France

Book Air Tickets

Book Hotel

Book Rental Car

Calendars

Cycling Tours

Golf

History

Language

Maps

Music

Posters

Recipes

Skiing

Towns and Cities
  Amiens
  Besançon
  Bordeaux
  Boulogne-Billancourt
  Brest
  Caen
  Dijon
  Grenoble
  Le Havre
  Le Mans
  Lille
  Lyon
  Marseille
  Montpellier
  Nancy
  Nantes
  Nice
  Orléans
  Paris
  Reims
  Rouen
  Saint-Étienne
  Strasbourg
  Toulon
  Toulouse
  Tours
  More French Cities

Travel Guides

Weather

Links

Hotels.com
 















































 
Travel Guide 2   >   Europe   >   France   >   Recipes

Raileurope.com: See Europe by train

French Recipes


France is known and admired throughout the world for the refinement and elegance of its cuisine. In French cuisine, there are some dishes which are considered national dishes, eaten throughout France, and others with specific regional origins, but one common factor in all French dishes is an emphasis on fresh, good quality ingredients (especially local produce), and careful preparation.

Here are some popular French dishes:
  • Andouillette - Andouillette is a type of sausage that historically comes from Lyon, Cambrai or Troyes. Traditionally it is made from the stomach and colon of a pig, but nowadays the contents may vary, though it usually includes the intestines of a pig, cow or calf. It has a rubbery texture, and very strong animal-like flavor and smell, that if you are unused to it, you may find disconcerting or even unpleasant. Andouillette is usually eaten hot, but may be sliced and eaten cold.

  • Beef Bourguignon (French: Bœuf bourguignon) - A stew prepared by cooking beef in red wine with carrots and onions. Garlic and herbs are used for flavoring, and lardons (cubes of bacon prepared from the back fat of a pig) are usually used in the recipe. The dish is garnished with mushrooms and onions.

  • Blanquette de veau - Veal poached with aromatic vegetables in water or stock. The vegetables are then discarded and the sauce thickened by adding cream and egg yolks. Mushrooms and onions are also added to and cooked in the sauce.

  • Bouillabaisse - This is a fish stew, from the Provençal region, and especially the city of Marseille. The dish is prepared by cooking a variety of fish and shellfish (as many as a dozen varieties) with celery, leeks, onions and tomatoes, in stock flavored with herbs and spices. When the dish is served, the fish and stew are placed in separate bowls, and the stew is poured over "rouille", which is French bread seasoned with bread crumbs, olive oil and chili.

  • Coq au vin - This well-known French dish is prepared by fricasseeing chicken in wine with lardons (cubes of bacon prepared from the back fat of a pig), mushrooms, and garlic. Traditionally, older roosters are used when preparing coq au vin, as they contain more connective tissue, which results in a richer broth. According to legend this recipe was eaten by Julius Caesar during his conquest of Gaul, but it unclear if this story is actually true.

  • Escargot - Snails - often eaten as an appetizer - normally cooked in garlic butter.

  • French onion soup - According to legend this soup was invented by King Louis XV (or perhaps King Louis XIV) when he returned to his hunting lodge and had to improvise a new recipe from an almost bare larder. This soup is made from onions and beef broth, and topped with cheese and croutons.

    French Onion Soup

  • Pot-au-feu - A spicy stew made with beef and vegetables (carrots, celery, leeks, onions and turnips).

  • Quiche - Quiches are baked dishes made with heavy cream, and eggs in a pastry crust. Traditionally cheese is not used when making quiche, but nowadays, most recipes do include some cheese. Quiche Lorraine is simply quiche with some bacon in the mixture. Quiche Alsacienne is the same as Quiche Lorraine, but with onions added.

    Quiche

  • Crêpes - Crêpes are thin pancakes made from wheat flour that are originally from Brittany (French: Bretagne). There are both savory (crêpes salées) and sweet (crêpes sucrées) varieties available.

