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Is There Really Any Such Thing As Traditional French Food?

By: William Penworthy

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When most people think of French food, they generally think of a few gourmet food dishes and gourmet ingredients. But in fact French food is exceptionally varied, and is so diverse that it can only really be rivalled by the Chinese dishes which are similarly very varied.

Part of the reason why French gourmet food is so varied is due to the diverse regional influences, geographical differences and the influences from both neighbouring provinces and neighbouring countries.

These geographical differences have resulted in one of the most varied and diverse range of dishes, ingredients and culinary styles to be found anywhere, and it is this diversity as much as the great importance attributed to quality of both ingredients and methods which have resulted in French food being considered so highly across the world.

Whether you enjoy eating or you enjoy cooking, you'll almost certainly have had a few French meals or ingredients. If you're looking for inspiration for an upcoming meal, or perhaps you're looking for a gift for someone who loves their cooking, then you will be hard pressed to find a more varied and enticing range of dishes and ingredients than those found in French gourmet food.

The word gourmet, which itself derives from the French word, has become synonymous with quality. But quality means many things, and as far as French food and gourmet food prepared in the French traditional way is concerned, this means the quality of ingredients, the time honoured, traditional methods of preparation, the recipes themselves, and the serving or presentation of the meal.

Every aspect of the meal must be of high quality to be classified as truly gourmet, and truly in the French style. If you enjoy cooking, or are looking for a gift for someone who enjoys experimenting in the kitchen, then it will be just as important to consider the ingredients as the recipes, since no cook, no matter how skilled, can ever create a gourmet meal from standard, supermarket ingredients.

Sometimes it takes a little extra to achieve something truly worth savouring. One of the things to bear in mind when considering French food is that virtually every French dish is a local speciality from somewhere. There is no real single French cuisine style, ingredient or recipe.

Almost anything you care to name when it comes to French food, gourmet food and French gourmet ingredients will have been influenced by its regional uniqueness. Although today you may well be able to travel all over France, and indeed all over the world, and enjoy particular French dishes, the origin of those dishes will be from quite small regions of the country, and the history of the dishes traced to the local geographical influences.

In some cases this may be due to cultural influences from neighbouring areas or neighbouring countries, and in some cases influenced by the very nature of the geographical landscape and local climate which dictated what ingredients would grow especially well, and what was most easily available.

One of the more obvious local influences is within the French Mediterranean region. As perhaps you might expect, the influences here have been an increased use of gourmet ingredients such as refined olive oil, a wide range of herbs, many of which are grown locally, and tomatoes, which grow especially well in the Mediterranean climate. However, if you travel further north to northern France, especially towards the western regions, you'll find that French food is much heavier, using much more butter and soured cream, as well as a higher proportion of recipes which include the use of apples.

It is also entirely understandable that eastern France has experienced strong Germanic influences in its French food dishes, and it is here that many of the French dishes originated which use ingredients such as beer and sauerkraut.

The climate, as well as local influences from neighbouring countries, has also played a strong part in influencing French food, with the weather being especially suited in the south of the country to growing fruits and vegetables, and so these have found their way as major ingredients in many popular dishes.

France is also well known for its sea food recipes, and many of these originated from the Atlantic coasts, as perhaps one would expect. France is a huge country, and its climates, its regions, its soils and its neighbours have all played their various parts in shaping a wide and diverse range of French food and gourmet food recipes. If you're looking to explore French cuisine, there could be no wider range from which to choose than what one might call traditional French food.

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French Food | www.thegoodfoodnetwork.co.uk/ | Gourmet Food

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