Food Culture in France (Food Culture around the World)

225 Pages·2007·3.53 MB·English

by  Julia L. Abramson

Food Culture in
France
France. Cartography by Bookcomp, Inc.
Food Culture in
France
JULIA ABRAMSON
Food Culture around the World
Ken Albala, Series Editor
GREENWOOD PRESS
Westport, Connecticut · London
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Abramson, Julia.
Food culture in France / Julia Abramson.
p. cm.—(Food culture around the world, ISSN 1545–2638)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0–313–32797–1 (alk. paper)
1. Cookery, French. 2. Food habits—France. I. Title.
TX719.A237 2007
641.5'944—dc22 2006031524
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available.
Copyright © 2007 by Julia Abramson
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be
reproduced, by any process or technique, without the
express written consent of the publisher.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2006031524
ISBN-10: 0–313–32797–1
ISBN-13: 978–0–313–32797–1
ISSN: 1545–2638
First published in 2007
Greenwood Press, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881
An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc.
www.greenwood.com
Printed in the United States of America

The paper used in this book complies with the
Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National
Information Standards Organization (Z39.48–1984).
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
T he publisher has done its best to make sure the instructions and/or recipes in this book
are correct. However, users should apply judgment and experience when p reparing r ecipes,
especially parents and teachers working with young people. The publisher accepts no
responsibility for the outcome of any recipe included in this volume.
Contents
Series Foreword vii
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction xi
Timeline xiii
1. Historical Overview 1
2. Major Foods and Ingredients 41
3. Cooking 81
4. Typical Meals 103
5. Eating Out 117
6. Special Occasions 137
7. Diet and Health 155
Glossary 169
Resource Guide 171
Selected Bibliography 175
Index 185

Series Foreword
The appearance of the Food Culture around the World series marks a
defi nitive stage in the maturation of Food Studies as a discipline to
reach a wider audience of students, general readers, and foodies alike.
In c omprehensive interdisciplinary reference volumes, each on the food
c ulture of a country or region for which information is most in demand,
a remarkable team of experts from around the world offers a deeper
understanding and appreciation of the role of food in shaping human
culture for a whole new generation. I am honored to have been asso-
ciated with this project as series editor. Each volume follows a series
f ormat, with a c hronology of food-r elated dates and narrative chapters
entitled Introduction, H istorical Overview, Major Foods and Ingredients,
Cooking, Typical Meals, Eating Out, Special Occasions, and Diet and
Health. Each also includes a g lossary, bibliography, resource guide, and
illustrations. Finding or growing food has of course been the major pre-
occupation of our s pecies throughout history, but how various peoples
around the world learn to exploit their natural resources, come to esteem
or shun specifi c foods, and develop unique cuisines reveals much more
about what it is to be human. There is perhaps no better way to under-
stand a culture, its values, preoccupations, and fears, than by examin-
ing its attitudes t oward food. Food provides the daily sustenance around
which families and c ommunities bond. It p rovides the material basis for
rituals through which people celebrate the passage of life stages and their
connection to divinity. Food preferences also serve to separate i ndividuals
viii Series Foreword
and groups from each other, and as one of the most powerful factors in
the construction of identity, we physically, emotionally and spiritually
become what we eat. By studying the foodways of people different from
ourselves we also grow to understand and tolerate the rich diversity of
practices around the world. What seems strange or frightening among
other people becomes perfectly r ational when set in context. It is my hope
that readers will gain from these volumes not only an aesthetic appre-
ciation for the glories of the many culinary traditions described, but also
ultimately a more profound respect for the peoples who devised them.
Whether it is eating New Year’s dumplings in China, f olding tamales with
friends in Mexico, or going out to a famous Michelin-starred restaurant
in France, understanding these food traditions helps us to understand the
people themselves. As g lobalization proceeds apace in the twenty-fi rst
century it is also more important than ever to preserve unique local and
regional traditions. In many cases these books describe ways of eating that
have already begun to disappear or have been seriously transformed by
modernity. To know how and why these losses occur today also enables us
to decide what t raditions, whether from our own heritage or that of oth-
ers, we wish to keep alive. These books are thus not only about the food
and culture of peoples around the world, but also about ourselves and who
we hope to be.
Ken Albala
University of the Pacifi c
Acknowledgments
For two decades and more, I have been traveling regularly to France to live
and work, to research and write. In this time, many people have opened
their doors to me and shared their meals and food lore, their conversation
and friendship. I am profoundly grateful for this hospitality and for these
many personalized introductions to the food cultures of France. Of all my
debts, that to my cousin Charlotte Berger-Grenèche and to Franç ois D epoil
is by far the greatest. Discerning eaters and accomplished cooks; convivial,
generous hosts; and thoughtful participants in the culture of their own
country, Charlotte and Franç ois more than anyone else have taught me
what it means to eat à la française. This book is for them, and it is for my
parents, who nourished my interest in food from the very beginning.
T hanks are due to the wonderfully supportive community of scholars
interested in food history and in France. Beatrice Fink, Barbara Ketcham
Wheaton, and Carolin C. Young shared with me their enthusiasm for
French food and have steadfastly encouraged mine. Ken Albala, editor
for the Greenwood Press world food culture series, and Wendi Schnaufer,
senior editor at the Press, made it possible for me to write this book. I
am grateful to Kyri Watson Clafl in, Priscilla Parkhurst Ferguson, Alison
Matthews-David, Norman Stillman, and Charles Walton, who read drafts
of these chapters. Layla Roesler responded with grace, wit, and precision
to what must have seemed like endless questions about her family life.
Through her good humor this book has been much enriched.