A brief history of French Cuisine
France, one word that conjures up visions of romance, food, and history. The French love for food has spun words like ‘gourmet’, ‘cuisine’, and ‘gourmand’. The French imbue romance into everything and food is no exception. The history of French cuisine, therefore, is the study of flavour, war, trade, colonization, and romance. In today’s post, we delve into the History of French Cuisine, a tale flavoured by politics, trade, and of course, an innate love for gourmet experiences.
The beginnings
The French cuisine that we know and love today is an amalgamation of hundreds of years of cultural learnings and exploration. France as a country was once part of several empires. From the Moors to the Franks, each and every one of these powers added their own twist to what we know as French cuisine today. One of the commonly accepted theories is that the use of certain herbs, spices and pickling techniques were used by people of this time in order to flavour and preserve the food through the barren winter periods.
Indebted to Italy
French cuisine owes a great deal to Italy. Wondering how? Well, the Italians were lightyears ahead of the French, when it came to cooking techniques, and the use of garlic, mushrooms, and other spices. In the 16th century an Italian princess, Catherine de Medici, wed Henry Duc d’Orleans (who went on to become King Henry II). It was at this time that Queen Catherine arrived at the French court with several influential Italian chefs, who helped refine French cuisine.
Trade and Conquest: The Spicy Chapter in the History of French Cuisine
In 1453, the Ottoman Turks captured Constantinople and closed off the overland trading routes from Europe to the Orient. This led to Spain, France, Portugal, and eventually England all exploring maritime routes to the Far East. Their aim: to trade gold for spices, silk, and other commodities of high value in their native lands. Eventually, France (like other major European powers) colonised parts of the world, and spice came to play an important role in French cooking. Though French cuisine isn’t heavily spicy or piquant, the use of ingredients like chillies, peppers, and mushrooms became more common during this period.
Haute Cuisine: French cuisine through the Bourbon Monarchy
French food and particularly ‘la cuisine royale’ really came into its own during the heydays of the Bourbon monarchy. The reign of Louis XVI, in particular, saw amazing refinements made to French cooking techniques. The 17th-century royal chef La Varenne compiled what came to be known as the Bible of Haute Cuisine. There was more emphasis on pairing wines with courses, accompaniment of various bread with gravied courses and the enshrining of the now ubiquitous cheese and fruit platter as a dessert. In fact, the early 18th century saw the development of bakeries in cities like Paris, Lyon, Nice and Toulouse. Public restaurants and eating out as a means of social custom are also France’s gift to the world and are said to have originated in this period.
French cuisine today
We can all agree that the early to middle 20th century, were awful for France and most of Europe. War and subsequent periods of recovery saw little to no development in cuisine for the first 50 years of the century. French cuisine really took off in the 1970s and 80s with chefs like Marco Pierre White, Anthony Bourdain, Gordon Ramsey and others experimenting with bold flavours and recipes. In fact, in 2010, UNESCO added French cuisine to the list of cultural objects that are called intangible cultural heritage.
To truly appreciate French gastronomy, understanding the History of French Cuisine is essential. With its rich tapestry of influences and innovations, French cuisine is a living history book, one that we invite you to explore further with our curated selection of French culinary essentials. Do check them out here. And as always, we hope you’ve found this post informative and entertaining.
Borde Dried Porcini Mushrooms
₹545.00 – ₹11,246.00 Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product pageOut of stock
Borde Forest Mix Mushrooms
₹356.00 – ₹2,772.00 Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
Delouis Fils Strong Dijon French Mustard
₹252.00 – ₹1,103.00 Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
Dolce Vita Italian Extra Light Olive Oil
Original price was: ₹3,315.00.₹2,652.00Current price is: ₹2,652.00. Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
Dolce Vita Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil
₹1,865.00 Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
Dolce Vita Italian Pure Olive Oil
₹1,474.00 – ₹2,652.00 Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
Sol 100% Spanish Extra Light Olive Oil
₹2,818.00 – ₹12,068.00 Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
Sol 100% Spanish Extra Virgin Olive Oil
₹499.00 – ₹12,296.00 Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
Sol 100% Spanish Olive Oil
₹472.00 – ₹13,576.00 Select options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
