Month of France Editorial

French cuisine has evolved extensively over centuries. The national cuisine started forming in the Middle Ages due to the influence of the work of skilled chefs and various social and political movements. Over the years the styles of French cuisine have been given different names, and have been modified by various master-chefs. During their lifetimes, these chefs have been held in high regard for contributions to the culture of the country. The national cuisine developed primarily in the city of Paris with the chefs to French royalty, but eventually it spread throughout the country and was even exported overseas

French cuisine was codified in the 20th century by Escoffier to become the modern version of haute cuisine; Escoffier, however, left out much of the regional culinary character to be found in the regions of France. Gastro-tourism and the Guide Michelin helped to acquaint people with the rich bourgeois and peasant cuisine of the French countryside starting in the 20th century. Gascon cuisine has also had great influence over the cuisine in the southwest of France. Many dishes that were once regional have proliferated in variations across the country.

During the ancien régime, Paris was the central hub of culture and economic activity, and as such, the most highly skilled culinary craftsmen were to be found there. Markets in Paris such as Les Halles, la Mégisserie, those found along Rue Mouffetard, and similar smaller versions in other cities were very important to the distribution of food. Those that gave French produce its characteristic identity were regulated by the guild system, which developed in the Middle Ages. In Paris, the guilds were regulated by city government as well as by the French crown. A guild restricted those in a given branch of the culinary industry to operate only within that field

There were two basic groups of guilds – first, those that supplied the raw materials; butchers, fishmongers, grain merchants, and gardeners. The second group were those that supplied prepared foods; bakers, pastry cooks, saucemakers, poulterers, and caterers. There were also guilds that offered both raw materials and prepared food, such as the charcutiers and rôtisseurs (purveyors of roasted meat dishes). They would supply cooked meat pies and dishes as well as raw meat and poultry. This caused issues with butchers and poulterers, who sold the same raw materials.

The guilds served as a training ground for those within the industry. The degrees of assistant-cook, full-fledged cook and master chef were conferred. Those who reached the level of master chef were of considerable rank in their individual industry, and enjoyed a high level of income as well as economic and job security. At times, those in the royal kitchens did fall under the guild hierarchy, but it was necessary to find them a parallel appointment based on their skills after leaving the service of the royal kitchens. This was not uncommon as the Paris cooks' guild regulations allowed for this movement.

Georges Auguste Escoffier is commonly acknowledged as the central figure to the modernization of haute cuisine and organizing what would become the national cuisine of France. His influence began with the rise of some of the great hotels in Europe and America during the 1880s – 1890s. The Savoy Hotel managed by César Ritz was an early hotel Escoffier worked at, but much of his influence came during his management of the kitchens in the Carlton from 1898 until 1921. He created a system of "parties" called the brigade system, which separated the professional kitchen into five separate stations. These five stations included the "garde manger" that prepared cold dishes; the "entremettier" prepared starches and vegetables, the "rôtisseur" prepared roasts, grilled and fried dishes; the "saucier" prepared sauces and soups; and the "pâtissier" prepared all pastry and desserts items. This system meant that instead of one person preparing a dish on one's own, now multiple cooks would prepare the different components for the dish. An example used is "oeufs au plat Meyerbeer", the prior system would take up to fifteen minutes to prepare the dish, while in the new system, the eggs would be prepared by the entremettier, kidney grilled by the rôtisseur, truffle sauce made by the saucier and thus the dish could be prepared in a shorter time and served quickly in the popular restaurants.[5]:157–159

Escoffier also simplified and organized the modern menu and structure of the meal. He published a series of articles in professional journals which outlined the sequence, and then he finally published his Livre des menus in 1912. This type of service embraced the service à la russe (serving meals in separate courses on individual plates), which Félix Urbain Dubois had made popular in the 1860s. Escoffier's largest contribution was the publication of Le Guide Culinary in 1903, which established the fundamentals of French cookery.

There are four approaches to French food:

Classical French cuisine which is rich and filling, with many dishes using cream-based sauces.

Haute cuisine is classical French cuisine taken to its most sophisticated and extreme. Food is elegant and elaborate with a strong emphasis on presentation. Only the finest ingredients are used and the meal is correspondingly expensive.

