FRENCH CUISINE
FRENCH CUISINE
France is situated between 43°N and 51°N latitudes
and between 5°W and 9°E longitude. The hexagon shaped mainland of France is
located in western Europe and is bordered by the English Channel on the north
west, Belgium and Luxembourg on the north east, Germany, Switzerland and Italy
to the east, the Mediterranean sea to the south east, Spain and Andorra on the
south west and the Bay of Biscay and the Atlantic ocean to the west. The
Pyrenees mountain range divides France from Spain.
France has an area of 547000 km², the terrain to the
north and west is flat with rolling hills, while the south and east are quite
rugged and mountainous. The climate is mild winters and summers in the west,
cool winters and hot summers inland, tough winters in the mountains and mild
winters and hot summers along the Mediterranean in the south. About 57% of the
land in France is dedicated to agriculture and the population of France is
approximately 61 million.
HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL BACKGROUND
Throughout its history France has been invaded by
explorers from many foreign countries. In certain areas of the country Celtic,
British, Basque, Spanish, Italians, Greek and Arab influences are evident. The
Celtic Gaul introduced farming to this area and also developed Charcuterie for
which France is famous even today. The Romans who took over introduced cheese making
and the Moors introduced goat rearing and spices. Arab influence is evident in
the use of almonds and rice. With the marriage of Catherine de Medici to Henry
II the foundations for modern French cuisine were established. Marie Antonio
Carême (1784-1833) the great Chef who organised and detailed dishes according
to courses laid the foundation for Grande Cuisine. It was further refined by Chef Georges-Aguste
Escoffier whose approach was based on simplicity and called it Cuisine
Classique. The next major shift in French cuisine was initiated by Chef Fernand
Point (1897-1955) who further simplified the menu and laid the ground work for
Nouvelle Cuisine.
France may be divided into four culinary regions—the
North West, North East, South West and South East. There are in all 22
provinces, each province has its own culinary specialities, impacted by
history, terrain and climate.
THE NORTH WEST REGION
The North West region includes the provinces of
Brittany, Basse-Normandy, haute Normandy, Pays de la Loire and the Loire
Valley. This area has a long coastline and maritime climate- cool summers, warm
winters and heavy rain. Proximity to the ocean results in a cuisine heavily
influenced by sea food. Clams, lobsters, Dungeness crabs, oysters, skate,
mackerel and Dover sole are all relished. Wild game including boar, rabbit,
duck and pheasant, along with domestic goat and lamb are all popular. Normandy
is renowned for cow‘s milk cheese
―Camembert‖ and superior butter which is utilized heavily in local cuisine.
Fruits and vegetable of this region include pears, plums, apples, potatoes,
artichokes, endive and pumpkins. Wheat is the preferred grain and walnuts the
favourite nut.
THE NORTH EAST REGION
The North East region of France includes Nord Pays de
Calais, Picardy, Champagne, Alsace, Lorraine and Franche-Comte. This region‘s
cuisine is influenced by its neighbouring nations – Germany, Switzerland and
Belgium. Thus foods traditionally associated with Germanic cuisine such as
sauerkraut and sausages are popular as are waffles and beets, items of Flemish
origin. Pork, wild game, foi gras, freshwater fish, escargots(snails) and frogs
are commonly utilised. The products of this region are wheat, barley, endive,
beets, potatoes, cabbage, wild mushrooms, truffles, plums, apples, cherries,
grapes, asparagus and cheese. Wheat is used to make spaetzle and egg noodles.
SOUTHEAST REGION
The southeast region of France consists of Burgundy,
Auvergne, Limousine, Rhône alps, Côte d‘ Azur and Corsica and is the home to
the city of Lyon the culinary capital of France. Beef, pork, lamb, duck and
rabbit are all common as are cheeses derived from cow‘s, sheep‘s and goat‘s
milk. Artichokes, eggplants, tomatoes, garlic, olives, herbs, apricots,
cherries, plums and figs flourish in the cool Mediterranean climate. Common
fish include anchovies, sardines, red mullets and monkfish. Specialities of
this region include Dijion mustard, Le Puv lentils, bouillabaisse, ratatouille
and tapenade.
