Bœuf (Beef) Stroganoff on your French Menu?

from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

 

          
                       
French menus may offer Bœuf Stroganoff, Bœuf Stroganov, Emincé de Bœuf Stroganoff, or Filet de Bœuf Façon Stroganov. English language menus may offer Beef Stroganoff or Beef Stroganov.
  
Despite this dish’s Russian name, its creation would seem to be distinctly French. Thin slices of beef are cut from the fillet and accompanied by fried onions and mushrooms prepared in butter and then covered with a white wine, paprika, and crème fraiche sauce lightly flavored with mustard,  The dish will be served with rice or thin dumplings on the side.
                           
One look at the ingredients in the dish noted above, and you see France written all over the recipe; however, the chef who created this dish did not leave his signature. The arguments over the origins of this dish point to Russian cooking methods that are very different.
   
             
An otherwise very knowledgeable French Maitre D’ advised me that this dish was named for a famous Russian diplomat, Count Pavel Stroganoff, in 1890. However, when I checked up on Count Pavel Stroganoff, I discovered that this renowned member of the Stroganoff family died in 1817; that would have been long before the dish was created.
 
French chefs only became important for the Russian aristocracy after Csar Alexander I hired that most famous of French chefs Antonin Carême in 1817. After that date the most probable Stroganov to hire a French chef and have a dish name after himself was Sergei Grigoriyevich Stroganov (1794–1882).  Sergei Stroganov founded the Moscow Arts and Industrial Institute in 1825 and was the governor general of Moscow from 1859–1860. He seems the most suitable candidate. Unfortunately, I cannot find out who his chef was.
  
Sergei Grigoriyevich Stroganov (1794–1882)
                       
By the 1870’s, there were no male Stroganoffs, outside of the royal family, to carry on the name, so Sergei Grigoriyevich Stroganov probably does hold the honor for Beef Stroganoff.
                              
Today’s French chefs use crème fraiche while modern Russian recipes indicate the use of sour cream. Sour cream is not available in every French supermarket; just as crème fraiche is rarely seen in Russia and would have been completely unavailable in the 1800s.  French chef’s working in Russia one hundred and fifty years ago would have used sour cream. When they returned home in the absence of sour cream, the traditional crème fraiche would have been used.
  
Inside the Stroganoff Palace.
St Petersburg, Russia.
www.flickr.com/photos/43547009@N00/26656647604/
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Searching for the meaning of words, names or phrases
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Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

 

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

 

Copyright 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2018.

Absinthe – Absinthe, the Original, Notorious Version, and Absinthe Today; a Very Different Liquor.

from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman
Updated July 2019
bryangnewman@gmail.com
     
Absinthe Robette Poster 1896
www.flickr.com/photos/trialsanderrors/3060320478/
   
In the late 19th century, absinthe was a successful French export and one of the most fashionable drinks. Then, after hundreds of lives had been destroyed by the early 20th-century absinthe was finally outlawed in most of Europe and the USA. France was among the last to ban absinthe in 1915.
    
The original absinthe
   
The original formula for Absinthe came with an over 60% alcohol content along with a very popular aniseed taste; those two ingredients were the pathway to marketing glory.  What was unknown, to the consumers and the producer's was that absinthe came with a very high neurotoxin count. Neurotoxins affect the nervous system, and the original formula of absinthe was addictive and sent heavy-drinkers into a world of hallucinations. For quite a number the result was permanent neurological damage.
    
Advert for Van Gough Absente Absinthe.
www.flickr.com/photos/blackplastic/2288230492/
     
Absinthe and its formerly secret formula had been created in Switzerland as a patent medicine. That formula was sold to a Swiss businessman Daniel Henri Dubied (1758-1841) who began distilling absinthe in Switzerland in 1797.  Daniel Dubied’s partners were his son Marcelin (1785-1841) and his son-in-law Henri-Louis Pernod (1776-1851).  Absinthe, with its secret formula and background as a medicine, was instantly in demand.
  
Absinthe production came to France in the early 1800s.

