Agathoune!

When learning a foreign language, there comes a fluency tipping point where you suddenly stop mentally translating words from your native tongue and just use the foreign word instead.  For an English speaker, “a fork is a fork”; for a French speaker “une fourchette est une fourchette”.  When I am having a conversation in French (or am just in a groovy French-feeling mood), if you show me a cup of coffee, I’ll immediately think of “un café” without any hesitation, because that’s simply what the object is once you have truly acquired fluency in another language. 

This is around the time when you start to think and dream in that language as well, which is actually a pretty strange experience in itself, especially the first few times you catch yourself accidentally mumbling French words as you reflect on daily events!  Stopping the mental translation opens marvelous doors of understanding and insights into how other people truly feel and think in their native tongues.  In fact, I would go so far as to say that you can never truly understand a foreign culture unless you also speak their language to the point where you naturally think in it.

French is an incredibly beautiful, rich language and there are some key words and concepts that are completely untranslatable into English.  This post is to share some of these special words and try to catch a few fleeting insights into the French psyche.

Too Much of a Good Thing...

La Gourmandise - Many of my American friends find it very difficult to resist a homemade French pastry.  They may be surprised to find that there is a concept in French known as “la gourmandise” describing this sensation, representing an overwhelming feeling of desire, lust and excess, such as “ok, my stomach is about to burst and I really shouldn’t keep eating, but that cake is just a pure slice of unctuous chocolate covered in an overflowing raspberry topping with the plate decorated in little zests of orange peels… I really shouldn’t…. maybe just a bite…. oh my God! … ok stop me now… too late!”.  Considering all of the incredible dishes served in France, anyone living here an extended amount of time has experienced “la gourmandise” on many different occasions.  Although the word usually refers to food delicacies, it can also be used metaphorically for just about anything you can do that goes over the top of “reasonable” excess (I’ll leave you to imagine different situations where “gourmandise” can be applied…).

Le Terroir - Historically, France has always been an agricultural nation and was a latecomer to the industrial revolution.  The French love of land, roots, traditions (especially culinary ones) and wisdom handed down from generations all melded together represents the concept of “le terroir”.  The term is extremely difficult to describe, but it is almost always linked to something that originates from manual toil of the local natural environment (usually harvested from the land), which is then refined into a product of incredible quality imbibed with a love of tradition, that can only be experienced and never fully defined.  So the next time you purchase some home-bottled wine and savory culinary specialties with the label “produit du terroir”, try to think about the generations of tradition and history that went into making this memorable delicacy and appreciate every last drop.

"Produits du Terroir" or Just Cheese?

One more thing - “le terroir” should definitely not be confused with “La Terreur” (Reign of Terror), which was an extremely bloody time of the French Revolution when the guillotine was running non-stop, chopping off the heads of all enemies of the people (so be careful of spelling and pronunciation).

Coquine or Just Cleaning the House?

Coquin / Coquine - This is one of my favorite French adjectives/nouns because it is incredibly subtle and can get you into big trouble if you use it incorrectly!  When used with very young children “c’est un coquin” (this boy is a “coquin”) is an expression meaning that “he’s a very clever child that uses unexpected ruses and seductive charm to get attention”.  It’s kind of a half compliment because the kid usually manages to circumvent adult authority by doing something very cute to get his way…   When this adjective is used for adults, it is a reference to someone who emanates an aggressive, outgoing sexuality, but in a coy, seductive sort of way.  Remember that if your French girlfriend is wearing a sexy dress and you are meeting her parents for the first time, “elle est vraiment coquine, ta fille” (your daughter is really “coquine”) is not a phrase to say.  So as I said before, be very careful how you use this one!!

Dépayser (adjective/verb) - The other day I was having a conversation in English with a friend and I was trying to describe visiting a French mountain village and the concept of feeling completely disconnected from your usual urban surroundings.  Well, after stuttering a bit, I regressed into franglais and slipped in the French adjective “dépaysé”, which basically sums up the sensation of complete disorientation from your usual daily environment that I was trying to describe.  It’s a very good adjective for all of us French expats who wake up every day deep in the heart of France and are still amazed by the differences with our native homelands.

Although this post might point you in the right direction, to truly appreciate the full meaning of these words you’ll need to immerse yourself in the language until you finally start dreaming of “les gourmandises du terroir” or a very “coquine” French maid…  bonne nuit!