SOUTHWEST REGION
The provinces of Midi-Pyrenees, Languedoc-Roussillon,
Aquitaine and Poitou-Charentes make up the southwest region of France. This
area borders Spain and is heavily influenced by Spanish cuisine and the Arab
moors conquerors from Africa. Seafood is popular including monkfish, eel, tuna,
oysters, cod and mussels. Poultry, walnuts, chestnuts, porcini and chanterelles
mushrooms are harvested. The Moors introduced exotic spices such as pepper,
cumin, anise, ginger, cinnamon and caraway. Specialities are fish soup with
peppers and onion and jambon de Bayonne. The staples are wheat, barley and corn
and like the Spanish use almond paste for thickening sauces.
Frozen Desserts
Definition:- They are cold
desserts made by freezing a flavoured mixture or a concoction made from
favoured full milk and cream.
History: - The Chinese knew
the art of making iced drinks and dessert long before the Christian era. This
art may have travelled Westward through the Greeks. Both the Greeks and Romans
were known to serve fruit salads and purees mixed with honey and snow. Macro
Polo the great traveller may have made it popular when he returned back from
China.
Catherina de Medic introduces cold desserts in the form of ice creams to
the French aristocracy when she married the future king HENRY-II. However the
credit for introducing the ice cream to the public goes to Francesco Procopio
which then became the rage.
Around 1775 ices became more delicate in flavour, richer and with more
body so that it could be moulded easily. By the end of the 18th
Century ice cream became a fashion.
TYPES & CLASSIFICATION
Cold dessert is made by
freezing a favoured mixture and they are of two types.
A. They may be made by freezing
the mixture without any agitation – STILL FROZEN
B.
They may be made by mechanically churning during the
freezing process which result in a smooth creamy texture FREEZE CHURENED ICES.
A - STILL FROZEN
v Mousses
v Soufflés
v Parfait
v Biscuit Glace or ice cream Cake
v Bombe glace
B - FREEZE CHURNED
v Ice creams
v
Fruit Ices
v
Sorbet
v
Granita
v
Marquises
v
Punch.
Mousse
A French term meaning foam is applied to dishes with
a foamy texture. They are usually cold, and often sweet but also savoury and
sometimes even hot. Some confections are naturally foamy; others may need
beaten egg white and/or whipped cream, and possibly gelatine to achieve the
desired texture.
Soufflé is used as a synonym with Mousse however
mousse is used for a wide range of dishes such as those incorporating savoury
items such as mousse de jambon or mousse de asparagus.
Soufflé
A French word which literally means ―puffed up‖
and is used as a culinary term in both English and French. It is a light,
frothy dish just stiff enough to hold its shape, and which may be savoury or
sweet, hot or cold. Cold soufflé is difficult to distinguish from a mousse and
is made in the same way.
The hot soufflé is started with a Roux blended with
egg yolks and savoury or sweet flavouring ingredients to which are added
stiffly beaten egg whites by folding it in. It is then baked in a high sided
dish to contain its puffing.
Parfait
An iced dessert very similar to Bombe, made from
fresh cream, which gives it smoothness and prevents it from melting easily and
can be cut into slices. It is made by beating 8 eggs yolks over a bain-marie
and then gradually adding boiling syrup (110°C) till it becomes light and
fluffy, whisk away from fire till cool, and add the chosen flavour, (Syrup is
made with 60 ml water +200gms. caster sugar) whip in 115 gm double cream and
freeze for 6 hours.
In N. America this term has come to mean a
combination of fruit and ice creams served in a tall glass which exposes the
layers.
Ice cream Cake/ Biscuits glace
An iced dessert made of alternate layers of different
flavoured ice creams & a bombe mixture- frozen brick shape. After removing
from the mould the ice cream is cut into even sizes/ slices and then arranged
in small paper cases and kept frozen till serving.
The same name is also used to describe a round/oblong
cake having a sponge cake or meringue base with ice-cream or sorbet or parfait
or bombe mixture on the top, decorated with whipped cream and crystallised
fruits in syrup.
Bombe
A frozen dessert made from a bombe mixture, enriched
with various ingredients and frozen in a mould. This dessert was named after
the spherical moulds with rounded tops which were used to make it.
