REGIONAL SPECIALTIES While the various regions of Germany were independent and autonomous communities until relatively recently, it is not surprising that they also developed special regional foods. There is a common factor: almost everywhere, these regional foods are based on the country’s favorite staples of beer, pork, potatoes, and cabbage, ...
German Foods Commonly Used
FOODS COMMONLY USED IN GERMANY Pork, beer, potatoes, sauerkraut, and black bread are not only German staples, they are simple hearty foods that German ingenuity has raised to gastronomic heights of perfection and diversity. With newer trends to lightness and simplicity, people increasingly forgo soups as being fattening, and eat ...
German Meals and Customs
MEALS AND CUSTOMS IN GERMANY Early risers, the Germans like a light breakfast of bread or rolls with butter and preserves and coffee with canned milk and sugar. Children may be served a porridge of oats or rice flavored with raisins and cinnamon. But since that first meal of the ...
German Domestic Life and Special Occasions
Domestic Life and Special Occasions in Germany The German home is an orderly one and German cleanliness is legendary. Children are taught very early to be polite, courteous, and responsible. There are some regional differences that are noted by Germans themselves. Northerners feel that Bavarians (in the south) take life ...
German Food and Culture
FOOD AND CULTURE IN GERMANY As early as 100 C.E., the Roman historian Tacitus described the Germans as a “warrior nation, hard-drinking, honest and hospitable.” He spoke of German food as “simple” but hearty, that included breads and gruels made from oats, millet and barley, wild fruits and berries and ...
The Beginning of French Gastronomy
THE BEGINNING OF FRENCH GASTRONOMY The real turning point in the French gastronomy was the arrival from Italy of a plump fourteen-year old girl named Catherine de Medici. She came to Paris in 1533 to become the queen of Henry II. It was not she who revolutionized the tastes of ...
French Food Glossary and Food Terms
GLOSSARY OF FOODS AND FOOD TERMS Au Gratin: any dish that is sprinkled with buttered crumbs and/or grated cheese then placed under a broiler so that a lightly browned topping is formed. Sometimes a light cream sauce may mask the ingredients before sprinkling toasted bread crumbs and cheese on top ...
French Meal and Customs
FRENCH MEAL AND CUSTOMS Food is a subject of prime importance to every French person. It is not uncommon for suggestions for the day’s menus to be discussed by family members at the breakfast table over a hot drink, breads, and preserves. Traditional French food recipes are treasured and the ...
French Foods Commonly Used
COMMONLY USED FRENCH FOODS It does not matter which food you name: if it is prepared by a French cook it will look and taste “French”. Therefore, we must conclude that the foods themselves are not French, but surely the preparation technique, the seasonings that enhance their flavors, and the ...
French Special Occasions
FRENCH SPECIAL OCCASIONS The majority of the population of France is Roman Catholic with a minority being Protestant and some of the Jewish faith. The two most important religious festivities of the year for Christians are Christmas and Lent. Christmas is ushered in with the celebration of midnight mass followed ...