The Art that is French cooking
It is perhaps fair to say that French cooking really is seen as being an art form and it is no surprise that most of the top chefs around the world will, at some point, spend time particularly in Paris learning their trade. The finesse and thought that goes into various dishes can stop you in your tracks, but one of the strangest things about it is the apparent ability of a relative novice to produce amazing French dishes. So how is this possible?
Use the freshest ingredients
One of the main things that people associate with French cooking is the need to only use the freshest of ingredients at all times. Any French kitchen will be full of various vegetables and even the meat is bought fresh rather than stored in the freezer for any period of time and this freshness really comes out in the end results.
Beginners can create great dishes
Another thing that is associated with French food is the fact that it is actually not overcomplicated when it comes to ingredients because there tends to be one central ingredient and only a few others around it. This is what makes it easier for a beginner to create some wonderful dishes because there is only a need to know the basics of cooking and how certain ingredients can work together to end up creating something that both looks and tastes fantastic.
Entertain your taste, smell and visual senses
French cooking is also all about really entertaining the various senses because when you combine taste, smell, and even the visual aspect of the food, then you get something that stands out from the crowd. One important part that those that understand French cooking really know about is that you should never overload just one of the senses, but instead they need to all work in harmony with one another so make it look fantastic, but make it smell equally wonderful and taste as amazing at the same time.
Garnish the dish and bring it to life
However, the art part really comes in the presentation and this is where the French really do excel. It has to be said that they love to garnish a dish and when done correctly this can lift it from being something that looks run of the mill to something that is just that little bit special. Those little touches of adding a sprig of thyme or adding that drizzle of dressing can bring an entire dish to life and these little touches really symbolize what French cooking is really all about.
Basic cooking techniques and skills
There are a few basic cooking techniques that are employed in this type of cuisine and being able to do them to a reasonable level will let you quickly improve your cooking skills in a short period of time. The techniques you should know about include how to flambe to add some flavor at the end of the cooking process, sauteing, which is a low fat technique of cooking, poaching to make things more tender, broiling, brazing, and even baking with them all capable of altering the taste of the ingredients and allowing you to produce something fantastic.
Share French Cooking techniques with other dishes
So why should you perhaps try to learn more about French food and how it is prepared? The quick answer to that is that you will learn about how ingredients can compliment one another without you trying to do anything too fancy. French food is all about mastering one basic technique at a time and then looking at how you can use it in other dishes so when you discover how amazing sauteing can be, then you will discover ways to incorporate it as you cook Italian dishes, American dishes, or a whole host of other things from around the world.
Time to get serious about food
To conclude it has to be said that if you want to get serious about food, then sit down and study the basics of French cooking and use that as your knowledge base for everything else that you then do. Just remember that all of the top chefs that you see on television understand the basics and by copying them you will undoubtedly learn more about ingredients and how they all work together and also how to get the best out of them no matter what it is that you are cooking. Just remember their basics in that all of the senses should be satisfied and when you achieve this, you will have produced food to die for.