French Cuisine

French Cuisine

The French cuisine has been quite the experience, from pastries, to baguettes, to crépes, Paris is not short from having great food! A couple of traditional foods we have tasted have been Croque-monsieur, a grilled ham and cheese sandwich with an egg on top, Boeuf Bourguignon, a beef stew cooked in red wine, Raclette, a popular method of fondue, and of course Escargots, snails soaked in garlic sauce. I have personally tried all of these, and although they seem very different I have really enjoyed all of them a lot! I was pleasantly surprised that I liked all of the food options and actually preferred most of them compared to American food.

A couple of my favorites has been savoir crépes, crépes with ham, cheese, bacon or egg in it, as well as Raclette. Raclette is another way to have fondue, mixing vegetables, meat, and cheese altogether. There is usually a meat tray with all different kinds of meat to choose from, a cheese tray with different kinds of cheeses and several vegetables to add. It normally serves it with potatoes, and everything goes on top. Once a cheese is selected it goes underneath a little heater while the other food, like the meats and vegetables, cooks on top. It is very good and you can eat a lot of it without knowing. I have had this twice since I have been here and it is safe to say this is my favorite and I will miss it!

Most meals consist of an appetizer, a three-course meal, a cheese platter, coffee or tea and then dessert. French dinners take around 4-6 hours due to the extensive meal. I enjoy these dinner and like all of the food that is served, I do, however, have a hard time with the cheese portion of the meal. I am not a big fan of cheese or dairy and having a lot of different, very strong cheeses to try can be a struggle for me. However, the French are always understanding and supportive, they do make you try it though.

One thing that I have noticed since living in Paris, is the quality of their food. Their food is very fresh and due to its freshness, it can go bad quickly. We learned this after a couple of weeks of our food going bad after 2 days. We had to readjust our American living style of going to the store twice a week to going to the store four times a week and only buying things for the next day. I have also noticed that the French enjoy their carbs and are not very big on fresh greens like lettuce or vegetables. I am still in shock at how the French people stay so thin with all the carbs that they consume, I’m still confused by it!

Lastly, the dessert here is AMAZING! I have loved all the dessert! From cake to pies, to chocolate croissant to macrons, we have been truly spolied by all the wonderful desserts. That is one thing I will miss most about Paris, the yummy treats!