This is a spin off on the Facebook notes people have been writing lately. Hopefully you will enjoy this and learn something new.
1. Traditional French culture places a high priority on the enjoyment of food. The French view eating as not just a neutral act, but as a culture.
2. France has a different cheese for almost everyday of the year.
3. In France, people eat approximately 500,000,000 snails per year.
4. Ten billion baguettes are produced each year in France. By law, a traditional baguette can only have three ingredients: flour, yeast and salt, and must weigh 250 grams, just short of 9 ounces.
5. To help with the rising obesity in France, Starbucks has opened 46 stores in Paris and Lyon.
6. Many people in France drink their hot beverages from bowls and dip bread in it.
7. The legal drinking age is officially 18 for strong liquors (21% vol. alcohol), and 16 for most alcohol drinks, like beer and wine.
8. While French cuisine is often associated with rich desserts, in most homes dessert consists of only a fruit or yogurt.
9.
France is the world’s second largest exporter of agricultural products — and Europe’s largest.
10. France, is the world's second-largest consumer of pesticides after the US — and the world's first-largest consumer of fungicides. The widespread use of chemicals is one reason people in France are turning to 'bio', or organic, products. In fact, almost 30 percent of French are now 'bio' buyers.
11. Even though one in five French say they have stopped eating beef, most of them do not like tofu. They have obviously never tried the tofu dishes at The Bamboo House in Tallahassee!
12. The French enjoy eating horse and rabbit. It is normal to see these items on a restaurant menu.
13. Almost all grocery stores close at 8pm and are closed on Sundays. There are exceptions in big cities.
14. Wine is considered an important part of the French meal. "Wine ...the intellectual part of the meal." - Alexandre Dumas, 1873, a famous French writer
15. It is almost impossible to find true Mexican food in France. I say "almost" because I am hoping someone can prove me wrong.
16. In times of celebration, the French always drink Champagne. The first written reference to Champagne was English, not French! In 1676, Etherege wrote in praise of "sparkling Champagne" which "Quickly recovers, Poor laughing lovers, Makes us frolic and gay, and drowns all our sorrows."
17. At a French McDonalds, you can order a beer and a Croque McDo. Prices on most items are twice as expensive as the USA, most likely because 90% of all agricultural products used at French McDonalds are produced by local farmers.
18. Cuisine TV, which is the French Food Network, is way boring. The recipes are interesting, but if you are not passionate about cooking, you won't want to watch.
19. A traditional French Christmas menu consists of: raw oysters, escargots, fois gras, smoked salmon, scallops and Champagne.
20. "Goûter" or "quatre-heure"- afternoon snack mostly for French children; ex. crepes, croissants, brioche, cookies, hot chocolate
21.It is common in much of France to take a two hour lunch break. Therefore, most shops close at 12pm and reopen at 2pm or sometimes even 3pm.
22.
The cuisine from each different region in France differs greatly. The Provence region uses olive oils, tomatoes and herbs in many dishes. In Normandy, the food is influenced by butter, crème fraiche and apples. The Alps region is known for its cheese dishes, including fondue and raclette, while the Alsace region has a strong German influence which includes beer and sauerkraut.
23."Grand Cru" is French for "great growth" and designates the best. In Burgundy it refers to the best vineyards which usually have multiple owners. In Bordeaux its meaning varies by the specific region, but it always refers to properties with a single owner.
24.
AOC, Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée, is a system of labelling products- wine, cheese, chickens, olive oils, potatoes and even lentils- serves as a guarantee of the origin of a product and its quality.
25. Côte-Rôtie is a French wine AOC (see above) in the northern Rhône region of France. The earliest record of wine making in the region dates to the 2nd century BC when the Romans settled in the regions around Vienne. The vineyards surround the tiny villages of Ampuis and Chavanay. The vineyards are unique because of their vertical slopes and stone walls. Côte-Rôtie meaning "the roasted side", refers to the long hours of sunlight that these steep slopes receive. The wines are red, made with Syrah grapes and up to 20% Viognier.
1. Choose the perfect bottle of wine from your cave. A red wine with low alcohol in case you are planning to continue working after lunch.
