/world-map/ 3
Map of France
❑ Surrounded by….
• Belgium
• Luxembourg
• Germany
• Switzerland
• Italy
• Spain
• Andorra
France is one of the
leading countries in the
European Union (EU) in
terms of agricultural and
dairy production. http://www.echoway.org/page11.php?ct=4&py=478 4
History of French cuisine
❖ Influenced by Italy during 1500’s
• Catherine de Medici, a Florentine princess married King Henry
II (1519 – 1589)
- Introduced Italian recipes to France
• Italian cuisine was thought to be the most sophisticated cuisine
of the time
• Table etiquette became important
• Individual cutlery was introduced
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❖ The Advent of Haute Cuisine (17th century)

• A chef named La Varenne
• “Le Cuisinier François” is considered as the first true French
cookbook
• Characteristics: difficult and time consuming to cook, accessible to
only rich and powerful individuals, and use butter and cream
❖ The French Revolution (1789-1799)
• Expansion of French cuisine
• Anyone could now produce and sell any culinary item he wished
• Unemployed chefs opened their own restaurants
• Development of French cuisine among public
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❖ Auguste Escoffier (1846-1935)
• Another legendary cookbook “Le Guide Culinaire”
• “The king of chefs and the chef of kings,”
• Introduction of the “Brigade” system to facilitate a la carte
service
“Father” of
modern cooking
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“The History of the table of a nation is a
reflection of the civilization of that nation.”
Auguste Escoffier
Father of French cuisine
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❖ Nouvelle cuisine - meaning "new cuisine" (1960s)
• In contrast to haute cuisine, nouvelle cuisine is
characterized by lighter, more delicate dishes and an
increased emphasis on presentation.
❑ Characteristics of Nouvelle cuisine
1. Simplification of the process of cooking
2. Preserve the natural flavours (e.g., Steaming).
3. Stop using strong marinades for meat
4. Fresh herbs and vinegar instead of heavy sauces
5. Emphasis on the presentations
6. Being creative
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Presentations of Nouvelle cuisine
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❖ Modern French Cuisine (1980s)
• Many chefs began returning to the haute cuisine style of
cooking
• Focus on new techniques and inventiveness
• Harmonization between classic and modern cooking
• Chefs: Joel Robuchon, Pierre Gagnaire
Watch a video - Pierre Gagnaire's restaurant

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsEXVAJITwA
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French cheese
• Cheese: a dairy product (made from milk) made through coagulation
of casein with enzyme, acid, and with or without treatment with
heat, salt, and fermentation by micro organisms.
• French people are amongst the highest consumers of cheese in the
world.
• There are more than 350 types of cheese in France.
• Cheese is very common in French dietary habits:
➢ 96% of French people eat cheese.
➢ 47% of French people eat cheese on a daily basis.
➢ 4% of French people never or seldom eat cheese.
Watch a video: How make Comte cheese

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJfbkugkQtI
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French cheese
• Cheese is deeply rooted in French lifestyle

➢ “Any meal without cheese in, it is like a day without the sun in it.”
Source: https://www.couleurnature.com/blogs/news/types-of-french-
cheese-and-how-to-eat-them
Source:
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/79
6785359056603703/ 13
Classification of French cheese
1. Soft cheese (fromages à pâte molle)
• These are typical soft cow’s milk cheese. This has
doughy white surfaces.
• They are aged about a month.
Brie Camembert
Source: https://www.couleurnature.com/blogs/news/types-of-french-cheese-and-how-to-eat-them
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2. Hard cheese (fromages à pâte pressée)
• Pressure is necessary during the process to drain
the cheese.
• They are aged for months. During aging, diverse
treatments generate different flavor and texture.
Mimolette Comte
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3. Blue cheese (Fromages Bleu)
• Blue cheese was originally stored in moist caves with
favourable conditions for mold to grow.
• Modern blue cheese have a spotted appearance and a
distinctive strong smell.
• Blue cheeses are aged for long time and have a distinctive
strong flavor.
Moist caves
Roquefort Bresse bleu
4. Fresh cheese (Fromages frais)
• Also known as unripened cheese
• This is made by curdling cow, sheep or goat milk, then
draining off the whey. The remaining curds are fashioned
into cheese.
Brousse
Diverse kinds of French food
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FRENCH FOOD CULTURE

GESB2001 Food, Eating and Culture

• understand the history of French cuisines

❖ The Advent of Haute Cuisine (17th century)

Watch a video - Pierre Gagnaire's restaurant

Watch a video: How make Comte cheese

• Cheese is deeply rooted in French lifestyle

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