Links

To better understand “le terroir”, take a look at the photos from another age on the site of photographer Patrick Blan.  My mouth is already watering…

You can also order “produits du terroir” online from a handy-dandy website www.lesproduitduterroir.com

If you’re a chocolate addict, check out this video of a French chef making a warm, oozing “fondant au chocolat”.  Not as hard as you think!

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YouTube DirektFondant au Chocolat

Feel free to add other nontranslatable words to the comments section!!

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August 14th, 2010 | Tags: chocoholic, chocolate addict, coquin, coquine, dépayser, dreaming in French, excess, femme de ménage, Fondant au chocolat, france blog, french blog, french dreams, french fluency, french maid, French pastries, gastronomy, la gourmandise, La Terreur, le terroir, learning foreign language, mental translations, produits du terroir, unctuous, untranslatable French | Category: La France, La Langue Internationale, Le Nouveau Roman, Le Pot au Feu, Traditions | Leave a comment

Bienvenue Chez McDo!

France has a dirty little secret.  Despite its role as the defender of healthy eating in the world against “la malbouffe américaine”¹ (American bad eating habits), the country also claims the title as the #1 consumer of McDonald’s products in all of Europe!  In fact, the biggest restaurant chain in France is McDonald’s!  Does this mean that the French are actually all addicted to Big Macs and super-sized fries?  And how do they still stay so thin with all of this grease flowing through their veins?

Drive Thru Service, French Style!

As an American living in France, I must admit that McDonald’s burgers all seem to have a fresher, juicier taste over here.  I personally believe this is because McDonald’s France has always committed itself to acquiring its raw ingredients (buns, meat, produce, etc.) from local French providers as much as possible.  Not only does this cut down on street protests, but the beef, chicken and potatoes also most likely originated in some French farmer’s backyard and are therefore so much tastier.  In France you can also easily order beer at McDo², which certainly helps to enhance any fine dining experience.

 

 

Freedom Fries

Concerning ”French” fries, or “freedom fries” as they were renamed on the menus of US Congress cafeterias to express anti-French sentiment after the UN debates on Iraq, most likely they actually originated in Belgium!  The “French” part only refers to the cooking method of ”French fried potatoes” which was later shortened to just French fries.  Everyone also loves to note that the French dip their “frites” (fries) in mayonnaise, however I will attest that on a number of occasions I have seen my French friends drown them in ketchup.  So don’t be ashamed to ask for “du ketchup” if you get the craving…and feel free to ignore any hypocritical snickering!

Le Best Of … Awful English

Un Menu Best Of, S'il Vous Plaît

McDonald’s France has been somewhat creative with their menu translations.  For example, an “extra value meal” has the stunningly French translation of ”Menu Best Of” (so a “Big Mac Value Meal” is known in France as “un Menu Best of Big Mac”).  This is actually what you need to say to the cashier to order, preferably with a heavy French accent!!  A happy meal is also inspiringly known as ”un happy meal”, and if you want to “super-size” your fries, be sure to tell them you want a “maxi” (no relationship to maxi-pad tampons).  Also if you’re pressed for time and looking for the drive-thru, the correct French term is “le drive” (or McDrive).  Incidentally, McDonald’s arch-nemesis in France is a chain of burger restaurants known as “Quick”, yet another brilliant example of maintaining the French language and culinary traditions…

The Fat of the Land 

Really Better than Fries?

So how do the French each so much McDonald’s food and maintain their weight?  Many of my French friends frequent McDonald’s, but only occasionally every few weeks.  They also live active lives and almost never snack between meals (see my article The Golden Rule of French Eating for more details).  You’ll also rarely see people go up for seconds or order several burgers at once, such as two Big Macs just for themselves.  Thanks to the initiative of Denis Hennequin, the French president of McDonald’s Europe, the chain recently reworked many of its restaurants to correspond more to French tastes and their leisurely eating style.  This included menu changes such as offering cherry tomatoes with happy meals or regional cheeses on special burgers, improved outside terraces, a warmer interior design, more comfortable furniture and free wireless Internet.  I think the real secret, though, is that McDonald’s is non-exclusive and is treated as just another restaurant to sit down and have a quick meal with friends.  And the following day’s lunch might be a baguette sandwich from a boulangerie or perhaps a visit to the local “brasserie”.  Variety is the spice of life and most French don’t want to limit themselves to just one taste for every lunch.  Of course, as in America, if you eat at McDonald’s every day then you will most likely become obese and addicted to fast foods, even if you are French!

