french cuisine.....help?

Question

hi...'i''ve got this university project which wanna me to find out about french cuisine...about what is the common food they eat daily, special cuisine during the festival,'hows the food were made,about 'lotte' fish,anything about french cuisine,the breakfast,lunch,tea time, dinner, supper,everything,dessert,pie,pastries,pasta,alll!!!!
and by the way ,hows im going to get a sidewiew of l'arc de triomphe..................does anyone know how to do a monument of this...............

Answer 1

French cuisine is considered to be one of the world's most refined and elegant styles of cooking, and is renowned for both its classical ("haute cuisine") and provincial styles. Many of the world's greatest chefs, such as Taillevent, La Varenne, Carême, Escoffier, and Bocuse, are or were masters of French cuisine. Additionally, French cooking techniques have been a major influence on virtually all Western cuisines, and almost all culinary schools use French cuisine as the basis for all other forms of Western cooking.

Diversity

French cuisine is characterized by its extreme diversity, and style. Traditionally, each region of France has its own distinctive cuisine:

Cuisine from northwest France uses butter, cream, and apples;
Cuisine from southwest France uses duck fat, foie gras, porcini mushrooms, and gizzards;
Cuisine from southeast France uses olive oil, herbs, and tomatoes, and shows deep influences from Spanish cuisine, Catalan cuisine and Italian cuisine.
Cuisine from northern France uses potatoes, pork, endives and beer, and shows Flemish cuisine influences.
Cuisine from eastern France uses lard, sausages, beer, and sauerkraut, and shows German cuisine influences.

Besides these five general areas, there are many more local cuisines, such as Loire Valley cuisine, Basque cuisine and the cuisine of Roussillon, which is similar to Catalan cuisine. With the movements of population of contemporary life, such regional differences are less noticeable than they used to be, but they are still clearly marked, and one traveling across France will notice significant changes in the ways of cooking and the dishes served. Moreover, recent focus of French consumers on local, countryside food products means that the regional cuisines are experiencing a strong revival in the early 21st century, especially as the slow food movement is gaining popularity.
What is often known outside of France as French cuisine is the traditionally elaborate haute cuisine, served in restaurants for high prices. This cuisine is mostly influenced by the regional cuisines of Lyon and northern France, with a marked touch of refinement. Average French people do not eat or prepare this cuisine in their everyday life. As a general rule, elderly people tend to eat the regional cuisine of the region where they are located, while younger people will be more inclined to eat dishes from other regions and foreign dishes. Exotic cuisines, particularly Chinese cuisine and Vietnamese cuisine and some dishes from former colonies in Northern Africa, have made inroads.
French wine and French cheese are an integral part of French cuisine, both as ingredients and accompaniments. France is known for its large ranges of wines and cheeses.

Ingredients

French regional cuisine uses locally grown vegetables, such as these:

potatoes
green beans
carrots
leeks
turnips
eggplant (also known as aubergine )
courgette (also known as zucchini)
Mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, Porcinis, truffles, and other vegetables, in order of increasing rarity and price.

Common fruits include:

oranges
tomatoes
tangerines
peaches
apricots
apples
pears
plums
cherry
strawberry
raspberry
redcurrant
blackberry
grape
blackcurrant

Meats commonly consumed include:

chicken
turkey
duck
goose, a holiday dish
beef
veal
pork
mutton and lamb
rabbit
Horse meat is available from special butcher stores, but few people consume it.

Seafood commonly consumed includes:

cod
sardines, canned
tuna, canned
salmon: used to be a luxury food but is now quite common.
trout
mussels
herring
snails,escargot occasionally eaten
oysters, a holiday dish
shrimp, calamari, etc.

Fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as fish and meat, are purchased either from supermarkets and grocery stores or smaller markets Street markets are held on certain days in most localities; towns of a certain importance generally have a more permanent covered market in which food shops, especially meat and fish retailers, have better shelter than the periodic street markets. Generally, a street market for vegetables takes places on certain days outside such covered markets

Present-day food and drink in France

For French people, cooking is a part of culture, and cooking good food is well appreciated. The French generally take a high pride in the cuisine of their country, and some, particularly in the older generations, are reluctant to experiment with foreign dishes.

Structure of meals

Breakfast
The normal day begins with a light breakfast in the morning, generally consisting of:

bread with jam and spreads, often replaced nowadays by breakfast cereals,
a hot drink such as coffee, tea or chocolate flavored milk, viennoiseries, some fruit or fruit juice.

Hotel breakfasts often contain croissants, but it is uncommon for French people to eat croissants at every breakfast. Indeed, they are mainly eaten on weekends, when people have time to go to their baker's and buy fresh viennoiseries before eating breakfast. Croissants may be replaced with other kinds of viennoiserie such as pains au chocolat, madeleines etc.

