Aboukir is a sponge cake. It’s baked in a Charlotte Mould, sliced into layers, then reassembled with chestnut cream between each layer. The cake is then glazed with a coffee-flavoured fondant (a thick sugar paste) and garnished with pistachios. Bombe Aboukir (Bombe Glacée) A bombe mould pan is lined with pistachio ice cream then filled…
French Food
Aboukir Almonds
Aboukir almonds are a candy, a type of “petit-four.” To make Aboukir almonds, whole almonds are blanched, then roasted, and set aside. Almond paste is then coloured green or pink, and pressed into a ball or an oval. A hole is pressed into the top of each almond paste ball, and one of the roasted…
Aioli
Aioli is a thick creamy garlic sauce used in the cooking of Provence, France, and of Catalonia in Spain. It is usually served on the side at room temperature. It is often compared to mayonnaise in its texture, but it is not actual mayonnaise. It is mainly served with cold or hot boiled fish. It…
Alexis Benoit Soyer: Chef and Food Writer
Alexis Benoit Soyer was a famous French chef and food author whose career actually mostly took place in England.
Anchovy Paste
Anchovy Paste © Denzil Green Anchovy paste is made of cured anchovy filets that are puréed. It will contain nothing other than anchovies, the salt that was used in the curing, and some olive oil to make the paste smoother. The paste usually comes in tubes. It is is only used in small quantities at…
Anna Potatoes
Anna potatoes is a French potato casserole with crisp edges. To make it, potatoes are cut into thinly sliced rounds (less than 1/4 inch / 5 mm thick.) If you are very particular, you make sure the potatoes are very round before you start, and even trim them if you have to. Clarified butter is…
Apéritifs
Many chefs complain about our habit of drinking cocktails before sitting down to a meal. Most people find a few rounds of cocktails can get things off to a rolling start, but you can see their point: they want us paying attention to the tastes of their food, instead of just focussing on not sliding…
Appellation of Controlled Origin
Appellation of Controlled Origin (AOC) is a French certification system started in 1935. It sets standards for certain products that producers have to meet in order to make products called by certain names, and carrying the letters AOC. The AOC system tries to define a product based on a geographic area, of which the product…
Ardennes Dry Ham
Ardennes Dry Ham (“Jambon sec des Ardennes”) is a French ham. It is not the same as “Ardenne Ham” (“Jambon d’Ardenne”) which is from Belgium. The Ardennes area in Europe extends from south-western Belguim into a pocket of north-eastern France, forming a large circle with Chimay, Belgium at the north, and Orval, France in the…
Bannetons
A banneton is a basket in which free-formed bread is put to rise. The purpose is to shape the dough, and to let some moisture leave the surface of the dough.
Banyuls Vinegar
Banyuls Vinegar is a wine vinegar that tastes somewhat like a cross between balsamic and sherry vinegar. It has an underlying taste of walnuts, with a hint of sweetness. It is not as harsh as red wine vinegar. The colour varies from a rosy colour to a more golden colour (referred to respectively as “rouge”…
Bar-Le-Duc Jelly
Bar-Le-Duc Jelly is a currant jelly made in Bar-le-Duc, Lorraine, France. It is made from currants, sugar and water (the syrup used to be honey.) Some of the jelly made is white currant jelly, some is red currant jelly. The currants remain intact in the jam, with a syrup around them, suspended in the jelly….
Bastille Day
The 14th of July is Bastille Day, France’s national day. It celebrates the beginning of the French revolution. Celebrate today with good French food and wine!
Batavia Lettuce
Batavia Lettuce is classed variously as a loose-leaf lettuce, or semi-heading lettuce. In hot weather, the lettuce is slow to bolt, and its crisp leaves that are like Romaine retain their crispness even in hot growing conditions. It’s one of the favourites in France, owing both to its taste and its good shelf life after…
Batavia Red Lettuce
Batavia Red Lettuce © Denzil Green Batavia Red has been in Europe for some time, but began picking up popularity in North America in the early 2000s. In North America, some regions have decided to start calling it Sierra, while other areas call it — well, by its name. Batavia Red has jagged-edged leaves that…
Bauchant
Bauchant is a sweet liqueur made from Curaçao orange extracts combined with aged Napoléon brandies. It is triple-distilled to give it a strong orange fragrance and taste. It comes in a rounded, dark brown glass bottle. Bauchant is made by the Maison Roullet-Fransac in Chermignac, France (Chermignac is in the heart of the Cognac region.)…
Baveuse
Baveuse is a French cooking term meaning moist, juicy, just a bit runny or undercooked. It is most used to describe a desirable state of doneness for omelettes or baked custards. Language Notes “Baveuse” comes from the French verb “baver” which means to drool or slobber. The word is spelt “baveux”, when it is applied…
Beaujolais Mustard
Beaujolais Mustard is made the same as Bordeaux mustard is, except red wine and ground red mustard seeds are used giving it its claret colour. Cooking Tips Its mild taste is very nice for cooking as it can add the zip of mustard without overwhelming your dish.
Beignets Râpés
Beignets Râpés are potato pancakes made in areas of France such as Alsace, les Vosges, and the Haute-Saône area of Franche-Comté. They are also made in the Acadia area of Canada. To make, grate separately raw potatoes and raw onion (in a ratio of 3 potatoes to 1 onion.) Waxy potatoes are best to use,…
Beurre d’Isigny
Beurre d’Isigny is a French butter that is used both as a spread and as an ingredient. It is sold in round paperboard tubs with replaceable lids (designed in Finland but made in Habsheim, France), in foil logs and in low, rectangular plastic tubs. There are sweet and semi-salted versions; both are 82% butterfat. The…
Beurre de Baratte
Beurre de Baratte is a process used in French dairies to make a certain type of butter. Milk is “soured” with bacterial starter cultures. This develops the flavour, thickens the cream and the butter globules begin forming. The buttermilk is then spun off, and the butter globules are creamed with a churning machine, rather than…
Beurre Fermier
Beurre Fermier is “Farm Fresh Butter”, or more literally, “farm butter.” It is made and sold in France and Québec, Canada, by small producers right on their farms. It’s often made by hand without the use of electrical machines, just as it would have been made a long time ago. As Beurre Fermier is made…
Beurre Pâtissier
“Beurre Pâtissier” is butter that is 99.8% butterfat made specially for raised pastries, cakes, brioches, and choux pastry. It is made through centrifugal force that forces out almost all water and milk solids other than fat. It will be 25% reconstituted butter (butter derived from concentrated butter.) It is sold in large quantities, such as…
Beurre Ramoli
Beurre Ramoli © Randal Oulton Beurre Ramoli is a very common, and very important, ingredient in French recipes, because it’s nothing other than softened butter. Language Notes “Ramoli” comes from the French verb, “ramollir” (which in turns come from the Latin, “molire”), meaning “to soften.”