Musketeer at the Stove: Alexandre Dumas – Gourmet Writer
And it is known that Dumas was not only a writer and participant in political events, but also, which is also important, a great gourmet and a wonderful cook. He left behind hundreds of literary works, but considered the “Great Culinary Dictionary” to be the pinnacle of his creativity. This book was published only in 1873, after the death of the writer, who died on December 5, 1870. Almost everything related to food is mentioned in it: from bamboo oil to dolphins, and even elephants (indeed, Dumas cited a recipe for cooking elephant meat in the dictionary). In Dumas's culinary creation, historical anecdotes from the lives of crowned heads are intertwined with recipes and the writer's theoretical discussions on the topics of appetite and hunger.
« N“There is nothing more exciting than studying the many cookbooks and strange fantasies of famous chefs who come to mind basting, grilling or spitting our famous people,” Dumas joked about the custom of naming dishes after various historical figures. However, the recipe for salad a la Dumas remains in the history of world culinary art. The writer was very proud of his salad, which he invented himself - in addition to a special sauce, it included beets, celery, truffles, Rapunzel lettuce and boiled potatoes.
O din for all, all for one. Who said this? Of course, Alexandre Dumas. And this? “Wine is the intellectual part of food.” Yes, it was Alexander Dumas, whose novels our parents and grandfathers read in childhood, who was also a real gourmet and connoisseur of cuisine. His life, which can be called epic, contained a lot. Dumas, in whose veins flowed the blood of a black slave and a Creole marquis, already in childhood knew the taste of poverty and humiliation and did not forget about it even when he achieved fame and wealth. He repeatedly became bankrupt, the reason for which was not only a riotous lifestyle and women, but also broad ideological gestures - to help Garibaldi, Dumas sold off his fortune. He traveled a lot - in France, Italy, Spain, Russia, Holland, England, Hungary, Greece and northern Africa. Most often - from the love of wandering, sometimes - hiding from creditors or as a political emigrant. Politics drove him to white heat, and even more so to women. Dumas was married, and - if the biographers are not mistaken in their calculations - had forty mistresses and several illegitimate children. His troubled, colorful life was in itself a kind of adventure novel. What else? Complementing the image, let us recall the fact that our adventurer lived... in a castle.
IN
60s of the 19th century Alexandre Dumas begins work on a culinary dictionary. It will be published by the Parisian publisher Alphonse Lemerre, known for publishing the works of Théophile Gautier and Charles Baudelaire. Lecomte de Lille and Anatole France will do the literary editing, and Joseph Villemot, a student of the great Careme, will become the culinary consultant-editor. The same one who, during the famous dinner in honor of Dumas’s return from Russia, prepared lobster a la Porthos, crayfish a la D’Artagnan, Musketeer appetizer and salad a la Dumas. But where did Dumas' interest in the culinary universe come from?
P The first source and reason is home. Marie-Louise Labouré, Dumas' mother, was an excellent cook, and his grandfather ran a tavern. Alexandre Dumas combined his passion for good food with his culinary flair. He was not only a frequent guest of Parisian restaurants, but also a hospitable host, receiving guests in his own home at luxurious dinners and lunches. And he often cooked for them himself. “He put on an apron, went to the chicken coop, where he killed a couple of chickens; then he went to the garden and picked vegetables; lit a fire, took out butter, flour, picked parsley, arranged the pots, poured salt, shook, tasted and sent it all into the oven” - this is how Dumas prepared dinner for a friend who visited him. The author of this testimony, writer, journalist and humorist Charles Monselet, left another famous saying: “Alexandre Dumas divides his time between literature and the kitchen: if he is not writing another novel, he is frying onions in his kitchen.”
IN Dumas was not alone in his culinary passion. The 19th century in France is the time of the birth of gastronomy. The first restaurants and bistros open on the ruins of the revolution. Coming from a poor, large family, Marie-Antoine Carême makes a brilliant career as a chef and lays the theoretical foundations of French haute cuisine. Brillat-Savarin writes the now famous Physiology of Taste. Rumors spread throughout Paris about the eccentric feasts of another great gourmet, Grimaud de La Reniere, who laid the foundation for the development of culinary criticism with the publication of the Gourmet Almanac, the prototype of later gastronomic guides. Other publicists and journalists turn to culinary topics - the same Charles Monselet and Baron Brisset. Their friend Joseph Favre publishes the first magazine, Culinary Science. Dumas could not be outside this turbulent current - he was a true son of his era.
« I I would like this book to be read by everyone, and used in practice by masters of this art,- Dumas explains his intentions in the introduction to the dictionary. – My book will not amaze practitioners, but who knows, maybe it will deserve the attention of respected people...” Dumas, a wonderful storyteller, accustomed to awakening the imagination of readers, remained so in a work that has little in common with a cloak and a sword. He writes about cooking and gastronomy with a twist, with anecdotes, jokes, reminisces, impresses with erudition and surprises with associations. Speaking of the lobster, the author quotes the poems of Byron and makes Diogenes a commentator. He quotes classics and contemporaries: Romeo and Juliet, Musset, Walter Scott, Fenimore Cooper, Captain Cook and a certain Parisian doctor, to whom he is grateful for the news that oysters are the only food that does not cause stomach upset.
N This “gastronomic novel”, stimulating the appetite and imagination, is first and foremost a dictionary. On 1200 pages, from A to Z, dictionary entries are placed in alphabetical order, in which the author describes individual ingredients and entire dishes, drinks and sauces, types of meat and methods of preparing it, fruits, vegetables and spices, utensils needed in the kitchen, professions related to cuisine and catering, biographies and achievements of great chefs, abstract concepts such as appetite, or concrete ones such as teeth. We will learn, among other things, what to do in case of burns, how important the pan is (What would culinary art be without the pan, the chef's favorite weapon and mascot?), what ceremonies for admission to the bakers' guild look like and what unusual uses the ancient Romans found for celery.
WITH The dictionary contains three thousand recipes. If you believe the author, everything has been checked by him. But it doesn't include any technical instructions, such as cooking times or quantities of individual ingredients. But the writer can be forgiven for this - already in the introduction Dumas said that practical benefit is not his goal. We are dealing, rather, with an extensive encyclopedia, in which, next to dictionary entries, one can find reprints of fragments of other people’s works, an essay “A few words to the reader” (but this “few” takes up... thirty pages), a letter to a friend, a menu of famous Parisian restaurants, as well as a monographic text on mustard.
