From
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman
behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com
Just a few of the fruits and
greens which may be in your menu.
Photograph
courtesy of Fondation Louis Bonduelle
French culinary custom consists of naming the cuts used for the
greens, fries, or fruits on menu listings. Almost each English-speaking
customer to France will perceive a menu providing Steak Frites, however Steak
Frites Pont-Neuf shouldn’t be so well-known and gained’t be absolutely translated by Google
Translate. Equally, many guests will know that saumon is salmon, however
Microsoft Translator doesn’t assist with Saumon et Brunoise de Légumes which the
program interprets as Salmon and Brunoise greens. That’s the place this publish
from Behind the French Menu is available in. The checklist beneath describes a lot of the
widespread sizes and shapes for fruit and veggies discovered on menu listings.
I’ve had years of fulfilling meals and educated French
eating companions to information me, and lots of well-informed folks have answered my
food-orientated questions. Nevertheless, as I put together this publish, particular thanks go
to a really educated French ‘foodie’ Michel Masse. Michel made solutions
and corrections for this publish and in addition satisfied me to cease insulting the
French language and alter the proposed identify of this publish from Taillages to Les
Découpes.
Allumettes – Matches. The identify is used for a reduce of very skinny greens,
normally potatoes, which may be reduce to the size of an extended matchstick. For
potatoes, this reduce is usually known as straw fries or shoestring fries within the USA.
The dimensions is about 0.03cm x 0.03cm x 7cm.
Salade César aux Gambas Sauvages
et Allumettes de Panisse –
Caesar salad with wild shrimp and skinny,
matchstick like cuts of panisse.
(A Caesar salad shouldn’t be French, neither is it wholly Italian or
Mexican. The
salad was created within the Nineteen Twenties by Caesar Cardini, an Italian restaurateur in
Tijuana, Mexico. The unique recipe was lettuce, garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper, lemon juice, Parmesan cheese,
croutons, Worcestershire sauce, and a coddled egg; additions such as anchovies, and so on., got here
later. Now, Caesar salads range an ideal deal from place to position. A coddled egg,
which is a lightly-boiled egg,
was a necessary ingredient within the unique Caesar salad, now it principally has been
changed with a daily poached egg or typically a hard-boiled egg).
Pommes Allumettes, additionally known as Pommes Pailles – Straw fries. They’re reduce roughly 2-3
mm x 2-3 mm x 7 cm lengthy.
Onglet de Boeuf, Sauce au Poivre, Pommes Allumettes – A hanger or skirt steak served
with a pepper sauce and
French fries, allumettes
Tartare de Boeuf Maison, Pommes Pailles – Beef Tatare ready because the restaurant chooses and served with
French Fries, pailles.
How you can put together Pommes Allumettes
Photograph
and instructions courtesy of Meilleur du Chef
Bâtonnets – The phrase Bâtonnet means a small stick and
could also be used for any vegetable reduce into small stick shapes, small batons.
Bâtonnets will probably be crisply fried greens resembling bâtonnets de courgette,
crisply deep-fried courgette sticks (zucchini within the USA), or breaded cheese.
Most of us discover crispy and crunchy bâtonnets extraordinarily tasty; in case you start
choosing at them, you usually discover that you just can not cease; you may have been warned! For
most greens, “en bâtonnet” needs to be 4-5 mm x 4-5 mm thick and
4-5 cm lengthy.
Your menu may provide hen, meats, and
fish cuts as bâtonnets, and for these, there aren’t any official measurements, however
the form of a small stick ought to nonetheless be seen within the closing product. Bâtonnets
will usually be on youngsters’s menus; no knife or fork required, after which don’t be
shocked if the English phrase fingers is used.
Bâtonnets de Courgettes Panés au Parmesan – Breaded, deep-fried courgettes flavored with
Parmesan.
Bâtonnets de
Courgettes au Parmesan
Le Journal des Femmes – Cuisine
Les Recettees de Nathou
Bâtonnets de Pommes de Terre – Often, these are common French fries which have been breaded
and flavored. Nevertheless, on one event, when a good friend ordered them, the Bâtonnets
de Pommes de Terre arrived as tasty, deep-fried sticks of mashed potatoes,
flavored with herbs and cheese.
