La Cuisine: What is the Most Popular French Food?

France's Culinary Heritage

France makes plenty of things – from modern technologies like aircraft production or bridge building to what is perhaps our most famous cultural export: the wine and the food which shape our character and our persistent desire for the unique and the excellent.

France's culinary tradition is deemed so essential and unique that UNESCO has inscribed it on its list of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Yes – our entire food tradition.

While France boasts many fine dishes, the history of its food traditions are intriguing and at least as important as the tasting of the dishes. We will delve into these histories in due time.

During the medieval era, show was everything. Food appeared en confusion, with all dishes together: no starter or main course, just food. Everything was laid out on huge tables rather than served individually, and eating utensils hadn't become mainstream yet. 

Manners dictated diving in with your hands. Meat and sauces were popular, as was the notion that great food should also be seen, not just tasted. For example, certain birds would be emptied, their meats cooked, and then stuffed back into the carcass, which would be sewn up, its feathers put back to their original place.

By the Renaissance, France looked to Italy for inspiration in many areas, from clothing to architecture and cuisine. For this you can thank Catherine de Medici, the Florentine wife of Henry II, who arrived at court with her retinue of cooks. She may have introduced lasagna to France, although it's a little difficult to imagine Henry slurping up oodles of noodles. Still, she believed in the harmony of colors at the table and used fine porcelain and serving dishes.

Things changed under Louis XIV at Versailles, servants would bring and serve each course separately rather than en confusion, and you would be expected to know and use silverware.

The cultural effervescence of the period leading up to the French Revolution saw the fall of the guild system (formally, at least), which allowed chefs throughout France to experiment with great creativity. This was encapsulated in a book by La Varenne, possibly France's first cookbook. This was the beginning of haute cuisine, or gourmet cooking as we have come to know it.

Haute cuisine would be born and some great chefs would see the day, whose names most French children know: Carême (introduced service at the table), Montagné (created Le Larousse Gastronomique, France's culinary bible) and Escoffier (who birthed France's haute cuisine), to name only a few. Escoffier, by the way, was known as “the king of chefs and the chef of kings”.

That said, we do have some weird French foods too, at least, some you might consider unusual...

These days, French cuisine continues to evolve. Local foods that are in season are prized, and sitting down for a delicious meal is considered one of our most agreeable pastimes, whether sampling a typical French breakfast,  stopping by a tea-room for some great French pastries or gathering around a table with family for Christmas dinner. And while French gastronomy is known worldwide, that doesn't mean France doesn't indulge in popular foods that are, shall we say, less aristocratic, like the country's favourite cheese spread, for example!

Every Region Has Its Specialty: Which is the most popular french food?

Certain foods are common to France – the croissant, the baguette, the steak-frites... you'll find these anywhere. Other foods have regional origins and their spread across France is relatively recent.

Here's a snapshot of each region's culinary specialties.

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

Some French would argue this region is France's gastronomic heartland, since it is home to Lyon, which styles itself as France's culinary capital (and hence the world's). Not only is starting here alphabetically correct, but it happens to be my own region, and the one I know best. I'll start with some of my personal favorites:

• Bresse Chicken, so tender and special it has its own unique 'appellation', like wine
• Lou Pisadou, a cake made in one town, and one town only
• Lake Geneva's Fera, a legendary fish served only here
• Even French water gets a classification of sorts (and boasts expert tasters)
• Truffles, worth almost $6000 a kilo...
• Georges Blanc, a chef who has made an entire village a culinary empire

This region contains the Alps and of course is heaven for alpine cheeses, like Beaufort and Abondance and Comté, and for all sorts of melted cheese dishes.

Bourgogne-Franche-Comté

Do all French eat snails? This is a question that is asked of me often! We don't ALL eat snails (just like not all Brits eat Marmite or Americans hamburgers) but yes, it is a staple food and one which some of us (not all) learn to eat as children. Granted, the snails themselves don't have much taste, but the butter, garlic and bread make the supporting protein irrelevant.

