Milk on French Menus, in Cafes and in the supermarkets.

from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

 



The senior production manager.

Milk in France,
 
Lait – Milk. (Pronounced lay).

N.B. You may be used to buying fresh milk at home from the supermarket freezer, and in France, most supermarkets will have fresh milk in the freezer. Neverthless,  Lait UHT or Lait Ultra-Haute-Température – UHT or Ultra-high-temperature milk is the milk preferred in French homes.  Sterilized milk may be kept outside of a refrigerator for up to 90 days before opening. Small groceries and Tabacs will only offer UHT milk. UHT milk is not kept in the refrigerators. The milk offered in cafes and restaurants is nearly always UHT.
    
Lait au Chocolat Chocolate Milk.

Lait Bio-Ecrémé - Skimmed, fat-free, organic milk.

Lait Biologique or Lait Bio –  Organic milk; Green milk.  Organic milk is milk from organically raised cows that graze in organically approved fields or barns that in the winter are fed grasses and organic farm products. No silage may be fed to these cows. The cows themselves are raised free of artificial growth hormone additives and antibiotics. Organic milk is always marked with the AB logo for Agriculture Biologique. For more about organic foods in France click here.
  
On the left: The AB initials that are on all France’s organic products.
On the right:  The leaf indicates the European Union’s Organic products,
  
Lait Complet - Full cream milk. Full cream milk; also called lait entier for whole milk; this and the other milk products that follow are regular milk products. 
   
Lait Condensé  - Condensed milk.


Organic Milk Powder for Babies.
This product is for babies up to six months and the label also notes it is palm oil free.
Note the green AB marking on the tin.
  
Lait Cru – Unpasteurized milk. 

Organic French Camembert made with unpasteurized milk.
As seen in this picture the words lait cru will appear on the packaging of most of France's best cheeses.
To see the post on buying and taking home French cheeses click here.

Lait d'Amandes Almond milk.
  
Lait d'ânesse – Donkey’s milk. Donkey milk is one of the milks that may be given to babies with allergies to mother’s milk but not a lactose allergy. Donkey milk is considered the closest animal milk to human milk.
  
Lait de BrebisSheep’s milk.

Lait de ChèvreGoats’ milk.

Goat’s milk
Goats’ milk and sheep’s’ milk are popular in France,
Both will be on most large supermarket shelves.
 
Lait de Coco - Coconut milk.
  
Lait de jument – Mare’s milk. 

Lait de Soja – Soy Milk

Lait de VacheCows’ milk.
 
Lait  de Vache San LactoseLactose-free cow milk.

Lait Demi-Écrémé - Semi-skimmed milk with 1.5% - 1.8% fat. Semi-skimmed milk is easily identified by the bottle or carton’s blue top or label.
   

A statue in honor of the provider of French cowsmilk
  
Lait en Poudre – Powdered milk.
 
Lait ÉcréméSkimmed milk. Skimmed milk contains less than 0.3% fat.  It is identified by the bottle or carton’s green top or label.
   
Lait Bébé – baby milk.
Photograph courtesy of julien haler
https://www.flickr.com/photos/titlap/2484666358/
   
Lait Entier – Whole milk. 3.5% - 3.8% fat. Whole milk has a red cap on the bottle or a red label.
      
Lait Frais -Fresh milk.

Laits Frappés or Milk-Shakes - Milk-shakes.  
 
Lait UHT  or Lait Ultra-Haute-Température UHT or Ultra-high-temperature milk. Sterilized milk can be kept outside of a refrigerator for up to 90 days before opening. In supermarkets, small groceries and in private homes, unopened this milk is not kept in the refrigerator.


Using milk

Au lait - With milk, (pronounced oh lay).
Café au Lait - Coffee with milk, (pronounced cafe oh lay). For the A- Z on ordering coffee in France click here

Butter – Beurre.
 
Lait Chaude - Hot milk.

Lait Froid  - Cold milk.
   
Thé au Lait – Tea with milk.

Yaourt Yogurt.

For more about ordering breakfast in France click here.  
  
To hear and see how to pronounce French correctly see this excellent website:
https://www.howtopronounce.com/
  
Connected Posts:
 
 
 
 
   
   
    

Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

 

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

 

                                                                             2010, 2016.
     