Billes – Balls. Ball-shaped
cuts of greens and fruits. Theoretically they need to be the scale of marbles
which is the true that means of billes,
Billes de Melon Caramélisées –
Caramelized melon balls.
Melon balls
Melon Salad, Mint
and Cranberry Vinaigrette
Photograph courtesy of Charles
Haynes
www.flickr.com/pictures/haynes/929715808/
Boules – Balls; the time period usually
used for ice-cream
servings.
Coupe de Glace
2 Boules (or 3 Boules) aux Choix – A bowl of ice cream with two or three scoops of your
selecting.
Glace 2 Boules
Two scoops of ice cream.
Photograph courtesy of Alpha
https://www.flickr.com/photos/avlxyz/3128041016/
Boulettes, Polpettes – Meatballs
Brunoise – A reduce during which the meals merchandise is first julienned into lengthy skinny
strips (see Julienne) after which diced into small cubes about 2 mm x 2mm x
2mm.
Joue de Cochon Braiséeen Vinaigrette de Riesling, Brunoise de Légumes – Braised pig’s cheeks served in a Reisling vinaigrette with a
blended vegetable brunoise.
Brunoise
Photograph courtesy of Cristiano
Cardoso
https://www.flickr.com/photos/139971667@N08/25990177904/
Chiffonnade – A way seen with
many leafy greens and meats that may be thinly sliced; usually cured
ham, smoked
salmon, salami kind saucissons,
and chilly meats.
A chiffonade reduce additionally works nicely with herbs and greens that
you’ll eat recent, like basil
and lettuce; it exhibits thinly reduce, curly meals strips. Chiffonade leaves are thinly
reduce or sliced; nevertheless, no chef would reduce these leaves one after the other, so they’ll
both be rolled after which reduce or reduce in bunches.
Chiffonnades are sometimes used to embellish or give a refined style
the place a big piece may take over the flavour. Whenever you discover very skinny vegetable
strips floating in your soup
or on a serving of fish, that’s the reason.
Les Coquilles
Saint Jacques Rôties au Beurre, Chiffonnade de Poireaux
– King
scallops roasted in butter and served on the shell with thinly reduce leeks.
A chiffonnade
of lettuce.
Photograph
courtesy of Meilleur du Chef
Ciselér or Ciselée – A advantageous reduce, normally slices referring to the
manner herbs are ready. (For meats and fish, the identical phrase will probably be used for
small cuts made within the pores and skin of a fish or meat, for stuffing with herbs).
Poisson
Cisselér
Contisées – Just like the Cisselér reduce, however stuffed
with a vegetable or different flavoring.
Les St Jacques Contisées
a la Truffe de Bourgogne –
The meat of the King Scallop sliced
and filled with shavings from the Burgundy truffle.
Émincé – Sliced. Dishes that embody slices of hen, veal or beef. Half
of a menu itemizing, just like the 2 beneath. Émincer – Slice. A reduce used for curly or curved greens resembling
cabbage, mushrooms, onions the place lengthy straight flat slices used for julienne
cuts can’t be made. Émincer could also be in recipes however not on the menu.
Émincé de Bœuf Mariné aux Épices et Légumes du Second – Sliced, marinated beef flavored with spices and the season’s
greens.
Emincé de Veau à la Sauce à la Crème et Champignons
de Paris, Purée de Pommes de Terre – Slices of veal in a cream sauce with button
mushrooms and accompanied by pureed potatoes.
Emincé de
Boeuf aux Champignons
Sliced beef with button mushrooms
Photograph
and recipe courtesy of CuisineAZ
Jardinière or Jardinière de Legumes – A dish or serving of diced cooked greens, resembling a
garnish accompanying the primary course. Initially this was a reduce used for carrots, and turnips reduce 4 – 5
mm lengthy by about 3 cm throughout. Immediately a Jardinière de Legumes is usually seen with
different greens, together with inexperienced beans and potatoes.
The phrase Jardinière is an outdated French phrase for
backyard greens, and it stays in use to point freshness. Additionally, you will
see different makes use of of the phrase Jardinière on menus, together with a Jardinière de
Fruits, selection fruits from the backyard served as a fruit salad.
