Cooking TipsEgyptian Influenced French Cuisine - Great Blend Of Cultures
Many people are crazy about French food. One taste of the stuff is sure to begin a long lasting love affair with the land ---- and cook if she or he is good looking! People who are hooked to French food are taken aback when they learn that what they are eating has its" origins somewhere in the land of the pyramids. However, this is no joke, if one goes down the lanes and by lanes of history they will discover a lot of similarities in the way the French food (or some of it) is cooked as well as the similarities in the ingredients used to prepare it.
Napoleon Bonaparte is credited with bringing a lot of change to the French food culture through his invasions and captives that he brought back to France. Napoleons tirades on Egypt trying to capture the land on many occasions and has gone down in history and this is not only recorded in history. His attempt to conquer Egypt in 1798 was not only written in history but also on the many fashionable plates that are used to serve Egyptian cuisine in the restaurants on France. Napoleon took with him over 34,000 soldiers and 400 ships and this campaign against Alexandria and Egypt was a disaster for the Dictator it turns out that the soldiers developed a lasting taste for the cuisine served in the land they were meant to conquer. The taste was so captivating that many soldiers bartered ingredients and recipes for favors and perhaps even prisoners.
The technique of softening meat with the use of wine is a definite example of Egyptian influence on French cuisine. Wine is used to change the texture of the meat and soften it a great deal. It also changes the taste for the better. Mediterranean and Egyptian cultures have used this technique to soften meat for centuries.
The other definite pointer towards Egyptian influence on French cooking is seen in the French peoples love for fish. Fish forms a huge part of the French staple diet. This was unknown before the Egyptians started trading with France. Baked fish is a dish that is known to have originated in Egypt and is not vastly eaten in France. The French however, credit the Greeks with introducing the dish to France.
When it comes to the use of spices and the techniques of cooking in France on wonders if the French actually ever had a style of their own, most Frenchmen will disagree and vehemently too. The ingredients and spices especially speak of a great Egyptian culture on the French style of cooking. Though France has some of its own cooking styles and recipes an abundance of their cuisine has its origins in Egypt.