2024 Author: Jasmine Walkman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 08:29
French cuisine is known all over the world and if you try the most famous French dishes at least once, you will never forget them. Fresh spices are one of the secrets of French cuisine and this is understandable.
After all, they can transform any dish beyond recognition. That is why in France you can often see small gardens on the balconies - there, in addition to flowers, green spices are grown. After all, they should be in the kitchen of every housewife.
The most used traditional spices in French cuisine
So, what are the most common aromatic spices in French cuisine?
Basil
Certainly basil is at the forefront among them. Its popularity is due to the fact that it goes well with tomatoes, and the French often use them in cooking. Basil is ideal for almost everything - omelets, salads, soups, meat dishes and sauces, except potatoes.
Kervel
Wild cherry (also lipstick or French parsley) is a very fragrant plant that really looks like parsley. The French adore him and use it only fresh, because during drying it loses its flavor. Add it to cottage cheese, egg dishes, meat and fish.
Tarragon
The French say that they were the first to appreciate tarragon as a spicy and refreshing spice, and the rest of the world learned about it from them. French tarragon is recognized as the best for culinary purposes - it is added to soups, meat and vegetable dishes, as well as to sauces. If you use tarragon, add this spice at the very end of cooking, as otherwise the aroma may disappear.
Rosemary
Rosemary is next in line a spice loved by the French. They use it carefully, in small amounts. After all, if you overdo it with this spice, then your culinary masterpieces may have a slightly bitter taste. But if you add quite a bit of rosemary to the dish, then many people will like it.
Through
Leek is often used to make famous French soups. It has a moderately sharp taste, which is why it is sometimes added to French sauces. And garlic is more popular in the south of France - there it is mixed with olive oil and to flavor dishes of vegetables, meat and pasta!
Thyme
The French actively use thyme when they want to prepare confit (a type of meat dish prepared by slowly cooking food at low temperature). The dish turns out juicy, slightly salty and very tasty. Thyme due to its characteristics (slow-growing aroma) is ideal for this dish. If you make confit, be sure to add thyme at the very beginning of cooking. It can also be used in the preparation of legumes and meat dishes - it will be delicious.
Marjoram
The French like to add marjoram to meat pies, soups, broths and sauces - the sweet smell and spicy taste of the spice go well with them.
Savory
In its pure form, savory is rarely added to French dishes. It is preferable to use in combination with onion or parsley juice. The savory gives a special rich aroma to hot soups. All you have to do is put this spice in a special bag together with a bay leaf and immerse it in boiling liquid.
Provencal spices
Probably many have heard of the so-called Provencal spices. Most people like this mixture, so it is actively used in salads, soups, hot dishes and a variety of sauces. What is included in Provencal spices?
There is no exact recipe (everyone has their own), but most often in the composition you can see basil, mint, sage, rosemary, thyme, oregano and marjoram.
Beautiful bouquet
There is also the so-called garni bouquet - a mixture of parsley, bay leaves, thyme, basil, black pepper, celery, rosemary and savory. This "bouquet" is tied with culinary threads or placed in a special bag, then dipped in hot soup for a few minutes. The spices are then removed, allowed to dry and then used more than once to flavor other soups.
Let's not forget about desserts
Of course, French pastry chefs add premium vanilla, fresh lemon peel, Ceylon cinnamon, nutmeg and a little ginger to their culinary masterpieces.
Queen Lavender
Photo: Tawnyowl /pixabay.com
But lavender is real french dessert spice!! It has a tart smell and a persistent taste, is flavored with sugar and added a little to desserts. Additional, lavender used to prepare vegetable dishes, sauces, stews.
After a brief look spicy French spices, we can only recommend one thing - go to the kitchen and experiment, inspiration is already guaranteed for you!
Recommended:
The Most Used Spices In Greek Cuisine
Anyone who has ever tried Greek cuisine, combined with sea breeze, sirtaki and ice-cold ouzo, will forever remember the typical taste that literally comes to you "lick your fingers". But the taste of food in neighboring Greece would not be the same without some super typical greek table spices .
The Most Used Spices In Bulgarian Cuisine
To prepare a delicious meal, you should not forget the aromas. But they are a double-edged sword - too much of them can easily ruin the pot. On the other hand, their absence can make it tasteless. The amount of each spice is a masterpiece, as is mixing them.
The Most Used Oriental Spices
The spices have been known to humans since ancient times and have been used by man for almost his entire historical development. From aromatic herbs, fruits and roots used in religious rituals in ancient times, to widespread use in cooking, this is the long way in which the use of aromatic additives by nature has developed.
The Most Commonly Used Fruit In Arabic Cuisine
Arabic cuisine, characterized by the variety of products and spices it uses, continues to impress the world today. The skillful combination of fragrant herbs with various fruits and vegetables leads to the invention of extremely fragrant and delicious dishes such as Harira, Falafel, Katayef, Fekas and many more.
The Most Popular Spices In Mediterranean Cuisine
Mediterranean cuisine is extremely popular, and the nutrition of people from these areas, known as the Mediterranean diet, is among the most preferred and followed worldwide. This is due to the fact that the food consumed in the Mediterranean region works very well on the body and the peoples who eat this way are known as the longest-lived.