With demand in France growing Henri-Louis Pernod would, with his son Jules-Félix Pernod (1871-1928), open a factory in France to supply the fast-growing French market. The first Pernod distillery was opened just over the Swiss border in France, in the town of Pontarlier, in the department of Doubs in the region of Franche-Comté now part of the new super-region of  Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. Today the department of Doubs is more famous for its cheeses, sausages, and hams including  Mont-d'Or AOP, Morbier AOP. French Gruyere IGP, Comté AOP, Saucisse de Montbéliard  and Saucisse de Morteau

Absinthe and the Green Fairy, the La Fée Verte.

Absinthe was nicknamed, in France, the La Fée Verte, the Green Fairy; this referred to the liquor’s green color which changed to a cloudy white when water was added; very similar in manner to today’s Pernod, Pastis, Ricard, etc.  When absinthe was banned in France in 1915 Louis Pernod’s new drink Pernod, and Pastis still turned green and filled his son’s Jules-Félix Pernod’s (1871-1928) bank account with that other green stuff.
    
A few of the famous artists who drank absinthe.
          
The French poet Paul Verlaine was an alcoholic and hooked on absinthe, he is the eldest of the group mentioned here and died at age 52.  Vincent Van Gogh, that great genius of an artist, cut off his ear, and then killed himself at age 37.  Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, despite being confined to a sanatorium managed to discharge himself and passed away at age 37.  Oscar Wilde may not have died from drinking Absinthe, but it certainly did help him along, and he died aged 45.

The new Absinthe.
.
Nearly 100 years after Absinthe was banned a new and radically different version of absinthe, with a different formula and very different neurotoxins came on the market. France permitted the sale of these new versions of absinthe in 2011. The new absinthe is much closer to today’s Pernod, Pastis, Ricard, etc., The main flavor comes from anise, aniseed.
   
 
Today's absinthe on French menus:
 
Escalope de Dinde à la Crème à l’AbsintheTurkey breast prepared with a cream sauce flavored with absinthe.

Feuilleté d' Escargots Crémés à l'AbsinthePuff pastry leaves or cups filled with chopped snails prepared in a creamy sauce flavored with absinthe.

Ganache de Chocolat et son Sorbet à l'Absinthe - Chocolate melted into fresh cream on top of a sorbet flavored with absinthe. A sorbet is made from sweetened fruit puree, a type of water-ice.
     
An Absinthe shop.
www.flickr.com/photos/nachoeuropa/6519138037/
 
Papilotte de Dorade Royale à l'Absinthe- Gilthead sea bream scented with absinthe cooked inside a bag of parchment paper. En papillote seals in all the flavors of a dish while it is cooking; when ready it will be opened for the diner to enjoy the aroma.

St Jacques Juste Saisies, Beurre Blanc à l'Absinthe – The meat of the king scallop perfectly seared, prepared with a beurre blanc sauce flavored with absinthe. Juste Saisies, perfectly seared, is the only way to cook scallops; any more and a delicate scallop loses its flavor and much of its texture. Beurre blanc is one of France's favorite sauces for fish and seafood. 
   
Pastis, Pernod, Ricard, Granier Mon Pastis
All were produced to replace the original but banned absinthe.
www.flickr.com/photos/kchrist/339160004/

 
An educational exercise.

As an educational exercise see the original of Degas’s painting of a woman, L'Absinthe in the Musée d'Orsay, Paris. That painting should give you an idea of the original absinthe’s effect.
         
L'absinthe by Degas.
                 
     
Pernod’s name remains well-known today as the producer of Pernod, the very popular aniseed-flavored drink that replaced their original absinthe in 1916. The company Pernod joined, in 1975, with another famous pastis distillery Ricard to become Pernod-Ricard.  Pernod-Ricard is now an international company that also owns Absolute Vodka, Chivas Regal Whisky, Jameson’s Irish Whiskey, Seagram’s Gin, Mumm Champagne among many other well-known liquors and wines.
   
