What to Eat in France: Crème

Published by Tuesday, September 1, 2015 Permalink 0

What to Eat in France: Cream: crème fraîche, crème brûlée, crème caramel, crème chantilly…

The Normans put cream in almost all their sauces: for example, with salt cod and prunes.–La Varenne, Le Cuisinier François, 1651

C’est de la crème. / It’s easy.–French saying

Ce n’est pas de la crème. / It’s difficult.–French saying

No one loves cream or creaminess more than the French. They love it so much that they call all sorts of things other than cream “crème“: cream soups, pudding, sauces, custard filling, pastry cream, coffee with hot milk, puréed chestnuts, almond cream, cream horns, and even certain liqueurs. Just about anything creamy is likely to be called cream in French.

Cream has existed ever since milk existed. Despite our association with French cuisine, in general, cream is more a specialty of the north of France where it’s cooler, of the land of butter, than of the south, the land of olive oil and duck fat.

Normandy might well be called the cream capital of the world, or at least of France. The Vikings brought what we now call Normande cows to Normandy a thousand years ago. They, along with Jersey cows, are known for the quality of their fatty, high-protein milk, which makes excellent cream, butter and cheese. Half of all French milk and cream now comes from Normandy.

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Simon Says: Daily Food Quote, April 24, 2012

Published by Tuesday, April 24, 2012 Permalink 0
by Simón de Swaan

All cooks, like all great artists, must have an audience worth cooking for.–André Simon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

André Louis Simon (1877 – 1970), born in France but married to an English woman, was the charismatic leader of the English wine trade for almost all of the first half of the 20th century. He became the grand old man of literate connoisseurship for a further 20 years.

His most distinguished book was The History of the Wine Trade in England from Roman Times to the End of the 17th Century, in three volumes (1906, 1907 and 1909).

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Simon Says: Daily Food Quote, March 2, 2012

Published by Friday, March 2, 2012 Permalink 0

by Simón de Swaan

Life is too short for cuisine minceur and for diets. Dietetic meals are like an opera without the orchestra.Paul Bocuse

Paul Bocuse is a French chef based in Lyon, renowned for the high quality of his restaurants and his innovative approaches to cuisine. He is one of the most prominent chefs associated with the Nouvelle Cuisine, which is less opulent and calorific than the traditional cuisine classique associated with the Escoffier school of cooking, and stresses the importance of fresh ingredients of the highest quality. Paul Bocuse claims that Henri Gault first used the term Nouvelle Cuisine to describe food prepared by Bocuse and other top chefs for the maiden flight of the Concorde airliner in 1969.

 

Click here to see Bocuse’s restaurant website.

 

Deutsch: Restaurant Paul Bocuse in Collonges a...

 

 

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Simon Says: Daily Food Quote, October 12, 2011

Published by Wednesday, October 12, 2011 Permalink 0

by Simón de Swaan

Good food is in effect the basis for true happiness.–Auguste Escoffier, c. 1912

French chef, restaurateur and culinary writer August Escoffier (1846 – 1935) popularized and updated traditional French cooking methods. He is a legendary figure among chefs and gourmands, and was one of the most important leaders in the development of modern French cuisine.

Three of Escoffier’s most noted career achievements are revolutionizing and modernizing the menu, the art of cooking, and the organization of the professional kitchen. Escoffier simplified the menu as it had been, writing the dishes down in the order in which they would be served (service à la Russe), referred to Russian style service. He also developed the first à la carte menu. His books are still used by culinary students and chefs alike.

Marie-Antoine Carême
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Simon Says: Daily Food Quote, July 13, 2011

Published by Wednesday, July 13, 2011 Permalink 0

Grilling, broiling, barbecuing – whatever you want to call it – is an art, not just a matter of building a pyre and throwing on a piece of meat as a sacrifice to the gods of the stomach.–James Beard

James Beard, in Beard on Food, (1974). Beard was an American chef and food writer who authored 20 books and was instrumental in bringing French cooking to America in the 1950s. World Culinary Institute offers a brief biography. His legacy lives on with The James Beard Foundation.

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