Can someone please tell me some typical french cold cuts (and their translations)?

Question

I am going to France next week and I want to know how to order sandwiches/sandwich meats for lunch. Is there a particular type of cheese that Parisians favor in sandwiches (much like American/American Cheese, Italian/Provolone, etc.)

Please advise. Thank you.

Answer 1

2 important sandwiches to know w/ Gruyere or Swiss cheese :  

croque madame -- ham & cheese sauce, cheese & egg

croque monsieur -- ham, cheese sauce & cheese

At most Paris cafes, the Croque Monsieur is not  a square sandwich but rather an openface tartine made with a large single slice of bread from a round loaf. To make a croque madame, top a monsieur with an egg.  eat w/ knife & fork...

4 servings

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/3 cup flour

2 1/4 cups milk

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Pinch of ground nutmeg

2 cups (about 3/4 pound) grated Gruyere or Swiss cheese

1/2 cup light-colored beer

4 slices French country bread (large round loaf)

4 slices ham

Method:

Start by making the Mornay sauce: Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add the flour, and mix briskly with a whisk for 2 minutes.

Still over low heat, add 2 cups of the milk, continuing to whisk briskly. When the sauce comes to a boil, season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.

Add 1/2 cup of the Gruyere to complete the Mornay. Remove from the heat, and let cool.

Combine the remaining 1/4 cup of milk and the beer in a bowl. Add the remaining Gruyere to this liquid. Let soak for 2 minutes, then drain.

Top each slice of bread first with a slice of ham and then liberally with the Mornay sauce. Sprinkle with the soaked Gruyere, and cook in a toaster oven or under a broiler until golden brown.

Answer 2

French people don't eat horse, and it's very rare for French people to eat rabbit (not more than Americans actually). I'm French and I've personally eaten rabbit only once in my life.

To answer your question, you can buy fast food everywhere in the streets of Paris. The most widespread kind of foods are:

- Turkish kebabs (cooked beef with fries in bread).

- Italian paninis (toasted sandwiches with various ingredients such as tomatoes, salad, ham or cheese).

- Asian takeaways

- Britton crêpes (kind of very tasty thin pancakes either sugared or salted)

- Hamburgers (McDonald's and Quick, a belgian franchise)

- KFC's, Subways, etc...

Anyhow, here are the main ingredients translations:

Tomatoes: tomates

Salad: salade

Ham: jambon

Mushrooms: champignons

Eggs: oeufs

Beef: boeuf

Pork: porc

Chicken: poulet

Turkey: dinde

Duck: canard

Anchovy: anchois

Onion: oignon

Basil: basilic

Pineapple: ananas

Cheese generally means swiss cheese (emmental or gruyère). Other widespread cheeses are goat cheese (fromage de chèvre), camembert and blue cheese (roquefort). American cheese is commonly called cheddar.

Answer 3

Its really quite simply since what you'll actually find on offer at the typical cafe or street stand is usually just:

1)sandwich fromage

2) sandwich jambon

3) sandwich mixte and

4) sandwich  rillettes.

There are respectively 1) a cheese sandwich (usually gruyere although camembert may be specified) 2) a ham sandwich 3) a ham and cheese sandwich (the cheese in this case is invariably gruyere) and 4) a sandwich of potted pork.

If you've never had rillettes (4) you should give it a try. Its  pork that has been slow cooked then shredded and pounded into almost a paste then put up in jars that are then sealed with some of the rendered pork fat. I absolutely adore the stuff in all its artery hardening porky goodness.

EDIT: I should also add the Croque Monsieur and the Croque Madam. The first is a grilled ham and cheese sandwich (on sliced bread rather than a baguette as are the first four listed above) and the second is the same but with a fried egg on top.

Answer 4

You may find some of these links to be useful and interesting. Have a great trip!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jambon_de_B...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saucisson

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charcuterie

http://frenchfood.about.com/od/?once=tru...

http://www.slowtrav.com/france/restauran...

http://www.cheese-france.com/

Answer 5

You'll find a large variety of meats/cold cuts/cheeses but I'll just list a few to get you started:

saucisson: sausage

jambon:  ham

lapin:  rabbit

cheval:  horse

emmental francais:  essentially swiss cheese complete with holes.

pate compagne:  country pate (usually pork liver spread)