Pigeonneau Rôti
au 4, Purée de Pommes de Terre et Jardinière De Legumes – A younger, oven-roasted pigeon, (a squab) served with mashed potatoes accompanied by small-cuts
of blended greens.
La Jardinière
de Legumes
Photograph courtesy of Sylvain
Torchet
https://www.flickr.com/photos/135631483@N07/22366011744/
Julienne – In your menu, the phrase Julienne will point out greens reduce
into lengthy and skinny shapes. Julienne greens are round 1mm x 1-2 mm x 2 mm x
5-7 cm lengthy.
Dorade Royale,
Julienne de Légumes à la Crème de Champagne – Gilthead sea bream served
with a julienne of greens accompanied a by a cream of Champagne
sauce.
Cucumbers Julienne
Photograph courtesy of Stacy Spensley
https://www.flickr.com/pictures/notahipster/4670390442/
Macédoine – Greens and sometimes fruit reduce to 1
of the French sizes for finely reduce greens. A macédoine needs to be cubes
about 1 cm by 1 cm by 1 cm or much less. Nice significance is given to
uniformity.
Chair de Crabe,
Macédoine de Légumes – Crab meat
accompanied by a macédoine of blended greens.
Macédoine de Légumes
Photograph
courtesy of marmiton
Mirepoix or Matignon – The Mirepoix reduce is for small cubes reduce shut to five mm 5 mm x 5
mm x 5mm for each fruit and greens, Mirepoix is normally added to enrich
different dishes. (Traditionally a mirepoix made with greens solely was a mirepoix
au maigre, a lean mirepoix. A mirepoix with ham was known as a mirepoix au gras,
a fatty mirepoix. Most dishes made at present with Mirepoix in your menu is not going to be particular however
normally embody onions,
carrots, and celery, presumably with added lardons).
Regardless of that, don’t be shocked in case your menu affords a mirepoix aux fruits;
that will be finely reduce fruits. (There’s a fairly city known as Mirepoix within the
division of Ariege,
however I’m not conscious of any connection. Nevertheless, if your visiting Mirepoix in August
they’ve an annual international festival of the art of the Marionette).
Filet de Dorade Grise à
la Vapeur, Jus de Crustacés et Mirepoix de Legumes – A filet of steamed black seabream ready
with a sauce made out of the juices of crustaceans and served a mirepoix of blended
greens.
Flan Caramel-coco,
Mirepoix de Fruits Frais– A
flan flavored with caramel and coconut served with a mirepoix of recent fruits.
A Mirepoix in preperation
https://www.flickr.com/pictures/desiitaly/1323634996/
Paysanne – Within the method of the
nation, the countryside. (Some menus translate paysanne as “within the method of a
peasant”). Greens reduce into skinny slices with shapes that correspond
finest to the type of the vegetable. For instance, carrots could also be thinly sliced
into round button shapes or half-round buttons, thus using all
greens as successfully as potential for the dish being ready.
Salade Paysanne
Photograph
courtesy of Trip Advisor
Pommes Frites or simply Frites. French fries or chips can
be a culinary feast on their very own. The perfect French fry has no mounted dimension,
although most French colleges of the culinary arts train their would-be cooks to
reduce them 5mm x 5 mm thick and 5 or 6 cm lengthy. A wonderful French fry is crispy
and barely crunchy on the surface; it will likely be coloured a golden brown, and on
the within, it will likely be cooked and tender.
Steak
Frites, Salade Verte,
Verre De Bordeaux ou
Galopin De Biere – Steak with
French fries and a inexperienced salad served with a
glass of Bordeaux wine or a
galopin, 125 ml of beer.
Pommes Frites
Photograph courtesy of cyclonebill
https://www.flickr.com/pictures/cyclonebill/2222767350/
Pommes Pailles and Pommes Allumettes – See Allumettes: Pommes Allumettes above.
Pomme de Terre a l’Anglaise – Potatoes within the English method. Whereas these potatoes
will all the time be boiled, there’s a form related, with these potatoes,
considerably like a hen’s egg. An actual dimension shouldn’t be too necessary, however your
supreme Pomme de Terre a l’Anglaise will probably be about 5 cm lengthy with a 2.5-3 cm
diameter.
