France is the pinnacle of romantic cooking and luxurious cuisine, and is known for its sophistication and simplicity. From the haute cuisine of Paris to the fruits of the Mediterranean, the relaxed elegance of French cuisine comes from some basic ingredients and time-honored techniques that influence most of the cooking styles we use today.

Through Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Culinary Art", French cuisine has been brought from bistros to the kitchens of home chefs all over the world. She introduced a whole new world of gastronomy to the United States and proved that with a little practice, any home chef can use French cooking methods.

Although understanding history and technology is the first step in any cultural cooking, for the French, the most important thing is "Pour bien cooker il faut de bons ingrédients, un palais, du coeur et des amis".

The origin of French cuisine can be traced back to the early 14th century. In that era, most people lacked food, and nobles often ate at luxurious banquets that were heavily influenced by Italian culture. 

This will be a French court chef named Guillaume Tirel, usually known as Taillevent, who will start making unique dishes for the royal family, which makes him considered one of the first "professional" chefs. He wrote a collection of medieval cookbooks and cooking techniques called Le Viandier, which will become one of the first recorded cookbooks in Europe. 

In the 1600s, the French culinary identity as we know it today began to be defined as chefs such as François Pierre La Varenne and Marie-Antoine Carême, and developed their own unique flavors and styles. They focus on using fresh, seasonal and local French ingredients such as cheese, herbs and wine, which will become the cornerstones of French cooking. 

Chef François Pierre La Varenne wrote Le Cuisinier françois and Le Pâtissier françois, two of the most influential cookbooks of early modern French cuisine. In his work, he introduced in detail the recipes of classic French dishes, such as thick soup, white sauce, and puff pastry, and introduced bouquets, delicacies and reduction as culinary terms.

Marie-Antoine Carême is considered one of the first internationally renowned celebrity chefs. As a royal chef, he created a cooking style called haute cuisine, which will become synonymous with Parisian food culture in the next few years. 

In the 19th century, chef Auguste Escoffier modernized French cooking methods and recipes into terms used today. He categorized the recipes of five mother sauces and assigned titles to the kitchen staff, such as commis, chef, and sous chef. 

Like any culture, the French have customs in dining and etiquette. Although traditions have changed over time, some decisive factors will always be part of the structure of enjoying French cuisine.  

Breakfast is traditionally a small meal, usually French bread with butter and honey or jam with milk, coffee or tea.

A typical French lunch includes appetizers (une entrée) such as mixed salads, soups, meat sauces or meat sauces or traditional sandwiches such as Croque monsieur or Jambon beurre. Sit-down lunch usually includes a main course (le plat principal), which is meat or fish, vegetables and cheese, usually a two-hour meal. 

A traditional French restaurant dinner usually consists of three dishes, namely an appetizer, a main course (main course) and cheese or dessert, accompanied by bread and wine.

Apéritif means "open the appetite" and is a drink that is taken before a meal. Usually served at pre-dinner parties called Apero, the most popular aperitifs are Pastis, Cremant d'Alsace, Champagne and Kir.

Digestifs are traditionally cognac, Armagnac, Calvados, water of life or fruit alcohol, and are drunk before coffee after dessert and after meal. 

The traditional French toast is "à votre santé", which means "for your health" or more commonly abbreviated as "santé".

When enjoying bread during a meal, the French never put the bread on the plate, but on the table next to the plate. 

French cuisine focuses on the appreciation of food from the ground to the plate. Although people usually think that recreating its core is a complex cooking style, the foundation of French cuisine is simple ingredients, plus time and some notable techniques. 

Cooking with the freshest local seasonal ingredients is an essential part of the national culinary culture. Each region has its own unique dishes and traditions, originating from the agricultural products harvested and the animals raised in the region. 

An important element of French cooking is to minimize food waste. Therefore, many recipes known for this culture originated from a way of using leftover vegetable residues and part of the meat that is not commonly eaten. 

Traditionally, food shopping in France is carried out every day or when dining in Marché, where various meats, cheeses, agricultural products, wines and handicrafts can be purchased directly from local farmers and suppliers.

There are some ingredients that are considered essential in any French kitchen: 

French butter is the cornerstone of the country's cuisine, and is world-renowned for its rich and unique flavor. Unlike other butters, French butter is cultivated, which means that the butter is fermented before being stirred, which gives the butter a deeper flavor. In addition, French law requires butter to contain at least 82% milk fat, which is higher than other countries. 

A cultured cream, meaning "fresh cream" in French, is similar to sour cream in texture and flavor. Fresh cream is used as a seasoning or thickening agent in many appetizers, dinners and desserts.

This mustard is made from brown mustard seeds and white wine sauce. It is a typical French condiment and traditional mustard. It is named after the town of Dijon in Burgundy, which was the center of mustard production in the late Middle Ages. It is widely used in French recipes, which contain Dijon mustard dishes, called "a la Dijonnaise".

Herbes de Provence is widely regarded as one of the most important spice mixtures in culinary history. It originated in southern France and is named after a combination of summer aromatic herbs that grow in the wild and abundant plants on the hills of Provence.

