Behind the French Menu

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Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

Anise

Biodiversity Heritage Library

www.flickr.com/photos/biodivlibrary/29056761323/

Anise is also called aniseed, green anise,

and Roman aniseed.

Aniseed is the seed-like fruit of anise.

Anise is the spice behind so many foods that have a licorice (liquorice in British English) taste. You may be buying licorice sweets (candies), but in 98% of the cases, it is anise that is providing the taste.

The scent and taste of licorice are loved in France but the taste of the spice called réglisse, the real licorice, is considered to be too intense for most recipes. Anise heads the list of licorice tasting herbs that chefs work with. Along with Anise, recipes will use aneth, dill; fenouil, fennel; and anis étoile or badiane, star anise, and with so many choices chefs may choose the exact level of the licorice taste they desire. Anise and the others are different plants, but they are all sweet and aromatic.

Anise is the spice behind nearly all licorice accented drinks

Licorice accented drinks in France includes Absinthe, Anisette, Casanis, Pastis, Pastis 51, Pernod, Ricard, and many many more. Outside France anise, flavored drinks include the Greek Ouzo, Italian Sambuca, as well as Lebanese and Israeli Arak. All these liquors are clear, but with the addition of water becomes cloudy, some with a light green shade. (The green color gave the original Absinthe, before it was banned, its nickname La Fée Verte, the Green Fairy).

Pastis Janot from Provence.

Photograph courtesy of Dominic Lockyer

www.flickr.com/photos/farehamwine/24145410493/

Anise is very important in French homeopathic medicine and also flavors and scents soaps, toothpaste, and mouthwashes.

Anise on French Menus:

Brochette de Queues de Gambas et Saints Jacques Flambées a l'Anis – A skewer of jumbo shrimp (tails) and king scallop meat flambéed in anise.

Feuilleté d'Escargots Flambé a l'Anis – Snails in a puff pastry covering flambéed in anise.

Huîtres (6 Pièces) En Escabèche Avec Oignons Caramélisés Et Anis - Oysters (6 pieces) prepared as an escabeche with caramelized onions and flavored with anise.

Banshee Balls (contains anise).

Photograph courtesy of ministryofstories

www.flickr.com/photos/ministryofstories/6151945303/

Médaillon de Queue de Lotte Grillée, Crème d’Anis Vert, Garnitures – A round cut of grilled monkfish tail served with a cream of anise sauce and vegetables.

Pot-au-Feu de Bœuf Avec des Carottes, des Pommes De Terre, Anis, Ail, Gingembre et Sauce Soja –A beef stew prepared with carrots, potatoes, anise, garlic, ginger and soy sauce. A Pot-au-feu also called a Pot Bouilli is at its simplest a traditional beef stew. A traditional pot-au-feu is usually accompanied by fresh country bread, mustard, cornichons and those tasty, small, French pickled white onions. It pays to ask the waiter how the stew is served as the traditional accompaniments may make this dish a meal on its own.

The anise flower

Photograph courtesy of caligula1995

flickr.com/photos/pussreboots/15211786099/

Anise has Mediterranean origins probably in Crete or Egypt; it would have certainly been brought to France by either the Greeks or the Romans who occupied France as they both had many recipes that include anise. If anise arrived earlier, then it would have come with those seaborne Mediterranean wholesalers the Phoenicians. The Phoenicians would have brought it from Egypt where Anise was in use over 3,000 years ago.

There have been many changes in the French kitchen as tastes have changed and French chefs have brought anis étoile, star anise, from China into French recipes and the Chinese now add anise to their Five Spice Powder when they want a mellow accent.

Anis de Flavigny

Anis de Flavigny is a traditional French sweet, candy, called the Anis de Flavigny. It comes from Flavigny-sur-Ozerain in Burgundy in the region of Bourgogne - Franche Comte. Today these traditional sweets are made in other flavors, but they are still called anis.

These French candy, sweet, producers have an English language website:

www.anis-flavigny.com/index2.html#.WbKX1MgjHIU

(Catalan - anís, batafaluga or matafaluga), (Dutch - anijsplant), (German - anise), (Italian - anice anche, anice verde), (Spanish - anís, anís verde).

Connected Posts:

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

Ail - Garlic. Garlic in French Cuisine.

Aneth – Dill. The spice with a very light aniseed flavor and a favorite in the French kitchen.

Anis Étoile or Badiane - Star Anise the Spice. Star Anise on French Menus.

Carottes - Carrots in French Cuisine.

Coquilles Saint-Jacques and the Vanneaux or Pétoncle. The King Scallop and the Queen Scallop on French Menus. The Coquilles Saint Jacques, and the Vanneaux or Pétoncle in French Cuisine.

Crevettes - Shrimps and Prawns on French Menus. Shrimps and Prawns are Some of the Many Tasty Crustaceans seen in French Cuisine.

