Global Gourmet/France

Australia

The French cuisine is considered to one of the world more elegant styles of cooking. Because of this, the French cooking techniques have influenced Western countries and are used as a basis in culinary schools.

Souffle

A soufflé is a fluffy, lightly baked dish made of beaten eggs and combined with other ingredients, such as cream sauce or purée. It is usually served as a main dish or sweetened to become a desert. Soufflé means “to blow up” or “puff up”, a loose description of what happens to the custard and egg whites. For best taste, soufflé should be eaten while hot and quickly, before it falls.

Pot-au-feu

The pot-au-feu, or “pot on fire” is basically a French beef stew. A general pot-au-feu is consisted of beef meat, vegetables (carrots, turnips, leeks, celery, onions), and spices (bouquet garni, salt, black pepper, cloves). The dish is often served with salt and strong Dijon mustard and sometimes also with gherkins (young cucumber) and samphire (plant grown across Eurasia) pickled in vinegar.

Steak au poivre

Steak au poivre (or “pepper steak”), consist of a steak, and a coat of cracked peppercorns, cooked. The peppercorn provides a pungent but complimentary taste to the rich flavor of the steak. Usually, the steak is inside a skillet with a small amount of butter to cook it. The outside of the steak is cooked but the inside left medium rare. Steak au poivre is often accompanied with pan sauce or other sauce.

Oysters

Oysters in France is generally eaten raw, but can be smoked, boiled, baked, fried, roasted, stewed, canned, pickled, steamed, or broiled (grilled). Preparation can either be very simple or can be very elaborate. Although low on food energy, it is rich in iron, calcium, and vitamin A.

Baguette

A baguette, which means “stick” in French, is a variety of bread distinguishable by its much greater length than width but the actual size varies. It is also known in English as a French stick/loaf. Shorter baguettes are very often used for sandwiches can be sliced and are often served with pâté or cheeses. As part of the traditional continental breakfast in France, slices of baguette are spread with jam and dunked in bowls of coffee or hot chocolate. A very crispy crust is one notable characteristic of the baguette.