GASTRONOMY: Eating well in France 101

If this doesn't make you salivate, you may be at the wrong place.

~~** Theorization of standard cooking procedures **~~

Standard meals must be comprised of at least three parts : the entree, the main course, and the dessert. A fourth optional part can be insterted just before the dessert, and is called the cheese part.

~The entree~

The standard entree is the first part of the meal. Unfortunately, it is often overlooked because of its small size; therefore it is essential that its importance should be emphasized as often as possible.
The entree can be many things, but the following exemples will stick to classic formulas:

• Grated carots (Carottes râpées)
• Tomatoes (Tomates)
• Oiled sardines (Sardines à l'huile)
• Soup (Soupe)
• Piedmont special salad (Piémontaise)
• Celery remoulade (Céleri rémoulade)

The entree must be followed by the main course. Ideally, a pause of 3-5 minutes will be observed between the entree and the main course, as to not rush the eater.

~The main course~

Oeuf coque

The main course, as the name implies, is the main part of any good meal, around which other parts articulate.
The standard main course should be comprised of two elements, a hard one and a soft one. Here are some exemples of hard elements:

• Croustibats (internationally renowned brand of breaded fish)
• Chopped steak (Steak haché)
• Ham (Jambon)
• Croquette fish (Croquettes de poisson)
• Roast pork (Rôti de porc)

Here are some exemples of soft elements:

• Green beans (Haricots verts)
• Puree (Purée)
• Noodles (Nouilles)
• Special beans (Flageolets)
• Rice (Riz)

These soft and hard elements can be mixed in any sort of way to create a virtually infinite number of main courses:

Mouillettes

• Ham and noodles (Du jambon et des nouilles)
• Croquette fish and rice (Des croquettes de poisson et du riz)
• Croustibats and green beans (Des croustibats et des haricots verts)
• Roast pork and puree (Du rôti de porc et de la purée)

However, they are some exceptions. Some delicious meals can be made of only one element, such as the gratin dauphinois, and some others can be made of special elements. That is the case with boiled eggs (oeufs à la coque). The oeufs à la coque cannot be eaten as-is; before actually boiling them, one must also prepare what we call mouillettes, small, long piece of bread with butter you soak in your egg before eating it.

After the main course comes the cheese part (in a large, vigorous meal), or the dessert (in a smaller meal). A pause of 5 minutes should be observed before entering either of these two parts.

~The cheese~

Although this part can be skipped altogether, cheese is key to a brighter meal. The most famous cheese is of course the Camembert, but it can be accompanied by other well-known cheeses as well:

• Émmental
• Gruyère
• Mimolette
• Chèvre
• Roquefort
• Bleu

~The dessert~

The dessert is the last part of the meal; it should be light and sweet. Several types of desserts exist, such as the yaourt, the ice cream, the chocolat mousse, and the flotting island.