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Now that you have been though 2 weeks of instruction at this point, what do you think? Please leave a comment on the blog! To go further we must cover a bit of the French language as many terms and things referring to food will be in French. Now that you can make a basic stock, this week we are going to cover thickening agents and French terminology.

French Food Vocabulary

Whether you’re traveling in Europe or just going out to a local French restaurant, food is one of the necessities of life, so here are some key French words and phrases related to food. Click on the link to hear the word or phrase pronounced.

le déjeuner lunch
le dîner dinner
le goûter snack
déjeuner to have breakfast or lunch
dîner to have dinner

le hors d’œuvre, l’entrée*     appetizer
la soupe, le potage soup
le plat principal main course
la salade salad
le dessert dessert

la cuisine kitchen, cooking
la salle à manger dining room
le restaurant restaurant

la nourriture food
avoir faim to be hungry
manger to eat

le repas meal
le petit-déjeuner breakfast

Bain-marie
This is a type of pan partially filled with water and then set into the oven for baking or roasting. Smaller baking dishes are placed inside the larger roasting pan so the contents being cooked inside the smaller dishes will not cook too fast, and so that they will be sheltered from the high heat. This process is used for cooking custards.

Bavarois
A pudding is made from cream, eggs and gelatin.

Beignets
Fried lumps of batter.

Beurre Noisette
Butter that has been cooked until it turns brown.

Bisque
A thick soup made of shellfish.

Blanquette
A kind of stew where the meat is not first browned, but rather is cooked in the stew while raw and unaltered.

Bouillon
Either a stock made from vegetables or a broth made from meat.

Bouquet Garni
This is a bouquet of herbs—usually bayleaf, a sprig of thyme, and a spring of parsley—that is tied together with string, placed into a stew or soup and taken back out before the dish is served. It is used for seasoning the stew or soup.

Brunoise
Finely diced vegetables.

Canapé
A piece of bread topped with a flavorful topping, usually served as an appetizer.

Chapelux
Diced, toasted, and browned pieces of dried bread.

Chine
The process of taking apart the backbone from the ribs on a cut of meat.

Concasser
A technique of chopping ingredients without carefully dicing or mincing, done rather informally and without much ado.

Consommé
Broth or stock that has been strained of any extraneous pieces of vegetables or meat until it is clear.

Coulis
A heavy, thick sauce.

Croquettes
A mixture of cooked meats and vegetables coated in a batter and fried.

Croûte
Any kind of crust.

Croûtons
Diced, toasted (sometimes seasoned) bread used to top salads or soups.

What is a Roux?

A roux is simply a cooked mixture of flour and fat (butter). It is used as a thickening agent for many French mother sauces. The fat is heated in a pot or pan, melting it if necessary, then the flour is added. The mixture is stirred until the flour is incorporated and then cooked until at least the point where a raw flour taste is no longer apparent and until desired color has been reached. The final results can range from the nearly white to the nearly black, depending on the length of time it is over the heat, and its intended use. The end result is a thickening and flavoring agent.

Light (or “white”) roux provides little flavor other than a characteristic richness to a dish, and is used in French cooking and some gravies or pastries throughout the world. Darker roux, sometimes referred to as “blond”, “peanut-butter”, or “chocolate” roux depending on the color achieved, add a distinct nutty flavor to a dish.

As an alternative to roux, which is high in fat and very energy-dense, some Creole chefs have experimented with toasting flour without oil in a hot pan as an addition to gumbo.

How to Make a Roux:

1.

Pour about ¼ c. of the oil in a small sturdy pan and place it over medium-low heat.

2.

When the oil is warm but not too hot, start stirring in flour with the wooden spoon until the mixture is thick – about the texture of wet concrete or plaster of Paris. Add more oil or flour until it’s right.

3.

Stir continually with the wooden spoon over the heat so the roux cooks. The flour will gradually begin to brown. The roux can be used when the flour is light golden in color. The darker you cook the roux, the more flavor it will add to the sauce. Don’t cook it past a mahogany color, though.
4.

Transfer the roux to another container to cool.
5.

Store roux in the refrigerator for a week, or freeze it in tablespoon-size wafers.

6.

To thicken a sauce with roux, let it cool so it won’t splatter and whisk it in to your boiling sauce base, like broth or pan drippings.

7.
Lower the heat to a simmer and continue to whisk until all the roux has been absorbed.

8.
Simmer for at least 20 minutes to allow it the sauce to thicken and become smooth.

Quiz:

What is a Roux?

How is a Roux used?

What is a Coulis?

Assignment:

Practice making a roux, using butter and flour. Cook a white, blonde and dark roux so you know how each one could be done and used. Dark Roux is used for dark sauces and light roux is used for white or clear sauces or soups.