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Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2012 15:32:49 GMT
For many years, blanquette de veau, a white sauce veal stew with rice, was the favourite dish in France, even though I don't think that people actually ate it as often as they seemed to think they did. And that's an interesting point with these favourite food polls -- what people say are their favourites are sometimes things that they eat very regularly and sometimes not.
The SOFRES polling institute makes a very official poll every year of favourite foods, and here are the results for to top 20 in 2011:
1. Magret de canard 21%
2. Mussels & fries 20%
3. Couscous 19%
4. Blanquette de veau 18%
---Prime rib (côte de boeuf) 18%
---Leg of lamb 18%
---Steak & fries 18%
8. Boeuf bourguignon 16%
---Raclette 18%
---Stuffed tomatoes 18%
11. Grilled salmon fillet 15%
----Beef stew (pot au feu) 15%
13. Ham wrapped endive 14%
----Gratin dauphinois 14%
----Roasted chicken & fries 14%
----Tartiflette 14%
17. Lasagna 13%
----Pizza 13%
----Spaghetti bolognese 13%
20. Rabbit in mustard sauce 12%
----Ratatouille
(more details coming)
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Post by Deleted on Jan 14, 2012 15:44:31 GMT
Just for the record, here are a few dishes that appeared a bit lower on the list:
22. Paëlla
24. Sauerkraut
30. Chicken curry / cassoulet / sushi
37. Bouillabaisse / hamburgers / andouillette
40. Chili con carne
Top two for men:
1. Prime rib (25%)
2. Magret de canard (22%)
Top two for women:
1. Magret de canard (20%)
2. Mussels & fries / couscous / grilled salmon fillet / stuffed tomatoes (19%)
Under age 35:
1. Raclette (31%)
2. Pizza (26%)
Age 35-49
1. Mussels & fries (22%)
2. Magret de canard (21%)
Age 50+
1. Leg of lamb (26%)
2. Blanquette de veau (24%)
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Post by rikita on Jan 17, 2012 21:50:28 GMT
interesting... makes me hungry...
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Post by auntieannie on Jan 17, 2012 22:48:25 GMT
I always state that the french-speaking part of Switzerland is culturally heavily influenced by France.
Reading the list in the OP, I don't see that many dishes that my parents would eat regularly or count as their favourite.
My sister or myself don't count as we live abroad. I don't know enough about the eating habits of my Swiss friends to compare, though.
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Post by lagatta on Jan 18, 2012 20:43:51 GMT
Interesting to observe the changes.
The magret because it is quick and easy to prepare? I love duck, but prefer meat cooked on the bone when possible.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 18, 2012 22:45:30 GMT
I think magret just because it has proven to be a healthy choice in spite of the fat and because it has also become an easy option at the supermarket or butcher, with all of the work except grilling already done.
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Post by auntieannie on Jan 18, 2012 23:33:49 GMT
yes, I see easy to prepare expensive cuts of meat on that list! Leg of lamb or blanquette are slightly more work intensive and also among the few dishes to necessitate a longer cooking time.
However, I am happy to report that a young (early twenties) French couple I know here still spends time around the table together. Because of their situation it is breakfast that they share.
Continental Europe still expects family time around the table. It's what it's all about, isn't it? Eating a meal that brings the family together, without it meaning that someone has had to slave over it for half a day.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 19, 2012 6:04:29 GMT
Yes, it was reassuring to see hamburgers and pizza still so low on the general list although they will climb it slowly but surely with younger generations. They are major items that most people don't cook themselves and often eat alone.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 19, 2012 15:04:16 GMT
I am surprised to see cassoulet so low on the list. I had always thought that was one dish that would never fall out of fashion so to speak. I guess maybe because it takes a bit longer to make than the others.
Mussels and Fries. So odd that having grown up on a potato farm on the Atlantic coast where mussels were a plenty and I have yet to try this dish. The combination does not strike my fancy but,I would be willing to give it a try.
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Post by lagatta on Jan 19, 2012 15:45:11 GMT
You can simply have the mussels if you don't care for les frites.
I think it is because cassoulet is an enterprise, and also because it might be viewed as "heavy". It would certainly appeal to me today at -10°c. I'm sure that in France as well, shops must sell it pre-cooked and portioned?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 19, 2012 18:24:50 GMT
Most people buy it canned or in jars.
It is actually quite regional and eaten mostly in southwest France, although of course as a "pork & beans" dish it is always popular in school cafeterias or company canteens. The duck and goose versions are too high end for most people, and I confess that I don't like them much -- I prefer my cassoulet basic, with sausages and fatback.
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Post by bjd on Jan 19, 2012 19:26:10 GMT
I always buy the duck cassoulet. I know a few people who make it but not regularly. Almost everyone I know buys the same canned brand though -- La Belle Chaurienne, which comes from Castelnaudary (a Chaurien is an inhabitant of Castelnaudary) south of Toulouse. It's definitely a winter dish.
I fairly often make magret too -- easy to find and cook.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 19, 2012 19:41:07 GMT
But of course you live in southwest France!  |
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Post by lagatta on Jan 19, 2012 20:30:12 GMT
I'm a snob. Definitely ducky cassoulet. We can find it in tins too - is it any good?
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Post by bjd on Jan 19, 2012 20:47:47 GMT
It depends on the brand. I wouldn't buy anything not made in the area, although there are local variations. But certainly nothing like standard canned food brands like William Saurin.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 19, 2012 20:49:41 GMT
William Saurin sells the delicious pork version.  It should be mentioned that when all of the different cassoulets were tested for "healthy" qualities, the cheap cassoulet won hands down. |
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Post by lagatta on Jan 20, 2012 0:35:10 GMT
I wonder if you will find a kosher version in rue Petit (duck or goose, not pork, obviously).
Perhaps I'll ask my friend who lives nearby.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 20, 2012 11:33:06 GMT
You can simply have the mussels if you don't care for les frites. I think it is because cassoulet is an enterprise, and also because it might be viewed as "heavy". It would certainly appeal to me today at -10�c. I'm sure that in France as well, shops must sell it pre-cooked and portioned? Really?? I said, I did not know if I would care for the combination of the two foods but,would be willing to give it a try. Good info on the varied preparations of cassoulet BJD and K2. |
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Post by bjd on Jan 20, 2012 12:14:20 GMT
Actually, I don't think I have ever seen cassoulet sold "pre-cooked and portioned". Only either in cans or made from scratch. I must say that when it's cold and congealed, it doesn't look very appetizing.
Following a magazine recipe, I once made mussels and French fries, with the mussels cooked in beer rather than white wine. They were delicious.
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Post by mich64 on Jan 20, 2012 14:37:49 GMT
Cooked in beer... I think that would be delicious. I have loved mussels anyway prepared thus far. Currently, I have been enjoying them with warm diced tomato and olive oil with linguine pasta.
My first encounter with them was when we were visiting with family in France and she made them traditionally with white wine and garlic, oh so good!
Cheers!
Mich
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Post by hwinpp on Feb 1, 2012 10:42:27 GMT
I thought that it looked like a standard list for the last 20 years and nearly started the sentence with 'the good old traditional and conservative French...'
But now I read magret is something new?
And are there other new appearances?
It all looks very French to me, including the little hat tip to couscous.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2012 10:59:54 GMT
The list itself looks quite standard to me, but things go up and down on the list according to fashion. On the Sofres site, I saw that things like sushi are high on the list in urban areas, as well as some other "exotic" items.
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