I Can Cook Cooking is a rewarding and lifelong skill With some basic cooking knowledge a little practice and great recipes you can cook entire meals Cooking for your family and friends is a fun activity and a mouthwatering meal can take you to places that you have never been Are you ready to have fun cooking and eating A world of Food Every day people all over the world cook delicious and nutritious meals What they cook depends not only on the ingredients available to them but also on their country's food culture or cooking style A country's style of cooking is shaped over time by its culture economy climate and the land itself Cook Your Way Around the World You can explore the great cuisines of the world in your own kitchen The special flavors and wonderful aromas of a country's food culture come from fresh ingredients and particular spices or herbs which you can find in your local supermarket or a specialty store Share with your family and friends authentic dishes from different countries that look great and taste even better You can cook mouthwatering food from different countries by following a few simple steps Some recipes involve combining just a couple of
French Food Worldwide French Food Buttery croissants crepes and French fries are known worldwide as are salads flavored as Sharing meals is an important part of French culture The French also place great importance on the way food looks This means even a simple French picnic is a feast for the eyes as well as the tastebuds with a sharp vinaigrette dressing and the tiny cakes called petits fours Eating the French Way Fresh local and seasonal French ingredients are available at local markets and most people buy their meat and produce daily Breakfast is simple bread jam and coffee Lunch used to be the main meal and families would return home for this However these days particularly in cities dinner is the main meal Food styles vary widely from hearty peasant dishes to delicate fruit tarts and are also influenced by the cuisines of neighboring countries Cooking French Food At Home It is surprisingly easy to create an authentic French meal at home Sometimes all you need is good French bread cheese and fruit This book has seven recipes that you can follow to cook a meal on your own or with a little help from an adult Some of the recipes don't even involve cooking The recipes can be adapted to suit special diets too NORTH AMERICA FRANCE EUROPE ASA AFRICA Sou AMERICA AUSTRALIA France is found in Europe It shares borders with eight countries on A Special French treat at breakfast is pain au chocolat a sweet pastry with chocolate
French Food Basics Traditions and Styles France has a tradition of elegant dining based on food cooked for the upper classes centuries ago It also has a variety of simple regional styles that emerged from food cooked daily in villages and on farms TI an FRANCE The French bake fresh bread twice daily and eat bread at every meal The Development of French Food French food styles vary widely from region to region depending on the history economy and climate of the region and the ingredients available during each season Catherine de Medici brought the Italian passion for fresh ingredients and fine dining with her when she became the French queen in 1533 Later famous chefs wrote cookbooks that helped develop elaborate cooking styles for the rich At the same time simpler and distinctive cooking styles were being created regionally with local ingredients often influenced by neighboring countries This extended to cheese and wine as well with every region having its own
frican Influence Regional Food The cooking style of each French region is based on what s in season and available locally Some well loved regional specialties have become popular all over France The map below breaks France up into six main regions and discusses the ingredients and special foods that are popular in each France is home to many African migrants from its former colonies They brought their own ingredients cooking styles and traditional dishes many of which are now common in French cooking including couscous GERMANY Central The fertile plains and rivers around Ile de France provide vegetables fruit mushrooms and the soft cheese known as Brie In Burgundy great wines led to the development of dishes such as beef bourguignon beef cooked in winel and coq au vin chicken in wine pictured Escargots cooked snails are popular here too and Dijon mustard BELGIUM Northeast Heavier food such as cold meats and LUXEMBOURG potato based dishes is commonly cooked in Alsace and Lorraine NORTHEAST NORTHWEST Specialties include pastries and jams as well as German influenced pork dishes pictured and pickles CENTRAL Northwest SWITZERLAND MIDEAST ITALY Normandy's apples and dairy products such as butter cream and Camembert cheese pictured are used in rich tarts Coastal waters supply fish including trout and salmon and other seafood such as mussels and oysters Brittany is known for its wide thin pancakes called galettes SOUTHWEST SOUTHEAST Mideast The mountainous parts of this region are famous for cheese which may be used in fondues pictured and Lyon sausages Mediterranean ANDORRA Southeast Southwest Aquitaine is famous for its saltwater and freshwater fish and Bordeaux for its free range poultry Truffles and mushrooms are found on the high plains of Perigord Well known dishes here include cassoulel pictured a hearty bean stew from Toulouse Cooks in this Mediterranean area use olive oil garlic anchovies herbs lavender and honey The region of Languedoc Roussillon provides seafood and snails as well as cheese and meat from both sheep and goats Ratatouille pictured a well known vegetable dish comes from Provence as does the fish stew
