French Foods that Aren’t French

But I don’t care.

I don’t care because often the French version of the dish is really good.

One of the things I am looking forward to when we go to France in the fall is the food. For centuries French food has been seen as sophisticated and a treat. We can thank Catherine de’ Medici for that.

I wrote about Catherine de’Medici before (see

)

When Catherine came from Florence, she brought her entourage that included some very talented cooks and her arrival is generally considered to be the point at which French food and cooking became more refined and envied in the courts of Europe.

Cookbooks on “cuisine bourgeoise” became popular throughout France in the 18th century and were often variations on the food of the aristocrats and the nobles. Sauces, butter, hours of simmering, rich in meats, and the exposure to national and international foods, as well as regional dishes like cassoulet, coq-au-vin and bechamel, among others, became very popular. By the early 20th century French chefs were a status symbol. In the 1960’s, a revolution in French cooking occurred when Georges Escoffier criticized French restaurants for lack of innovation since the end of World War 2. He partly blamed the Michelin Guide star system for this (I wrote about Michelin guides a couple of blogs ago) complacency and he challenged French chefs to do more with the food. The result was actually a move away from “cuisine bourgeoise” and towards simpler dishes with more textured flavours and faster cooking times. And some times, even the use of dry ice.

The rise in popularity of French cooking can also be attributed in part the Julia Child and her popular cookbooks and TV show

So with that introduction lets take a look at some French foods that aren’t.

Let’s start by shooting a couple of easy ones.

French Fries and French Toast.

French fries were developed early in the 20th century in Belgium. The early Belgian guides described a double fried sliced potato. It’s thought that because Belgium has a large francophone population people were confused and assumed it came from France.

French Toast comes from the USA as a way to use stale bread, and as the story goes the word French was added to make it more appealing to diners. The French actually have a recipe for stale bread that involves baking it but they don’t put anything sweet on top of it and it is a dessert.

The croissant. Probably the most stereotypical French food is the croissant.  A descendant of the Austrian Kipfel. The kipfel is said to have originated as a celebration of the Austrians over the Ottoman’s in 1683 at the siege of Vienna. Since the Ottomans were Muslim, the shape of the desert was based on their symbol, the crescent.

Somehow, the kipfel made its way to France, specifically at first Paris, where it was found in high-end Viennese bakeries. (There’s a wonderful second story that says that cappuccino, also invented in Vienna, came into being at this time based on the strong Turkish coffee captured after the siege was lifted.)

So how did we get to the present day croissant? Well, the French started to make it with puff pastry, which they invented, and a lot of butter.

Rabbit Hole

While croissants are often made in industrial amounts, the traditional way, and the way that you’ll find in a lot of smaller boulangeries around the country involves a three day process. On day one the dough is made and refrigerated. On day two, the dough is rolled out and the butter is added in a sheet on top. The dough is then folded over the butter and through a machine that compresses it. Another layer of butter is added and the dough is folded again and compressed. The more layers, the lighter each layer is since each layer is thinner. Some bakeries have croissant with as many as 50 layers in the in the finished product. About 30% of a croissant is butter. After another refrigeration it is cut into triangles and rolled up and out back in the fridge to cool again. The trick is to not let the butter melt until it is in the oven.  The french have a law that states if a traditional French bread (baguette tradionnelle) is sold in a bakery it must be made in the bakery with simple ingredients, but a croissant is considered a pastry and has no such protection.

End Rabbit Hole

Quiche. Quiche comes from the area of Alsace-Lorraine, an area on the Rhine that borders Germany and France. The area was mainly German and appeared in the middle ages as an egg and cream dish. The French got hold of it and started adding things: like taste. (I swear, sometimes German cooking and British cooking are indistinguishable. I know, I know, thats unfair so please send your complaints to Barb@ihavetolivewithhim.com)

French Vanilla Ice Cream. This is a nod to the way the ice cream is made. French ice cream is made with lots of eggs and has a more custardy taste.

Finally, French cruller donuts (or doughnuts). Doughnuts aren't really a thing in France. I mean, why would they be, given all the other amazing pastries they have. Crullers are thought to have originated in the Netherlands, with the Dutch. Because of the texture of the dough, which is a "choux" (pronounced shoo), it is lighter and closer to a french pastry, so over time people just started thinking it was French.

A final note on patisserie, boulangerie and viennoiserie.

When in France you'll find shops that identify themselves by one or more of the above words.

Patisseries are both the pastry and the shop they are sold in. By law they must employ a master pastry chef and they make pastries.

A boulangerie is a bakery that must make their bread on site. They may also make other things but if they use the name boulangerie they must make their own bread.

A viennoiserie is the bridge between bread and pastries. They are typically breakfast pasties, that are often made with puff pastries and leavened dough, like croissants. Note, if you go to a restaurant for lunch or diner and they offer you a basked of croissants, they are probably a tourist place.

So, now that I've written this, I am going to go on a quest in Calgary, where I currently am, for a French bakery to find a real croissant.

Until next time.