French Ingredients

An on-going quest
for freshness and quality

FRUIT AND VEGETABLES          

APPLES: The favorite fruit of the French. Varieties found in France include clochard, Granny Smith, reine de reinettes, Canada, Cox, golden, and elstar. Use them cooked or raw, choosing varieties that keep their shape or cook down, depending on the needs of the recipe.

APRICOTS (summer): Choose them for flavor, not size. Use ripe when the flesh is tender, raw or cooked.

Artichokes

ARTICHOKES (summer, autumn): Use the large camus de Bretagne or other green globe varieties for the hearts; use poivrades or violets from Provence which can practically be eaten whole, raw or cooked.

ASPARAGUS (spring, early summer): wild, green or white, they have very different flavors and are only used cooked.

BELL PEPPERS: Also known as capsicum. At their best in summer, bell peppers come in green, red or yellow. Served raw or cooked.

BERRIES (late spring, summer): Blackberries, blueberries, cherries, currants (red or black), raspberries, and strawberries are marvelous in season, insipid in the winter.

Savoy cabbage

CABBAGE (late spring, summer): Included here are Brussels sprouts (cooked), red, white, and green Savoy cabbages, but also broccoli and cauliflower (used raw or cooked).

CELERY: The stalks should have the fibrous outer leaves removed and can be used raw or cooked.

CELERY ROOT (celeriac): A dense sphere, with ivory colored flesh, it is used cooked.

CITRUS FRUIT: Lemons (all seasons) are most commonly used fresh, they are also sold preserved in brine; limes (all seasons) are more exotic in origin and very different in taste; the best oranges (winter) are Maltese or navel; grapefruit maybe yellow (all seasons) or pink (winter); mandarin oranges and tangerines (in France, people prefer those from Corsica) are simple winter desserts. French cuisine makes great use of citrus fruit. Choose untreated ones, especially if you plan to use the zest.

CUCUMBER: Pick ones that are not too big or they will be full of seeds. Ensure that they are firm from end to end. In most varieties, the skin can be eaten but occasionally it is bitter and should be peeled. Used raw and more rarely cooked.

DRIED BEANS or PULSES: Green lentils from Le Puy, white haricot beans including the ones from Soissons, split peas and garbanzo beans (chick peas) are all nourishing and filling and are mostly cooked in the winter.

DRIED FRUIT: Apricots and figs from Turkey, dates, sultanas, and dark or golden currants are a veritable bounty in the winter months. The French also consider nuts to be dried fruits and use walnuts, hazelnuts, pine nuts, and pistachios widely.

Eggplant

EGGPLANT (summer): Also known as aubergine. Pick eggplants that are not too large, firm, with smooth, shiny skins and bright green stems. Use cooked.

FAVA BEANS (spring, summer): Also known as broad beans. Removing their thick pods and tough skins requires patience (see page 46). Allow 1 lb (500 g) per person, unshelled. Usually cooked, occasionally eaten raw.

Fennel

FENNEL (autumn, winter): Select round, dense, white bulbs with bright green stems. Discard the outer layers. Use raw or cooked.

LEEK: choose the thin-stalked variety known as "baguette. “ Usually only the white is eaten; eaten cooked.

LETTUCE AND SALAD GREENS: Included in many a meal. Dandelion, arugula (rocket), mesclun (a mixture of greens), romaine, lolla, nasturtiums, and zucchini (courgette) flowers in summer, curly endive, batavia, escarole, lamb's lettuce, chicory, watercress, Belgian endive, and raddicchio in the cold season, and rougette or feuille de chêne all year long. The art of salad making involves balancing its ingredients and its dressing.

MUSHROOMS: They come farmed like white mushrooms (the only ones that can be used raw) as well as oyster mushrooms, pieds-de-mouton (originally from Japan, they can be used as a substitute for ceps), or wild and full-flavored like the trompettes-de-la-mort, ceps, girolles (summer and autumn), or morels (spring). The nec plus ultra is of course the truffle, white or black. Very costly, but incomparable, it can be used raw or cooked.

Pineapple

Lentils

PEARS: The juiciest, most flavorful varieties are Williams, beurré-Hardy or doyenné-du-comice. Used raw or cooked.

POTATOES: The most popular vegetable in France. Varieties available include bintje, BF15, ratte, roseval and charlotte. Choose waxy ones that hold their shape or floury ones that mash easily when cooked depending on the requirements of the recipe.

Pumpkin

PUMPKIN (spring, summer): One of a number of orange fleshed squash (marrow) with subtly different textures and tastes. Used cooked.