Traditional Provencal herbs are said to include thyme, basil, rosemary, tarragon, salty, marjoram, oregano and bay leaf. Whether used together or alone, these Provencal herbs are a core element of French and Mediterranean cuisine.

It means "the flower of salt", which is a delicate and rare flake sea salt harvested in parts of northern France. Fleur de sel is a refined salt that enhances the taste of soups, salads, fish, meat, fruits, vegetables and desserts. 

Leek is one of the top five vegetables in French cuisine. It belongs to the garlic and onion family and has a mild, sweet and onion flavor. They are common in many French salad soups, stews, and pasta. 

The tradition of making bread in France is one of the hallmarks of French culture. There are many types of French bread, but the most common are French bread, French bread, brioche, croissant and Pain de Campagne.

France is famous for its bon vin (or high-quality wine) and is one of the world's most productive wine regions. In addition to serving with meals, wine is also used to make sauces and stews.

France produces and eats more cheese per capita than any other country. Some of the most famous varieties include Camembert, Brie, Roquefort and Chevrolet.

The mother sauce developed by French chef Auguste Escoffier is the basis of various traditional French sauces and is used in a variety of classic recipes, including vegetables, fish, meat, casseroles and pasta.

Béchamel is made by thickening hot milk with a simple white meat sauce, usually flavored with onions, cloves and nutmeg. White sauce is the basis for some of the most popular white, cream and cheese sauce recipes.

This is a classic tomato sauce, traditionally thickened with a batter. This sauce is more delicious, and tomato sauce is used in pasta, soups and stews.  

Holland sauce is made by emulsifying clarified butter and lemon juice into warm egg yolks. Holland sauce can be used alone, but it is also the basis for Béarnaise sauce and Dijon sauce.

Velouté sauce is made by thickening white soup with batter. Then simmer for a while. Chicken velvet is the basis of the supreme sauce, the veal shredded is in Alemande sauce, and the fish shredded is in white wine sauce.

Espagnole is made by thickening brown broth made from roasted bones with batter, ketchup and mirepoix. Espagnole is traditionally refined further to produce a rich, full-flavored sauce called a semi-glaze, which is the basis of sauces and gravies. 

These traditional techniques and styles were established by the ancestors of French cuisine and have now become the basis of cooking methods around the world. 

The concept of mise en place or "everything in place" refers to organizing the kitchen so that all the elements needed for cooking are within reach.

Oil seal is a cooking method that involves marinating and slowly cooking food with fat at low temperatures.

Usually used in desserts, flambéing uses alcohol to make sauces, cooks at high temperatures to remove alcoholic properties, and incorporates the flavors of spirits into the sauce.

From the French word sauter, which means jumping, sautéing is a cooking method in which food is quickly fried in olive oil or butter. 

One of the most commonly used methods for preparing meat is to roast the food quickly and then cook it in a seasoned liquid over a low heat.  

Poaching is a moist-heat cooking technique in which food is boiled in a liquid. Sous-vide cooking is a type of poaching where food is sealed in plastic and cooked in temperature-controlled water.

Shredding is a kind of knife cutting in which vegetables are cut into very thin and uniform strips.

Mirepoix is ​​a combination of diced carrot, diced onion, and diced celery, which are slowly cooked in butter or olive oil to make delicious soups and stews. 

(Author: Anthony Herve, Chef at Metropolitan Restaurant in Las Vegas)

This Provencal dish (from Provence) is a colorful dish made from a variety of vegetables such as eggplant, zucchini, onion, pepper and garlic, which can be made into a thick stew.

(From New York Times Cooking)

Quiche is a delicious egg dish baked into a pastry crust. The most famous is the Lorraine Quiche, which is a hot pie made from eggs, bacon, onions, Gruyere cheese, and cream, and seasoned with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

These thin pancakes are filled with sweets such as jam, custard or chocolate, or served as savory dishes with more hearty foods such as ratatouille, ham or eggs.

Since crepes are larger than pancakes, it is best to use a larger 8 to 9 inch non-stick pan or crepe pan to ensure sufficient space.

(Author Crystal Reinwald, personal chef and cooking instructor in Austin, Texas)

Reinwald's classic meat sauce mousse recipe uses chicken liver, and she likes to pair the rich sauce with toasted baguettes and bacon jam. The smoky sweetness of the latter brings out the saltiness of the meat sauce, creating a very balanced and indulgent snack experience.

This classic chicken dish from Burgundy means "cock in wine". Bone-in chicken fillets are simmered with red wine and a little brandy, pearl onions, mushrooms and carrots into a thick stew. 

(Nicholas Morales, Executive Chef, Bar Marseille, Averne, New York)

A famous Burgundy stew starts with red wine (preferably Burgundy red wine) beef stew with onions, carrots, garlic, mushrooms, bacon and bouquet garni.

Souffles are made by mixing egg yolks with sweet or savory ingredients, such as sweet souffle chocolate or savory vegetables, and beaten egg whites. The bubbles in the egg whites expand during the cooking process, forming the classic choppy soufflé.

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