Ah, the French and their obsession with bread. Don't laugh, it's real--and I'm totally with them on this one!
They have special flours for different types of bread--more than just white flour, or cake flour--it depends on the region where it is grown and all sorts of stuff.
There is a rumor going around that a true baguette cannot be made outside of France--and they're serious. You haven't had good bread until you've ripped off the end of a warm baguette and sunk your teeth into the crunchy, yet chewy crust and soft interior. Baguettes don't keep very well--but they're not intended to. Get a couple of loaves fresh every morning.
They eat bread with every meal, no joke. Apparently you can spot a tourist miles away if they do any of the following:
-keep their bread on the plate and not on the table beside the plate (there is no such thing as a bread plate over here)
-eat the bread before tasting the other food
--or don't tear it up with their fingers (to dip in the sauces of the plate)
Don't go to the grocery store and pick up a baguette (ironically named French bread when it couln't even be classified as pigeon food over here). It just isn't worth it--you need the real experience, my friends, and then you will see what you are missing.
And I could give you a speech about chocolate, but let's face it, when all we've got is Hershey's, how can we compete?
Baguettes, chocolate, mirabelles, quiches, duck, wine, cheese--ahhh! It's all too much!
Let me leave you with the wise words of my Parisian friend: You cannot use words to describe food, only feelings...
Time for dinner...
Cheers!
~Laura
Life as a Teaching Assistant in France