Of course you've heard of Boeuf Bourguignon, which basically means beef from Burgundy (the region's English name). And Burgundy wine, which locals insist is far superior to Bordeaux, an argument that is known to have led to fisticuff throughout history.

Here are a few typical specialties from this region, which I also happen to know well because it is right next door to mine.

• Dijon mustard, from Dijon of course
• Cheeses, including two of my faves, Comté and Mont d'Or (and one you won't believe!)
• Burgundy wines, of course
• Gingerbread
• and yes, SNAILS. Escargots de Bourgogne.

Bretagne

Bretagne, or Brittany, is a region of picturesque villages, wild beaches, and... megaliths. That's right.  known for its coastal beauty and its rich food - and more than 3000 standing stones, like menhirs and dolmens dating from pre-Christian times.

As for culinary standouts, you'll probably be familiar with a few of these.

• La crêpe, a sweet thin pancake slathered with anything sweet
• The galette, its savory tag-along, beloved with ham and cheese and egg 
• Salted caramel
• Kouign-amann (impossible to spell or pronounce), a rich flaky pastry so luscious your arteries will feel under attack
  
• Seafood!

Centre-Val de Loire

This is the heartland of France, so popular with royalty in the Middle Ages and Renaissance that it is dotted with many extraordinary chateaux. The region also hosts the superb cathedral at Chartres. One of its great claims to fame, perhaps, is its proximity to Paris - all that history (and good Touraine, Vouvray and Sancerre wines) just an hour's train ride away...

Food, of course, is stellar (where is it not in France?) and some regional exports include:

• Tarte Tatin, a caramelized upside-down apple tart you eat warm with a dollop of vanilla ice cream or with custard
• Pet de nonne, which translates into 'nun's fart', a sweet puff pastry possibly named after a Sister Agnes, who might or might not have dropped a spoonful of batter into hot oil at the moment of a certain unexpected sound's release
• Creamy goat's cheese
• Candy! Made with barley sugar - sweets of all types, in fact; this part of France has a definite sweet tooth

Corsica

Corsica may be part of France, but it is best known as the birthplace of Napoleon Bonaparte (or Napoleone Buonaparte, as he was known at birth). Intriguingly, many of its specialties have an Italian flavor, as befits an island halfway between the two countries.

If there's one product that exemplifies Corsica, surely it is the chestnut, which is milled and used as flour for bread (in centuries past, the chestnut was even used as currency). Superstitions still surround the use of chestnuts for healing, and it continues to be popular in everything from soup to cakes to jam. Speaking of which, jams and all sorts of cold cuts are typical of Corsican fare.

Grand Est

This richly traditional region is an administrative construction that contains three well-known former regions - the Alsace, the Lorraine, and the Champagne. It is a land of historical battlegrounds, feudal castles, sweet white wines and seat (shared with Brussels) of the European Parliament. Proximity to Germany and Switzerland has influenced its foods, and the region is home to many specialties renowned not only across France but worldwide. This is a region that loves its food... mind you, I can't think of a region that doesn't. People here particularly love:

• Did I mention Champagne? And Alsatian wines?
• Choucroute, or saukerkraut, the perfect winter dish, garnished with port
• The kougloff, which is also typical of Germany and Austria, a round molded brioche cake
• Pork products - ham, sausages, offal, anything pork
  
• Quiche Lorraine, of course
• The Alsatian Flammekueche, a pizza-like crust baked on an open fire and slathered in bacon, cream and onions
• Very smelly cheeses...

Hauts-de-France

This is a flat region whose plains bleed seamlessly into Belgium and what comes to mind here are its numerous World War I and II battlefields: Vimy Ridge, the Somme, Dunkirk... This may be an industrial area, but it is also strong on agriculture and while it has plenty of tourist attractions (especially religious architecture0, it is a bit off the beaten path so you'll have it all yourself (more or less). This is a foodie region, although you may mistakenly think you've wandered across the border - the foods are that similar.