« B "Large Culinary Dictionary" probably would not have appeared if not for the numerous long trips and the Creole roots of the writer. Thanks to them, the dictionary has an international rather than purely French character (recipes for English steak, Neapolitan pasta, and Swiss trout coexist with French dishes). In addition, the author shows interest in oriental dishes and culinary exotica. Hence such dictionary entries as aloe, agave, jasmine, curry, turmeric, pilaf, vanilla. Dumas willingly draws on his own experience, more or less eccentric. The mention of witnessing caviar production in the Caspian Sea may not be surprising, but tasting dolphin liver is. And this is just the beginning. Pelican, panther, cephalopods, ostriches, kangaroos, turtles - Dumas writes about them willingly, although the news is probably second-hand. Regarding French profiteroles, the author winces: “You can get them in every sweet shop in a big city. We don't think there's a need to write about them." But this recipe deserves the writer’s attention: "Soak 15 young shark stomachs for 24 hours and then blanch..."... or: "Take one or more bear paws...".
D Yuma liked to say: “For a dinner to be successful, there must be two of us - me and my excellent cook.” Or maybe this is also the secret to the success of the cookbook? The sick Dumas finished work on the dictionary in Brittany, and the person who accompanied him was... the cook Marie.
Dmitry Volsky,
September 2015
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How are dishes with a Name born? Culinary masterpieces that the chef has been conjuring over may have been his whole life, or they were successful by inspiration or by chance. Dishes named after their author or famous person who was the first to taste and appreciate their taste. Dishes whose names speak for themselves have become household names in world cuisine. Named after the queen dessert pie with apples, salad named after the Great Mademoiselle, imperial cake, pizza and cocktail with the same female name, dessert named after the great Russian ballerina - do you recognize them? All of them at one time were masterfully prepared from carefully selected or available ingredients, but flavored with the same seasoning - the Talent of their creator.
Beuf a la Count Stroganov
The popular dish beef stroganoff literally translates as beef Stroganoff. There are several versions of the dish. According to one of them, it was named in honor of Count P. A. Stroganov (1772–1817). The author of the dish was the count's chef, who did not disgrace his master - his dish penetrated into world cuisine through diplomatic means. having won the hearts of gourmets of the early 19th century and forever settled in the cookbooks of the present century. According to another version, the dish was invented by the French chef Andre Dupont, who served another count, Alexander Grigorievich Stroganov (1795-1891), and prepared it for an elderly owner who had lost his teeth in old age. According to the third, beef stroganoff was served to the table of the same count in Odessa, where he arranged “open tables” for his guests.
Hemingway drinks and Edd Victor cocktail
Ernest Hemingway knew a lot about strong drinks, the proportions of their mixing and their flavor combinations different varieties. He is the author of several signature cocktails: Hemingway Champagne (Death at Noon), Death in the Gulf Stream, Hemingway Daiquiri and Hemingway's Hammer. The first is a clever mixture of cold champagne and absinthe, the second is a mixture of gin and lime juice, and the third is made from grapefruit juice and liqueur.
The original liqueur named after its author, Literary Agent Edd Victor, can be tasted in this place - the London Ivy Cafe. The recipe is kept secret. But it is known that according to the author of the drink, its color should be like a sunrise in the tropics.
Bennett Omelet
The signature omelette of the chef of the Savoy Hotel was so loved by the English writer Arnold Bennett that he always asked for it for breakfast, wherever he stayed.
Apparently the hotel chef shared with the writer the secrets of preparing a complex omelet with smoked fish and several types of cheese.
Oysters Rockefeller
In one of the oldest restaurants in America, "Uanutana", you can try a dish whose recipe only the restaurant's chef knows. For many years, the recipe for "Oysters Rockefeller", invented by the son of the first owner of the restaurant, Jules Alchitore, back in 1889 and named after the richest man in the country, has been kept secret.
Eggs Benedict
Eggs can be boiled, fried or scrambled. Or you can make eggs Benedict! In fact, this is an entire sandwich, which includes the freshest eggs prepared in a special way. Who was the first to prepare this dish? Either this happened at the Waldorf Hotel, where broker Lemuel Benedict wandered in with a severe hangover, as he himself admitted, asking for a sandwich with boiled egg, hollandaise sauce and bacon. The head waiter of the restaurant liked the idea of the new dish so much that it was immediately included in the menu. Or was the original sandwich actually invented by the chef of the Delmonico’s restaurant in New York, a certain Mr. and Mrs. Benedict, regulars of the restaurant who knew it by heart and asked for something new? One way or another, today we will try to prepare this intricate dish, so simple in appearance and so original in taste! The main condition is that the eggs must be very fresh.
Eggs Benedict
You need (for one serving):
- 8 toasts (or 4 buns, halved)
- 8 slices bacon (or smoked salmon)
- butter
- green onions
- 8 eggs
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 teaspoons 6% vinegar
for the sauce:
- 3 raw yolks
- 200 g butter
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- salt, pepper to taste
Let's cook!
Cook the eggs one at a time: carefully break the shell and release the egg into a small cup. Pour about 3 cm of hot boiled water into a small saucepan, add salt and vinegar. Carefully lower the egg into the water and cook for 1 minute (the white should harden and the yolk should remain runny). Remove the egg with a slotted spoon and carefully transfer to a plate. Prepare the following. For the sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan, mix the yolks with lemon juice separately. Place the bowl with the yolks in a water bath, whisking constantly, gradually pour in the melted butter and continue whisking until the mass thickens. Fry the bacon a little on both sides. Fry toast or halves of buns on both sides, put bacon (slices of salmon) on top, carefully lay out the egg, pour over the sauce and sprinkle with herbs.
It is firmly ingrained in the heads of book lovers that D’Artagnan loved Angevin wine, and Pontius Pilate loved Falernian wine. James Bond loved bechamel sauce, and Chichikov ate brains and peas in a tavern. To describe is not to cook, the pages of novels are full of unusual dishes. Especially good for science fiction writers. You need to feed the heroes on an alien planet - once, and there will be edible glowing moss there. Sometimes writers “revive” forgotten dishes, sometimes they find real, but exotic ones. And it happens that someone brings to life the food of your favorite characters, which did not exist before. So, let's put together a sample menu for a literary restaurant.