SPINACH: The leaves, often caked with soil, must be carefully washed and trimmed (see page 56). When used cooked, count 1 lb (500 g) per person unprepared spinach. Young leaves are also eaten raw.

SWISS CHARD: Choose ones that are small and tender, with clear white stems and green leaves. Large ones are fibrous and dry. Eat cooked.

Tomatoes on the vine

TOMATOES (summer): Avoid industrially produced, greenhouse or canned types, and choose them in season and grown on the vine. In winter, you might consider ones imported from warm lands like Tunisia and Morocco. They can be used raw or cooked, generally peeled and seeded. Drop them into boiling water for 10 seconds, then under running cold water. The skin will slip off easily. Remove the stem and the tough, core, cut in half horizontally. Use your thumb to scrape out seeds... it's as easy as that!

TROPICAL FRUIT: Bananas, kiwis, mangoes, papayas, pineapple, star fruit... whenever possible, choose fruit that was picked ripe in its country of origin and shipped by air for freshness.

VEGETABLES, EARLY, ALSO NEW OR BABY:

Found in the spring, always small in size, often sold in bunches with their leaves or stems still attached, many vegetables are sold "new" including carrots, turnips, onions, peas, green beans, snow peas (mange-tout), and potatoes. In French markes,"primeur" vegetables are the very first harvests of the year, whatever the season.

ZUCCHINI (spring, summer): Choose zucchini (courgettes) that are small, dense and firm. Use cooked, or raw, finely sliced in salads.

HERBS, SPICES, AND CONDIMENTS          

BOUQUET GARNI: A classic mixture of sprigs of herbs (parsley, thyme, bay leaves), tied into a bundle. Adds taste to boiled and stewed dishes.

Garlic

GARLIC: At its best when it is young, in the spring and summer. Out of season, remove the sprout in the middle that is hard on the digestion.

HERBS: Avoid at all costs dried or powdered herbs (the rare exceptions to this rule are bay leaves, thyme, origano, and rosemary). Use them fresh in season, bought in bunches from the market, or grown in a pot or in a corner of the garden. The most common ones are basil, chervil, chives, cilantro (coriander), dill, mint (sweet or pepper), parsley (flat leaf, whenever possible, curly, when not), tarragon. French cookery uses great amounts of herbs.

HORSERADISH: A white-fleshed root vegetable, with a very strong flavor. It is sold in jars, ready to use. Mixed with whipped cream, it makes an excellent sauce for smoked fish.

MUSTARD: There are all kinds. The world famous Dijon is refined, pale, and strong. From Meaux, also called "à l'ancienne" it contains whole seeds.

OLIVES: Green, black or violet, buy them with the pits (stones) in, for more taste.

Onions

ONION: They come in yellow (the most common variety), white, and sweet red onion, and grelot (or pearl) onions. One of the most widely used flavorings in French cooking. Careful, they can make you cry! Peel them under running water Scallions (also called spring onions), are used throughout the spring and summer.

Fleur de sel (sea salt)

SALT: Marsh salt, harvested by hand and packed unprocessed without any chemical additives, is the nec plus ultra. Ground it is called fleur de sel, in larger pieces, it is known as rock salt. Both retain a little moisture. The most famous is from Guérande in Brittany, with a pronounced flavor of iodine and seaweed.

Shallots

SHALLOTS: Long (Jersey) types are best. They also come in yellow and rosy varieties. Widely used is sauces. When spouted, they are called cives in French, and are used like scallions.

Esplette chilies

SPICES: anise seed, celery salt, chili (tiny, very strong peppers from the West Indies, espelette from Basque Country, and Cayenne pepper), cinnamon (in sticks or ground), cloves (the head of which contains all the flavor), coriander seeds, curry powder (the best mixes are Indian brands, available mild, medium or hot, depending on the amount of chili), fennel, ginger (the fresh rhizome is peeled and grated, also available powdered or candied), juniper berries, nutmeg (whole, then grated as needed), paprika (pick the mild variety from Hungary), pepper (mild white, strong black, or mixed, it must be freshly ground as needed, finely or coarsely—the latter is called mignonette; there are also fruity, green peppercorns, best bought vacuum-packed, or fragrant pink peppercorns), quatre-épices (a blend of ginger, clove, pepper and nutmeg), saffron (in threads or powdered form), vanilla beans, powdered or extract (the Bourbon variety from Reunion, or the rarer, most fragrant kind from Tahiti). Avoid artificial flavorings and use powdered spices with caution, which lose their strength quickly and acquire a taste of sawdust or soap.

Olives

GROCERIES          

BOUILLON CUBES: Dissolved in water, the cubes add flavor to boiled dishes. Homemade stock can be used, but it is time-consuming.

