{"id":96366,"date":"2024-10-17T13:05:45","date_gmt":"2024-10-17T02:05:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theproject.com.au\/myfrenchlife\/?p=96366"},"modified":"2025-04-07T17:24:12","modified_gmt":"2025-04-07T07:24:12","slug":"food-in-france-what-do-they-call-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theproject.com.au\/myfrenchlife\/2024\/10\/17\/food-in-france-what-do-they-call-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Food in France: What Do They Call It? 1\/4"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Food

‘Comme on dit chez nous’ by Mathieu Avanzi<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

France has one of the world\u2019s great cuisines, and the French really care about their food. So, you might think that they would use a common set of terms. An escargot <\/em>is an escargot,<\/em> n\u2019est-ce pas<\/em>? Well, not quite.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mathieu Avanzi<\/a> has written an entertaining and deeply researched book, Comme On Dit Chez Nous<\/em><\/a>,<\/em> about the terms used in France for all sorts of things, from food to pencils to tires and more. It is witty and informative and comes with maps showing where different terms are used, including in the francophone regions of Belgium and Switzerland.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s look at a few foods and see what they’re called in France.<\/p>\n

Cro\u00fbton or Quignon?<\/h2>\n

While the end of a baguette has many names in France, two main camps oppose one another: Team Cro\u00fbton<\/em> and Team Quignon<\/em> (quignon<\/em> is a variation of coignon<\/em>, from coin<\/em> or \u201cround\u201d.) Whatever it\u2019s called, you will often see a French person walking home from the bakery, breaking off the end of their baguette and munching happily away.<\/p>\n

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Pain au Chocolate or Chocolatine?<\/h2>\n

While in much of France that flaky chocolaty pastry is known as pain au chocolat<\/em>, the southwest remains the stronghold of chocolatine<\/em>. You are advised to avoid ordering pain au chocolat <\/em>in Toulouse!<\/p>\n

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Endive or Chicon?<\/h2>\n

Legend has it that endive was first discovered when a Belgian farmer grew chicory underground to escape taxes. Originally named chicon<\/em> (derived from chicor\u00e9e<\/em>), it was marketed in Paris as endive<\/em>, because it comes from the variety of chicory called endive chicor\u00e9e. <\/em>The Belgians remain loyal to its original name and whatever you call it, it is delicious in a salad or when topped with tapenade.<\/p>\n

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Escargot or Cagouille?<\/h2>\n

The little gastropods called petit-gris<\/em> are known as escargot<\/em> in most of France, but not everywhere. In the western part of the country around Bordeaux, they are called cagouille<\/em>, from the ancient Occitan word cogolha<\/em>. A specialty of the region is the cagouillade<\/em>, which combines cagouille, sausage, tomato, wine, and plenty of garlic.<\/p>\n

\"food<\/p>\n

Kebab or Grec?<\/h2>\n

Kebabs made their way to France from Germany, with its large Turkish population, and are called kebabs<\/em> in most of the country (short for the Turkish d\u00f6ner kebab<\/em>.) But in Paris, they were originally sold by Greek restaurants in the Latin Quarter, hence the name sandwich<\/em> grec<\/em>, later shortened to grec<\/em>.<\/p>\n

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Pain aux Raisins or Escargot?<\/h2>\n

In most of France this spiral-shaped pastry topped with raisins is called, logically, pain au raisin<\/em>. But its spiral shape leads some regions to call it, also logically, escargot<\/em>. And that odd-sounding name of schneck<\/em> in Alsace? It comes from neighboring Germany: schneck<\/em> means escargot<\/em>.<\/p>\n

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Galette des Rois or G\u00e2teau des Rois?<\/h2>\n

The first Sunday of the year is Epiphany, when the French enjoy the pastry that makes someone queen or king for a day. But the country is divided as to what to call it, with the northerners opting for galette<\/em> while in the south it is g\u00e2teau<\/em>. Not only is the name different but the recipe is also different because\u2026well, this is France!<\/p>\n

\"food<\/p>\n

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The variation in terms across France is interesting, isn’t it?<\/strong> If you have experiences to share please do so in the comments below.<\/p>\n

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Image Credits<\/strong><\/p>\n

Book cover – Amazon
\nAll other images – Facebook page Fran\u00e7ais de nos regions<\/em><\/a>, the site of book author Mathieu Avanzi.<\/p>\n

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