1. Cream “Margot”
Remember how Ostap Bender consoled Kisa Vorobyaninov: “We will wear cambric foot wraps and eat Margot cream.” But does this cream really exist? In the era of Ilf and Petrov they did not do this. But there was Margot ice cream from the popular cookbook by Fanny Merry Farmer. The recipe went like this:
“Fill a champagne glass with vanilla ice cream. Top it with whipped cream, sweetened with pistachio syrup, which gives it a subtle greenish tint. Garnish the ice cream with pistachios and Malaga grapes, cut in half.” Since in English ice cream is ice–cream, Ostap Bender was not much mistaken. However, today you can find on the Internet a lot of recipes and the cream glorified in the novel.
2. Bertie Botts jelly beans
The world of Harry Potter is full of memorable dishes. Wizards love firewhiskey and butterbeer, kids love Fortescue's ice cream, jumping chocolate frogs and, of course, Bertie Bott's jelly beans. Harry Potter tries it for the first time on the train, on the way to Hogwarts School of Wizardry.
“You better be careful,” Ron advised, noticing that Harry had picked up a packet of jelly beans. - It says there that they have the most different taste, so, this is the true truth. No, there are quite normal tastes - orange, say, or chocolate, or mint, but sometimes you come across spinach, or kidneys, or tripe. George claims that he once came across a piece of candy that tasted like snot.”
Today you can freely buy multi-colored Bertie Botts, although without too radical tastes. And I drank butterbeer in Lviv at the Harry Potter cafe. Tasty!
3. Stew from the Sister Islands
George Martin in his series of novels “A Song of Ice and Fire” deliciously described the cuisine of the inhabitants of Westeros. In response to requests from fans of the saga, a gastronomic guide to the world of Game of Thrones was published. Many dishes are based on real recipes from medieval cuisine, but it is proposed to replace dragon eggs or camel meat with available ingredients. The book includes wild ox baked with leeks, locusts with spicy honey, Black Castle salad, frozen blueberries with Bastard cream... Here, for example, is a stew from the Sister Islands:
“The beer was brown, the bread was dark, the stew was the color of cream. She served it in a pot made from a hollowed-out stale log. The broth was rich, with leeks, carrots, barley and turnips of two colors: white and yellow, and in this stew generously seasoned with cream and butter you could taste the shellfish and cod, and crab meat. It was food that warmed you to the very bones - just what the soul asked for on a rainy, cold evening.”
4. Moose lips in sweetened vinegar
In Vladimir Korotkevich’s “Dzikim Palyavanni of Karal Stakh,” the intelligent Andrei Beloretsky comes to visit Pan Dubotovka and finds himself at a riotous noble feast.
“What about geta?” - I’m experiencing, hanging around the videls at the wrong place for the talers.
You are my kahanenki, geta lasinya lips ў padsalodzhanym vatsatse. Eat, brother, be quiet. Geta strava for volataŞ. Our products, the land of their fluff, were not bad. Yesh, abavyazkova ikh esh.”
Whether such a dish - moose lips in sweetened vinegar - was real, opinions were divided. But it went to wander through historical literature, decorating the tables of noble heroes. The delicacy, by the way, is still real, although it is usually prepared differently.
5. Kurdelny cream
During one of his trips, Stanislaw Lem's hero, astronaut Ijon Tikhy, ends up on the planet Entevropia, where the basis of civilization is some Sepulki.
“I tried in vain to understand what it could be; Finally, around midnight, refreshing myself with curdel cream in a bar on the eightieth floor of a department store, I heard the hit “Ah, Tiny Sepulka” performed by an Ardritan singer.
What are sepulki, Iyon and we will never know. And curdled cream hints at another stronghold of Enteropia civilization - curdled cream. “Since this animal, in the process of evolution, adapted to meteorite fallout, having built up an impenetrable shell, the curdl is hunted from the inside. To hunt Kurdel you need: a) at the introductory stage - primer paste, mushroom sauce, green onions, juice and pepper; b) at the decisive stage - a rice panicle, a time bomb." The hunter coats himself with paste and sauce, the curdle swallows it... Next is a matter of technique: install a bomb and use pepper to induce vomiting in the animal. The mentioned kurdel cream indicates that the natives not only live in kurdels and eat them, but also receive milk from them.
6. Leeches made from chocolate dough
The hero of Volkov's children's book "Oorfene Deuce and His Wooden Soldiers" decided to take the place of his deceased mistress, the evil sorceress Gingema. However, an evil wizard is supposed to eat mice and leeches. To confirm his authority, Urfin plans to deceive.
“The courtiers shook when they saw what the cook brought. On one dish there was a pile of smoked mice with screw tails, on the other there were black slippery leeches...
In the deathly silence of those present, Oorfene ate several smoked mice, and then brought a leech to his lips and it began to wriggle in his fingers.
But how surprised the viewers of this unusual picture would be if they learned a secret known only to the king and the cook. The magic food was a clever counterfeit. The mice were made from tender rabbit meat. Baluol baked the leeches from sweet chocolate dough, and the dexterous fingers of Oorfene Deuce made them squirm.”
7. Lebmas
Remember how Tolkien’s hobbits were helped out by the elven bread received from the beautiful Galadriel on the road to Mordor? This bread is called lembas and is specially designed for long journeys. It is light, does not become stale, does not lose its qualities, but quickly replenishes strength. Thin cakes, crumbly, light brown on the outside and creamy on the inside, are stored wrapped in mallorn leaves. A small piece of lembas lasts for the whole day. The recipe is strictly guarded by the elves. Tolkien fans even calculated the calorie content of lembas: one flatbread should contain 2,638 calories.
8. Herakliophorbia-4
The eccentric scientists from H.G. Wells' novel "Food of the Gods" come up with a substance that can accelerate the growth of a living creature. It is called “Heracliophorbia-4”, or “Food of the Gods”. Alas, the miracle powder, which was tried to replace food or be used as a supplement, brings innumerable disasters. At first, experimental chickens and wasps, worms and rats who accidentally got to the powder turn into monsters and terrorize people. Then the people who have grown into giants go crazy and start behaving aggressively. In general, the author honestly warned humanity against all kinds of food additives.