  • Éclairs - Éclairs are hollow baked pastries (made from choux pastry - a very light version of pastry), which when cool are filled with pastry cream (crème pâtissière), custard or whipped cream, and then topped with either chocolate or icing.

  • Profiteroles - Like éclairs, profiteroles are made from choux pastry, but they are however much smaller. They are normally filled pastry cream (crème pâtissière) or whipped cream, sometimes glazed with caramel, and often served with chocolate sauce.

  • Chocolate mousse - A creamy dessert made from eggs and cream, and flavored with chocolate.

  • Crème brûlée - A vanilla custard base topped with a hard layer of caramel made by burning sugar under a grill, blowtorch or other intense heat source.
Here are some recipe books and cookbooks for French food:

Related Links:

Classic French Cooking: Recipes for Mastering the French Kitchen

By Elisabeth Luard

Spruce
Hardcover (432 pages)

Classic French Cooking: Recipes for Mastering the French Kitchen
List Price: $16.99
Lowest New Price: $9.74
Lowest Used Price: $9.79
Usually ships in 24 hours
(As of 17:52 Pacific 3 Jul 2009 More Info)


Click Here
Product Description:
Written by the prize winning author Elisabeth Luard, Classic French Cooking is a product of a lifetime of learning. In this book she brings together the core recipes that are the building blocks for all French cooking. It guarantees the reader an easy entree into the world of regional French cooking and many hours of enjoyable creativity in the kitchen.

French Chefs Cooking: Recipes and Stories from the Great Chefs of France

By Michael Buller

Wiley
Hardcover (336 pages)

French Chefs Cooking: Recipes and Stories from the Great Chefs of France
List Price: $25.00
Lowest New Price: $6.50
Lowest Used Price: $12.93
Temporarily out of stock. Order now and we'll deliver when available. We'll e-mail you with an estimated delivery date as soon as we have more information. Your credit card will not be charged until we ship the item.
(As of 17:52 Pacific 3 Jul 2009 More Info)


Click Here
Product Description:
Author Michael Buller introduces you to 38 of the chefs who have made French cuisine so famous. 20 photos illustrate selections of recipes from each of the chefs included in this volume.

French Cooking: Traditional Recipes for the Contemporary Cook

By BHB International

Continental Enterprises Group
Hardcover (72 pages)

French Cooking: Traditional Recipes for the Contemporary Cook
List Price: $7.95
Lowest New Price: $6.19
Lowest Used Price: $1.00
(As of 17:52 Pacific 3 Jul 2009 More Info)


Click Here

Understanding French Cookery: A Guide to French Recipes and Cooking Terms

By Francoise Bourdet

AvonAnglia
Paperback (64 pages)
Lowest Used Price: $124.10
(As of 17:52 Pacific 3 Jul 2009 More Info)


Click Here

Recipes: Classic French Cooking - Foods of the World

By Editors of Time-Life Books

Time-Life Books, NY
Spiral-bound (152 pages)
Lowest New Price: $45.00
Lowest Used Price: $0.01
(As of 17:52 Pacific 3 Jul 2009 More Info)


Click Here
Product Description:
recipes of French cooking

Recipes: Classic French Cooking - Foods of the World

By Time Life Books

TIME LIFE BOOKS @
Spiral-bound (152 pages)
Lowest Used Price: $4.00
(As of 17:52 Pacific 3 Jul 2009 More Info)


Click Here



     

 
 
 
   



 
       
Note: Our company does NOT provide travel, vacation, hotel, car rental services or associated products or services. Any links (including but not limited to banners, text links, or search forms) to such items on this web site are adverts from third parties. Sorry we can NOT answer questions about these types of products or services.

All information about attractions, places of interest, travel destinations, travel services, etc., was believed to be correct at the time it was prepared, but may be change at any time. Readers are advised to check with their travel agent, travel provider, or the attraction operator, for current information.


Copyright © 2007-2009, Answers 2000 Limited

Privacy   Terms of Use