Pleurote – The Oyster Mushroom in French cuisine. The Mushrooms of France VI

from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

 

  
Wild oyster mushrooms.
                                                                                                                            
The oyster mushroom is very popular and with at least five members of the family cultivated in France, they will be on many menus. These family members also come in at least five colors and so they are popular not only for their taste but also for their looks.

        The oyster mushrooms is found in many French recipes.
 
The different strains of these mushrooms vary in texture from very soft to very chewy. Their association with oysters comes from the looks of a number of family members and not from any oyster taste or texture.
    

Farmed pink oyster mushrooms.
    
In the kitchen oyster mushrooms are usually added at the last stage of cooking as they cook quickly and if left may cook down to virtually nothing, for that reason they are often used in combination with other mushrooms. Oyster mushrooms cooked for longer will often be part of a sauce.

Oyster mushrooms on French menus:
   
Grenadin de Veau aux Pleurotes  -  A small cutlet of veal prepared with oyster mushrooms.
   

Wild golden oyster mushrooms
    
Ravioles de Champignons à la Crème d’Épinard et Pleurotes Sautées – Ravioli stuffed with button mushrooms and served with a cream of spinach and lightly fried oyster mushrooms
   
Filet de Bœuf, Sauce au Porto, Fricassée de Cèpes, Pleurotes et Champignons de Paris  -  A cut from a  USA beef tenderloin and in the UK a beef fillet. Here the fillet is prepared with a Port wine sauce and served with a stew of French Porcini mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, and button mushrooms. (The mushrooms offered in this dish are chosen with care.  The oyster mushrooms will become the sauce in the mushrooms stew. The cepes, the French porcini mushrooms are wild mushrooms and have the most mushroom taste and the button mushrooms will offer the most texture).
  
Magret de Canard Roti Sauce aux Pleurotes, Pommes Sautées Maison  - Roasted duck breast served with an oyster mushroom sauce and potatoes fried in the manner of the house.
   

Farming yellow oyster mushrooms.
   
Rognons de Veau, Mousseline de Charlottes, Crème de Pleurotes – Veal kidneys, served with a Charlotte potato moose and a cream of oyster mushroom sauce.
   
Filet De Canette Grillé, Risotto Aux Pleurotes Et Jus Corsé De Champignons – Breast of grilled duckling served with an oyster mushroom risotto and a sauce made with the natural cooking juices and button mushrooms.
   

Blue oyster mushrooms
     
Oyster mushrooms in the languages of France’s neighbors:
 
(Catalan -Pleurotus ), (Dutch - oesterzwam), (German –austernseitling), (Italian - gelone), (Spanish - seta de ostra).


The King Oyster mushroom or King Trumpet Mushroom
The Eringy or Pleurote du Panicaut.

This is the largest and meatiest of the family of oyster mushrooms. It tastes and looks very different to the rest of the family with a much meatier texture and a different taste.
   

The King oyster mushroom
        
When young the mushroom has practically no cap, and the cultivated variety has a small cap.  However, in the wild, if allowed to grow it will have a brown cap up to 6 or 7 cms across and the white stalk can be as tall as eight cms.

This is a mushroom that can be grilled, put into a soup or served raw in a salad; they cook slowly; I like them best when lightly fried and crunchy.

The King Oyster mushroom on French menus:

Risotto aux Pleurotes du Panicaut – A risotto made with the king oyster mushroom.

Ris de Veau croustillant, Cannelloni de Pomme de Terre et Eringuy Poêlé - Crispy veal sweetbreads served with potato cannelloni and king oyster mushrooms.

Filet de Bar Sauce Thé fumé, Écrasé de Pommes-de-terres et Champignon "Eringi"  - European Sea Bass prepared with a smoked tea flavored sauce and served with hand-mashed potatoes and king oyster mushrooms.
   

A king sized wild King oyster mushroom.
  
N.B. When picking mushrooms in the wild remember an expert must identify them before they are eaten.    In France, most pharmacists will have the phone number and addresses of volunteer mushroom experts who  will check  the mushrooms before you cook them.
 
The King oyster mushroom in the languages of France’s neighbors:

(Catalan -  gírgola  gírgola d'espinacal   gírgola de card), (Dutch -  koningsoesterzwam, kruisdistel oesterzwam), (German – kräuterseitling), (Italian - cardoncello, cardarello, gelone), (Spanish -  cardo).
      
Connected Posts:
  
   
   
 
 
 
 
 

Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

 

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

 

Copyright 2010, 2016.
 

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