9. Eternal Candy
Willy Wonka's factory from Roald Dahl's book "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" produces smiling candies, jam-gin and grogol-nog, exploding lollipops, glowing lollipops for nighttime feeding, filling caramel "Down with the Dentists", invisible chocolates for eating in class, chewing gum , replacing a three-course meal.
But the main invention is the eternal candy. It looks like a big green glass ball.
“Eternal lollipops! - Mr. Wonka exclaimed proudly. - My new product! I came up with them for children who don't have much pocket money. You put the eternal lollipop in your mouth and suck, and suck, and suck, and suck, and suck, but it doesn’t shrink one bit!”
10. Signature Dish of the restaurant “At the End of the Universe”
In the restaurant "At the End of the Universe" the characters of Douglas Adams' novel meet the main local trick - Signature Dish.
The story of how Charles Dickens loved fried cheese and his wife Catherine, who bore him children with enviable regularity, kept an impeccable household and even wrote a cookbook. And also about how, after 16 years of marriage, family happiness ended, and the recipe for Charles’ favorite dish disappeared from the cookbook.
The two hats that cast a shadow on the curtain were the hats of two of Mrs. Bardle's closest friends, who had just come to drink a peaceful cup of tea and share with their hostess a modest hot supper of two portions of pig's feet and fried cheese. The cheese was browning deliciously in the little Dutch oven in front of the fire; The pig's legs felt great in a small tin pan hanging on a hook.
Charles Dickens. Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club
In October 1851, Lady Maria Clutterbuck's cookbook, What's for Dinner?, was published. The foreword was written by Charles Dickens, and the text was written by his wife, Mrs. Catherine Dickens.
The history of the appearance of this book began in 1835, when the aspiring journalist Charles Dickens, who was 23 years old, held a home party to celebrate the publication of his essay on the life and characteristic types of London. Among the guests were the famous publisher George Hogarth and his eldest daughter, twenty-year-old Catherine. The pretty, dark-haired, romantic-looking girl didn’t exactly awaken his passion, but he liked him for her freshness and spontaneity. He sincerely became attached to her, and in the late spring of the same 1835, Catherine Hogarth and the aspiring writer Charles Dickens announced their engagement.
They married in April 1836 and in the early years of their marriage, the young wife was, according to the writer, “his better half.” As for Catherine, she, according to Dickens’s younger sister Mary, “has become an excellent housewife and is completely happy.”
What followed was a series of years when her husband published one novel after another with enviable regularity, and Catherine just as regularly bore him children. She found it increasingly difficult to manage the household, and this care first gradually fell on the shoulders of her younger sister Mary, and after her sudden death, another younger sister, Georgina, who lived in the Dickens house from the age of fifteen.
By the time the book was published in 1852, the writer’s family already had 10 children, and Georgina became the true mistress of the house. Exhausted by childbirth and miscarriages, the aged and discolored Catherine could no longer give what Dickens’ energetic, passionate nature demanded, and the end of their relationship was first a gradual and then a final cooling of feelings, which ultimately led to the severance of family ties. Bernard Shaw said this about this: “The main problem with his wife was that she was not Dickens in a skirt.” Catherine was a typical woman and wife in Victorian England. As her daughter Kate recalled, “she had her faults, like all of us, but she was a gentle, sweet, kind person and a true lady.” However, life next to the great writer left its mark on Catherine, which allowed her to write a book that left its mark on the culinary history of England. It contained all the experience of housekeeping of the writer, who loved not only his wife, but also strict order in the house, comfort and well-cooked food. delicious food.
It is possible that Catherine's idea of writing a book was inspired by the writings of the Victorian spinster and modest poet Miss Eliza Acton of Tonbridge in Kent, who published the first English cookbook for housewives, Modern Cookery for Private Families, in 1845. in simple language, with food recipes easily accessible to make. This book, which for the first time indicated the amount of ingredients and the time required to prepare dishes, served as a kind of model for ladies who sought to publish the fruits of their culinary and economic activities.
Catherine Dickens's modest work did not become as popular as Miss Acton's book, and even less so than Mrs. Beeton's extensive book Housekeeping, published later in 1861. But for the history of cooking, it turned out to be a valuable source of information, giving an idea of everyday Victorian family cuisine, the basis of which was beef, lamb and pork, always accompanied by potatoes, with much less consumption of vegetables (beets, cabbage, carrots and turnips) and a contemptuous attitude to the food of common people - fish.
Catherine Dickens's book was a simple collection of homemade dinner menus, complete with easy-to-make recipes. Katherine, who was originally from Scotland, diversified the standard menu with dishes of cod and mullet, fried oysters, oyster sauce and stewed eels. The work of the writer's wife was republished several times, but after the divorce, Catherine vindictively removed one of Charles's most favorite dishes - fried cheese - from the new editions. This hot snack It was often served to the writer with his morning coffee, or for lunch along with mashed potatoes, and therefore it is not surprising that he mentioned it in his first novel, The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club.
It turns out that in order to make fried cheese, you need to follow a few simple rules. First of all, you need to take pickled cheeses - mozerella, feta, Adyghe, Suluguni, etc. Then you will need fresh eggs, coarsely crushed bread crumbs, prepared with your own hands from dried bread, butter or refined deodorized vegetable oil.
Fried cheese in English
For 1 serving you will need 80 g of soft pickled cheese, 10 g breadcrumbs, 10 g butter, parsley.
Bread thick slices of soft cheese in breadcrumbs, place in a hot frying pan with melted butter and quickly fry over high heat. Place on a plate and sprinkle with chopped parsley leaves if desired.
Note: Durum varieties The cheese should first be moistened with milk so that the breading sticks better.
Russian fried cheese
For one serving you will need 120 g of Adygei cheese, 15 g of breadcrumbs, 7 g of sesame seeds, 1 egg, vegetable oil, lettuce.
Cut the cheese into cubes, dip in beaten eggs, roll in a mixture of breadcrumbs and sesame seeds, place on a plate and place in the refrigerator for 3 hours. Heat sufficient quantity to high temperature vegetable oil In a deep frying pan, using kitchen tongs, place the cheese in the oil and quickly fry until the breading is golden brown. Using tongs, remove the fried cheese from the oil, pat dry on a paper towel, cool slightly to a temperature that is comfortable to eat, and place on a plate on a lettuce leaf.