McDo Nuggets

Quarter Pounder - In France they use the metric system (no pounds), so a “quarter pounder” is translated as a “Royal Cheese”.  There’s a great scene in the film Pulp Fiction that expounds on this point:

Vincent Vega: You know what the funniest thing about Europe is?
Jules Winnfield: What?
Vincent Vega: It’s the little differences. I mean they got the same sh** over there that they got here, but it’s just, just there it’s a little different.
Jules Winnfield: Example.
Vincent Vega: Alright, well you can walk into a movie theater and buy a beer. And, I don’t mean just like a paper cup, I’m talking about a glass of beer. And, in Paris, you can buy a beer in McDonald’s. You know what they call a Quarter Pounder with Cheese in Paris?
Jules Winnfield: They don’t call it a Quarter Pounder with Cheese?
Vincent Vega: No, man, they got the metric system, they don’t know what the fu** a Quarter Pounder is.
Jules Winnfield: What do they call it?
Vincent Vega: They call it a Royal with Cheese.
Jules Winnfield: Royal with Cheese.
Vincent Vega: That’s right.
Jules Winnfield: What do they call a Big Mac?
Vincent Vega: Big Mac’s a Big Mac, but they call it Le Big Mac.
Jules Winnfield: Le Big Mac. What do they call a Whopper?
Vincent Vega: I don’t know. I didn’t go into Burger King.

Who ate the McNuggets?

Chicken McNuggets - Directly translated in French as “Chicken McNuggets”, they are also referred to as “une boîte de six” (a box of six).  Incidentally, in rough city neighborhoods, “une boîte de six” is also slang for a truck full of policemen (the French sometimes insultingly refer to their police officers as ”les poulets” or “la voilaille” - chickens instead of pigs).

McCafés - McDonald’s response to the coffee house phenomenon, this is the new low-priced ”café” chain that is currently sweeping the country.  They finally figured out that people don’t want to sit on grease coated, yellow chairs and also prefer something different than boring regular coffee in tiny espresso cups.

Supersize Me - This is a disturbing independent film directed by and starring Morgan Spurlock about a man who decides to eat nothing but McDonald’s food for one month.  Unfortunately he was forced to stop the experiment by his doctor who was concerned that his liver would actually cease functioning because of the damage from fast foods.  The worst thing about this film is that even after watching all of the awful health consequences on the Spurlock’s body, you still end up craving McDonald’s food!

Below is an extract from the film.  Try to make it through this video to the interview with Don Gorske who recently finished eating his 23000th Big Mac.  Bon Appétit!

embedded by Embedded Video

YouTube DirektSupersize Me!

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1. the term “malbouffe” is a combination of “mal” (bad) + “la bouffe”, which is slang for food [↩]
2. ”McDo” is a nickname used by the French for McDonald’s [↩]

April 27th, 2009 | Tags: boîte de six, Denis Hennequin, Don Gorske, france blog, Freedom Fries, french blog, French McDonald's, frites, Le Big Mac, le drive, malbouffe, Maxi, McCafé, McDo, McDo français, McDonalds in France, McDrive, Menu Best Of, Morgan Spurlock, origin of French fries, Pulp Fiction Royal with Cheese, Quick, Royal with Cheese, super-size, Supersize Me, tomates cerises | Category: Le Pot au Feu | Comments (3)

The Good Old Days...

What is more typically French than biting into that crunchy, perfectly baked, golden brown staple of French society: the baguette?  Even with all of the stress and constraints of the modern workplace, the French still manage to swing by their local “boulangerie” (bakery) every night and grab a baguette to dip into their onion soup…right?

It is true that in French cities with easy pedestrian access and public transportation, there are large lines of people waiting outside their favorite boulangerie to pick up their daily, freshly-made bread on the way home from work.  And in smaller villages there is sometimes a local baker that provides this wonderful service (be sure to know the opening hours ahead of time).  However, what about the huge mass of suburbanites that are required to take their car to and from work?

Frozen Perfection

These poor modern workers!  After fighting through traffic jams, last minute business requests and long commutes, many just don’t have the energy to further delay their arrival home and struggle for a parking spot at their local boulangerie.  And isn’t it so much more convenient to just add your bread to the shopping cart during your weekly trip to the supermarket?

Get Out of My Space!!

