Is French cuisine descended from Venetian cuisine?

Question

Is French cuisine descended from Venetian cuisine?

Answer 1

I am sure there must have been influences from various countries and cultures just like language, art, architecture, literature etc. It sounds inevitable.

Folks have always traded, gone to war, been invaded by other countries so it only makes sense that the cuisine would be influenced also.

French cuisine is extremely varied and diversified. Go to the East of France and dishes have been very strongly influenced by the Germans.

Same with wine......depends on the soil, sun, etc..There is French Riesling and German Riesling.

Some kind of food or animals would hardly be be found in some areas. Hogs are used as a typical dish in northern France.

I am not a foodie so I cannot give you specific examples but lived and travelled there.

France is an old country compared to the US.........at the beginning there was no potatoes, tomatoes and various fruits and veg which exist nowadays.

Like think of Italy : pasta was introduced via trade with the Chinese !

But with time, they developped a bit of a style of their own.

Crêpes (pancakes) come from Brittany.

I think they dared more than lots of other countries. Steak tartare ( raw chopped meat with egg etc)..Venison, deer meat, rabbit, tongue, brains, tripes etc etc.

Same with the cheese.....no other country has more varieties. And yes some were created in a special area ....the name gives it away : Camembert, Roquefort...etc

I think they did not have too much chip on the shoulder concerning food and were ready to experiment and experience and come up with new recipes etc.

Some dishes are typically region oriented.

Europe has always influenced and been influenced by other countries...........I do not see why this should be different about the cuisine.

But individuality, a country's psyche plays an important part too.

But to think that it has had no influence over the centuries from other countries ( and gave too ) would sound very arrogant to me.

Before the Roman invasion, wine did not exist for ex. Various liquors yes and beer in the north.

PS: thanks Lingua.

Couscous for example is widely used in France ( Algeria, French occupation etc.

Beef Stroganoff..........??

Fondue..: Switzerland

etc etc

And yes I would expect southern French cuisine to have many affinities with the meditaranean countries....but am not very familiar with the South of France.

Answer 2

I don't think so .. ?

And i'm french ..

Answer 3

If I had to bet I'd say no.  I think Isabelle made some great points about shared heritages, use of ingredients on hand and cross border influences.  I am willing to bet cuisine in the south of France has a lot in common with cuisine in Venice because they both are on the mediteranean.

Answer 4

Not at all.

The french is one of the best and has nothing to do with Venita

If I have the choice I will all ways take the french

Answer 5

As said above it was mostly influenced by the Florentine cooking in its use of different subtle tastes to enhance the basic ingredients, but this was made possible by the fact that the French had already started to use more local herbs by the end of the Middle Age, discarding the heavily spiced cooking that had been the trademark of medieval cooking over Europe. In travelling books you can read the reaction of foreigners to that strange way of cooking. Rather funny to tell the truth. But it means that French palates were ready for more delicate tastes and they really liked what the Florentine cooks could do with their herbs.

Otherwise it picked and chose from many different cultures, integrating foreign recipes and changing them to make them local.

Answer 6

No, traditional French cuisine comes from local products and habits as well as a variety of foreign influences throughout the centuries, the most notable being:

- Roman invasions brought the 3-course meal and wine;

- Arab conquests (8th-11th centuries) and trade with Arabs brought a lot of new vegetables, crops and spices;

- Italian Renaissance introduced refinement to French cuisine;

- At the same time European explorers brought back new vegetables and crops from the Americas;

- Russia's Prince Alexander Kurakin (19th c.) introduced a new way of serving dishes, one after the other.

Medieval cuisine was rich and varied (at least for the rich, peasants only ate soup and bread). It was composed of 3 courses all displayed at the same time on the table. It relied heavily on spices and strong herbs and people ate with their fingers.

Renaissance: Catherine de Medici from Florence, Italy became Queen of France and introduced the fork (only used to grab the meat from the dish, then you would still eat out of your own plate with your fingers), glassware and individual plates. As she brought her Florentine pastry chefs along, the French court discovered new desserts. After her death, the cooks of another Florentine Queen of France, Marie de Medici, introduced a more subtle use of herbs and the heavy use of spices was definitely abandoned. During this period, the number of courses was increased and meal presentation improved. The Renaissance introduced "culinary fashion" in which an ostentacious display of beautiful-looking dishes was as important as the flavors and recipes.

The Renaissance also meant more stability and castles were no longer fortresses against invasions but residences. Nobles lived a more sedentary lifestyle. Furniture and science developed and as a result better conservation methods too (ice houses became more common). People were able to eat a wider variety of fresh foods from gardens they now had time to cultivate and farmed meat and poultry (rather than game meat gone bad that had to be covered in spices - to cover the smell- or that was so freshly killed that it was hard as a rock). The quality of ingredients thus improved.

17th century: French chef La Varenne, although greatly influenced by Italian Renaissance cooking, developed a new French style with new dishes and recipes (meat and fish dishes served in butter-based sauces) and is now considered the father of modern French cuisine.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fran%C3%A7o...

In the 19th century, Service à la Russe, based on a succession of smaller courses served only once the preceding course was done, was introduced by Russian Ambassador to France Prince Alexander Kurakin and replaced French-style service : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service_%C3...

Answer 7

French Cuisine has nothing do to with Venetian/Italian cuisine

French cuisine is unique and I don't believe any French food derives from another genre of cuisine.

Answer 8

No, it is primarily derived from Floretine cooking.

It was Marie de Medici who introduced the first refinements to cooking in France when she arrived to marry Henry IV.

She brought with her a retinue of Italian cooks who introduced the use of herbs and spices to French cooking.

True, there are many other influences on modern French cuisine but it is the Italian connection which was decisive.

It was even an Italian (or more accurately Sicilian) , Francesco Procopio dei Coltelli, who introduced the cafe to France in 1686.