Traditionally bombe moulds are filled with two
different mixtures. The bottom and sides of moulds are lined with ice cream or
fruit ice. They are then filled with a bombe mixture made with 32 egg. yolks
per litre of sugar syrup at specific gravity 1.285. The syrup is made with 700
ml of water and 700gms of sugar. Wisk egg yolks and syrup over a Bain Marie
till cool. Finally add an equal volume of whipped cream and the chosen
flavouring.
FREZE CHURENED
Ice cream
It was only in 1620 A. D. that it was discovered that
by mixing Saltpetre (Potassium nitrate) Sodium Nitrate and common salt it was
possible to liquefy ice and in so doing reduce the temperature below freezing
point. This endothermic effect of the mixture of ice and Salt which was packed
around a container of ice water allowing the water to freeze, and so was born
the potential for making frozen dessert.
During the 18th Century it was recognised
that a superior ice cream could be created if the mixture was churned till it
semi froze and then froze.
The word‘s first ice cream plant opened in America in
1851 founded by Jacob Fusseell.Kulfi an Indian Ice cream was cited in a 16th
Century document.
Definition
Ice creams are cold desserts made by freezing a
flavoured mixture. Freezing is carried out commercially in an ice cream maker
or churn freezer so that electrically driven blades stir the mixture throughout
the operation to incorporate air and make it smooth. They may then be moulded
and frozen.
Method of Preparation
Beat 7 egg yolks with 150 gm sugar till thick and
creamy. Heat cream to boiling point add to above gradually and cook over double
boiler till it coats the back of a wooden spoon, cool immediately and then
freeze in ice cream maker.
Fruit Ices and water Ices
The most important factor in making these desserts is
the density of sugar syrup+ flavoruing + Lemon juice which must be appropriate
for it to freeze to a slushy density- 1.425 to 1.2407 sp gravity.
In case of fruit ices the puree of the fruit used
should be equal to sugar syrup of the above mentioned sp. gr.
Sorbet
or Shorbet
Definition: - A type of water ice that is more granular than ice cream as it does
not contain any fat or egg yolks. The basic mixture for all sorbet is a
combination of sugar syrup and fruit or fruit juices and other flavouring. It
is the lower fat content and higher acidity content (0.35%) that distinguishes
sorbet from ice cream.
Historically sorbets were the first iced desert. The
Chinese are the first to be credited for making sorbets. The word sorbet is
derived from Arabic- Turkish ―chorbet‖
to Latin ―Sorbetto‖. There are several variations of the
sorbet representing differences in smoothness, flavour, density and degree of
hardness due to comparative degree of sugar concentrations.
Marquise
Any of various delicate deserts eg chocolate marquise
is a dessert half way between a mouse and a parfait. It is based on butter,
eggs. sugar and flavouring and served with custard creams or Chantilly cream.
Punch
A Cold Punch is an iced drink, which can be made with
tea, sugar, spices, fruits or fruits or fruit juices, rum or brandy. The word
originally described a British colonial drink derived from the Hindi word
‗Panch‘ which means five, for five ingredients i.e. tea, lemon, sugar, cinnamon
and rum which were used, a forerunner of the
cocktail.
GRANITA
It is a type of an Italian sorbet, popularized by
Tortoni in Paris in the 19th Century. It is a half frozen
preparation with a granular texture (hence its name) made of lightly sweetened
syrup and a flavouring strawberry or pineapple or coffer or Kirsch. Granita
does not contain any Italian meringue.
ADDITIVES
Only permitted additives must be used and this may
differ from Country to country depending upon their local laws. However, the
standard adopted by the European Union, is followed quite universally.
Special alphabetic codes are used
which describes a particular group of items e.g. E for
colour.
Some of the additives used for
frozen desserts are:-
v Colouring
agents E signifying nature identical exact synthetic copies of natural
substances a) Natural caramel. b) Cochineal c) Chlorophyll e) Yellow lacto
flavones; f) Xanthophylls
v
Anti oxidants – Which prevents fats and
Oils from going rancid
a)
Tocopherols
b)
b) Sulphurous anhydride
c)
c) lactic acid
Antioxidants
and general stabilizers
a)
B.H.A Butylatedhydroxyanisole
b)
Citric Acid
c)
Lecithns
v Emulsifiers – e.g. a) Gum Arabic, b) Pectin, c)
Polyglycerol esters of polycondensed fatty acids
v Improvers such as coal Tar dyes.
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