Typical lunch and dinner

Lunch is had at some point between noon and
2 p.m., and dinner in the evening after 7:00 p.m. However there are large variations depending on the local regional cultures. The dinner is usually between 7:30 p.m and 8:30 p.m in northern France for example while it is usually after 8:30 p.m in southern France. Younger metropolitan populations tend to have dinner later, around 9:00 to 11:00pm. It is light in the North and rather heavy and important in the South.

A normal complete meal consists of:

appetizers, often consisting of crudités, or a salad
a main dish, usually meat or fish with a side of vegetables, pasta, rice, or frites (fries)
salad
some cheese
dessert: yoghurt, fruit or cake

Meals, particularly lunch, are often followed by a tiny cup of coffee.

Alcoholic products may be consumed as follows:

The meal may be preceded by an apéritif, for example some dose of flavoured Vermouth or region-specific drinks and cocktails such as Pastis (south) or Kir (north).

Wine is often drunk with the meal. Occasionally, people consume beer though the frequency depends on the region of the country. Typically, wine or beer is chosen to match with the food; festive meals will typically accompany each dish with a different wine.

The meal may be followed by a digestif — some small dose of liqueur or other high alcoholic spirit.
In most cities, street markets sell fresh vegetables, meat and fish, and evening or weekend meals are very often cooked with fresh ingredients.

Variations

Festive meals may include several main dishes. Some meals incorporate a trou normand — some small dose of a highly alcoholic liquor or sorbet, perhaps calvados, which props up appetite for what follows.
In large cities a majority of working people and students eat their lunch at a corporate or school cafeteria, which normally serve complete meals as described above; it is therefore not usual for students to bring their own lunch food. It is common for white-collar workers to be given lunch vouchers as part of their employee benefits. These can be used in most restaurants, supermarkets and delis; however workers having lunch in this way typically do not eat all three dishes of a traditional lunch due to price and time considerations. In smaller cities and towns, some working people leave their workplaces to return home for lunch, generating four rush hours during the day. Finally, an also popular alternative especially among blue-collar workers is to lunch on a sandwich possibly followed with a dessert; both dishes can be found ready-made at bakeries and supermarkets for budget prices.

Drink

Traditionally, France has been a culture of wine consumption. While this characteristic has lessened with time, even today, many French people drink wine daily. The consumption of low-quality wines during meals has been greatly reduced. Beer is especially popular with the youth. Other popular alcoholic drinks include pastis, an aniseed flavoured beverage drunk diluted with cold water, or cider.
The legal alcohol purchase age is 16. Usually, parents tend to prohibit their children from consuming alcohol before these children reach their early teens. Students and young adults are known to drink heavily during parties, but usually drunkenness is not displayed in public. Public consumption of alcohol is legal, but driving under the influence can result in severe penalties.

Divisions of Restaurant Cuisine

Schematically, French restaurant cuisine can be called as Cuisine bourgeoise, which includes all the classic French dishes which are not or no longer specifically regional, and which have been adapted over the years to suit the taste of the affluent.


Quick Food
The following dishes can generally be ordered in brasseries:
Steak frites-steak with fries; fries can often be replaced by string beans
Poulet frites-chicken with fries
Croque-monsieur-a grilled Swiss cheese and ham sandwich
Generally speaking, fries are a common side order for lower end French style restaurants. The French generally consider fries to be of Belgian origin, although there is no evidence for this; a typically Belgian dish is steamed mussels with a side of fries.
A typical simple, cheap, quick meal consists of pasta, often spaghetti, with tomato sauce.

Common Canned Food
Cassoulet
Choucroute garnie
Most dishes, including relatively sophisticated ones, are available as canned or frozen food in supermarkets. These products are sometimes endorsed by famous chefs.

Common Savory Pies
Tarte flambée from Alsace
Flamiche from Artois and Picardy
Quiche from Lorraine
Pissaladière from Nice

Famous But Atypical Dishes
The following dishes are considered typical of French cuisine in some foreign countries, but actually are rarely eaten in France:
Frog legs
Escargots

Desserts
Crêpes, a speciality of Brittany
Chocolate Mousse
Pastries
Mille-feuille
Choux a la creme
Baba au rhum
Tarts

Specialties by region/city

The salade landaise is a popular dish mixing together typical Southwestern ingredients: gizzards, pine nuts, and possibly duck or goose confit.