CHOCOLATE AND COCOA: use "couverture" chocolate or dark chocolate, containing between 55% and 70% cocoa. If using powdered cocoa, pick an unsweetened variety.

COURT-BOUILLON, CUBES OR POWDER:

Dissolved in water, it is used for poaching fish. It would take a little too long to make it from scratch.

FLOUR: wheat flour is the most common. For pastries and cakes, sift it before use.

FOND: made from veal, poultry etc. Concentrated stock used as the basis of many sauces and gravies. It is fastidious to make from scratch, but is available ready-to-use forms, including concentrate, liquid and dry (use 1 tablespoon concentrate for 10 cl boiling water).

FOND: made from veal, poultry etc. Concentrated stock used as the basis of many sauces and gravies. It is fastidious to make from scratch, but is available ready-to-use forms, including concentrate, liquid and dry (use 1 tablespoon concentrate to 100 ml boiling water).

GOOSE OR DUCK FAT: excellent cooking fat, especially for sautéing potatoes. Reserved fat from a confit will keep several months, but it can also be bought in jars and cans.

HONEY: The best liquid honey for cooking is acacia honey from Hungary.

OIL: Have at least three types on hand: peanut (neutral, for cooking); olive (tasty, for cooking and salads); and walnut (for salads only). There are also oils of corn, sunflower, hazelnut, and sesame. Be careful, their flavors vary greatly, few can be cooked at high temperatures and many go rancid quite quickly. Peanut or olive oil forms the basis of mayonnaise, one of the most famous sauces in the world, and a classically French recipe. In a mixing bowl, stir together an egg yolk with 1 teaspoon of strong mustard (if liked) or the same amount of oil (if not). Add oil very gradually, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until a smooth emulsion is reached. The sauce is ready when it is thick and stiff. Add salt to taste, and lighten it with lemon juice. This marvelous sauce is fail-proof, if all the ingredients are at room temperature. If for some reason the sauce separates or curdles, take another egg yolk, and very slowly whisk in the first mixture.

PASTA: Pick Italian pasta, from a reputable brand, and made of durum wheat. Cook in large quantities of water at a rolling boil, and follow the instructions to cook them al dente.

Phyllo pastry

PHYLLO PASTRY OR BRIK: Arab, Turkish or Greek in origin, it makes airy, flaky pastry that cooks quickly and can be used in sweet or savory dishes

RICE: There are 8000 varieties! You can content yourself with three types: superfino arborio from the Po Valley for risotto and desserts (this is the only rice that does not require washing); Basmati or Surinam for plain boiled rice; and a Camargue or Madagascar rice, for recipes au gras (cooked in rich broth) or pilafs. Avoid parboiled or converted rice that is totally lacking in taste.

SEMOLINA: Made of wheat for couscous and desserts, of corn for polenta. Follow the instructions on the package.

SUGAR: Refined white sugar is the most common, made from either cane or beets. Confectioners' (icing) sugar (a powder) superfine (caster) sugar; or granulated sugar. Brown or demerara sugars contain varying amounts of molasses. Raw sugar is unrefined.

VINEGAR: There are all kinds. Regard fanciful product with extreme caution. The most dependable are aged red wine vinegar, sherry (xeres) vinegar, balsamic, cider, white (or crystal) vinegar (used only in cooking). Vinegar is the soul of vinaigrette, one of the most famous sauces in the world, invented in France in the 14th century. Dissolve a pinch of salt in one part vinegar, add a few grinds of pepper, then three parts oil and whisk together until emulsified. The secret of success is in the ingredients. Olive oil with balsamic vinegar (or lemon juice) or walnut oil and sherry vinegar, are classics. You can also add a little mustard. With seeds, it picks up wine vinegar and peanut oil. Try it. Also don't neglect cornichons (small pickles or gherkins) or onions pickled in vinegar, that add life to cold cuts and hams.

Sea urchins

Whelks

Scallops

Oysters

SEAFOOD AND SHELLFISH          

Parisians love seafood, and thanks to quick transport and refrigeration techniques, they can enjoy them year round. Before, eating shellfish was reserved for months with Rs, from September to April, when much seafood is still at its best. Shellfish available in Paris include: sea urchins (eaten raw), periwinkles and whelks (cooked), scallops (cooked, though very rarely also served raw), flat belon, deep-shelled creuse or fines de claire oysters (usually raw, very occasionally cooked), small bouchot mussels (cooked) or larger plumper varieties that are served raw or stuffed and cooked on the half shell, palourde, praire or clovisse clams (again raw or cooked) and tiny pétoncles or bay scallops.

