French Food That Isn’t

Tellement décevant! You grew up eating French toast, French fries and French dressing, then realized that you’ve been lied to your entire life! There are so many things we call French food that aren’t.

Your friends at the AWS Pittsburgh Chapter thought that we’d help by letting you know in advance of our next tasting of French food and wine what’s French and what’s just a figment of our imagination. Even the most fantastic myth gets a bit of inspiration from reality, like the Frenchman in his beret with the baguette under his arm, so, let’s explore where this all comes from. And since we’re all obsessed with food these days, we’ll begin there.

The French gave the world the hot air balloon, the sewing machine, and the bikini. They even gave the us The Statue of Liberty. However, one thing the French can’t claim is the French fry.

French Fries

Although Americans thought they were getting back at the French in 2003 by coining the term “Freedom fries”, these treats were actually invented in Belgium in the late 1600’s. And every honest Frenchman knows that. You will of course find frites at your typical fast food joints and on brasserie and bistro menus with steak, jambon or saucisse. But the most recent boom has been with hipster food trucks serving gourmet burgers and hand cut fries.

French toast

It’s not called toast français but pain perdu which literally means “lost bread”. Since the daily baguette is a staple in many French homes, there’s often a little that ends up going stale. Instead of throwing it out, you can save the “lost” bread by soaking it in egg and milk, frying it in butter and topping it with powdered sugar. It’s rare to find pain perdu on a restaurant menu, and it isn’t your typical family breakfast dish as much as a dessert. Before the French called it pain perdu, they called it pain à la Romaine (Roman bread)” as the original recipe actually dates to 4th century Rome. Who knew?!

So, if the French didn’t invent the modern French toast, who did? According to legend, it was an Albany, New York innkeeper named Joseph French. He created the dish in 1724 and advertised it as "French Toast" because he was grammatically inept and forgot the apostrophe.

French Dressing

This condiment is far from anything a native français would put on their crudités. In the 1950's, someone in the US thought it would be a good idea to invent a salad dressing made with ketchup and sugar and call it “French”. Our advice: it’s best to stick with your classic vinaigrette if you want authentic French taste. Olive oil, vinegar, salt, and maybe a dash of mustard is real French dressing.

French Onion Dip

Stemming from the popular misconception that the French eat onions with every meal, it seems this is another transatlantic invention that combines America’s love for snacks and traditional French onion soup flavors. The original French onion dip was a recipe developed to sell Lipton's Onion Soup Mix, during a fad for marketing convenience products in the 1950's. Lipton called their recipe "California", the west coast being almost as exotic as France in the 1950's. Their product is just "Onion Soup Mix". Knorr calls their product "French Onion Soup Mix", and that's the name that seems to have stuck, giving the impression that this is a food with a history of elegance, as opposed to an invention of marketers.

French Vanilla

The French don’t claim that vanilla comes from France but rather from Bourbon, which is the region where it’s produced, the Indian ocean islands of Reunion (French department formerly called Bourbon Island), Madagascar and Comoros. However, “French Vanilla” flavor or scent does originate from the French recipe for custard. Today, when we refer to French vanilla, it’s when the vanilla flavor is caramelized, and slightly floral. French Vanilla Custard Body Lotion just doesn’t sound right, so they dropped the custard part.

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French Cruller

It seems that Dunkin’ Donuts may have gotten their European geography wrong. According Eater.com, crullers were “originally a Dutch creation. Sources disagree about the French cruller’s evolution, but it’s clear that the modern interpretation is based upon French choux pastry.” In any case, you won’t find a “French Cruller” anywhere in France. The closest thing that you’ll see are churros, which are the Spanish version that are fried in oil then served with either powdered sugar, or in France – Nutella. France is the largest consumer on the planet of this Italian spread!

On that note, grab some French roast coffee and some French bread before you have your French toast with French vanilla topping and your baked French eggs. Hopefully your French maid will be by soon to clean your French windows and iron your French curtains.

Bon appétit