1. French Fries
French frites originate from Belgium!
At the end of the 17th century, some Belgians used to fry small fishes. When fishing was not practical, e.g. in winter, cut potatoes in long thin slices and fry them similarly to the way they fired fishes.
Potato was thought to be the cause of desease in France and its cultivation has even been banned by the French authorities in 1748 until Antoine-Augustine Parmentier (yes, the one who who invented Hachis Parmentier), an army medical officer, became the first French advocate of potato. He realised potatoes were safe when being forced to cultivate and consume it while in prison in Prussia. It is only thanks to a famine in 1785 that Parmentier managed to make potatoes popular in France.
Very shortly after, the French discovered how to fry potatoes and the “frites” became very popular in France. The French introduced fries to Britain and America. The Americans spread the “French fries” to the rest of the world via their fast food chains.
French fries are called frites or pomme frites in France. In Australia, chips may be used for thickly cut fries. French fries or frites are typically used for thinly cut fries. The Americans tried to rename the French fries into Freedom Fries in 2003 due to the disagreements with France about the invasion of Iraq. How smart can they be sometimes…
2. Frog legs
were likely first consumed in China!
We are easily led to believe that the delicacy of eating frog’s legs is a French idea but it is not…
It is believed that the Chinese consumed frogs back in the first century. The French did not fancy frog legs before the 12th century. Around that time, the Church decided to ban meat from the monk’s diet on certain days of the week to force them lose some weight. However, frog legs were not classified as meat and the monks jumped on that occasion. That’s how it started to become popular in France. Nowdays, the French eat about 80 million plus frogs annually, approx. 4,000 tons!
The reason why the English have used the word “frog” in reference to the French people has probably been emphasized by the fact that the French are the world’s best frog leg eaters but may originate from something completely different. The frog was actually the animal symbol of Clovis, the first king of the Franks (5th century). Clovis changed the three frogs to the fleur de lis when he converted to Christianity.
3. Foie Gras
was first made in Egypt!
The ancient Egyptians first discovered that ducks were developing large and fatty levers before migrations over 4000 years ago.
They developed the “gavage” technique reproduce those fatty levers. The gavage technique spread out to Greece and Rome where the fatty lever became a delicacy. After the fall of Rome however, goose liver disappeared from European cuisine. The gavage technique was conserved by the Jews, who learned it from the Egyptians and Romans. Jews migrated to France and brought the technique back. It is only in 1788 that foie gras became popular in France when the governor of Alsace order a new dish from his cook who came up with the "pâté de Contades", a whole foie baked in a pastry crust. The governor sent a sample to the King Louis XVI who loved it and gave an estate in Picardie to the governor in return…
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4. Raclette & Fondue
Raclette originated from a French speaking part of Switzerland, the Valais region!
There are a couple variants about who started consumed it first, either by shepherds in the mountain or grape pickers in vineyards. The raclette block of cheese was placed by a fireplace or campfire. As the cheese becomes soft, the melted cheese was scrapped to be served on potatoes, hence its name as raclette means scraping off.
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Are those French foods really French?
6. Eggs Benedict
may originate from France, no one knows for sure!
Apparently, no one knows for sure where Eggs Benedict originate from. One of the four theory about the origin of the dish involves the “œufs bénédictine”, a traditional French dish made of salt cod and mash potatoes (brandade) laid on fried bread with a poached egg on top and hollandaise sauce. This theory would explain why the adjective follows the noun according to the French syntax.
7. French Beans
originated from South and Central America!
There is nothing French about French beans. French beans originated in South and Central America about 7000 years ago. Christopher Columbus brought the French beans back to Europe. Why they are called French remains a mystery to us...
last updated 10-September-2016
5. Cheese
The discovery of Cheese making techniques is assumed to be made thousands of years before Christ!
It may have been discovered by accident somewhere in Asia when nomades transporting milk in animal skins realised that fermentation in combination with regular movements would result in cheese.
The romans are believed to be the one importing the cheese making techniques into France. The French slowly became the biggest consumer of cheese per head (26kg in 2013) and the third biggest producer behind the USA and Germany.
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The English language has an inclination to attribute the adjective “French” to food names despite their lack of relationship to France. People also tend to associate products to a country throughout the years as it becomes the biggest consumer or producer of that product.