Petit-gris or Burgundy escargots (snails) are land-bound shelled creatures.

The main crustaceans, best when during the warm season, are all eaten cooked: araignées, étrilles (spider or rock) crabs, the latter being used for bisques and fish soups, or the more familiar, large tourteau crabs (preferably female), bay or soft-shelled shrimp and jumbo prawns, blue-shelled Brittany lobster, langoustine or Dublin Bay prawns (again preferably from Brittany).

The best freshwater écrevisse or crayfish are the red-clawed variety. And finally, in the cephalopoda family, there are exquisite molluscs better known as octopus, cuttlefish, and squid. Prefer smaller ones, and always serve them cooked.

Araignée or rock crab

Lobster

Langoustine

Octopus

FISH          

There are over 20,000 species of fish. We will simply mention a handful that are used in our recipes because they are the most popular in French cooking. Pick fish that is firm-fleshed, shiny without any trace of blood, with bright red gills, shiny, round eyes, and a fresh smell. Avoid pre-cut fillets, and have them cut for you when you order. Exercise great care when cooking fish, for failure to do so can result in ruining a fine product.

BAR: similar to sea bass, it is one of the finest fish, with lean flesh. It is called loup or wolf in the Mediterranean because of its voracious appetite.

BRILL: a flat fish with dense, slightly fatty flesh, related to the turbot.

COD: the most popular fish, with lean, flaky flesh. Cod is sold fresh, but salt cod or morue is also widely used, the best being bacalhão, or "green" cod from Portugal.

DORADE: similar to porgy. Lean and tender, the gray variety of this ocean fish is considered to be better than the pink.

RED MULLET: A small, semi-fatty fish, with distinctive tasting iodized flesh. If it is not available, use the bonier, less valued grondin or gurnard.

SALMON: Look for a wild salmon fished in Scotland or in the Pacific northwest. Failing that, pick a young, farmed fish.

SARDINE: A small fatty fish, equally delicious raw, marinated or cooked.

SOLE: This famous and particularly tasty flat fish belonging to the Pleuronectiforme order has, through the long process of evolution, developed the particularity of having both eyes on the same side of its head.

TUNA: The flesh of this fatty fish resembles veal. Albacore tuna is the finest. If it is no available, use red tuna.

TURBOT: Large Pleuronectiforme with very white flesh. Its excellent reputation is well deserved.

Crème fraîche

Whipped cream

DAIRY PRODUCTS          

BUTTER: Sweet (unsalted) or salted (also available semi-salted or demi-sel in France). The best sweet butter in France comes from Échiré, Sainte-Mère or Isigny, and the best salted butter from Guérande or Noirmoutier. Be careful! Butter burns easily and should be cooked over low heat. Mixing it with an equal amount of oil allows it to be cooked at slightly higher temperatures. It goes without saying that margarine can in no way replace butter, which French cuisine uses extensively.

CREME FRAICHE: The best is unpasteurized, but pasteurized, more readily available, can also be used. The exquisite nature of this thick cream makes it ideal served with berries or fruit tarts, and it is recommended in cooking, especially in preparing sauces. Heavy (whipping or double) cream is called fleurette in French, and is ideal for making whipped cream, which is called chantilly cream when it is sweetened. The secret to making it is putting the cream, the mixing bowl and the whisk or (electric) beaters in the refrigerator an hour before whipping. When ready, whip without stopping until the beaters leave an impression in the cream. Beat it any longer and it will turn into butter, any less and it will be runny. If making chantilly, sprinkle in sugar when the cream has begun to form peaks but is still soft. If only thick crème fraîche is available, dilute with a little iced water for the right consistency.

EGGS: Eggs in France are sold at the cremerie, along with daily products (which is as strange as finding rabbit at poultry butchers, as tradition still dictates). Chicken eggs are the most common. Pick them as fresh as possible, ideally laid by grain-fed, free-range chickens. In these and most French recipes, use eggs that are medium in size (about 55-60 g) and bring them to room temperature about 30 minutes before using. Quail eggs are also found, and are often used in appetizers.

MILK: Choose fresh milk—UHT and other extended shelf life products taste of chalk. Use whole milk for desserts. It is tastier and more unctuous.