Today’s Pernod Absinthe
www.flickr.com/photos/farehamwine/12500278875/
   
Visiting the history of absinthe in France.
  
The painters' village.
                                                 
If you wish to know more about the history of absinthe and to see where Van Gogh, Cézanne, Pissarro and others lived and worked, then visit the small town of Auvers-sur-Oise.  Auvers-sur-Oise is a 20-minute train ride or 30 km car ride from the center of Paris, and there you may visit the Musée de l'Absinthe, the Absinthe Museum.  The town also hosts the Musée Daubigny, the Daubigny Museum; Charles-François Daubigny (1817-1878) and others of the Barbizon school of painters are considered precursors to the impressionists.  The village is in the department of the Val-d'Oise, in the Ile de France.  
 
The museum’s website is in French only but easily understood with the Bing and Google translate apps:

    
The French language Daubigny museum website:
    
  
Oscar Wilde's Tomb in the Père Lachaise Cemetery, Paris.
The tomb was designed by the sculptor Sir Jacob Epstein
www.flickr.com/photos/stephanrinke/697953320/
     
Wilde’s companions in the cemetery include, among many others, Édith Piaf, Jim Morrison of the Doors, Moliere, Chopin, Marcel Proust, Modigliani, Sarah Bernhardt, Pissarro, Marcel Marceau, Balzac and Gertrude Stein and her companion Alice B. Toklas. With thousands of visitors annually leaving lipstick kisses on the tomb in 2011 a glass frame was added to Wilde's tomb to make the kisses governable.


-------------------------------
             

Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

 

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

 

Copyright 2010, 2014, 2018, 2019.


-------------------------------------


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Just add the word, words, or phrase that you are searching for to the words "Behind the French Menu" and search with Google. Behind the French Menu’s links include hundreds of words, names, and phrases that are seen on French menus. There are over 450 articles that include over 5,000 French dishes with English translations and explanations.

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Huiles d'Olive Française - French Olive oils. Enjoying France's Best Olive Oils.

from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

 

   
Before the oil there are olives.
Photograph by courtesy of  Florena_Presse.
www.flickr.com/photos/53766310@N02/16734034815/
        
France is not a large olive oil producer by Mediterranean standards. Nevertheless, there are eight French olive oils that are among the best in the world.  First-time visitors to France are usually introduced to French olive oils via vinaigrette dressings but, in French cuisine, olive oil will be behind the flavor of many many other dishes.
               
Olive oil.
Photograph courtesy of Bilal Yassine.
www.flickr.com/photos/_bilaly/37034975750/
         
France has over one hundred varieties of olives. Separating the good from the also-ran are the French olive oils with an AOP on their labels. The same type of olives from different areas, growing in different soils, exposed to different amounts of sun, rain and drainage have different tastes. The oil from the best of these olives may be blended to provide the same piquancy year after year. The AOP initials guarantee the oil’s origin, the oil’s preparation, and excludes any other ingredients. Virgin olive oils are the best oils, they are cold-pressed; that is the oil from the first pressing. 

Cold olive oil.
Why?

French chefs will note on their menus when a particular AOP virgin olive oil is used. Virgin olive oils can only be used when cold. The unique flavors of even the very best olive oils are lost when heated, for example when used for cooking. A virgin olive oil will be added cold to a dish just before serving.  (Since olive oil uses most of its flavor when cooked French chefs use Huile d'Olive - Pure olive oil; which is a mixture of refined olive oil and extra virgin olive oil with a maximum of 0.5 % acidic content). 

Some menu listings that indicate the addition of cold olive oil:
                   
Courgette Jaune et Mozzarella de Bufflonne Glace à l'Huile d'Olive AOP Aix en Provence – Yellow courgettes, zucchinis, served with European water-buffalo milk mozzarella cheese and glazed with the AOP olive oil of Aix-en-Provence. Aix en Provence is just 33 km (21 miles) from Marseilles.
                     
