Friday, November 13, 2015

The Paris Endeavor: the life of a peasant

             Many traditions have an origin that is most likely centuries old. This principle applies to all cultures and especially to the French culture and their cuisine. For instance the dish soupe à l’oignon (French onion soup) stems all the way back to the Middle Ages and was made popular by French peasants.  The dish is high in nutrients and vitamins that peasant farmers ate before a long hard day of work in the field. Onion would be boiled and turned into a broth, then a piece of bread would be set in the bottom of the bowl to soak up some of the broth, and finally it would be topped with cheese and broiled. This dish has gained a lot of popularity and has spread worldwide.  Another great example for early French cuisine that has turned into a popular dish is crêpes. In the 12th century buckwheat made its way into France and the crêpe recipe was made not too long afterwards. This dish was also high in nutrients and also surprisingly gluten free.



            I’m a puzzle type of guy because I like to make connections between things. So I enjoyed learning how these dishes and many more came to be so popular. This just makes me even more excited about Paris. I can’t think of one American dish that has as much history as these two. For the French, food is something much more personal and to me almost sacred. I can eat French onion soup and crêpes all day in America but it has no meaning (and probably doesn’t even taste as good) compared to eating these dishes in France. In France it has to be the right time of day and place. I want to know what that feels like so I can only hope to try these authentic dishes in Paris.   

Kai Jones

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