A sizzling love affair: Exploring France's meat-eating habits

[Music] if you've spent any time here in france you'll know that the french love to eat meat whether it's cocoa buff burgundy steak tartar foie gras kishloren duck rabbit all our famous dishes are meat heavy the joke goes it's hard to be a vegetarian in france but more and more people are becoming concerned about their health or the environment and so their meat eating habits are starting to change join us for this episode of french connections plus where we take a bite out of france's sizzling love affair with meat [Music] be it pork poultry or beef the french certainly love their viend however the amount of meat people eat has certainly changed over the years well i remember back in the day my grandparents used to say that just after the war meat was still a treat it became commonplace in the 1970s and then 20 years ago it hit a high point when people were eating about 94 kilos of meat a year per person that is a lot of meat but things changed over the past decade with meat consumption dropping more than 10 percent that's right these days it's closer to about 86 kilos of meat per year per person which is still higher than the european average french health officials recommend eating less meat particularly processed meat to things like cold cuts well someone like my father who used to eat meat twice a day he's also cutting back preferring quality over quantity so what kind of meat are people eating these days well pork is the king of meat in france and you can also find it in a lot of delicious deli meats shaktutri like sushi sun and pati next comes poultry then beef and then lamb so that's what the numbers say but how do the french feel about their relationship with meat flo you went to find out more b [Music] [Music] way [Music] [Music] [Music] [Laughter] [Music] part of the reason meat consumption and in particular beef consumption has dropped in the past decade is due to a series of public health scandals well people still remember the mad cow disease vacher health crisis that shook the 90s it made people become more aware of where their meat comes from and how it's raised more recently france was rocked by a scandal involving horse meat showing up in certain frozen lasagna and it certainly caused a media rodeo but here's the thing horse meat is considered a delicacy by many horse meat was very popular in france at least until the 1980s then people became more aware of animal rights campaigns there's still butchers that sell horse meat like here in paris and you can often recognize them thanks to a horse head statue outside fun fact the original steak tata which is basically raw meat mixed with a bunch of spices was originally made with horse meat today it's made with beef and it's just one of the many ways the french enjoy their steak a classic order on the menu of french brassies was named for the turkic tartars a nomadic population living in central asia in the middle ages legend has it they would tenderize horse meat under their riding saddles before consuming it raw while raw meat is not to everyone's liking the french do tend to eat their meat rarer than in other countries and it can be tricky to order your steak just the way you like it blue will get you a very rare steak lightly seared on either side senyon literally bloody is what the french consider rare but it can be a bit undercooked by british or american standards in which case you should order your steak app if you want it well done order it biancui or even krebs but you might get a disapproving look from the waiter and a steak that looks more like a strip of leather meanwhile the different names for meat cuts can be a real head scratcher and at times get lost in translation the best thing is to ask your local butcher who will probably give you a delicious recipe along the way french people love their meat but the number of vegetarians and vegans those who eat no animal products at all is growing now there have been stories in the news of militant vegans attacking butcher shops but when you look at the numbers it's still quite a small movement just two percent of french people say they're vegetarian 0.5 say they're vegan but 30 percent say they are flexitarian mostly vegetarian who eat a little bit of meat now in recent years the trend of meatless monday or angels beyond has caught on for many people and more and more restaurants are offering vegetarian options on their menus now that is a real revolution here in france back in the day if you ask for a vegetarian dish at a french restaurant chances are good they probably give you ham now france still has a ways to go compared to its neighboring countries germany and the uk that are a lot more veggie friendly but things are starting to get better for vegetarians and vegans in fact the prestigious michelin guy just gave one of its prize stars to a french vegan restaurant and this for the first time ever in france that being said meat-based dishes are still the prime rib of the culinary world and there's some classic dishes that everyone should know how to make [Music] when you think about a typical meaty french dish one of the first ones that pops to mind is buff bourguignon buff bourguignon comes from the borgany region of france burgundy a place that's famous for its wine and its beef so it's no surprise those are the two main ingredients and the other key ingredient is thyme because the longer it simmers the better it tastes there are as many recipes as there are grandmas in france but today we decided to do a very simple version on top of the beef and wine you're going to need onions carrots garlic flour lavenos mushrooms aromatic herbs butter salt pepper oil and a secret ingredient we're going to get to in just a little bit and the best thing to cook it all in is a good old-fashioned cast iron pot step one cut up the beef into five centimeter cubes that's about two inches and then chop up the carrots and the onions all right [Music] heat some oil in the pot and throw in the meat and some butter the idea is to darken the meat but especially to get the juices flowing because that's where all the flavor is once the meat has browned you take it out then you put in the chopped garlic carrots and onion and you cook it for about five minutes once they've sauteed put the meat back in with some salt and pepper and butter because you can never have enough butter now at this point you're going to sprinkle the meat with some flour it's going to give the dish a good consistency [Music] now you lower the heat and add the wine you can use any red wine but it is best to use burgundy this is after all a buff bourguignon if not use any pinot variety which is fruity and slightly acidic [Music] once you've poured the wine in the pot let it reduce to about half that way all the alcohol evaporates add some aromatic herbs like bay leaves and thyme and then cover it for two hours minimum [Music] then in another pan cook your lardon basically chopped up bacon and mushrooms and then add them into the big pot about halfway through and that's before you add the secret ingredient which is two squares of dark chocolate now chefs use chocolate to give the dish creaminess also a cocoa flavored note and also to calm down the acidity of the wine [Music] after about two and a half to three hours the dish is ready to serve often with some boiled potatoes it's not very clear when before ginon was invented but it has always been a festive meal it's the ultimate comfort food what we call a pla du dimash an elaborate hearty meal you make for a long sunday lunch with your family bon appetit [Music] yum pretty good many of you sent in your questions about meat eating habits here in france like philippe monte who wanted to know are the french still eating a lot of snails and frogs or is that just cliche well i guess technically snails and frog legs are meat no it's not at all a cliche it might sound a little hard to stomach but it's actually considered a delicacy and usually you will order snails and frog legs in old school restaurants like here at the cafe di comas and it might sound a little gross but it's actually delicious probably thanks to all the butter and garlic they're usually cooked in speaking of things that are delicious but also a bit of an acquired taste matteo de mita wanted to know how to prepare anduit now ondu yet is a sausage that's made with the small intestine of a pork and usually the colon as well which gives it a distinctive odor but you know what it actually tastes a lot better than it smells luckily and my favorite way to eat it is grilled on a barbecue now if you want to order or buy andrea be sure to look out for a lot of a's that's a very good sign it stands for the association amica di amateur d'andrielle autentique it's sort of a fan club that gives certificates to producers of only the best androids i don't know about eugenie but all this is making me very hungry me too listen if you want to get in touch with us feel free to send us your questions at floville minnow or to check us out on social media and we'll see you soon for another episode of french connections plus

Channel: FRANCE 24 English

Views: 10,186

Keywords: FRENCH CONNECTIONS PLUS, France, French culture, food, france24, news

Id: TKrp7fcLvUM

Length: 11min 55sec (715 seconds)

Published: Fri Mar 26 2021