Every country has its own unique diet, which also reflects its culture. As a world-recognized food kingdom-France, do you know about its food characteristics and culture? French food is actually unique. Let's learn about a country by learning about French food culture.

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a brief talk on French food culture and its causes

First, dish culture

exquisite seasonings with simple dishes. French cuisine pays attention to the ingredients, cooking time, collocation of dishes, freshness of selected materials, diversity of dishes in different regions and delicacy, rationality and artistry of cooking are all above other western foods. Commonly used spices are: thyme, rosemary, laurel, parsley, tarragon, nutmeg, saffron, lilac flower thunder, and there are hundreds of sauces, which not only pay attention to the subtle differences in taste, but also consider the differences in color. Compared with a wide variety of ingredients, there are only a dozen kinds of dishes. The order of ordering is: cold dish or soup is the first course. Although there are many kinds of "first courses" on the menu, you can only choose one. Before serving, there will be a bread. After eating, the waiter will help you remove the plate and then go to the second course. The second course is soup, delicious French soup, thick broth, light vegetable soup and delicious seafood soup. The third course is the main course in a meal. The main courses are all kinds of "chops", such as chicken chops, fish chops, steak and pork chops. This so-called steak is the clean meat with bones and thorns removed, and then poured with a unique juice, which is delicious and convenient to eat. Then there is dessert, which can be fruit, coffee, cake or ice cream. French specialties include Marseille's "Provence Fish Soup", foie gras, Paris lobster, red wine pheasant, chicken liver steak, baked snail and so on.

second, dining culture

French people attach great importance to dining etiquette, and the placement of tableware is one of the contents of food culture. In France, the simplest way to place the plate is to put the napkin in the middle of the plate, with the fork on the left and the knife and spoon on the right. In front of the plate, from left to right, there are water cups, red wine glasses and white wine glasses. The French not only pay attention to dining etiquette, but also pursue the emotional appeal of dining in particular. The French even give philosophical significance to eating at the same table, and regard eating at the same table as an elegant pleasure and enjoyment of connecting feelings and making friends. A world-class gastronomist once said, "You can judge the whole personality of this country by feeling the dining atmosphere on the table." Therefore, the French people's attitude towards food is not only to fill their stomachs, but also to enjoy life. It takes four or five hours to enjoy a formal French meal, from appetizers, seafood, meat, cheese to desserts. Although the procedures are complicated, what matters is not how much food you eat, but how to fully enjoy the high-level atmosphere of the restaurant and appreciate the collocation of tableware and food while tasting delicious food.

Third, coffee culture

Coffee culture is also a major feature of France. Since 1686, businessmen from Sicily, Italy, came here to set up the first cafe, and the cafes in Paris have been thriving. Inside and outside Paris, sidewalks, squares and gardens are almost everywhere, and the business is booming. Coffee is inseparable from French life, from milk coffee with croissants for breakfast to afternoon tea for French office workers. Coffee is accompanied by French life, so it is not surprising for coffee shops everywhere. French coffee culture has a long history, and it is not as simple as eating and drinking. A cup of coffee with an afternoon of sunshine and time is a typical French coffee. What matters is not the taste but the casual attitude and manner. French people pay attention to the environment and mood when drinking coffee. They read and write at the small coffee table on the roadside, talk about it and kill time. Since the last century, cafes have often become centers of social activities, clubs for intellectuals to debate issues, and even a typical symbol of French society and culture. White tables, blue coffee cups, awnings fluttering in the wind, busy waiters and, of course, leisurely organ are all the characteristics of French cafes. These cafes were born in Place de la Concorde, Champs Elysé es, Montmartre and Montparnasse, and then went to glory. The new trend of thought in French literature and art took root here. These cafes also witnessed French culture from germination to prosperity.

fourth, wine culture

French wine culture has grown and developed with French history and civilization. Wine culture has penetrated into all levels of French religion, politics, culture, art and life, and is closely related to people's lives. Wine, as a necessity for French people on the table every day, has become an indispensable part of French food culture. As a major producer of wine in the world, France has 1 wine-producing regions with various varieties, among which Bordeaux and Champagne are the most famous in the world. At the dinner table, the French also pay great attention to the collocation of wine and dishes, such as drinking a light aperitif before meals, drinking white wine or rose wine when eating salads, soups and seafood; Drink red wine when eating meat, and drink a little brandy or sweet wine after meals. Champagne is used for celebrations.