The author prepared fried cheese in one way or another, tried it himself, treated it to his family, who appreciated its wonderful taste and advised him to publish these recipes, which he does with the hope of receiving approval from his respected readers.
Publication date:
2015-12-30
One of the signs of a mature culture is the high professionalism of artisans. When they have the opportunity to develop their art not only for the sake of income and food, there is a chance to create masterpieces that will remain in history for all time. Now we are talking not only about artists, sculptors or architects. The art of cooking is no less aesthetically pleasing and beautiful. And France is one of the striking examples of how gastronomy has developed.
French cuisine is conventionally divided into three parts: regional peasant cuisine, widespread national cuisine and highly refined cuisine, the basis for which was the royal court cuisine.
The regional cuisine of the southern provinces is sharply distinguished by the spiciness of food and the widespread use of wine and spices in its preparation, especially garlic and onions. Alsatian cuisine also has its own characteristic features, characterized by a significant consumption of cabbage and fatty pork, although residents of all other regions of France prefer low-fat varieties meat (lamb, veal, chicken, various game). Burgundy is famous for its maritime and meat dishes with the addition of wine. Of course, the population of coastal provinces consumes a large amount of seafood.
French cuisine practically does not use dairy products, with the exception of cheeses, of which there are several dozen varieties. Also, the French almost never eat cereals - they love fresh vegetables. The main feature that distinguishes French cuisine is the presence of several hundred different sauces. Using sauces helps enhance the flavor of even the most ordinary dishes.
The French regard cooking as an art, and dozens of borrowed words (restaurant, side dish, omelette, sauce, entrecote, mayonnaise, soufflé and many others) emphasize the universal respect for their cuisine. It is curious that in France the word “gourmet” means, first of all, a lover of abundant and tasty food, while a connoisseur who understands the intricacies of exquisite dishes is called a gourmet (French gourmet).
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French cuisine for breakfast
(omelette) - a well-known and easy-to-prepare dish came to us from France. Traditionally, nothing is added to it; real french omelette- These are beaten eggs fried in a frying pan in butter. It is made flat, not fluffy, rolled into a tube or folded in half.
In French cuisine, regular references to a dish called “omelet” are found in the 16th century (although there are earlier, but rare cases), but the omelet in its modern form appeared only in the 18th century.
(croissant) - bagel made of puff pastry with filling, the most famous French pastries. Traditionally served for breakfast. Butter puff yeast dough Gives baked goods a delicate airy structure. The modern croissant is a staple of French and Austrian bakeries and pastry shops. Thanks to the advent of factory-made frozen puff pastry in the 70s, they have become a widely popular fast food and now everyone can bake croissants, not just experienced chefs. The croissant is the most common pastry served with a continental-style breakfast.
Similar buns have been known in Austria since the 13th century, but they became popular only when they began to be baked in Paris. However, the Viennese and French croissants are different: the French borrowed only the shape from Austrian confectioners, and came up with the type of dough themselves. There are various culinary legends around the bun, which have no confirmation. For example, as if their shape is a reference to the Ottoman crescent.
The filling in a croissant can be anything - praline, almond paste, chocolate, dried fruits, fresh fruit. By the way, it is in France that croissants without filling are most often sold.
(œuf poché) - simple and nutritious dish, which came to us from France. The essence of the poached method is boiling eggs without shells in hot water. This is a method that allows you to achieve the desired result only with two components - the exact cooking time and the inadmissibility of boiling water.
There are poached eggs based different recipes: they are sprinkled with herbs, salt, added to soups, and placed on sandwiches. One of the popular breakfast options is eggs benedict(bun with poached egg, bacon and sauce). The main thing is to use very fresh eggs. Chefs also recommend choosing the highest category of eggs (their yolk is bright and large). Then the cooked egg will consist of a delicate soft yolk in a thin, light, almost imperceptible layer of white.
Traditional French dishes for starters (soups)
(pot-au-feu) or pot-au-feu is a traditional “homemade” soup with beef and vegetables. Translated, its name - “pot on fire” - literally reflects the method of preparation: in winter, a pot of water was hung over the fire, where vegetables, meat and roots were placed. As they were cooked, they were selected and eaten, and a new portion of ingredients was added to the pot.
Potofyo takes a very long time to prepare, so the dish has practically disappeared from household use. Traditionally, the soup is topped with several pieces of inexpensive beef with bones, carrots, potatoes, onions, cabbage and turnips. Sometimes mushrooms are added. Onions are often deep fried for a smoky flavor. The presentation of the dish distinguishes it from other soups - vegetables and meat are served separately from the broth. They can be additionally seasoned with a side dish. Seasonings such as mustard, horseradish and mayonnaise are combined with potofe.
Over time, the term "potofyo" became a common noun. In Russia it was used as a synonym for the word “philistine”, since the soup is the simplest, “philistine”.
(coq au vin) or coq-au-vin is a traditional dish of French cuisine. Depending on the type of wine, there are several preparation options. It is generally accepted that original recipe was invented in Burgundy, so Burgundy wine is considered the most suitable. You can also cook the rooster in champagne, Riesling, or Beaujolais Nouveau.
The dish is prepared from the whole bird, unlike, for example, duck confit, where only the legs are used. The sauce must include top-quality wine, which is also served with the dish at the table. Traditionally, it is served as a side dish with rooster in wine.
However, why a rooster? There is a legend about the origin of the dish from the time of Caesar: when the Romans conquered the Gauls (gallus - rooster), one of the leaders of the Gauls presented the future emperor with a live rooster, thus wanting to emphasize the valor of Rome. Caesar “returned” the gift by boiling the rooster in wine. Since the dish is national and actually folk, researchers still assume, since the dish is national and actually folk, that the rooster was boiled in wine to make its rather tough meat softer.
(cassoulet) - a stew with meat and beans, similar in consistency to a thick stew. To prepare it, a cassette (a special deep pot) is used. Previously, the dish was prepared in ceramic casserole dishes, but today they are made from aluminum foil.
Cassoulet appeared as folk dish in the southern regions of France and is still very popular in Languedoc and Occitanie. This is, in fact, the birthplace of all kinds of cold cuts. Cassoulet traditionally includes white beans, sausages, pork, goose or, sometimes lamb is present in the recipe.