And please don’t forget the people living in the sparse, forgotten villages of France.  Sometimes there is a “bread bus” that will struggle up the mountain side to deliver fresh bread to those needy souls once a week.  With all of these constraints, what can one do to maintain that fresh baguette taste?  An easy way is to simply freeze it!

The Rise of the Machines!

The Working Man's Baguette

I may be revealing one of France’s best kept secrets when I say that many people here keep a hidden cache of baguettes in their freezers!  I myself was a skeptic at first, but after 40 seconds in the microwave I swear the bread still tastes like it just came out of the baker’s oven.  Even fine restaurants have bread in the freezer, “just in case”.  On a few occasions while eating out I have had the unpleasant experience of biting into a not fully defrosted baguette that was still frozen in the center.  The unexpected temperature contrast is hard for the teeth!  If freezing a baguette is just too unorthodox for you, make sure to only purchase ones that are marked with the label “pain de tradition française” which, by law, indicates that the bread has no additives and also has never been frozen¹ .

Another current trend is the proliferation of bread machines everywhere.  Although these appliances have yet to displace the local boulangerie, they are extensively used for baking loaves of bread for morning toast or special dishes.  They can also make dough that is then rolled out into various pastries or breads.  Many French also love organic food, and bread machines are an easy way to create that “all natural”, grainy taste.

Boring Baguettes

Although the baguette is probably the most widely known type of French bread, there are so many other varieties to choose from it would be a sin not to branch out occasionally.  Below are some of the more colorful types of bread that I have discovered here:

Hey, Where's the Baguette?

Helpful Tips

Bread is such an important part of French gastronomy that there are many traditions related to it:

• If you’re superstitious, never turn bread upside down on the table.  In the past, the executioner’s was turned upside down to ensure that it was kept aside for him.  Upside down bread means that he may not be far away…
• Bread that’s left on the table is considered bread for anyone’s taking.  Basically, keep your bread on your plate!
• If you drop your bread into the cheese fondue pot, then you have to pay a penalty.  This can be anything from buying a round of drinks to other more creative ideas…
• If you’re in the Midi/Marseille area of France, “pain” is pronounced “paing”, so pay attention when you’re ordering!
• And, most importantly, if you want to find the best bread in town, ask the locals² and look for the long lines.  In general, it’s worth the wait!

Links

Trailer of “La Femme du Boulanger” - 1938 comedy film by Marcel Pagnol.  What happens when the local baker is so disturbed that he can no longer make bread because his beautiful wife leaves him for a sheep herder?  Of course the entire village mobilizes to find a way to get her back or else they won’t get their daily bread!

Décret n°93-1074 du 13 septembre 1993 - This is the text governing the classification and labeling of French breads.

Confédération nationale de la boulangerie-pâtisserie française - French confederation of bread and pastry makers.  Lots of interesting details on this site about the profession.

La Fête du Pain - The French love bread so much, why not have a national celebration?  During one fun-filled week in May, you’re sure to find that fresh-baked smell and lots of free samples in many schools and villages.

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1. Décret n°93-1074 du 13 septembre 1993 [↩]
2. some cities are locally well know for having “no good bread”, despite the presence of several boulangeries [↩]

March 19th, 2009 | Tags: 121-80, 121-81, baguette, baguette bicycle, baguette bio, baguette de campagne, boulangerie, décret 93-1074, Elliott Erwitt, ficelle, fougasse, fournée, frozen baguettes, la femme du boulanger, la fête du pain, machine à pain, Marcel Pagnol, pain à l'envers, pain au tourchon, pain bagnat, paing, Provence 1955, sliced bread | Category: Le Pot au Feu, Traditions | Comments (4)

Champagne by Any Other Name...

Ah champagne!  That ultimate, luxury French drink.  For a mere $150 the bottle of Dom Pérignon, you can sweep that loved one off her feet for Valentine’s Day with bubbles, laughs and sophistication!  Who would ever guess that champagne’s world-renown reputation is based more on centuries of good marketing more than anything else.

Although I will probably be kicked out of France for saying this, champagne is really nothing more than sparkling wine!  Granted, it has a very sophisticated production and bottling process, but in the end it’s just white wine with trapped secondary fermentation bubbles.  In fact, the only reason it’s called “champagne” is because the wine was produced in the Champagne area of France.  There are actually many other regions of France (and the world) that produce equally good sparkling wine, but they cannot legally call themselves “champagne” because it is expressly forbidden in the 1919 Treaty of Versailles which, bizarrely, is the text that officially ended World War I (somehow the French managed to slip this in).  For example, for about $10, you can drive to the next door Alsace region of France and purchase an excellent bottle of “Crémant d’Alsace” containing just as many bubbles and three times the fun (as it’s three times less expensive)!  And there is also great “cava” from Spain and “spumante” from Italy.

