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EUROPEAN
FOOD
Q.
How did French food
become so stuffy?
Q.
What is saganaki?
Is it an ancient food?
Q.
What time to Greeks eat
Baklava?
Q. Is it easy to make fondue at home?
Q.
What's the deal- why is it French food is stuffy?
Why not Italian food, or Spanish food? What gives?
A. France, like many other regions
of the world, has always prided itself on its local
produce. Dijon mustard, fine wines, fresh cheeses,
truffles, and so on. If you travel there, you'll
find that even with simpler restaurants, the cooks will
take pride in what they prepare. The stuffy
element of French food, though, came about 200 years
ago, when French chefs started to be in hot demand by
European aristocracy. Russian Czars, British Kings
and others, all wanted to replicate the lavish buffets
and rich, creamy foods originally created by a chef
called Antonin Carême.
He is sometimes known as 'The Founder of
French Gastronomy'.
Q.
Is saganaki an ancient Greek food item?
A. Saganaki, the delicious
grilled cheese dish, has been around Greece and Turkey
for quite some time. Exactly how long, though, is
something we're still looking into. Given that
cheese has been around for many millenia now, the
question comes down to "when did some bright spark
decide to try grilling it in a saganaki pan?"
Q.
What time do Greeks eat baklava?
A. Baklava is a dessert, so
eat it any time you'd normally eat a dessert food: After
meals. With coffee in the afternoon. As a
midnight snack (don't think we don't know!).
Q. I'd like to make a romantic meal at
home and am thinking about making fondue. Is it
easy to make from scratch?
A. There are two ways to
make fondue at home. Whichever way, you'll need a good
fondue set. If you don't have one, browse the sets (big
and small) here:
Food Virgin
Shop
Once you have a set, you'll need to either a) make
fondue from scratch, or b) buy a box to make it at the
grocery store. Even if you're a good cook, getting the
consistency of fondue right can be difficult. I've tried
to make it twice now, and the first time, it turned out
well, but the second time, it tasted good, but turned
into one giant lump. A tasty lump, but still a lump.
With chocolate, the likelihood of a recipe from scratch
turning out OK is better, but it is so much easier to
use the fondue tablets that you can buy that I have yet
to actually make it from scratch.
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