The blog of cooking-ez.com
The French baguette and UNESCO
As you may have already read here or there, France has initiated for some time the procedure to try to have the French baguette classified as an intangible world heritage by UNESCO.
When you put it like that, it sounds a bit namby-pamby, and it would be tempting to imagine an American (for example) sniggering at those Frenchies and their damn baguette that they love so much.
But it's not as simplistic as that, because for us French, the relationship with bread is very particular.
When you put it like that, it sounds a bit namby-pamby, and it would be tempting to imagine an American (for example) sniggering at those Frenchies and their damn baguette that they love so much.
But it's not as simplistic as that, because for us French, the relationship with bread is very particular.
8,532 10 4.8
Last modified on: March 18th 2020
Keywords for this post:BaguetteFranceUnescoWorldHeritageThe French baguette and UNESCO
First of all, and even if we are used to it, let's not forget that bread is the cornerstone of our diet, even if its consumption has been steadily decreasing for years, it still remains something very important for us, on a daily basis. To be convinced of this, we need only look at the astonishing number of expressions in French that refer to bread: "Manger son pain blanc", "Lui faire passer le gout du pain", "Du pain sur la planche"... etc.
Then our bread, or rather our breads, have an almost unique specificity in the world, it is that they are crispy. We all appreciate a warm bread that comes out of the oven, and that crunches when you cut it or eat it, it doesn't look like much but it's typically French. It's a delight of texture, but also of taste because 80% of the taste of the bread is in the crust. And if you have travelled outside of France, you will have noticed, especially in Anglo-Saxon countries, the poor quality of breads, let's say "crumb bread", under plastic, their frightening composition, and their almost total absence of taste, associated with their suspicious elasticity after 3 weeks in the cupboard.
The baguette is even more French, almost Parisian it must be admitted, this long and thin bread, golden and crispy, with a very short shelf life (6h max) that we buy every day, or even several times a day, we are the only ones in the world to do that, and we do it a lot: 32 million baguettes are sold in France every day. So there is no need to specify "French baguette", because a baguette is only French.
It is however very simple as a recipe: water + flour + salt + leaven + a drop of yeast, but all the talent of the baker comes afterwards: long fermentation, short kneading, quality of the products, careful cooking, to finally obtain an exceptional product.
I had already mentioned in a previous post that there was baguette and baguette, and that it was necessary at all costs (yes, well, I'm exaggerating a bit, but it's a subject that touches me a lot) to prefer the "traditional" baguette, if possible well baked, because it's so much better for the taste and also for the health.
All this to tell you, that no, this classification request is not a baker's whim, we are indeed with the baguette on a real French specificity, which deserves to be distinguished.
And then, oh, the Neapolitans have already obtained it for the pizza ;-)...
To sum up: The French baguette classified as a UNESCO world heritage site? But of course, what a fair recognition of a so french product !
Then our bread, or rather our breads, have an almost unique specificity in the world, it is that they are crispy. We all appreciate a warm bread that comes out of the oven, and that crunches when you cut it or eat it, it doesn't look like much but it's typically French. It's a delight of texture, but also of taste because 80% of the taste of the bread is in the crust. And if you have travelled outside of France, you will have noticed, especially in Anglo-Saxon countries, the poor quality of breads, let's say "crumb bread", under plastic, their frightening composition, and their almost total absence of taste, associated with their suspicious elasticity after 3 weeks in the cupboard.
The baguette is even more French, almost Parisian it must be admitted, this long and thin bread, golden and crispy, with a very short shelf life (6h max) that we buy every day, or even several times a day, we are the only ones in the world to do that, and we do it a lot: 32 million baguettes are sold in France every day. So there is no need to specify "French baguette", because a baguette is only French.
It is however very simple as a recipe: water + flour + salt + leaven + a drop of yeast, but all the talent of the baker comes afterwards: long fermentation, short kneading, quality of the products, careful cooking, to finally obtain an exceptional product.
I had already mentioned in a previous post that there was baguette and baguette, and that it was necessary at all costs (yes, well, I'm exaggerating a bit, but it's a subject that touches me a lot) to prefer the "traditional" baguette, if possible well baked, because it's so much better for the taste and also for the health.
All this to tell you, that no, this classification request is not a baker's whim, we are indeed with the baguette on a real French specificity, which deserves to be distinguished.
And then, oh, the Neapolitans have already obtained it for the pizza ;-)...
To sum up: The French baguette classified as a UNESCO world heritage site? But of course, what a fair recognition of a so french product !
Lasts posts
Divide and weigh dough into regular pieces
When you prepare dough for cupcakes in a pastry shop or bakery, at some point you're going to have to divide it, i.e. cut it into small pieces, which should all have the same weight. Sounds simple enough, but is it really that simple?5745 May 30th 2023
How to sprinkle well?
When in a recipe you need to sprinkle something, that is to say to spread a fine layer of powder (flour, sugar, etc.) on something, powdered sugar on a pie for example, you will probably use a fine strainer or a sieve, this is the best way to proceed. But is that all?7565 May 23th 2023
How to properly roll out a pie crust?
Very often in pastry making, you have to roll out a pastry before using it for a pie or another dessert. At home, of course, you get out your rolling pin and simply roll it out. Is there a way to get an evenly rolled out dough? That's what we will see in this article.1,1354.8 May 10th 2023
Don't throw away your pizza crusts
You've probably already noticed that at the end of a pizza meal, at least half of the participants have left the crusts in the boxes or on the plates that many don't eat. Naturally, one would tend to put them "to the birds", or worse, to throw them away, and it's a shame because they are in fact...1,8604.8 April 22th 2023
The long fermentation of bread
I had already told you in a previous article about the delicious little alchemy that happens when we make bread, let's try to go a little further this time, and try to discover what makes a good bread, in other words, which has taste. .2,0464.8 April 13th 2023
Other pages you may also like
What can I use for blind baking a pastry case?
When it comes to home-made desserts, tarts are always popular. They can be divided into two basic types: those cooked with their filling, such as an apricot and almond cream tart, and those where the filling is added after baking the pastry case, such as a strawberry tart or chocolate tart. For...98K3.9 May 2nd 2017
Kitchen ovens
You certainly have one in your kitchen, an oven, the essential tool for all kinds of cooking, whether in the kitchen of course, but also in pastry, bakery, pizza, and many others. Here is some information on its structure and operation.18K2.8 May 16th 2020
Fruits which can ruin your jelly
There are many ways of making a fruit mousse, but one of the simplest is to prepare a fruit jelly (basically a fresh fruit coulis with gelatine) and then mix this jelly before it sets completely with whipped cream. The result is perfect for filling a charlotte, for example. But do beware;...60K3.5 March 6th 2013
Making the most of seeds: Dry roasting
In cooking, and particularly in baking, there are a lot of seeds we can use, such as linseed, sesame, poppy, etc. Usually, recipes simply say to add them just as they are to the mixture or dough. To make a seeded loaf, for example, prepare a plain bread dough as usual, then, towards the end of...51K3.2 January 30th 2015
Drawing a pattern in pastry
Often in the kitchen, in pastry-making, or in baking, we need to trace a pattern on a pastry. It's just a question of aesthetics but it has its effect after baking on a galette, pithiviers, pâté en croute (terrine in a pie crust), etc.20K3.4 May 23th 2019
Follow this page
If you are interested in this page, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the page is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.