Quail's eggs

POULTRY          

Whether small birds (quail, pigeons) or large farmyard animals (ducks, capons, roosters, turkeys, geese, guinea or game hens, chickens), choose the best available. In France, find ducks from Challans, chickens from the Bourdonnais, Bresse or Sarthe regions, geese from the Touraine. Pick them free-range, grain-fed and at the right age. Avoid at all costs industrially produced animals, even if the price is attractive. It is better to eat a fine product occasionally rather than eating poor quality foods often. Farmed rabbits are also sold by the poultry butcher, an oddity that dates back to the Middle Ages. Under poultry, we also include fresh duck, chicken and rabbit livers, which are wonderful pan-fried with a few salad greens, and foie gras, fattened livers of geese (the best of which come from Alsace) or of ducks (from the southwest), as well as magrets (fattened duck breasts), rillettes (seasoned duck or goose meat cooked in its fat, then cooled until spread-able) and confit (whole pieces of meat preserved in fat), also specialties of the southwest that illustrate masterful skill and patience.

MEAT AND CHARCUTERIE          

Nothing can replace the knowledge of a specialist, especially when it comes to something as crucial as meat, the cornerstone of French culinary tradition. All slaughterhouse animals are divided into the noble, expensive cuts that require short cooking times (grilling or roasting), and the cheaper, "lower" cuts, that are slow cooked (boiled, braised or simmered). If an animal has been raised and slaughtered correctly, every cut willbe full of flavor, so long as it is cooked well. We will not discuss game animals here, or horsemeat, simply because one cannot hope to do it all!

LAMB: These days, mutton, thought to be too strong in taste, has been replaced by milk-fed lamb, the flesh of which is pale and tender, unweaned from its mother's milk, or "white" lamb, with dark red meat and very white fat, fed on milk and grass in the open air. The best meat is from Sologne, Sisteron and the Normandy coast (where feeding on the greens salted by the rising tides flavors the meat). The "noble" cuts are the leg of lamb, the saddle, and chops that should be eaten medium rare. Other prized milk-fed animals are piglets (less than two months old) and young male goats, from the Poitou or from Corsica.

Lamb

1 Neck

2 Rib and loin (chops and roast)

3 Shoulder

4 Spareribs

5 Flank

6 Saddle

7 Leg of lamb

VEAL: Its pale pink flesh, with very white fat, is tender and moist. It is served medium. 100% milk-fed veal (said to be "from under the mother" in French) from the Limousin or the Touraine regions is the nec plus ultra. The best cuts are the fillets, the chops and the eye round that the butcher cuts into scallops. Veal offal (liver, sweet-breads, kidneys, tripe, feet and head) are enjoyed by connoisseurs.

Veal

1 Head

2 Neck

3 Chops

4 Shoulder

5 Shank

6 Breast

7 Loin

8 Flank

9 Rump

10 Sirloin

11 Sirloin tip

12 Round

BEEF: The meat should be deep red in color, with yellowing fat, and should be well aged, served only two to three weeks after slaughter. Used any earlier and it will render water. If you have bought meat that has not had time to age (light red in color and bloody), you can age it at home. Remove it from its wrapping, place it on a plate, brush with a little oil and leave in the refrigerator for a few days, turning from time to time, so that it will release its water. The quality cuts (tenderloin, rib eye, rib and rump steaks) are eaten rare, or even raw as is the case with steak tartare. The best races for beef in France are the Limousine, Salers, Charolaise and Blonde d'Aquitaine.

Beef

1 Jowl

2 Neck

3 Blade or chuck roast

4 Ribs

5 Brisket

6 Shank

7 Short ribs

8 Stewing or ground beef (mince)

9 Rib eye

10 Top loin

11 Tenderloin

12 Tip steak or roast

13 Flank steak

14 Sirloin

15 Rolled rump

16 Round steak or roast

PORK: The most affordable of what is erroneously referred to as white meat. The best cuts of fresh pork are the loin, tenderloin and chops. In Alsace, the blade and shoulder are enjoyed salt cured or smoked. Pork is the most valued commodity in producing charcuterie or various forms of dried, cured or preserved meats: cured hams like those from Bayonne (substitute Spanish serrano ham), smoked hams like those from Alsace, or boiled au torchon which is the favorite in Paris: fresh sausages like garlic sausages, or dried ones like jésus, rosette de Lyon or dried sausages from Auvergne, cooking sausages like pistachio sausages from Lyon or Morteaux sausagees; blood (also called black) pudding or sausage, made with pork fat and onions, andouilles from Vire or Guémené, hand-tied andouillettes (chitterling sausage), the best being certified by the AAAAA (Amicable Association of Authentic Andouillette Appreciators), rillettes, slated and smoked bacon, trotters, stuffed or plain. The French say that the whole of the pig makes for good eating?

Pork

1 Jowl

2 Neck

3 Back fat

4 Blade chops

5 Loin roast

6 Picnic roast

7 (Ham) hock

8 Rib chops and tenderloin

9 Ham

10 Belly and bacon