Carpaccio de Veau Corse à l’Huile d’Olive de Corse AOC aux Agrumes et Copeaux de Parmesan  - Carpaccio of Corsican veal prepared with Corsican AOP olive oil and citrus fruit, and served with flakes of Parmesan cheese. (The French island of Corsica is 396 km (246 miles) from the French coast. There are tens of daily flights from nearly every airport in Europe. Corsica is the fourth largest island in the Mediterranean; it's just a little bit smaller than Cyprus.  The two largest Mediterranean islands are part of Italy, Sicily followed by Sardinia).

Le Homard Bleu Grillé aux Fines Herbes, Tagliatelles de Légumes et Spaghettis à l’Huile de Olive de Provence AOP – The European two-clawed lobster grilled with the fine herbs, the most flavorsome of French herb blends, and served with vegetable tagliatelle, and spaghetti flavored with the AOC olive oil of Provence.     
      
Saumon Mariné à l'Aneth et à l'Huile d'Olive AOP de la Vallée des Baux de Provence  - Salmon marinated with the herb dill and the AOP olive oil from the Vallée des Baux de Provence.  (The re-built village of Les Baux de Provence, which has a ruined castle at its peak gave its name to this valley and its olive oil.  Baux (pronounced bow) is set in the Alpilles, the limestone hills that are at most 500 meters (1600 feet) above sea level, it is just 20 km(12 miles) from Arles the entrance to the Camargue.  The Alpilles runs parallel to the Mediterranean coast some 25 km (16 miles) below Avignon. Les Baux de Provence also gave its name to Bauxite, the foundation of most of the world’s aluminum industry. Mining ended only seventy years ago. The village is worth a visit if you are close by, and there are quite a number of excellent restaurants along with great hotels all around).
              
Salade de Langoustines à l'Huile d'Olive de Nice AOP -  A salad of Dublin Bay prawns, the real scampi, prepared with the AOP olive oil from Nice. This is the olive of choice in many Niçoise recipes and an absolute must in a real salade niçoise(The city of Nice on the Mediterranean coast is also famous for its Ratatouille (shades of the movie) and much more.  It was from Nice that the French Poet Stephen Liégeard (1830  - 1925) gave the whole Mediterranean coast the name to his book 'La Côte d'Azur' in 1887.  Since then Nice has only improved and it is a wonderful place to dine, or just doze or read a book on the beach).
   
Rosemary infused olive oil.
www.flickr.com/photos/notbrucelee/6745526497/
 
The Pan-European AOP has mostly replaced the French AOC. For the story behind the initials, AOC and the new AOP click here.
     
To be called a virgin olive oil all European olive oils must meet the same standards.  There are only three qualities of olive oil that may be called virgin oils and they are noted below. These virgin oils are followed by two olive oils (non-virgin) that carry no fancy initials. but will still be on supermarket shelves; these are the olive oils to be used for cooking.

Unfiltered Extra Virgin olive oil.
Photograph courtesy of Nature And.
               
The EU regulations include that hardest of all tests, an “organoleptic” rating. This is the taste and smell tests that are checked annually by a panel of highly trained tasters. 
           
 Vierge Extra  - Extra Virgin olive oil; the highest rating. No more than 0.8 % acidic content and a minimum organoleptic rating of 6.5 out of 10. French Extra Virgin olive oil is produced in limited quantities and will never be inexpensive. Extra virgin olive oil should never be wasted by using it for cooking. (Catalan - oli d'oliva verge extra),  (Dutch - extra virgen olijfolie),(German - extra vierge),  (Italian - extra vergine), (Spanish -virgin extra).
            
Vierge Fine  - Fine Virgin olive oil;  no more than 2% acidic content and an organoleptic rating of 5.5 or more. (Catalan - oli d’oliva verge fino),(Dutch - virgin olijfolie"), (German - vierge),  (Italian - sopraffino virgine), (Spanish - virgen fino).
             
