Food In Paris

Food

It was a lazy day this afternoon. After going to the markets while waiting for the laundry to be done, I had a little time to write about one of my favorite subjects: food. There were quite a few things that had been stirring in my mind about this, so I figured I would type them out, and what came from it was a long-winded post with lots of different topics. So I'll lay them out and you can pick and choose if you don't want to read it all.

1. Learning food in France
2. Quality over Quantity
3. Small stands in Paris/ Crepes
4. Staples of French cuisine
5. Fruits and Veggies and Produce
6. The Markets
7. Cafe (the little I know about it)
8. Dessert of the Gods

(1.)

Food is France. These people define themselves with their cuisine. From their youth, the French are taught the fine points of culinary prowess. This is remarkably different from Americans, especially the male gender, who may or may not learn culinary abilities from their parents at an early age. Just the other day at the small get-together that we had at our apartment, I attempted to refrigerate red wine, and was stopped by one of our French friends. He was flabbergasted that I almost refrigerated a red wine. Never, he said to me. White wine, yes, but never a red wine. Funny, I never learned that from anyone in my 23 years of existence, even after a little bit of culinary education from the Food network.

(2.)

Food is a necessity here. Walking down any major boulevard, one will see at every corner a café or a bistro, and sometimes every other establishment will be a restaurant. And the menu options are remarkably different than that of American food. American cuisine has a tendency to be based on efficiency rather than taste. The reason that the French have such small portions is not because there is a lack of food in the country, that’s exactly the opposite. The reason is that the taste is so much more important than the quantity. The obesity level is much less over here because the portions are small and people are able to control their dietary intakes. At McDonald’s or Wendy’s at home, you can get five chicken sandwiches for 5 dollars. Here, you can’t even get a BigMac for 5 dollars. The French don’t marvel at how much food they can get for a few Euros, they marvel at the quality of the cuisine that each restaurant offers. It’s like a ‘food journey’ where people are searching for their own personal taste and favorite dish, and the hundreds, maybe thousands, of restaurants that are found in the Paris area are guides to this journey.

(3.)

What might be even more fascinating in terms of differences of French and American food are the small stands that are all over the streets here. American food stands that are quick and cheap serve hot dogs, hamburgers, French fries, etc. French food stands that are quick and relatively inexpensive compared to their sit down competition sell crêpes, paninis, sandwiches on baguettes, and sugary delights like Nutella, which like a balanced mix between peanut butter and chocolate. Crêpes are not prepared ahead of time. Instead, they are made right in front of you on a hot plate, as opposed to a hot dog which is prepared and then just kept warm. And what’s great about crêpes is that they can be prepared with anything inside. My favorites are the simplest ones, a crêpe with just cheese or ham or egg. They’re so simple but surprisingly inexpensive and filling.

(4.)

To me there are three stapes of French cuisine: bread, wine, and cheese. I believe that the French could survive on these three things, but still manage to make wonderful combinations out of them that Americans would marvel at. Of course, they don’t need to because of the abundance of fruits and vegetables that are available to them. A baguette is a long loaf of bread that is essential in la vie quotidienne, and I will often see people walking down the streets just holding and munching on a baguette for a snack. I don’t think I would ever see people munching on just bread at home, but that’s because the quality of bread is far superior here. After a while, I got used to the taste of their bread, but I remember the first bite than I took of a French baguette was an enlightening experience. Something so simple as bread could be made better? Thus, it has become a staple of our diet here in the apartment as well. The wine is also abundant in this country and sometimes cheaper than water; this is true. Each of the small stores has a huge wine selection, and the big stores have massive wine collections. And, as I discovered today, there’s a huge difference between the cheese bought in the supermarkets and the cheese bought from actual fromageries, or cheese shops. The French know the difference between a good cheese and a mediocre cheese, and I am still refining my taste to differentiate between the two. But what I have discovered so far is that the cheap cheese is mild. There’s a taste but it’s not strong. The more expensive cheese, the cheese of better quality, has a strong taste; a taste that Americans might consider overwhelming, but a taste that the French would consider ‘superbe’.

(5.)

What someone who comes to France/Paris for the first time will also notice is the loads of fruits and vegetables that are displayed in the streets, small markets, and big markets. Where do they get all of these fruits and vegetables? It is true that there are many fields in the north of France that grow fruits and vegetables and I’m sure the same is true for the south. But in America you would only see such a selection and variety in a supermarket, where as in Paris, each little shop has a great variety of fruits and vegetables. There’s literally a dozen on each boulevard and grand rue in Paris. It’s fun to compare prices between all of the shops and finding the best price for each vegetable that you like the most. For example, I found a small fruits and veggies shop just a block away from the apartment and I was able to get a pound (half a kilo) of white mushrooms for 1.80 euros. That amounted to 27 mushrooms, which would probably cost the equivalent of 5 dollars in America. Maybe more because the mushrooms in America are packaged, but here they are set out just like any other vegetable produce.

(6.)

We’ve only just begun to discover the markets here in Paris, and my initial impression is that they might be a little overpriced, but of a slightly better quality than the small shops found on the streets. I will probably have to ask a French person who is knowledgeable about cuisine if there is a major difference in quality between the markets and the small shops. The markets don’t just have fruit and vegetable produce either; they have almost every food or the ingredient for every food known to man. There are fish stands, meat stands, and bread stands. Maybe the only thing that I haven’t seen at a market yet is a lobster. I’ve seen lots of crabs though, and again I wonder where these people get their goods. It seems so fresh and a great starting point to start a notorious restaurant. There are other stands too at markets, like ones that sells soap, scarves, clothes, and other homemade goods.

(7.)

Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to explore French café (coffee) yet. But what I do know is that it is another essential here. Every once in a while when you stop at a rest stop on the highway in America or maybe one in ten places where there are vending machines, you will see a coffee/cappuccino maker. But in France, except in metros, wherever there is a vending machine for a bottled drink, there is a machine for coffee and cappuccino. And the machines that I have used so far sell a small drink of coffee for 50 centîmes or less, which is cheap though you don’t get as much. But it’s still a nice little shot of energy for a class or before a busy day at work. There’s a ton of different types of coffee here which I’ve yet to explore. It’s different than America where you just order a cup of coffee and it’s just the stuff they brew in the pot. There’s café au long, café au court, café crème, café au lait, cappuccino, and even chocolat chaud (hot chocolate). I’m sure the French know the difference between all the different coffees, but I’ve yet to discover the secret. What is also common here though in the coffee machines is lemon tea (thé citron). I don’t think they’ve ever heard of sweet tea here. Though it’s one of my favorites, I do not believe that I will find it anywhere in Paris.

(8.)

The final thing that I need to share (unless of course I think of more differences) is the magnificence of crème broulet. I’m sure the French are used to it and the taste of it, but I have never tasted anything like it in my life. It’s so rich, but served in a manageable portion perfect for sharing with a friend or a date. Again, with this food the taste is what matters, not the size. It’s a desert that I could savor for an hour, just sitting in a café, taking a bite every 5 minutes. If I absolutely had to compare it to an American food, I would tell you to think of the best pudding that you’ve ever had. Multiply that great taste by five, and then add the taste of roasted marshmallows to the top of it. That might get you close, but to truly know you must try it.

I believe that is all about food I have to write about now, just a few differences of course. But there are many more that I will discover throughout my own ‘food journey’ here in France, and each time I find a ‘guide’ that points me in the right direction, I will note it.