Cook over low heat in a closed container - this is done in order to reduce the characteristic feature of beans to cause the accumulation of gases. Traditionally, French peasants cooked all the ingredients together in a pot, but nowadays it is customary to prepare cassoulet from beans and fried meat, pre-boiled with vegetables.
(bœuf bourguignon) or beef Burgundy - traditional French dish, which, like, gave the world one of the most famous regions of France - Burgundy. The main “highlight” of the dish is a thick sauce based on red wine, naturally Burgundy.
Classic recipe boeuf bourguignon - fried beef, which is stewed in a wine sauce with mushrooms, onions, carrots and garlic. However, these are very arbitrary ingredients, since there is no single generally accepted preparation option. Some chefs add to the dish tomato sauce, parsley and tomatoes.
Auguste Escoffier (1848-1935) introduced beef Burgundy into the French haute cuisine menu, and according to critics, this is one of the delicious dishes made from beef, although the origin of the dish is folk. Previously, beef was stewed for a long time (more than three hours) in wine sauce in order to remove the toughness of the meat. Today, cooks use tender “marbled” meat, veal, and therefore there is no need for long cooking, as the French peasants did.
(bouillabaisse) - French original fish soup, popular dish Mediterranean coast. The name consists of two words: boil and simmer. Initially, it was a cheap soup made from leftover fish that could not be sold at the market during the day. Today, bouillabaisse includes halibut, hake, mullet, eel and even seafood - clams, mussels, crab, octopus. During cooking, add fish to the broth one by one and bring to a boil. The classic recipe also includes a set of Provençal herbs and vegetables: tomatoes, potatoes, celery, onions (pre-fried and stewed). Bouillabaisse is served with mayonnaise olive oil with spices and garlic, slices of grilled bread.
Previously, bouillabaisse was served as follows: broth and slices of bread separately, and fish and vegetables separately. The wide popularity of the dish and the influx of tourists on the southern coast of France created new bouillabaisse recipes - with expensive ingredients and exquisite seafood delicacies. Such dish options can cost 150-200 euros per serving. In some areas, nuts, Calvados, vinegar are added to the soup, and bouquet garni is used instead of Provençal herbs.
(vichyssoise) - onion soup-puree, named after the French resort of Vichy. The history of the soup causes debate among culinary specialists. According to Julia Child, it was created in America, but most experts attribute its creation to the famous Ritz-Carlton chef Louis Diat, who first prepared vichyssoise in 1950, based on childhood memories. Initially, a similar dish appeared as hot soup from potatoes and various types of onions (primarily leeks) at the end of the 19th century, and the chef’s innovation was to whip it with cold cream.
Traditionally, vichyssoise is served cold, sometimes with the addition of crackers. The soup is also served with shrimp salad with garlic and fennel.
(consommé) - beef or chicken broth, strong but clarified. In a modern version, the dish is complemented by a pie. Usually the broth is prepared with minced meat, but some restaurants serve a consommé of vegetables and even fruits.
Whipped egg whites are used to remove sediment and fat from the broth. The broth is also cooked with the addition of carrots, celery, and leeks, which are removed before serving. Classic taste consommé is achieved by cooking at high temperature and stirring frequently: this way the broth is cooked until a dense protein film appears on its surface. Then it is simmered over low heat for about an hour until an amber translucent color and rich aroma are obtained.
Consommé is usually served hot because it hardens and forms a jelly. The side dish for it can be very different, but it is certainly served separately. Consommé is considered one of the most exquisite dishes, since its preparation requires a large amount of meat (about 500 grams of minced meat per serving of broth) and the poor could not afford such a wasteful dish. It is also common to serve gelled broth - chilled consommé.
(soupe à l "oignon) - a soup typical of French cuisine based on meat broth, with onions and cheese. Served with croutons. Similar onion-based soups have been known since Roman times - this is a popular food among the poor, who always had onions in abundance. The current version of the dish originated around the 18th century. As the French legend says, it was first prepared by King Louis XV, who, while hunting, was hungry, but late at night there was only onions, champagne and butter in the house. According to other sources, a similar dish was popular among Parisian workers and market traders. Today, French onion soup is caramelized onions... beef broth in a pot with croutons. Comte cheese melts on the surface of the soup.
Thanks to the use of sauteed onions, the soup acquires a wonderful aroma and golden color. Cooks caramelize the onions for at least half an hour. For original notes, sherry or dry white wine can be added to the soup before serving the dish.
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Traditional French dishes for main course
(confit de canard) - stewed duck legs; a dish originally from the Gascony region (southern France). Confit arose as a way to preserve meat when it was not possible to long-term storage. Usually the legs were salted and stewed for a long time in their own fat. Then they were placed in a ceramic pot and filled with the same fat. In this form, in a cold cellar, the prepared dish could be stored for months.
Today the recipe has changed somewhat: the duck is still rubbed with salt, herbs, garlic, but then kept in the refrigerator for more than a day. It is cooked in its own fat or in olive oil for several hours (from 4 to 10). Properly cooked duck confit in an airtight container can be stored in the refrigerator for up to six months. In a modern classic recipe, duck confit is served with roasted potatoes.
(foie gras) - fatty liver, this is how the name of this is literally translated the most delicate dish. Even the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans mastered the practice of force-feeding waterfowl. By the way, we even owe the French word foie - liver - to the ancient Romans, whose geese were fed figs, and received from them “fig liver”, ficatum.
Today, mainly ducks and mulards (a cross between a duck and a goose) are fed to obtain liver. According to experts, the taste is practically indistinguishable. As a rule, foie gras is served before a hot dish and is accompanied by dessert white wine. But there are also original options - fried foie gras escalope.
(timbale) - hearty and original dish, which is a pasta casserole in a special form. In general, timbales and timbales are products prepared in a special form, which does not allow the sauce or cream to spread, and also gives the dish a beautiful appearance. This was quite consistent with the spirit of the court cuisine of France at the beginning of the 19th century, when chefs were required to be able to prepare multi-story “palaces” from such timbales.
Today, timbale refers to large, long pasta that is used to fill a baking dish (bottom and sides). The filling can be very different - vegetables, mushrooms, cheese, meat. The top layer of timbale is again pasta.
(cuisses de grenouille) is an unusual delicacy to which the French owe the offensive nickname “paddling pools.” Connoisseurs claim that frog legs taste like a cross between chicken and fish. Only the upper part of the hind leg is eaten. According to statistics, more than 3 billion frogs are raised annually for this purpose.