Vierge Courante  - Ordinary Virgin Olive Oil.  No more than 3.3% acidic content and an organoleptic rating of 3.5 or more. This the virgin olive oil that may sometimes be used for cooking. The flavors of virgin olive oils break down at high temperatures and so they really are wasted when used for frying. Nevertheless, those who do wish to use a virgin olive oil for frying use this one. (Dutch - ordinary virgin olijfolie), (German – gewöhnliches natives), (Italian - vergine corriente), (Spanish - virgen corriente).
               
Among the many different vegetable oils, olive oil is the best oil for frying.  Olive oil handles much higher heat than other oils and its nutritional value means that it can be used for far longer than other vegetable oils. Furthermore, foods fried in olive oil have a lower fat content than food fried in other oils
   
Two other two olive oils seen on supermarket shelves are cooking oils:
            
Huile d'Olive - Pure olive oil; a mixture of refined olive oil and extra virgin olive oil with a maximum of 0.5 % acidic content. (German – olivenö), (Italian- olio di oliva), (Spanish – aceite de oliva).
            
Raffinée  - Refined olive oil; no more than 1.5 % acidic content.  The refining process will have removed the unique tastes of olive oil but will have left its cooking properties and nutritional value. (German – raffiniertes), (Italian - raffinato), (Spanish – refinado).

All together France produces only 1,500 tons of virgin olive oils annually, and despite the limited output the competition among these excellent oils is noticeable.
  
Tasting different olive oils.
             
I have had many opportunities, on my travels, to taste the best, and occasionally some of the worst, olive oils. When I have returned home I have often brought with me three or four different olive oils to try.   The whole family would enjoy blind tastings of extra virgin and fine virgin oils.
  
All you need to enjoy an olive oil.
www.flickr.com/photos/neeta_lind/2059106504/
               
Trying three or four different oils is simply carried out by dipping pieces of bread in saucers of the different olive oils; you may also try the oil and bread with a little Parmesan cheese.  Even a newcomer to the world of olive oil tasting will immediately note the differences, and that is how we separated the oils.  The best would be used for salad dressings and added cold to cooked dishes.  If an oil was really not well considered then it was hidden away at the back of a cupboard; it was only to be used when we ran out of the better oils and had no alternative. In any case, olive oil should always be stored away from light so our storage did not make a poor oil worse.
           
The top eight olive oils of France are produced in very specific areas and they carry the following names:
             
Huile d'Olive d'Aix-en-Provence AOC/AOP - Made with the blended oils of the Aglandau, Cayanne and Salonenque olives.

Huile d'Olive de Corse AOC/AOP - In Corsican this is Oliu di Corsica AOC/AOP)- Made with the blended oils of the Sabine, Ghjermana, Capannace, Avia Nera and Zinzala olives.
              
Huile d'Olive de Haute-Provence AOC/AOP – Made with the blended oils of the Aglandau, Bouteillan, Picholine and Tanche olives along with the oil of some ancient olive varieties.
  
Olive tree in Haute Provence
www.flickr.com/photos/x1klima/14745585281/
              
Huile d'Olive de la Vallée des Baux-de-Provence AOC/AOP  - Made from the blended oils of the Salonenque, Aglandau, Grossane, Verdale des Bouches-du-Rhône and Béruguette olives.
              
Huile d'Olive de Nîmes AOC/AOP  - Made with the blended oils of the Picholine, Négrette and Noirette olives.
             
Huile d'Olive de Nice AOC/AOP  – Made with the oil from the Cailleter olive.
              
Huile d'Olive de Nyons AOC/AOP  -  Made with the blended oils of the Salonenque, Grossane, Béruguette, Verdale and Picholine olives.
              
Huile d'Olive de Provence AOC/AOP  -  Made with the blended oils of the Aglandau, Bouteillan, Cayon and Salonenque olives.
  
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Searching for words, names or phrases on French Menus?

Just add the word, words, or phrase that you are searching for to the words "Behind the French Menu" and search with Google. Behind the French Menu’s links include hundreds of words, names, and phrases that are seen on French menus. There are over 400 articles that include over 3,000 French dishes with English translations and explanations.
  

Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

 

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

 

Copyright 2010,2014, 2017, 2018. 

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