Are their any special ingreidients that the French use that differs from our style of cooking?

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Rillifane

Very generally speaking French cuisine is not radically different than American cuisine in terms of the ingredients used.

Even frog's legs which people frequently cite as French oddities are actually eaten in parts of the United States. In fact, they can be found in my local grocery store in rural East Texas.

Snails are eaten, which I rarely find in America but its not a usual part of the diet.

One of most common differences in ingredients is that French butter is made differently than American. They traditionally make it from "raw" milk and then allow it to "cure" slightly which gives it a tangy flavor that is completely absent from butter made in the USA (which is bland and flavorless by comparison).

Many French cheeses are also made from unpasteurized milk which gives them a flavor that cannot be duplicated in the US.

French lamb is taken from sheep that graze in salt marshes which also gives a better flavor. The French also eat much more lamb than do Americans (but then almost everyone eats more lamb than Americans).

The real difference is the difference in quality.

In the United States standardization has taken place to create fruits and vegatables with the primary property of being able to be picked while unripe and transported huge distances while being undamaged by mechanical harvesting and packing. That's why so much American produce doesn't taste like anything.

In France there is still a respect for quality and an appreciation for the unique qualities of regionally grown and consumed products.

Vladimir ILL

Lesson nÂ° 1 : we use spooins

Next one, tomorrow

Joe from WI

Yes, a long list of things. For complete information look up French cuisine on wikipedia.

PainVinFromage

Ingredients and techniques are different
Much of this is a secret
America will never be able to 'catch up'

Cabal

The biggest difference would be organ meat. Americans tend to eat only muscle meat and use the rest for pet food while in France the rest of the beast is still fine to eat. From sheep and cows we get liver, heart, kidneys, ox tongue (more in the north), and before the mad cow disease brains, calf glands and bone marrow. From poultry we get liver and gizzards... etc

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