Truite Meunière Entière aux Amandes Effilées,
Pommes de Terre à l’Anglaise – A
complete trout ready in a
Sauce Meunière (butter, parsley and lemon) with added
flaked almonds accompanied
by boiled potatoes. (For extra about Sauce Meunière
see the publish: Sole Française – Dover Sole in French Cuisine:
Sole Meunière).
Pommes de Terre Anglaise.
Photograph
and instructions courtesy of La Cuisine d’Annie.
Pommes de Terre Mignonnette – Giant French fries reduce roughly 5mm x 5mm x 5 cm
lengthy.
Pommes Pont-Neuf, Pommes de Terre
Pont-Neuf, on many menus simply as Pont-Neuf – Giant French fries additionally known as Frites Parisienne. From my expertise the identify does not
include a set dimension, simply giant fries; simply poetry on the menu for big fries.
The proprietor of the identify is the Ponte Neuf Bridge; the oldest present bridge in
Paris. After they started to promote giant dimension fries from pushcarts within the 1830s and
continued for over 100 years in the past the bridge’s identify turned a part of the fries’
identify. The Pont Neuf is the oldest present bridge in Paris. Some menus listings
use the identify Pont Neuf for cuts of deep-fried greens.
Filet de Bœuf aux Girolles Copeaux de Foie Gras et
Pommes Pont Neuf Maison – A fillet steak ready
with the wild girolle, chanterelle mushrooms, shavings of fattened duck liver, accompanied
by the restaurant’s tackle Pont Neuf fries.
Pommes Pont-Neuf
Photograph
courtesy of Secret de Chef.
Pommes Gaufrette – Potato crisps or potato chips formed with a lattice-like
ornament that appears like a tiny Belgium waffle, fried to a crisp. Your
French-English dictionary might translate gaufre as a waffle. Nevertheless, as you
have in all probability already found, few French cooks pay a lot consideration to
English-French-English dictionaries and a gaufrette in English is a wafer, and a
gaufre is a waffle. So, don’t count on your pommes gaufrette to all the time appear like British
wafers.
Côtes de
Cochon Fermier, Mousseline De Pomme de Terre, Pommes Gaufret – Pork chop from a
farm-raised pig served with a potato mousse and pommes gaufret.
Pommes Gaufret
Photograph
and instructions courtesy of Chef Simon
Tagliatelle – Learn your menu fastidiously when tagliatelle is
talked about. Tagliatelle in France doesn’t solely point out a specific pasta; it
usually signifies cuts of lengthy ribbons of greens. Vegetable tagliatelle might
be made with courgettes (zucchini), carrots, and extra.
Filet de Lieu Jaune, Tagliatelles
de Courgettes Réduction
au Sancerre – Pollack
is a member of the cod household, with related white, flaky meat. Right here, the fish
is accompanied by courgettes (the American Zucchini), sliced in lengthy ribbons like
tagliatelle and served with a Sancerre
wine sauce. Pollack develop fairly giant, with many fish weighing in over 8 kilos
(18 lbs.), so you’ll almost all the time be served a fillet.
Tagliatelles de Courgettes au Poulet et Noix de Cajou
Courgette (Zucchini) tagliatelle with chicken
and cashew nuts
Photograph
courtesy of Les Fruits et Legumes Frais.
Tournés and Tourner – Greens reduce into barrel shapes,
principally about 3 cm or 4 cm lengthy; some greens resembling potatoes have completely different
guidelines and perhaps bigger. (There are different barrel cuts with completely different names).
Râble de Lapin et Ses Petits
Legumes Tourné– Saddle of rabbit,
served with small, barrel-shaped greens. The saddle is the meatiest a part of
a rabbit.
Legumes Tourner
Photograph
and instructions courtesy of Bases de la Cuisine
—————–
Looking for the that means of phrases, names or
phrases
on
a French menu?
Simply
add the phrase, phrases, or phrase that you’re trying to find to the phrases
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of phrases, names, and phrases which are seen on French menus. There are over 450
articles that embody over 4,000 French dishes with English translations and
explanations.
————-
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman
behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com
Copyright 2010, 2022
——————–
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