French Cuisine-- Ooh la la!

Where do I begin? My impression of French food before living in Paris has generally been that it's heavy, with lots of cream, meat and strange things like escargot and frog legs, as well as lots and lots of wine. Being a vegetarian who doesn't particularly like wine I was a little concerned about this. But to my wonderful surprise, I am completely addicted now to French food. Ok, maybe "addicted" is a strong word, but for those of you who know the pleasure of French cheese, bread, coffee and amazing pasteries, you understand what I mean. Having a partner who is also an excellent cook and loves to cook French cuisine also helps me to appreciate the food even more. One of my first days in Paris I experienced "Pain au Chocolate" which is a like a chocolate croissant and is completely yummy. Enjoying this along with an amazing French cafe au lait and I am a happy girl. Having been to France a few times before I already knew about the yummy sweet crepes but I had never really appreciated the "savory" or salty crepes. Thankfully, Lucas showed me how to make the crepes from scratch and all the wonderful things you can put inside like mushrooms, tomatoes, spinach, and of course lots and lots of cheese! I think France has something like over 200 types of cheese, but by far, my favorite is goat cheese also locally known as chevre. French people seem to love to use goat cheese a lot in salads, sandwiches, tarts, crepes, etc. so I'm very lucky in this department. I've tried a few different kinds of chevre now, including some made in Portugal by a family who only makes this one product, and still my favorite is a simple store-bought brand named "Soignon Sainte-Maure."

I'm fascinated and impressed by the differences in the quality of food compared to America, particularly the dairy products. Becoming lactose-intolerant as I've gotten older, and also increasingly frightened by how Americans produce our dairy and dairy products with different chemicals and hormones, not to mention the way the animals are treated, I was beginning to move away from dairy all together. But enjoying the dairy products in France now including their milk, yogurt, cheese, cream and icecream, I realize how shitty American dairy products are and how "lactose-intolerant" is a nice American invention to cover up for all the crappy dairy we produce that is making us sick. Interestingly, since I've been traveling the world to places like India, Thailand, Cambodia, Bali, South Africa and Europe, I've never experience "lactose-intolerance" again. I can drink and eat any dairy products I want and my body is completely happy. In addition, I've begun to notice my skin is healthier too. The difference in a lot of the products such as their meats, fruits and vegetables, eggs and bread products also seem to be a much better quality than in America and taste better too! I don't know all the statistics about the health of Europeans, but I would guess that the food here has a much higher nutritional content and isn't toxic for your body. I think it's also a contributing factor to why French people tend to be much thinner than Americans. Not only is it because they don't live a sedentary life and are much more active, but I also think it's because the food isn't filled with chemically-engineered crap put into the food to make people more addicted and to want to eat larger quantities of the food. I also think that our bodies stop recognizing what we're eating and have a more difficult time of processing all the weird shit that is put into American food products. But I'll get off my soapbox now...

Being a vegetarian in France was also interesting initially in that French people love to eat meat and aren't typically familiar with the idea of being vegetarian. I usually get a strange yet curious smile when I tell people I'm vegetarian here as if it's some sort of illness I've contracted and they feel sorry for me having it. Some ask what I'm able to eat since it's such a foreign concept for them and a few even appeared to feel bad for me. Suffice it to say, vegetarians and non-vegetarians can all enjoy the cuisine in France. I would guess however, that trying to be a vegan here would be extremely difficult since most everything has dairy of some sort. The French definitely love milk and cream so for any potential vegans thinking of traveling to France just come prepared with your own favorite vegan products.

To top things off, I discovered that France has a national crepe day on February 2nd called, "Chandeleur," where the custom is to make crepes that day of course. Wanting to embrace the culture and not offend anyone, I was happy to oblige by enjoying sweet crepes for dinner made from scratch. I have the added benefit of a boyfriend who also likes to make whipped cream or chantilly from scratch as well which is completely amazing. When visiting France, I highly recommend trying crepes with Nutella, a wonderful and decadent invention of a chocolate/hazelnut spread similar to the consistency and popularity of peanut-butter for Americans, as well as lemon and sugar crepes. Of course, make sure to try the coffee, just know that if you order a "cafe", it's more the equivalent of a shot of espresso in a tiny cup. If you want coffee, I recommend the cafe au lait or a capuccino. If you enjoy wine or sangria, try the "vin chaud" or "hot wine" during the winter time. It's a delicious combination of hot wine with different spices such as nutmeg and cinammon, sugar and orange juice or liquor mixed in. It's perfect on a cold day in Paris and warms you up quickly.

The baguettes are a must to try in France as well. French people really take their bread and cheese seriously and buy their bread either daily or every few days so that it's fresh. Bread is typically eaten with each meal and cheese is as well, but is served after the meal and before the dessert. I'm still learning all the different types of baguettes but the key seems to be getting it fresh. Another interesting difference between French and American culture is  that French people buy their different products such as bread, cheese meat and vegetables from different stores. So, your bread is bought from the boulangerie, pasteries from the patisserie and meat from the boucherie for example. This creates a more personal experience when grocery shopping since you're not just picking a pre-packaged item off of a shelf or from a freezer section but actually interecting with someone, tasting different products and discussing what you're buying. With that said, supermarkets or "supermarches" are less common and are much smaller than supermarkets in America, but you can still find them for your general shopping needs.

Food is hugely important in France and a big part of the culture, so make sure to take time to enjoy it when you're traveling in France and other parts of Europe. French people take their time eating their meals typically, and it's common to spend a few hours eating a meal, talking and socializing. Also, be prepared to ask for your bill when you're done with your meal since the servers in France don't bring it automatically. The understanding again being that you are there to enjoy your meal at a leisurely and relaxed pace and so you are not made to feel that you have to leave or hurry up by being brought the bill. Tipping also is not customary, as in America, which is another strange but welcomed change. And lastly, before each meal, always make sure to say, "bon appetit!"

Comments

[Lena]

You had the luck to have Lucas who is one of the best cook I ever met !