Nouvelle Cuisine was developed in the 1970s, as a reaction against the classical school of cooking. The food is simpler and lighter. Portions are smaller and less rich; the heavy cream sauces of the classical approach are particularly avoided. Cooking is less elaborate and quicker, with more emphasis on seasonal ingredients.

Cuisine du terroir focuses on regional specialities and is somewhat more rustic in nature. Local produce and food traditions are the main focus.

Greatly influenced by the French geography, the French cuisine also includes a wide range of regional cuisines:

LORRAINE has Quiche Lorraine

BRITTANY specialties include crêpes and galettes

BURGUNDY has boeuf bourguignon

RHÔNE-ALPES has gratin dauphinois

PROVENCE specialties include Bouillabaisse, Ratatouille, Salade Niçoise and Pisaladiere.

Know more at http://chefandrecipes.com/

Month of Greece

 Greek cuisine is a South  Mediterranean cuisine, sharing characteristics with the cuisines of Italy, Turkey, Lebanon Syria and the Levant. Contemporary Greek cookery makes wide use of olive oil, vegetables and herbs, grains and bread, wine, fish, and various meats, including  poultry, rabbit and pork. Also important are olives, cheese, eggplant, zucchini , tomatoes cucumber, bell peppers fresh herbs (parsley thyme tarragon dill oregano) and yogurt

Mezés,  is a collective name for a variety of small dishes  and is often used as a reference to eating a first course of a cuisine other than Greek cuisine. Dips are served with bread loaf.

Greek cuisine has a long tradition and its flavors change with the season. Greek cookery, historically a forerunner of Western cuisine, spread its culinary influence - via ancient Rome - throughout Europe and beyond. It has influences from the different people's cuisine the Greeks have interacted with over the centuries, as evidenced by several types of sweets and cooked foods.

It was Archestratos in 320 B.C. who wrote the first cookbook in history.

Greece has a culinary tradition of some 4,000 years. 

 The Byzantine (Greek Empire) cuisine was similar to the classical cuisine including however new ingredients that were not available before, like caviar, nutmeg and lemons, with fish continuing to be an integral part of the diet.

The most characteristic and ancient element of Greek cuisine is olive oil, which is frequently used in most dishes. It is produced from the olive trees prominent throughout the region, and adds to the distinctive taste of Greek food. The basic grain in Greece is wheat, though barley is also grown. Important vegetables include tomato eggplant, potato, green beans,  green peppers, and onions. 

Honey in Greece is mainly honey from the nectar of fruit trees and citrus trees: lemon, orange trees. Some dishes can be traced back to ancient Greece: lentil soup,bean soup , pine wine and pasteli (candy bar with sesame seeds baked with honey),are  some to the Greek  and Roman periods: The Greek sausage (dried pork sausage) and feta cheese,  paximadi (traditional hard bread baked from corn, barley and rye). Many dishes are part of the larger tradition of Ottoman cuisine and their names reveal Arabic, Persian or Turkish roots: moussaka, tzatziki, ,keftedes, etc.

 Many dishes' names probably entered the Greek vocabulary during Ottoman times, or earlier in contact with the Persians and the Arabs. Some dishes may be pre-Ottoman, only taking Turkish names later.

Tthe main ingredients of Greek cooking are olive oil, honey, yoghurt, fresh fruits , lamb and fish – the manner in which they are prepared seems to have an endless variety and taste. There is also an additional delight, pretty much unique to Greece, of being invited into the kitchen to view the offerings and make your selection. There is as well a wonderful benefit that the Greek diet provides, whether you eat meat or are vegan: it is arguably the healthiest diet on the planet as well as user-friendly to those who want to eat well while not having to worry about putting on weight.

If You are from Philippines and you want to taste some of the Spectacular Greek dishes the Best restaurant Nationwide in Philippines is CYMA GREEK TAVERNA you can locate them in Green Belt 2 Makati,  in Shangri-La Mall in Ortigas, in Libbis  in Alabang area  in Cebu in Boracay  and in several other areas nationwide.

