Cultural Connections: French Cuisine Edition

Micaella Balderrama

PrideTime Reporter

Here at McMahon, there’s many cultures students can immerse themselves into, such as  Italian, French, Spanish, Latin, or Chinese, Japanese, and Arabic (through CGS), through the help of our language department. Each and every one of these languages opens up a new world for the learner.  In this edition, PrideTime takes to learning about French dishes and cuisine through the help of sophomore French students Farrell Aldrich (‘21) and Sarah Signore (‘21).

France, a country of 67.19 million people, has a grand influence in global perspective. Twenty-nine countries speak French as their official language, including: France, Belgium, Haiti, Madagascar, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Statistically speaking, this means that, of the 14.6% of McMahon students that are English Language Learners, there’s a good chance these students come from a French speaking country.

 Despite the twenty-nine countries that registered their official language to be French, the language is spoken all over the world. Harboring 80 million native speakers and 190 million secondary speakers, the French language has 270 million speakers worldwide.

---

​Aldrich (‘21), has taken French since fifth grade. “I chose it because I thought France seemed cool and I knew I wanted to travel there someday,” she shared. She went on to joke that it was “too late” to back out on the language now.

​

---

​Signore (‘21) began taking French in sixth grade because she was drawn to the language and culture. “When I got to choose a language in middle school, I thought it would be a great opportunity for me to expand my knowledge,” she recalled.

​

---

Both French students took to sharing their favorite French foods:

Crêpes:
    History: According to The New York Times Crêpes date back to 1895, when a fourteen-year-old assistant waiter Henri Charpentier had actually burned the dessert of future King Edward VII of England.
Aldrich says that one of her favorite French dishes is crêpes. A crêpe is much like a very thin pancake, and can be either sweet or savory. Crêpes can be served in many different ways; filled with sugar, plainly, mixed with fruit, and other elaborate recipes.
    She also shared, “I like crêpes because carbs are delicious and my dad taught me how to make them, which was fun.”


Baguettes:
History: Bonjour Paris claims baguettes date back to the early 18th century. It’s said that during the French Revolution, the average French person consumed three pounds a day!
A baguette is a long, thin loaf of French bread made with flour, water, salt, and yeast. One variation of the baguette is called a ficelle, a thinner version of the loaf.
    
​Signore (‘21) shared that she was actually introduced to the grain through taking French, and said it’s one of her favorites:
“It’s probably one of the most basic French things you can eat, but that’s why I appreciate it,” she kidded.

Something strange:
Picture this: you’re in France, filled with excitement to be traveling the country. Then, one night, you sit down to dinner and everything’s going alright–that is, to say, before you receive the appetizer. Then, you’re given a huge glass jar with a “substance that can only be described as what you see at the bottom of a polluted river.” This was the situation Aldrich found herself in.
This liquid, not entirely appealing in appearance, was Tomato infused Water and Caviar. She decided to try the drink, because when in France, why not? Unfortunately, it wasn’t so tasty:
“It’s impossible to imagine, but it managed to capture the very essence of a tomato; it was completely clear like water, but it tasted like biting into a tomato,” she said.

​

---

Credits:
https://whatscookingamerica.net/History/CrepesSuzetteHistory.htm
https://www.nytimes.com/1961/12/25/archives/henri-charpentier-chef-dies-was-creator-of-crepes-suzette-served.html
https://bonjourparis.com/food-and-drink/history-baguette-legends-laws-and-lengthy-loaves/

​