French cuisine is the godfather of what the West considers gourmet cuisine. The key flavors in French cooking are created using butter, heavy cream, animal fat and a wide array of fresh and dried herbs. Meat is usually the center of a meal and is prepared with seemingly complex combinations of herbs and basic stocks.
Butter
Butter is the backbone ingredient in nearly every French recipe. High quality butter, unpasteurized and straight from the farm, is generally used in France. Butter is the base of most sauces including hollandaise and beurre blanc, as well as in most meat and vegetable dishes. Butter is used for its flavor, for the sweet richness it adds to the food.
Wine
Wine is a prominent feature in meat dishes, sauces and desserts. Red wine is often used to deglaze a pan when making soups, stews and sauces, and is used as the actual liquid base of many stews such as boeuf Bourguignon. Red wine is a key ingredient to many fruit sauces that adorn both dessert and meat dishes (such as lamb and pork). White wine is usually used in steaming clams and other seafood as well as in the vast majority of risottos. Though the alcohol is cooked away, the distinct fruity flavors are left behind.
Herbs
French cuisine relies heavily on a variety of herbs, the inclusion of which depends on the region. The classic, or rather basic combination of spices in French dishes is the bouquet garni: a small cheesecloth-wrapped bundle of herbs including thyme, parsley and bay leaves. Southern French cooking, known as Provencal, relies heavily on a combination of Mediterranean-style herbs known as herbes de Provence, which include marjoram, savory, basil, sage, rosemary, fennel seeds and thyme.
Onion and Garlic
Though onion and garlic are present in many cuisines around the world, they are a key flavor present in most savory French dishes. A well-stocked French pantry always has onions and garlic on hand to be sauteed and added to meat and vegetable dishes, rice, pasta, soups and stews. When sauteed, the sugars in the onion caramelize, creating a distinct flavor that is then incorporated into many dishes. Onion is also one of the three ingredients of mirepoix (along with carrot and celery), which is the base for most soups.
Cream
Along with butter, cream plays a leading role in creating classic French sauces. French cuisine is heavy on sauces; oftentimes the sauce acts as important a part of the meal as the main dish itself. Cream sauces are rich and are usually poured over meat and vegetables. B arnaise, mousseline and creme Anglaise are classic French sauces that incorporate cream.
Fat
Lard is often a key ingredient in flavoring sauces, stews and even roasting vegetables in. Duck fat is among the most prized for its rich flavor and is used for anything from frying potatoes to simmering a pot of meat and is a key ingredient in cassoulet (rich white bean stew). Lardons, small chunks of pork fat or bacon, are also a prominent ingredient in flavoring French foods and is used in salad dressing and virtually any recipe that calls for fat or oil including soups, stews, salads, quiche and pat s.
Stock
Stock is the base of many dishes made in a French kitchen. It is basic, yet of the utmost importance to the flavor of French cooking, and is therefore the first lesson learned by French chefs. There are many varieties of stock, including chicken stock, beef stock, fish stock and vegetable stock.
Tags: French cooking, French cuisine, soups stews, base many, base most