A few classic dishes with a quick explanation:

Tzatziki: Greek yogurt with finely chopped cucumber, garlic and olive oil. Ideal to eat with fresh Greek bread, fried potatoes or fried meatballs.

- Saganaki: Fried cheese. Different sorts of cheese can be found in saganaki. Excellent with a zest of lemon.

- Keftedakia: Fried meatballs of beef, garlic and bread. Excellent dish.

- Spanakopitakia: Small spinach pies with crushed feta cheese.

- Tiropitakia: Small cheese pies, usually made of feta or kasseri cheese.

- Horta: Boiled wild greens with olive oil, salt and lemon.

- Briam: Mix of roast potatoes, eggplants, onions, garlic, tomato sauce and olive oil.

- Dolmadakia: Grape leaves filled with rice and onions and sometimes minced beef.

- Kalamarakia: Small pieces of fried squid with lemon juice.

- Htapodi: Small pieces of octopus served either fried with lemon juice or boiled, with olive oil, vinegar and oregano.

- Feta cheese: The famous Greek cheese can also be eaten alone, as a meze, with olive oil and oregano.

Know more at http://chefandrecipes.com/

Month of Italy!

Recipes from several Regions.

Tracing down the culinary history of Italy we find that it started to make its mark during the Roman Empire movement more than 2000 years ago. The Italians even have a cookbook dating back to the first century B.C which shows how important a place food had in society. The structure of Italy as a country underwent a huge change after the fall of the Roman Empire. Italy was now a body of individually governed states that had separate and distinctive identities and hence developed their own tradition. This era was the time when the cuisine of Italy started developing its diversity that we find in it today. Each region developed its own distinctive style of cooking and a formalized menu based on the local ingredients and the lifestyle of the people living there. You would find great variance in the way similar dishes are prepared in different regions.

Italian cuisine in itself takes heavy influences, including Etruscan, ancient Greek, ancient Roman, Byzantine, and Jewish. Significant changes occurred with the discovery of the New World with the introduction of items such as potatoes, tomatoes, bell peppers and maize, now central to the cuisine but not introduced in quantity until the 18th century. Italian cuisine is noted for its regional diversity, abundance of difference in taste, and is known to be one of the most popular in the world, with influences abroad.

Italian cuisine is characterized by its extreme simplicity, with many dishes having only four to eight ingredients. Italian cooks rely chiefly on the quality of the ingredients rather than on elaborate preparation. Dishes and recipes are often the creation of grandmothers rather than of chefs, and this makes many recipes ideally suited for home cooking. This is one of the main reasons behind the ever increasing popularity of this cuisine, as cooking magazines in foreign countries popularize Italian recipes targeted at the home cook. Ingredients and dishes vary by region. Many dishes that were once regional, however, have proliferated with variations throughout the country.

Ingredients.

Italian cuisine has a great variety of different ingredients which are commonly used, ranging from fruits, vegetables, sauces, meats, etc. In the North of Italy, fish (such as cod, or baccalà), potatoes, rice, maize, corn, sausages, pork, and different types of cheeses are the most common ingredients. Pasta dishes with lighter use of tomato, in Northern Italy though there are many kinds of stuffed pasta and risotto. Other ingredients include several types of fish and seafood dishes; basil (found in pesto), nuts and olive oil are very common.

Italian cuisine is also well known for its use of a diverse variety of pasta. Pasta includes noodles in various lengths, widths and shapes. Distinguished on shapes they are named — penne, spaghetti, linguine, fussily, lasagne and many more varieties that are filled with other ingredients like ravioli and tortellini. The word pasta is also used to refer to dishes in which pasta products are a primary ingredient. It is usually served with sauce. Pasta is categorized in two basic styles: dried and fresh. Dried pasta made without eggs can be stored for up to two years under ideal conditions, while fresh pasta will keep for a couple of days in the refrigerator.

Drinks

Italy produces the largest amount of wine in the world and is both the largest exporter and consumer of wine. Only about a quarter of this wine is put into bottles for individual sale. Two-thirds is bulk wine used for blending in France and Germany. The wine distilled into spirits in Italy exceeds the production of wine in the entirety of the New World. There are twenty separate wine regions.

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