2. Stop by a boulangerie for sweet and savory goodies to enjoy with your wine.
3. Screw a large screw into the cork using a screwdriver.
4. Pull out the cork using a pair of pliers and some muscle.
5. Et voila! You are now ready to serve your wine.
6. Cut a plastic water bottle in half using a straight edge razor. Serve, cheers and enjoy!
Have you ever heard of Expatica.com? It is a web source of news and information for expats around the world. The editor of Expatica contacted me in request of using some of my blog posts on her website. In addition, I was featured in an interview about my new life in France on the Expat Voices section. If your interested in reading it...Expat Voices
After my last trip to the supermarché, grocery store, I decided that I need to be blogging about what I have been seeing! My love for French food was one of the reasons for moving here and even after 3 years of life in France, I still feel like a kid in a candy shop when I go grocery shopping. Almost every supermarché has an entire aisle dedicated to yogurt and another to only chocolate bars. Not those milk chocolate Hershey bars, but extra dark chocolate with hazelnuts and orange peel. And do I need to mention the assortment of cheeses and breads they have? Yum!
Christophe: wine expert, chauffeur
It's the first official Valentine's Day that my Papa will be retired from his career as a chef patissier-chocolatier. Even though he has been keeping himself busy by cutting down a 30 foot fig tree in my parents courtyard, I can tell he is missing making chocolates...a little. Tonight as Mama is preparing dinner and I am picking my brain about what to blog about, I realized my answer was right in front of me wearing a wool beenie, red vest and glasses. My Papa!
For years, people have asked him for recipes or if they could apprentice under him, but he "never had the time". I asked him if he could give me a simple chocolate recipe I could translate and put on my blog, but when he pulled out his recipe book, my post subject took a turn from the recipe to the recipe book. His recipe book, now bound together with tape, dates back to his apprenticeship in France from 1962-1965. The recipes are written in French, using grams and include no directions, which is why it is practically impossible for him to give out a recipe, not to mention that most of his directions are "stir until it feels right" or "heat until the right temperature". 
His recipe book includes sections on Petits Gâteaux, Chocolats, Petits Fours, Entremets, Pâtes and the letters of the old English script used to write on cakes. It has travelled with him from France to Switzerland to London to America and finally back to France. It has opened two restaurants, a pastry shop and a chocolate shop, always assuring the best quality. This precious recipe book of Papa's is more than a book, it's a bible, a history and a friend.
." But she said, "You know, La Chandeleur, fête des crêpes. You were suppose to eat crêpes yesterday." Noooo! How did I not know about this food holiday in France? Since I consider it unfair that my FRENCH husband did not tell me about this national event, I am allowing myself until the end of the week to celebrate. Should I make crêpes poulet, crêpes with ham and eggs or crêpes spread with Nutella? Maybe I'll make all three...
Flax seed baguettes, walnut loaves and almond croissants are a few of the delicious items you can purchase at Chez Paul Boulangerie, a chain bakery in France. Chez Paul Boulangerie is like a French Starbucks, in the sense that they are all over the place, but the baked goods and coffee could not compete for a second. I love their tomato-mozzarella sandwiches on olive bread and chocolate chip brioche. Today when I stopped by for an afternoon snack, I saw these fantastic Christmas tree shaped brioche covered in dark chocolate and sprinkled with sugar. Happy Holidays!
Have you ever been to a book fair or bead show? Imagine that, but with only wine. A Marché aux Vins usually exposes wines from a particular wine region, most likely wherever it is being held. Marchés aux Vins are almost always held in the fall after the harvesting of the grapes and barrelling of the wine. The Marché aux Vins in Chavanay, which only exposes wines from the Northern Rhône wine region, started in 1924 and is still held every year during the second weekend of December.
Before entering into the large gymnasium where the Marché aux Vins is held in Chavanay (Loire 42), we strolled by stands of saucisson, cheeses, olives and tapenade. Some stands were selling sandwiches of sliced jambon cru and pain de campagne or fromage de chevre on baguette. Our taste buds were already watering by the time we got to the entrance. At the entrance, we paid 7€ in exchange for a wine glass each. Looking around the room wondering where to begin, Christophe pulled out a piece of paper where he had noted 7 or 8 vignerons that we should taste. We started our way around the gymnasium tasting and spitting (unless the wine was too delicious to spit), noting which wines we would like to purchase. Each vigneron had about 6-8 wines to taste, including St Josephs, Côte Rotie and Condrieu. After 3 hours of swishing voluptuous wines around in our mouths, we purchased several cases for Christmas gifts and personal consumption. A true French experience for anyone to try!
No, this is not the King and Queen of France. I introduce to you, Jacques and Bernadette Bleuze, Christophe's grandparents whom with we just celebrated their 60 year wedding anniversary. This was not JUST a celebration, but an entire weekend of food, family and activities.
Every time we are invited for lunch with our friends, I feel like I am on a Food Network show. The setting, the people and of course, the food! No, we do not have any cameras filming us, besides my little Canon that I keep with me at all times, but we could definitely be filmed for a show I would name, "C'est la vie...in France". Enough about my crazy ideas and on to more important, the way the French lunch.
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