• Beer
• Carbonnade Flamande (remember, Flamande means Flemish, as in... Belgium!), beef stewed with beer and onions
• French Fries - les frites!
• And then there's moules-frites, mussels with french fries
• Did I mention beer? Everything in this region seems to be cooked in beer, as opposed to other French regions, where everything is cooked in wine or cream...

Île-de-France

This region requires no description: simply put, this is Paris. But just because it's the most romantic capital in the world, with incredible shops and stunning art and architecture, doesn't mean it doesn't have its own culinary specialties...

• Paris shines with its pastries... including my favorite, the Opéra, but also the Paris-Brest, St Honoré and macarons!
• The champignon de Paris, a fat white mushroom you'll find everywhere
• Brie cheese...
• Onion soup au gratin, a late-night favorite
• Bistrot food, the sophisticated equivalent of fast food, such as the croque-monsieur

Normandie

Normandy is a visual paradise, with its attractive beaches and pretty harbor villages, its rolling fields filled with Normandy cattle, D-Day beaches, Deauville – and home to the tapestries of Bayeux. But say Normandie to a French person and we'll immediately start dreaming of apples (cider) and butter and cream.

• Tripe. It's an acquired taste (one I haven't acquired yet)
• Cider and Calvados, both much loved throughout the country
• Camembert, right?
• Oysters, mussels and scallops (for this alone I'll spend 6 hours on the train!)
• And what we call the trou normand, or Normandy pause... It's basically a palate cleanser, usually apple sherbet with a glass of Calvados in-between courses, particularly if you are having a very large meal

Nouvelle-Aquitaine

This is largely a coastal region and much of it is somehow linked to water, whether the seafood or the pleasant climate or the seaside resorts and attractions. This is the home of Bordeaux, deemed one of the world's best cities to visit, and Biarritz, one of France's least snobbish upper class resorts. There's also a distinctive Spanish influence – you're never very far from the border.

It is of course home to exquisite food: it is, after all, the French portion of the Basque country, and we know just how many chefs the Basques have exported across France and to the rest of the world.

I gained three pounds in Aquitaine, where I visited for a week. Nuff said. Now, about those culinary gems...

• Bordeaux wine, bien sûr
• Foie gras (yes, there is plenty of controversy around this, and we'll get to it one of these days)
• Duck products
• Truffles and plenty of other mushrooms
• Caviar (in the Dordogne)

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How could a tiny and soft ridged cake, perfumed with rhum and vanilla and caramelized on the outside, bring such pleasure? I have no idea, except that once I’d tasted my first ‘canelé’, I was hooked. Its name comes from the Gascon, a language spoken in Bordeaux until a century or two ago, from the word ‘canelat’, Offbeat fact: They were initially made by nuns from a Bordeaux convent, who used wheat that had fallen from bags or ships in port, along with hints of rhum and vanilla which had also made their way to port. But in the late 18th century, the nuns were forced to leave the convent, a probable death knell for the humble canelé. But no, the tradition continued, this time along the wharves, but the recipe was ultimately lost, or perhaps nearly lost in the revolutionary fervor that enveloped France at the time. Still, the canelé managed to survive. Luckily for us, the recipe was revamped about a century ago and the lovely little canelé became a mainstay of Bordeaux’s pastry scene.

A post shared by Leyla Giray Alyanak (@offbeatfrance) on May 29, 2020 at 7:28am PDT

Occitanie

The Occitanie has beaches, the Pyrenee Mountains, but what strikes me most is the region's historical legacy: Carcassonne, the Cathar castles, Roman ruins and Gothic palaces, stunning villages and fortified towns. Whatever your preferred historical period, you'll find it covered here.

So it should be no surprise that Occitanie is also a hotbed of foodie traditions...