Escargots - Snails. Snails on French Menus. How to Order Snails in France.

Fenouil - Fennel, the Herb, and the Vegetable. Fennel on French Menus.

Gingembre – Ginger, the Spice. Ginger is very important in French Cuisine, and Gingerbread is Very Popular.

Huitres. Oysters in France 1. Ordering, Eating, and Enjoying Oysters. Huitres on French Menus.

Lotte or Baudroie - Monkfish or Anglerfish. Monkfish on French Menus.

Médaillon – A Medallion. A Médaillon de Bœuf, Médaillons de Veau, Médaillon de Lotte, Médaillons de Canard and More. Médaillons in French cuisine and Médaillons on French Menus.

Behind the French Menu’s links include hundreds of words, names, and phrases that are seen on French menus. There are nearly 400 articles that include over 2,000 French dishes with English translations and explanations. Just add the word, words or phrase that you are searching for to the words "Behind the French Menu" and search with Google or Bing.

Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

Bluespotted Seabream

Photograph courtesy of Tasty Fish.

The Bluespotted Seabream, Red Seabream or the Golden Porgy in the USA. This is a tasty fish with delicate, white, flaky meat. Large fish are usually baked as chefs prefer to cook this fish whole as it keeps in all the flavor and will be served as filets. Smaller fish will be on the menu fried, grilled or steamed. The fish is caught all around the Mediterranean and in the Atlantic near Portugal and the African coast.

The Bluespotted Seabream on French menus:

Daurade Rose Grillée aux Fenouil et Girolles – Grilled filet of bluespotted seabream served with fennel and wild chanterelle mushrooms.

Orange and fennel seabream.

Photograph courtesy of GoodtoKnow

Daurade Rose Rôtie aux Épices et Ragoût de Févettes – The bluespotted seabream roasted with spices and served with a stew of fava beans.

Filet de Daurade Rose Rôtie sur Peau, Beurre de Citron Vert – Filet of bluespotted seabream roasted in its skin and flavored with a lime butter.

Les Nems Crevettes et Daurade Rose, Sauce Chili Douce et Menthe Fraîche – Egg rolls of shrimps and bluespotted seabream served with a sweet chili sauce accented with fresh mint.

Pagre Point Bleu, Grillé sur Peau Roquette Tombée et Radis Noir Pulpe de Citron – Bluespotted seabream grilled in its skin and served with cooked rocket and black radish flavored with lemon pulp. (Tombée means fallen in French, but when used for vegetables and fruits it means they have been cooked and significantly reduced in size. Black radishes are from the same family as red radishes but with an outside black skin that has a sharp bite. Fresh they will usually be served skinned. Here they will have been cooked like turnips together with the rocket).

Bluespotted seabream prepared with lemon and rosemary.

Photograph courtesy of HelloCotton.

Tartare de Daurade Rose, Citron Vert et Gingembre - A fish Tartar made with the Bluespotted Seabream and flavored with lime and ginger.

The Daurade Rose is not to confused with the Dorade Royale, the Gilthead Sea Bream, that may also be on some menus with the name Daurade. The Bluespotted Seabream, the Daurade Rose is caught at sea while its cousin the Gilthead Seabream is mostly a farmed fish.

Bluespotted seabream in the languages of France’s neighbors:

(Catalan - pagre reial),(Dutch - goud brasem), (German – blaufleckenbrasse), (Italian – pagro reale maschiom), (Spanish – hurta, zapata).

Connected Posts:

Beurre - Butter in French. Butter in French Cuisine.

Citron – The lemon; the fruit behind many of France’s culinary successes. Also the Citron Vert - Lime, the Cedrat – the Citron, the Combava – the kaffir lime and the Chadec - the Pomelo.

Chanterelle or Chantarelle Girolle - The Chantarelle Mushroom on French Menus. Three of the Four Chanterelle Girolle Mushrooms in French Cuisine. The Mushrooms of France IV.

Crevettes - Shrimps and Prawns on French Menus. Shrimps and Prawns are Some of the Many Tasty Crustaceans seen in French Cuisine.

Fenouil - Fennel, the Herb, and the Vegetable. Fennel on French Menus.

Gingembre – Ginger, the Spice. Ginger is very important in French Cuisine, and Gingerbread is Very Popular.

Romarin - Rosemary, the Herb in French cuisine.

Tartare - Tartar on French Menus. Steak Tartar, Fish Tartar and Vegetable Tartar.

Turnips, (Navets) Parsnips (Panais) and Swedes (Chou-Navets or Rutabaga). Traditional Root Vegetables in Modern French Cuisine.

Behind the French Menu’s links include hundreds of words, names, and phrases that are seen on French menus. There are nearly 400 articles that include over 2,000 French dishes with English translations and explanations. Add the word, words or phrase that you are searching for to the words "Behind the French Menu" and search with Google or Bing.