Fifth, cheese culture

General Charles de Gaulle once lamented: "Who can manage a country with 246 kinds of cheese?" In fact, there are as many as 487 kinds in fromage at present, which means that French people can eat different kinds of cheese every day, 365 days a year. Therefore, cheese is also a must-have item for every meal at the French table. There are roughly eight kinds of French cheese: fresh cheese, soft cheese with flower skin, soft cheese with washed rind, blue cheese, goat cheese, hard immature cheese, hard mature cheese and melted cheese. Eating cheese is also an art, and the correct collocation method can better feel its rich flavor. Generally speaking, mild cheese must be accompanied by soft wine; Cheese with salty taste should be paired with strong red wine. French bread with crisp texture should be chosen for fresh and first-cooked cheese, while rich and aged cheese is suitable for whole wheat bread with heavy taste. The formation of French cuisine and its unique food culture are the products of many factors.

The reasons for its formation are mainly as follows:

1. Historical and economic conditions

Long-term cultural, lifestyle and economic conditions have formed and developed the dietary traditions in various parts of France. The rich meat dishes and the cream sauce in Burgundy are not only attributed to the Excellence of cattle raising in Burgundy, but also to the economic prosperity in this area for centuries. On the other hand, mountainous areas are conducive to making hard cheese, which can be preserved for a long time. Historically, in areas with limited economy, most families made a living by animal husbandry, which led to various food production systems engineering.

2. It is closely related to the nationality of France

The French attach great importance to diet. A French cook once famously said, "Finding a new dish is more beneficial to mankind than finding a new star." For them, food is not only a fragment of life, but also an attitude and even a basic art of life. This is the reason why French cuisine lasts for a long time. In addition, the romantic feelings of the French people have created many romantic and wonderful life forms in the world, especially for the French aristocrats, who are characterized by luxury and enjoyment in their bones. In banquets, hunting and other activities, red wine is indispensable, which promotes the formation of a long-standing wine culture. Therefore, the world-famous French diet is inseparable from the nation's unremitting pursuit of food.

3. French cuisine has many advantages

France is adjacent to Italy, Spain, Germany and Britain, which is beneficial to French cooking. In 1533, when Princess Catherine Di Medici of Italy married Crown Prince Henry II of France, she took 3 chefs to introduce new food and cooking methods to France. The French combined the advantages of the two countries' cooking and gradually carried it forward. Louis XIV creatively launched a cooking competition, and chefs competed to perform and showed their unique skills. In the 17th century, France learned from Italy to use knives and forks, and initially formed today's western etiquette. After two or three hundred years of unremitting efforts, shine on you finally surpassed Blue. French cuisine conquered gourmets from all over the world and became the representative of western food in Europe and America.

In recent years, due to the impact of economic recession and the change of young people's eating habits, the overall price and standard of traditional expensive and exquisite food have a downward trend. Fewer and fewer French people are willing to pay astronomical prices just for a meal. Michelin and Gott Mi You, two authoritative French food reviews, began to advocate a new food culture with good quality and low price. Many restaurants that were unattainable in the past tried to cut prices sharply to attract more diners. For friends who want to taste French food, it is not an unattainable thing to go to an authentic French restaurant and enjoy a perfect meal of wine and dishes. No matter how modern the society is and how avant-garde people's thoughts and behaviors are, food is always a traditional and ancient art of a country, a reflection of a country's cultural life and a window to understand foreign cultures.