The King’s Big Toe

Watch Out for the Gout!

So where did all of this hype start?  In the 17th century red wine was all the rage, however it was well known that drinking too much would give you gout¹!  During that time there was fierce competition between two rival producers of quality red wine, the Burgundy and Champagne regions of France.  With a sophisticated advertisement campaign, Burgundy was able to convince King Louis XIV to stop drinking red wine from Champagne because it was obviously the source of his gout (among other ailments).  Unfortunately, following the king’s example, everyone else also stopped drinking red wine from Champagne.  The quick-witted Champagnois then decided to concentrate instead on their white wine, which happened to be a bit fizzy due to secondary fermentation.  They developed a sophisticated processing and bottling method and then marketed the new product to the elite.  Always on the lookout for the latest fads and conversation starters, the European noblity loved the bubbles and the rest is history!

RTFL

It may go without saying, but not all champagne is created equal.  It’s very important to read the label beforehand.  First of all, check that the town on the label is actually in the Champagne region.  Usually the city of Reims or Épernay (or thereabouts) is listed; if the label says “Paris” or “Marseille”, then it’s time to leave the gas station store liquor aisle.  Another important consideration is whether the champagne taste is dry or sweet.  This is usually indicated by the following labels: 

New Mexico...or Négociant-Manipulant?

Now that we’ve finished the six degrees of dryness, there is another important indication on the label, the producer group.  These tiny 2-letter codes indicate who actually produced that expensive bottle of champagne and can be a quick way of determining its relative quality.  The three most common abbreviations are below:

Of course, the one true way of know if you have good champagne is to see if you have a headache the next day - rumor has it that you never get headaches from drinking great champagne - but by then, it’s already too late!

Common Sense Champagning

Here are a Few Tips for the Avid Champagne Drinker:

• Remember all of those bubbles trapped in the champagne bottle?  They create a lot of pressure, so it’s always recommended to aim the bottle AWAY from your head or the general public when opening!  There’s a reason that the cork is attached to the bottle neck with metal wires…
• Use flutes when drinking champagne.  These tall, skinny glasses are designed to keep the bubbles coming and also look very sophisticated to boot!
• When opening a bottle, if you don’t want to douse the person sitting next to you, place a napkin over the cork, aim it away, and slowly twist until you barely feel the pressure push it forward.  The cork will slowly inch out until you hear a small fizz sound as it is released.  Apply pressure tightly and with a bit of practice you won’t waste one drop.
• Champagne bottles come in ten different sizes with fabulous names (Piccolo, Half, Standard, Magnum, Jeroboam, Rehoboam, Methuselah, Salmanazar, Balthazar and, the mother of all champagne bottles: Nebuchadnezzar!² ).

Nebuchadnezzar Anyone? - Too Huge to Fit in this Picture!

Regardless of where you end up purchasing your sparkling white wine, please enjoy the sweet sound of that cork popping and those bubbles as they go right to your head!   (hiccup)

A Few Good Links:

http://www.domperignon.com - Dom Pérignon was a monk who many credit with inventing champagne.  He developed original ways to remove impurities, lighten the color and preseve the bubbles in sparkling wine with  the use of a cork and thicker glass (although his original goal was the remove them).  This is a snobby, annoying website that is more of an online fashion statement than anything to do with actual champagne!

Le Guide Hachette des Vins - An online guidebook to excellent French wines (and champagne).

A Brief History of Gout - All I can say is thank God for modern medicine!

The Treaty of Versailles, Article 275 - This is the article slipped into the treaty ending World War I that prohibits signatory nations from calling their wines “champagne” (read the text carefully and you’ll eventually figure it out).

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1. metabolic arthritis [↩]
2. the equivalent of 20 standard champagne bottles! [↩]

February 10th, 2009 | Tags: Article 275, Brut, bubbles, bubbly, champagne, CM, cork, Crémant d'Alsace, Demi-Sec, Dom Pérignon, Doux, Extra-Dry, Magnum, Nebuchadnezzar, NM, pink, Riems, ripoff, RM, RTFL, sparkling wine, Treaty of Versailles | Category: History, Le Pot au Feu | Comments (8)