French cooking relies on fresh herbs — tarragon, chervil, parsley, thyme, bay — and a quiet hand with pepper, nutmeg and quatre épices, with bolder spicing in Provence and the Basque country.
Overview¶
Medieval French cooking was spiced as lavishly as any in Europe, with grains-of-paradise, long-pepper, saffron, ginger and cinnamon in sauces (see medieval-spice-cookery). From the seventeenth century, with cooks such as La Varenne, French taste turned towards "natural" flavours: stocks, butter, reductions and fresh herbs, with spice reduced to a background seasoning. That shift shaped classical French cuisine and, through it, restaurant cooking across the Western world.
The result is a cuisine whose aromatic signature is herbal rather than spiced. tarragon, chervil, parsley, chives, thyme and bay do most of the work, and pepper, nutmeg and cloves are used so discreetly they are often only noticed when missing.
The core palette¶
- Pepper: black for most dishes, white for pale sauces where black specks are unwanted, crushed peppercorns for steak au poivre, and green peppercorns in cream sauces.
- nutmeg: in béchamel, gratins, quiches, and spinach.
- cloves: a single clove pushed into an onion (oignon piqué) for stocks and béchamel.
- Quatre épices: pepper, nutmeg, cloves and ginger (or cinnamon), used in charcuterie — pâtés, terrines and sausages.
- Mustard: Dijon mustard is as essential as any spice, in vinaigrettes and sauces.
- saffron in bouillabaisse and Provençal fish dishes; juniper in Alsatian choucroute and game.
- vanilla in crème anglaise and pastry.
- Herbs: fines herbes (parsley, chives, tarragon and chervil), the bouquet garni (parsley stalks, thyme and bay tied together), and in the south rosemary, savory, marjoram and oregano and lavender.
Regional differences¶
Provence and the Mediterranean south¶
Olive oil, garlic, tomato, saffron, fennel and the dried herbs of the garrigue — thyme, rosemary, savory and oregano. The blend sold as herbes de Provence is largely a mid-twentieth-century commercial creation, but it reflects herbs genuinely used in the region. Aïoli, rouille (garlic and saffron-chilli mayonnaise for fish soup) and pistou — a basil, garlic and oil sauce related to Italian pesto — are the region's great condiments.
The Basque country and south-west¶
Espelette pepper (piment d'Espelette), a mild dried red pepper with a protected designation, is used where the rest of France would reach for black pepper — in piperade, on ham, in axoa. Gascony and Périgord favour duck fat, garlic and walnuts.
Alsace and the east¶
German influence: juniper, caraway, bay and cloves in choucroute garnie; pain d'épices (spice bread, also made in Burgundy) with aniseed, cinnamon and cloves.
Normandy, Brittany and the north¶
Butter, cream, cider and apples; herbs over spice, and sorrel with fish. Brittany has a tradition of buckwheat crêpes and salted butter.
Lyon and Burgundy¶
The heart of bourgeois cooking: coq au vin, boeuf bourguignon (with a bouquet garni), pike quenelles, and Dijon mustard.
Key techniques¶
- Stocks and infusions: herbs are tied into a bouquet garni so they can be removed after flavouring a braise or stock.
- Finishing with fresh herbs: delicate herbs like chervil and tarragon are added at the end, or into sauces off the heat. Béarnaise is flavoured with a tarragon-vinegar reduction and finished with fresh tarragon and chervil.
- Persillade: chopped parsley and garlic, added to sautéed potatoes, mushrooms and snails at the last moment. See persillade.
- Charcuterie spicing: precise spice mixes, usually weighed per kilo of meat.
💡 Chervil fades fast
chervil loses much of its delicate anise flavour when heated or dried. Add it at the very end, and grow it yourself if you can — it is rarely sold fresh. See fresh-vs-dried-herbs.
Landmark dishes¶
Bouillabaisse, ratatouille, pissaladière, soupe au pistou, piperade, cassoulet, confit de canard, choucroute garnie, coq au vin, boeuf bourguignon, steak au poivre, sole meunière, omelette aux fines herbes, béarnaise sauce, gratin dauphinois, pâté de campagne, and pain d'épices.
Stocking the cupboard¶
- Black peppercorns in a good mill (see pepper-mills), and white pepper
- Whole nutmeg and a fine grater
- Bay leaves and dried thyme
- cloves
- Dijon mustard
- Fresh parsley, chives and tarragon (grow chervil)
- Herbes de Provence for grilling
- Espelette pepper and a little saffron