Explore The Art Of French Cooking

Explore The Art Of French Cooking

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In terms of gourmet cuisine, the Art of French cooking is often mentioned first, as it has stayed true to its fundamental principles over decades. Unlike other cooking styles in which short cuts and innovative methods are encouraged, even valued, the basic techniques in French cooking have not changed over time. However, the principles of french cooking can be applied to other cuisines and are therefore by no means outdated. In fact, in the culinary arts, the ability to prepare French cuisine is still seen as the epitome of developing ones cooking skills and almost all culinary schools teach their students how to cook French food as part of their curriculum. As you can see, hobby gourmets and aspiring chefs alike will benefit greatly from learning about french cuisine.
On a site note it is remarkable that the term 'haute cuisine' which describes highest culinary achievements is derived from the french language. The many terms that are often used to describe french cuisine (e.g. rustic, chic, indulgent, exclusive or even intimidating) can not change the fact that the basics of french cuisine are very simple. In addition to typical ingredients like herbs, cheese, lamb, mushrooms and more, the aspiring has to learn about one of the most important things: patience. Learning to cook French style means going back to the basics, firstly by sourcing the freshest, highest quality ingredients and equipment and then, preparing these ingredients with painstaking care. An example is the frequent use of clarified butter as a key ingredient which has to be carefully prepared with no alternatives that other cuisines would allow. Additionally salt and pepper are used less often, as the cooking process is designed to extract the flavors from the ingredients directly and seasoning is applied afterwards in lesser quantity.
Learning to cook French food opens up a huge range of dishes that one can learn as French cuisine encompasses different types of food, depending on which region of the country it originates from. A reason for this is the fact that the search for the freshest ingredients is often most successful with local products which leads to a distinctive variation of ingredients in local cuisines. Among the most favored ingredients in french cuisine are apples, berries and other fruits, squash, leek, red meat, game and poultry. While the south of France is strongly influenced by mediterranean ingredients like tomatoes, olives and herbs, the North makes frequent use of sausage, pork and beer. Meanwhile cheese and wine are used in most of not all local cuisines of France.
In case you are interested in learning more about french cuisine, you will find help in many available blogs, books and user groups. A good idea would be to start with a simple soup or a familiar dish cooked in the French style, for example, roast chicken, rather than attempt complicated dishes with multiple ingredients and techniques. It is quite possible to learn the basic techniques like chopping, sauting, sauce and stock making even with basic cooking skills. You will most likely not cook yourself through each and every dish like in the movie "julie and Julia" but learning about french cuisine will still improve your cooking style, feeling for ingredients and appreciation of high quality food as a gourmand.

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Learning to cook french and following the culinary art of famous chefs will help you to improve your cooking skills.
By Jean-Marie Moore and Valentin Mayr



Article Originally Published On: http://www.articlesnatch.com


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