Southwestern specialties: preserves of duck confit and cassoulet toulousain

Alsace:
Choucroute garnie (sauerkraut with sausages, salt pork and potatoes)
Spätzle
Baeckeoffe
Kouglof
Bredela
Beerawecka
Mannala
Alps
Raclette (the cheese is melted and served with potatoes, ham and often dried beef)
Fondue savoyarde (fondue made with cheese and white wine into which cubes of bread are dipped)
Gratin dauphinois
Tartiflette (a Savoyard gratin with potatoes, Reblochon cheese, cream and pork)

Artois-Picardy:
andouillette of Cambrai
Carbonnade (meat stewed in beer)
Potjevlesch (a four-meat terrine)
Waterzoï (a sweet water fish stew)
Escavêche (a cold terrine of sweet water fish in wine and vinegar)
Hochepot (four meats stewed with vegetables)

Auvergne:
Tripoux (tripe 'parcels' in a savoury sauce)
Truffade (potatoes sautéed with garlic and young Tomme cheese)
Aligot (mashed potatoes blended with young Tomme cheese)
Pansette de Gerzat (lamb tripe stewed in wine, shallots and blue cheese)

Brittany:
Crêpes
Far Breton (a flan with prunes)
Kik ar Fars (boiled pork dinner with a kind of dumpling)
Kouign amann (a type of galette made flakey by a very high proportion of butter)
Gruyère Cheese Gougères.

Burgundy:
Boeuf Bourguignon (beef stewed in red wine)
Escargots de Bourgogne (snails baked in their shells with parsley butter)
Fondue bourguignonne (fondue made with oil in which pieces of meat are cooked)
Gougère (cheese in chou pastry)
Pochouse (fish stewed in red wine)

Lorraine:
Quiche Lorraine
Potée Lorraine
Pâté Lorrain

Côte d'Azur/Provence:
Bouillabaisse (a stew of mixed Mediterranean fish, tomatoes, and herbs)
Ratatouille (a vegetable stew with sautéed aubergine, asparagus, yellow squash, bell peppers, tomato and basil)
Pieds paquets Lambs' feet and tripe 'parcels' in a savoury sauce

Nimes:
Brandade de morue (puréed salt cod)

Normandy:
Tripes à la mode de Caen (tripe cooked in cider and calvados)
Matelote (fish stewed in cider)

Southwest:
Salade landaise
Cassoulet (a dish made with beans, sausages and preserved duck or goose)
Foie gras (the liver of a force-fed duck or goose)
Basque cuisine

Answer 2

Eat French for a day

How to eat healthy? Here is how the French do it:

Don't consider shopping a chore. Look for what is fresh and in season at the market. Choose the finest ingredients.

Fill up on vegetables. Make meat a small portion on the plate, just 3 or 4 ounces.

Make lunch (déjeuner) the heartiest meal of the day.

Dinner should be light and simple, with few courses.

The French are famous for their sauces. But don't smother your food; use just one or two tablespoons.

Don't complicate the food. Let the natural flavors come through.

Some must-have-on-hand ingredients: butter, red and white wine, red and white wine vinegar, dijon mustard, tarragon, summer savory, cheese (try Brie, Camembert or imported Swiss), onions, shallots and olive oil.

Answer 3

I glanced at the Wikipedia article, and couldn't believe what I was reading. Lard as the cooking fat in Eastern French cooking, with Beer as the common ingredient in sauces? No.

My Burgundian relatives use lard in their cooking about as often as my Jewish ones do. Beer in French cooking is most associated with the Northeast, near Belgium; the vast Bulk of France is wine country. The cooking fat is mostly butter, the use of lard being associated with, not the Germans, but with days of wretched poverty in which butter was not to be had and substitutes had to be found. That's not tradition, that's scrounging.

The topic of French cookery is too vast to be summed up in a brief answer, but I can recommend a text. Your library will probably have a copy of the Larousse Gastronomique. It's a good place to start and a lot more reliable when it talks about its own cuisine than any website is likely to be. I get the impression that home turf for Larousse is Paris; the further one gets from Paris the more off the mark the text gets, but there are specialists in regional cuisine who are ready to pick up where Larousse falters, two particularly nice books by Mireille Johnston coming to mind ("The Cuisine of the Rose" and "The Cuisine of the Sun")

The one thing that Wikipedia did get right was the large amount of regional variation. "French" is not so much one cuisine as it is a collection of cuisines, much as is the case with Italian cooking. There won't be any one common thing that the Gascons, Normans, Alsatians and Nicoise all have for dinner.

Answer 4

I quickly browsed Daisy chef very detailed answer and she says much about french cuisine, she deserves the best answer...

About lotte: i think that the english name is monkfish. It's a kind of fish with white flesh, and almost no bones excepted the central one. One eat only the tail ("queue de lotte"), Usually it is boiled, possibly with some herbs (very easy cooking), and served with mayonnaise or olive oil, and boiled potatoes.

For the Arc de Triomphe, I do not understand what you mean, if you want to discuss more information about french cuisine or explain what you mean you can send me a direct message.

Answer 5

I'll tell you this much; Lotte is the French name for monkfish, or frog-fish, or poor-mans-lobster. They sure are ugly and tasty.

Answer 6

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuisine_of_France