We have reviewed the origin of most French associated food with some expected confirmations but many surprises. Let yourself be amazed by numerous misconceptions about the origin of French associated food, savoury first followed by sweet...
8. French Dressing
does not originate from France!
The origins of this orange american dressing appear to be a mystery but one thing is for sure, you wont find French dressing in France…
9. French mustard
came from England!
This dark brown, mild and tangy / sweet mustard is absolutely not French. French mustard is particular to the UK and was invented by Colman's in 1936. It became a popular accompaniment to steak in particular.
10. French onion soup
Onion soups have been around since Roman times!
The French onion soup does originate from France though in the 18th century with caramelized onions, croutons and Comte grilled in the oven.
11. Croque monsieur
First appeared in 1910 in a café on the Boulevard des Capucines in Paris, the Croque-Monsieur is basically a grilled ham and cheese sandwich. But,as it is French, it is made with healthy ham, proper cheese (Gruyere or Emmental), and obviously pan fried in butter.There are a number of theories about how it was invented and the reason for its name but none of them appears to be confirmed.
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13. Croissants
originate from Austria with a strong French touch! (source)
The legend about the origin of the croissant states that it was created to commemorate a battle won against the Turks, the crescent being the symbol of Islam. What we know for sure is that in the late 1830s an Austrian opened a bakery in Paris serving specialities from Vienna including the Kipferl (the croissant ancestor). The French named it croissant (crescent) for its shape. French breakfast pastries are called viennoiseries because of this bakery.
However, the original kipferl was made with brioche-like dough and was denser than the croissant as we know it. The French invented the pâte feuilletée (puff pastry) in 1653. But it is only in 1915 that the first croissant recipe with puff pastry was written by a French baker. This French touch made the croissant tastes like it does nowdays.
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14. French toast
were probably invented by the romans!
The first reference to what we now call French toast dates from the 4th century in Rome. So no, the French did not invent French toast that we actually call “pain perdu” (lost bread) as hard bread is soaked in milk, eggs and sugar before frying. The bread used was considered lost, hence its name. The reason why it’s called French toast is likely to be similar to the French fries, i.e. they were popularized in America by French immigrants and then from America to the rest of the world.
15. Macarons
originated from Italy!
Macarons originate from Italy and have been imported to France by the Chef of Catherine de Medicis early 1530s. Macaron comes from the Italian word “macaroni” which means “fine dough”. At this time, macarons were simple cookies made of sugar, egg whites and almond powder.
The French are associated with macarons since they adapted the original recipe to what macarons look like now. It is the grandson of Louis Ernest Laduree who came up with the idea of making it a double cookie and a ganache to assemble them.
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16. French silk pie
is American!
This pie is all american, nothing to do with France. No idea why it’s called this way…
17. French Vanilla
is not a type of vanilla from France!
Vanilla varieties are usually named by their origin e.g. Tahiti, Madagascar, Mexico... However, French vanilla is not a type of vanilla. It is usually used for preparations with strong vanilla flavours with vanilla grains. The name comes from the French style ice cream recipe where cream and egg are used in the custard.
18. French bread (stick)- la baguette
is and has always been French!
According to Jim Chevallier, a wealth of data shows that the baguette is, and always has been, French and evolved directly from long French breads in the seventeenth century desptite claims that the baguette was a foreign import that originated in Austria.
19. French Pancake
French pancakes are Crepes in French and originate from Brittany, a region of France.
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12. Snails
Humans in Spain already ate snails about 10,000 years ago!
The Romans mastered the cultivation of snails and brought it to France where they taught the French how to manage snail farms and their method to make the snails grow quicker. The snails were first consumed as a dessert in France.
There are two main species of edible snails in France, the "petit-gris" ("little grey.") and the
"escargot de Bourgogne" (aka "Roman Snail") which is considered the best for its taste and size.
The French consume about 40,000 metric tons of snails each year.
By the twelfth century the Catholic Church classified snails as fish together with frogs and turtles. This classification allowed people to eat snails on Fridays and Lent and let the monks still eat some delicacies while they were put on a diet by their Church as they became to fat (see frog legs).
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