• Roquefort
• Cassoulet, a white bean and pork casserole dating back to the Middle Ages
• Foie gras (yes, here too)
• Light white wines, like Chasselas and Muscat
• Black ham of Bigorre
• Camargue rice (often termed wild rice)

Pays de la Loire

Don't confuse the Pays de la Loire with the Centre-Val de Loire, although the person who chose these names should be punished with a silly name of their own. So yes, they are both part of the Loire Valley, and they happen to be next to one another. The Pays de la Loire roughly covers the western part of what should logically be called the Loire region, while the Centre-Val de Loire covers the east. Did I mention the French were a complex bunch? In this case, I should say confused, not complex. The tip of this region abuts Brittany, and they often share a common history. For example, the city of Nantes is in the Pays de la Loire but historically, it belongs to Brittany... go figure. That controversy is ongoing. French logic.

So yes, plenty of chateaux here too, along with history galore, and agriculture, which leads to...

• Asparagus
• Beurre blanc (white butter), a butter sauce made with white wine and shallots
• Sel de Guérande, a pure hand-harvested salt (which Brittany claims as its own)
• All kinds of river fish
• Goat cheeses (this region produces half of France's stock)
• The sablé, a dry little buttery biscuit or pie dough
• Cointreau and Triple Sec

Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur

This is an emblematic region of France and, along with Paris, the most visited in France. There is little need to introduce this admirable region that stretches from the Camargue to the Italian border, covering the French Riviera – which we call the Côte d'Azur – as well as the Southern Alps and all the impossibly charming villages of the interior.

This combination of mountains, foothills and sea, along with proximity to Italy, guarantee a diverse palate with a hefty influence of sunshine. Here are some of my favorite specialties:

• Notable prepared dishes such as bouillabaisse (fish soup), tapenade (olive garlic purée), pesto soup or Niçoise salad (vegetables plus anchovies, tuna and hard-boiled egg)
• The pissaladière, a cross between a quiche and pizza with tomato (sometimes only), cream, onions and anchovies
• The tian is a sort of vegetable flan
• Calissons d’Aix, a sweet marzipan covered with crackling icing and shaped like a diamond
• Les herbes de Provence, a mixture of herbs used in cooking
  

The groups that represent them

France's food is serious business, so serious we do everything we can to protect and promote our products. Walk into any French representation overseas and you'll soon see posters or brochures extolling our foods and wine. It's a topic that never tires us.

One particularity of France is its associative nature: there's an association for everything, from protecting a riverbed to promoting a cause. So it is not surprising to find associations that represent what we call the 'metiers de la bouche' or the professions of the mouth.

Take the MOF, for example, the Meilleurs Ouvriers de France, or Best Workers of France (somehow the English doesn't sound half as dignified). This elite association is joined by passing incredibly difficult exams, and the successful outcome of these exams can make or break a career, especially in the culinary arts (although the MOF exists for many trades, from plumbing to ironwork). There's even a museum in the MOFs' honor (the site is in French).

But belonging to the MOF is not the only path to culinary greatness, and there are plenty of extraordinary non-MOF food specialists who sit on juries and are world-renowned: not every culinary artiste chooses to be subjected to the grueling MOF process because, like the Michelin stars, not everyone wants one; it may come with recognition, but also with heavy responsibilities.

Another group that represents France's culinary output are the country's product-based brotherhoods, the confréries, whose job it is to promote a specific product.

For example, the Chevaliers de l'Olivier de Nyons, the Brotherhood of the Knights of the Nyons Olive Tree, spends its summer season touring Provence to promote this most excellent of olives... You'll find similar brotherhoods for everything from garlic to wines. They are a joy to watch – colorful processions combined with local festivities and tastings. Many of France's less famous products may well owe their survival or renewed popularity to promotion by one of these traditional brotherhoods.

Bonjour - je m'appelle Leyla!

But don't be fooled by my name... My Turkish father may have won the naming battle but my mother, with 10 centuries of Frenchness behind her, won the education war. 

And she passed on her fascination with France to me.

This Offbeat France travel blog goes beyond the baguette -– we explore curiosities, oddities and mysteries, searching for legends and backstories, all wrapped up in a passion for history. (Along with plenty of food stops and many castles – I am French, after all.)