Blog readers sometimes send us links to articles about France that they have read in other publications. There’s a French news source, Courrier International, that in a sense does the same thing for us with their section, “France seen from abroad”, that referenced an article in the British newspaper, The Telegraph. Journalist Anthony Peregrine has been based in this country for over 20 years so he has an amazing collection of articles with descriptive headline words such as “loveliest, greatest, most elegant, and popular”. When I saw a mention of “11 reasons why French cuisine is still the best in the world”, I definitely wanted to read about that.

According to Mr. Peregrine, France excels in its cuisine because of its use of some basic elements that he calls “building blocks”. His first example did not surprise me:

• Bread—The French eat more than 30 million baguettes every day, typically bought from one of the 39,000 bakeries located here. Within a 10-minute walk from our house we can pass 4 bakeries not counting the bread oven in our neighborhood grocery store.
• Truffles—Too strongly flavored for us but wildly popular here, even though they can sell for 1,000€ per kilogram. However, I’ll take a chocolate truffle (as simple as chocolate, sugar, butter) that national chain Jeff de Bruges sells for 75€ per kilogram.
• Oysters—Not a favorite at our house but obligatory at family celebrations, especially for Christmas and New Years. French philosophers including Voltaire ate them for inspiration while it’s said that they gave Napoleon stamina before a battle.
• Cheese—The saying goes that there’s a French cheese for every day of the year but even on Mars with a 687-day year you’d have cheese left over. We’d heard that you should only serve cheese as its own course, just before dessert, but we’ve been to plenty of parties where it’s out on the table with all the other snacks before dinner.
• Choucroute—This translates to “sauerkraut” yet if you order it in a restaurant you will get a heaping pile of fermented cabbage accompanied by a variety of sausages, other types of pork, and perhaps even some potatoes if you’re really hungry. 
• Charolais beef—With its own AOP designation, like Champagne for example, to ensure that you are getting meat from Charolais cattle raised in a specific region of France and processed according to established standards.
• Mushrooms—In the US we bought them as “button mushrooms” (Agaricus bisporus) but here they are called “mushrooms of Paris” as a nod to their origin in the catacombs of the capital city although they are now cultivated all over the country.
• Foie gras—Much like oysters, we see this on special occasions including birthdays and holiday parties. The practice originated with the Egyptians 4500 years ago and was then brought to France by the invading Romans around 150 BC.
• Charcuterie—”Cold cuts” you might say that seems to be on the starter menu for every restaurant we’ve even been to. In 15th century France, shop owners who specialized in preparing and marketing pork products were prohibited from selling raw food so they focused on cooked and cured meats that needed no refrigeration.
• Pastry—Croissants, pain au chocolat/chocolatines, and other baked delights known as viennoiseries fill the shelves of bakeries side-by-side with crusty baguettes. Professionals mark their shops as “artisan” to emphasize that their breads are prepared and baked on-the-spot.
• Wine—You were expecting this last one, I’m sure. We enjoy wine and know all of those terms like nose, palate, body, and finish but the most important to us is taste. Does that wine taste good? Buy it!

When talking about the proliferation of American-based fast food chains, Mr. Peregrine concluded with, “…but they don’t threaten French cuisine any more than Disneyland threatens French culture. They merely expand the choice, which is already the widest in the world.” Even at Disneyland Paris, amidst the burgers and fries, you’ll find crêperies serving traditional Breton galettes, bistros offering classic French dishes, and patisseries overflowing with éclairs and macarons. Bon appétit!