France - Regional Food in Paris, Ile-de-France

FRANCE

It’s really fun to eat traditional French foods of the region you’re visiting. You can really begin to understand the culture from the inside out (your gastronomy). France is made up of many regions and each region has a distinct cultural heritage. Different regions of France are famous for unique and special foods that come from that area only, and for regional styles of cooking. The French, truly appreciative of the finer things in life, have a unique tradition of well-known restaurants as well as great chefs. Dining in Paris is definitely an attraction all its own, yet all food is not created equal. Numerous of restaurants on the tourist track dole out  mediocre meals, therefore, to get a true taste of the distinguished food of Paris it's best to pick out the restaurants as deliberately as you choose attractions. If you really love good food, you will find true joy and happiness in Paris. 

If there's one term that symbolizes Paris, it is gastronomy. Paris food and gastronomy basically derive from simple traditional food of Ile de France region. The traditional dishes listed below are real classics in French families that you must eat. Every Frenchman (except fussy  people) has experienced these dishes at least once in his life.

A Croque-Monsieur or Croque Madame is a sandwich made of hot cheese (usually on the outside) and ham (on the inside), grilled on both sides. The cheese used is generally Emmental or Gruyere. These are often available from crepe stands, so can be eaten as a snack.

Croque-Monsieur is now a classic French food product. Parisian cafés and Brasseries have thousands of different croques on offer, each café bringing its slight variation to the original recipe.

Croque-Monsieur Sandwich

Croque-Madame is a variation of the initial gastronomic recipe with a poached or fried egg on top of the sandwich. When discovering France and gastronomy traditional food, you may even see Croque-Mademoiselle sandwiches as well.

Croque-Madame sandwich

Regional variations of the famous Croque-Monsieur sandwich exist, with either tomato, Bleu d' Auvergne cheese, smoked salmon (instead of ham), sliced potatoes and reblochon cheese or pineapple.

Frogs Legs - Cuisses de Grenouille

The Cuisses de Grenouille are the typical French dish that we call 'frogs legs'. It is traditionally associated with France and the Parisian food and cuisine though frogs legs are cooked in various places all over the world. Cuisses de Grenouille is not popular with every French taste bud but very typical of the French gastronomy.

Frogs legs prepared with butter, garlic and parsley sauce and then served with salad are a must. The flavor of French frogs legs is great when cooked this way, that is the most popular method of cooking cuisses de grenouille in France.

Cuisses de grenouille (Frog legs)

The A la Parisienne (Paris-style) frogs’ legs recipe is very subtle. Such a recipe demands that legs be cooked in boiling water. Add the juice of a lemon, salt and pepper to the blend. Drain the legs, then dip them into eggs and roll them in bread crumbs. Fry two or three minutes until legs are tender. You can then serve them with an onion sauce. The taste is a combination of refined chicken and fresh fish flavors.

Bread and Baguette

Baguettes are a type of bread being closely connected to France and especially to Paris. Baguettes are considered to be the obvious and perfect ally of a French cheese like a camembert.

A baguette is a long and crispy loaf of bread. Other names of the famous baguette in English are 'French bread' or 'French stick'. The baguette bread in fact resembles its “cousin”, the Vienna bread, being a kind of brioche bread baguette. Many variations of the baguette do exist in France, like the epi baguette, with a shape representing a sheaf of wheat.

Epi baguette bread

Baguettes are ideal for sandwiches. Eaten with paté or cheese, they are outstandingly tasteful. The continental breakfast thus makes use of slices of baguette that French people like to spread with jam and butter and then drunk in a bowl of coffee or hot chocolate.

Classic baguette bread

Other French baguettes variations consist in bread being made with different ingredients like rye, sesame, hemp and poppy seeds. Some more modern ones include dry or candied fruit like raisins, nuts, oranges, pineapples or even figs.

French Dry Sausage - The Saucisson

Dry sausage, called Saucisson in French, is very much loved by the French. It is a very rustic French gastronomic gem produced traditionally from high-quality meat.

The first piece of advice we could give you when it comes to this outstanding French food product is to flee the industrial saucisson sold in Parisian and French supermarkets and to head to the nearest market, often taking place at week-ends in the French capital.

Saucisson

Some sausage makers use pork and cow meat stirred into each other with Provence herbs added to the blend. Almost every region in the South and East of France produces its very own saucisson, each of these gastronomic French products having particular culinary benefits. Some French dry sausages are made using vegetables or fruits too, added to the meat in the casing. Dry fruit can also be used such as nuts, pistachios, figs, olives, as well as alcohol (various French wines, Génépi spirit) or even cheese like Beaufort.

The saucisson is awesome when cut in slices and eaten with a Baguette bread (even better if you toast the French stick just before).

Brie Cheese

Brie is from an area partly in Ile-de-France and partly in Champagne. Brie is a round soft creamy cheese with white mould and is often described as having a somewhat fruity taste with a hint of mushrooms. Well-known Ile-de-France Bries are Brie de Meaux, Brie de Melun and Coulommiers.

Brie de Meaux was originally known as the "King of Cheeses". It is made from cow's milk and has a soft, delicate white rind. The interior of the cheese is straw-yellow, creamy and soft. Brie de Meaux is widely eaten on Canapés with a wine from Bourgogne such as Saint-Emilion.

Brie de Meaux

Brie de Melun is a soft melting Brie with full flavour which is strong with a salty tang. Best eaten when surface rind only faintly rippled (still young) and not too soft to the touch. Over ripened cheese can be very powerful and aggressive.

Brie de Melun

Coulommiers Cheese is made from cow's milk, usually in the shape of a disc with white, bloomy edible rind. It is smaller and thicker than Brie but otherwise possesses all the characteristics of a Brie, with a similar buttery color and supple texture, with a nuttier flavor.

Coulommiers Cheese

Soufflés 

Soufflés could be considered a typical regional dish. They can be either sweet or savory. They are slightly creamy baked cakes made with egg yolks and whatever addition, seasoning or flavoring necessary and this is combined carefully with whipped egg whites.

Soufflés

Soupe à I'Onion

The classic Soupe à I'Onion is from this region. This is a clear onion soup made from onions and beef stock served with croutons and cheese plus of course seasoning. This is traditionally served in the early hours of the morning to revive night time revellers at parties or celebrations such as weddings and New Year's Eve throughout France.

Soupe à I'Onion