(escargots de bourgogne) - a snail appetizer, one of the specific famous dishes of French cuisine. In general, escargot is a term that unites everything edible species snails, but the French consider Burgundy snails the classic and most delicious.
Escargot is an exquisite delicacy served in expensive restaurants. Of course, you can buy live snails or semi-finished products in markets and stores in France. In the first case, you will have to prepare them yourself (an extremely troublesome task) - soak them in flour and herbs for several days, pour boiling water over them, and remove the meat. Snail shells can be used to serve a dish more than once.
A mandatory component of the escargot recipe is green butter (whip garlic and parsley with salted butter). This mixture is placed on the bottom of the shell, then it is filled with snail meat, and again covered with green oil on top. The snails are baked in the oven until golden brown and eaten with a fork and special tongs. White wine is served with escargot.
(galantine) - “jelly” in Old French, aspic made from chicken, rabbit, veal. Galantine is a rather difficult to prepare, richly decorated dish (hence the name: galantine - complex). The classic recipe is as follows: minced meat mixed with seasonings and eggs, then simmered in broth or baked, then cooled to form an outer layer of jelly. The dish is served cold. Galantine in France is traditionally prepared from chicken, duck, pheasant, pork and lamb. Nowadays, the term “galantine” refers not only to a specific dish, but also to the technology of its preparation.
(aligot) - mashed potatoes and cheese, often with the addition of garlic, served with fried sausage or pork. The dish originated in the Auvergne region and spread widely at the end of the 19th century, mainly due to urbanization.
Aligo is made from mashed potatoes, to which cream, butter, garlic and chopped cheese are added (half a kilo of cheese per kilo of potatoes). As for the type of cheese, the Auvergne cheeses Tom and Cantal were traditionally used. Historically, this dish was prepared for pilgrims who, on the way to Santiago de Compostela, asked at the abbey on the Aubrac plateau to eat at least “something”, which in Latin sounds like “aliquid”. Nowadays, red wine is recommended for the dish.
(côtelette de volaille) - a dish very similar to “Kiev cutlet”. Classical french recipe: beaten chicken breast filled with cream sauce, coated several times with a mixture of egg and breadcrumbs, then fried or baked in the oven. IN cream sauce You can add a variety of ingredients, which can significantly change the taste of the dish as a whole.
In 1918, cutlets de volai were first served at one of the official receptions in Kyiv. Everyone liked the new dish and quickly entered the restaurant menu, receiving the name “Kiev cutlet.” Later, during mass production, its recipe was simplified - cold butter was used instead of sauce.
(choucroute) - sauerkraut in Alsatian style, a dish of regional French cuisine. Usually this word refers not only to cabbage itself, but also to a side dish in the form of potatoes or meat products. Shukrut has been known in this form since the 19th century. The preparation method is as follows: finely shredded cabbage is infused for some time in brine, then it is boiled in beer or wine.
Sausages, knuckle, salted meat, and potatoes are traditionally added to choucroute. This is one of the popular Alsatian dishes. In 2012, choucroute was patented as a protected geographical name. Now manufacturers can produce products with this name only if the preparation technology complies with established standards. For example, heads of cabbage must weigh from 3 kg; when ripening, enzymes cannot be added and the temperature cannot be changed, and if choucroute is sold boiled, then only Alsatian alcohol is used for it. This guarantees high quality standards that have been developed over the years.
(gratin dauphinois) - potato casserole with cream. Names such as “potatoes a la dauphinois” and “dauphinois casserole” are also used. The dish was first mentioned in 1788. The original recipe included potatoes, garlic and butter, and cream and additional ingredients appeared later. The potatoes are cut into coin-thick slices, placed in layers and cooked in the oven over low heat for about an hour. You can also add cheese and eggs. The main thing is to choose the right potatoes, yellow and not too hard. The highlight of the dish is the aroma of garlic. As an alternative to cream, some recipes use poultry broth. Some recipes call for pre-breading of the potatoes.
French desserts
(creme fraiche) - French fermented milk product with a fat content of no more than 30%, similar to sour cream. It is obtained from cream by adding lactic acid bacteria. Creme fraiche is practically not consumed as a separate dish, but is widely used as an ingredient for preparing a variety of soups, sauces and desserts. Sometimes it is used as a marinade for meat, then spices, garlic and herbs are added to it.
(crème brûlée) is a dessert whose name translates as “burnt cream.” The earliest mention of it dates back to the 17th century and appears in the cookbook of François Messialo, chef of the Duke of Orleans. Therefore, creme brulee is traditionally considered a French dessert, although the British believe that its authorship belongs to them and creme brulee was first prepared at Trinity College Cambridge.
Crème brûlée is a custard base of cream, egg and sugar, topped with a layer of hardened caramel crust. Dessert should be at room temperature. The custard base is usually flavored with vanilla, and in some cases with other additives. Another recipe option - Catalan cream, which contains lemon or orange zest and cinnamon. Its base is prepared with milk, unlike traditional creme brulee. Another original version of the recipe is crème brulee flambé - the custard is sprinkled with sugar and caramelized with a burner right before serving.
(éclair) is one of the most popular French desserts. Long tube of choux pastry with cream was most likely created by a famous chef named Marie-Antoine Carême (1784-1833). In the USA, eclairs actually mean yeast donuts, but real French eclairs are hollow inside, tender and correspond to the literal translation of “lightning” - they are eaten with lightning speed.
It's funny that in Germany these cakes were called "love bone" and "hare's foot." The characteristic oblong shape, glaze coating and delicate filling are the distinctive features of all eclairs. The choux pastry tubes are filled with cream with vanilla, coffee or chocolate flavor, whipped cream, cream with rum or fruit fillings and even chestnut puree. The glaze can be fondant, caramel, or chocolate.
French pies
(quiche lorraine), also known as Lorraine pie, is a open pie with filling and filling. The original savory quiche is made from shortcrust pastry, stuffed with smoked bacon and topped with a mixture of eggs and cream with pepper, and sometimes with nutmeg. Its main feature is the delicate baked crust that is formed from the filling.
Originally quiche Laurent - pie with Lorraine custard, as the egg-cream filling was called, appeared on the table at the beginning of the 17th century. Then it was sprinkled with cheese, but over time the cheese was replaced with bacon. Other varieties of the pie also appeared - with fried onions or with fish and egg, or without any filling at all.
Today, quiche Laurent has become so popular that now everyone understands this name salty pies with filling and filling. There are a lot of quiche recipes nowadays - vegetable, meat, fish, but quiche Laurent with brisket is still considered classic (sometimes supplemented with cheese; the original uses Gruyere cheese).
(pissaladière) - open onion pie with anchovies, similar to pizza. Originated in southern France and has become a traditional local dish, especially popular in the Nice area. A real pissaladiere should contain pissala (a salted puree of very small anchovies and sardines with herbs), but due to the ban on catching such small fish in the Mediterranean, the pie began to be made from the pulp of lightly cured anchovies (sometimes they are ground into minced meat). The onions are caramelized over time in olive oil, and garlic, thyme and black olives are also added.
(tarte tatin) - apple pie French style, in which apples are caramelized in sugar and butter. It appeared at the end of the 19th century, perhaps thanks to Stephanie Tatin (the owner of a hotel near Paris), who, while preparing a regular pie, forgot about the apples in the frying pan and almost burned them. Then she poured the dough directly onto the burnt apples and put it in the oven in this form (along with the frying pan). Then the woman turned over ready pie, which to everyone’s surprise turned out to be a delicious delicacy.
The unusual thing about tarte tatin is that it is baked upside down. So apple upside-down pie became the signature dish of the Tatin sisters. At least according to legend. The owner of the famous Parisian restaurant Maxim, having tasted this new dessert, was amazed and included it in his menu. For tarte tatin, not only apples are used, but also pears, peaches and even tomatoes and onions. The dough can be shortbread or puff pastry.
French pastries
(canelé) is a signature French dessert originally from Aquitaine. This is a small cake that has a hard crispy crust on the outside and tender dough inside. The term originated from the architectural "flute" - a column with grooves. The dessert has the same shape.
There is a story that caneles appeared in the 18th century, perhaps thanks to the nuns who invented the dessert - small oblong fried pieces of dough. Another legend is associated with winemaking in the Bordeaux region - in this area, the wine goes through a clarification stage with the help of beaten egg whites, while the unnecessary yolks were sent to the monastery, where a cake was invented based on them.
The required ingredients for canele include vanilla, rum, yolk and cane sugar. It is difficult to say whether 18th-century monastery pastries were the predecessors of modern canelets, but they were called, in any case, it seems - canoliers. Today, canele is one of the most popular “simple” desserts. They are even served with champagne and wine - this is a versatile, delicate and aromatic dessert.
(gougères) - savory baked goods stuffed with cheese. Gougères look like small cakes made from choux pastry, from 3 to 12 cm in diameter. For their preparation, cheese is used that has a pronounced taste, for example, Comte, Gruyère, Emmental. Grated or finely chopped cheese is added directly to the dough. In some recipes, gougères are filled with meat, mushrooms, and ham. It is believed that they were first made in Burgundy. Served during wine tasting (cold), and as an aperitif - hot.
In the 18th-19th centuries, gougères were made from tubes of dough, sometimes it was just a flat pie. Even earlier, gougères meant a stew of meat in dough, as well as a medieval cheese pie with filling. In England there is a similar pastry - scones. Gougères differ from them by the obligatory presence of cheese, which gives the baked goods a piquant taste.
(vol-au-vent) - a savory appetizer, a dish of French cuisine, the name of which translates as “flying in the wind.” This confectionery made from puff pastry and usually filled with meat, fish or mushroom.
Initially, vol-au-vent was prepared as a small pie and had about 20 cm in diameter. The famous chef Antoine Carême (1784-1833) used light and crispy puff pastry to make a salty or sweet unusual snack. It is said that when the flat rings from which he made the cake expanded greatly in the oven, as happens with puff pastry, Karem's student noticed that the cake seemed to fly into the air - hence the characteristic name. Later, the vol-au-vents were reduced in size by at least half, “to the queen’s bite.”
The filling for vol-au-vent can be very different: stewed meat, fish, mushrooms, even snails and crayfish. The main feature of the dish is its original shape. Vol-au-vent consists of several rings of dough, attached to each other using egg white. The appetizer is served hot.
(baguette) - a long soft bun with a crust; considered a symbol of French cuisine. Typically, a baguette is about 65 cm long, 6 cm wide, and weighs 250 grams. Its name is borrowed from Italian and translates as “stick”. The forerunners of these long loaves were known in France back in the time of Louis XIV - they were described as six-foot thin loaves, more like a weapon or a crowbar.
The baguette is usually broken rather than cut. It is eaten only fresh; a few hours after cooking it goes stale. The main condition for creating an airy, light baguette is a well-heated oven. One of the features of a baguette is the speed of its preparation.
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Other traditional French dishes
(andouillette) - an original type of French sausage; a typical dish for the regions of Champagne, Picardy, Flanders, Lyon. Andouille is a stuffing made from ground up intestines and gizzard with seasonings, peppers, onions and wine that are used to stuff the pork intestines. The dish is practically not found anywhere except France and has a specific original smell that arises from its ingredients. The mayor of Lyon once spoke about the smell of sausage: “Politics is like andouillet, it should smell a little unpleasant, but not too much.” Andouillet is served fried or grilled, both hot and cold.
Biscuits(les galettes) is a flour product whose main property is a long shelf life. This word (translated as “boulder”) refers to several dishes, including cookies, crackers, crackers, pancakes and even a type of bread. For example, a typical snack in the French region of Brittany is sausage biscuits, thin pancakes, in which fried sausage or sausage is wrapped.
Simple types of biscuits - crackers and crackers - are made from low-fat dough. They are stored for several years. They are still used in army and expeditionary rations, taken with them on hiking trips. Despite the density, the structure of such “cookies” is layered and it is easily soaked in liquid. Fatty biscuits are also prepared, in which the fat content (butter) can reach 18%.
Plain biscuits - widely famous food French peasants. And if in Brittany biscuits are pancakes made from buckwheat flour with milk and eggs, then in other regions they are large cookies or shelf-stable bread. Thin buckwheat Breton spring rolls are a specialty of the local cuisine; they are decorated with eggs, meat, cheese, vegetables or fruits.
