60 Interesting Facts About French Food

The Best French Food Facts

French food is more than just cheese and wine. And although those are delicious, there are still lots of facts that you probably don’t know about.

That is exactly why I made a list of the best French food facts: get your forks ready and enjoy!

1. French gastronomy is so good that is included in UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage

If you didn’t know it already, French cuisine is one of if not the best gastronomy in the whole world. With a huge historical, traditional and cultural heritage, it has only become better and better throughout the centuries.

However, being recognized as part of an official list of intangible cultural heritage is truly a feat of strength. Definitely something to show you how good French food is.

2. French fries… are not French!

If you come from the US, you will probably refer to “frites” as “French fries”.

However, though this might not seem very different for you, fries actually come from Belgium, the neighboring country! For that mistake, you have to blame Thomas Jefferson, who was the American Minister to France from 1784 to 1789, and who brought the recipe to America.

3. Throwing away leftovers is illegal in France

While French cuisine is very traditional and heavily influenced by its history, French people are very progressive in terms of food waste.

Indeed, France is the first country to legally ban burning or throwing away food. If any supermarket has spare products, it will usually give it to charities, or offer a huge discount on a special shelf dedicated to leftovers.

4. Ketchup is available in limited quantities in school and college cafeterias

Since 2011, a ban has been issued in France, regarding ketchup in school and college cafeterias. While children can eat a bit of ketchup with their French fries, it is forbidden for them to eat an unlimited quantity of it.

On top of that, they cannot bring ketchup with their homemade lunches.

Read more: Discover more facts about French schools

5. Snails are very, very popular in France

Kind of disgusting if you’re not into that, right?

Snails are very popular in France, and they are often eaten with a bit of butter and garlic. Some regions, like “Bourgogne” (Burgundy) keep the shell in restaurants, whereas others like Alsace remove it. In any case, you only eat what’s inside! On average, French citizens eat about 500 snails every year.

DanceWithNyanko / CC BY-SA

6. The way of eating in the old days was a true social status in France

The heritage, social status and health was depicted in the way French people ate in old times.

For instance, King Louis XIV, the most famous French King, often enjoyed twelve-hour feasts, made of ten different high-standard dishes. On the other hand, common people did not have enough money nor time to prepare such meals.

7. French people love alcohol so much that they drink some before and after the meal

In general, it does not happen every meal, but somewhat regularly, in France, you can drink both before and after the meal.

The first ones are called “apéritifs”, usually served as an appetizer, and the others are called “digestifs”, drunk after the meal to aid digestion.

Typical “apero” plate

8. Most French people have specific table manners

This depends a lot on the families, their heritage and their culture, but most French people have very strict table manners.

For instance, some children were never allowed to use their hands, whatever the food! Yes, that includes pizza, fruit and seafood. Nowadays, children use their hands, but elderly people would be shocked.

9. If you drink wine with a Parisian, be careful about when you start drinking

Parisian wine lovers are very serious about this: you should never start tasting the wine until the bottle has been opened for 20 minutes!

They say that the air must get to the wine before drinking it, otherwise the bottle is completely wasted. Also, the best wines have matured for years and years (sometimes decades), so what’s 20 more minutes?

10. Wine is cheap in France, for the worst ones of course

While when you think of French wine, you most probably imagine the very fancy and reputed bottles, you can find wine in any grocery stores.

Because they are considered a necessity in France, you can find bottles of 70 cl starting around 3€. That is due to the fact that France is producing an enormous amount of wine. For that price though the taste will be quite poor.

11. Christmas dinner is very elaborate in France

For Christmas, dinner starts right away when guests arrive. First of all, there are the “apéritifs”, usually made of a cocktail like Pastis or Kir Royale, alongside some “amuse-gueules”, which could be anything from simple peanuts to sophisticated canapés.

Then, the entrées are made of oysters or foie gras, the plat is usually beef or chicken, and you eat all of that with wine of course. Dessert is a “bûche”, a cake shaped like a log.

Read more: Learn more about France’s Christmas traditions

12. French people don’t eat bread with butter in restaurants

Baguettes are served for free in restaurants in France. You won’t see any butter with it though.

Bread is not supposed to be eaten before the meal comes, as it is supposed to accompany it, and to wipe off the sauces on the plate at the end of the dish. This is definitely one of the things I love the most about French restaurants: free baguettes!

13. French people eat burgers and pizza with cutlery in restaurants

Don’t be shocked if you go to a French restaurant and you see people eating what looks like fast food with a knife and fork.

In some “brasseries” and restaurants, burgers and pizzas are very refined, and generally people use cutlery to eat them. In McDonald’s however, people have no choice but to eat with their hands.

14. French cuisine looks so good because chefs take a long time for presentation

A long time in French apprentice chefs studies is dedicated to presentation. In French gastronomy, presentation is just as important as taste.

Even the seemingly easy onion cutting can take hours of practice to be done properly! This is probably why gastronomy is such an art in France: it is a true mix of food and art.

15. The city of Paris has its own mushroom

This mushroom is not actually from Paris, and you can find it everywhere in both Europe and North America, but it is referred to as “Champignon de Paris” in French.

Very tasty, it is definitely one of my personal favorite mushrooms! You can find champignons de Paris in lots of different famous French dishes.

16. In a French restaurant, you should order the meal as it comes

Small piece of advice: if you want to eat in a French restaurant, you should just eat the meal as it comes, and not ask to replace anything.

This is especially true in fancy places, and in Michelin-starred restaurants they even removed the salt from the table! The chefs are said to have salted it to perfection.

17. The famous “Crêpe Suzette” was first cooked by accident

You might have heard of the crêpe Suzette, a famous French crêpe… set on fire. For that, you have to add a bit of alcohol on top of it, and set it on fire: it looks very cool!

According to the legend, this dessert was created by accident by a 14-year old waiter. Fortuitously set on fire, the crêpe was appreciated by Prince Edward VII, and he insisted on calling it after a lovely woman at the table: Suzette.

18. French do not only drink wine, they also eat it

This may sound weird, but lots of reputed French recipes include wine as a sauce. Sometimes it is just a dash, some others you can really smell it.

Be careful if you have children or people who don’t drink, as both “boeuf bourguignon” and “coq au vin” (which means “rooster with wine”) contain wine.

19. There are as much types of French cuisine as the regions in the country

Everywhere in France, you can taste somewhere else. This is what I love most about the country.

For instance, in Alsace, on the far east, you can eat food with lots of German influences. In Normandy, where D-Day took place, the cuisine is based on butter and apples. Finally, in the Alps regions, cheese is everywhere.

The Choucroute, a famous dish from Alsace

20. French people eat weird meat

This will most probably surprise you, but French people absolutely love horse meat, frog legs and rabbits. These are the most famous ones, but be sure you fully understand what’s on the menu before ordering anything.

Frog legs are probably the most important reason why French cuisine is considered crazy, and people generally eat it with garlic or parsley.

21. Most meals and snacks are more expensive in France than in other countries

If you have ever been to a French fast food restaurant, you know what I’m talking about. In France, fast food and other snacks are more expensive.

But it’s for good reasons! 90% of products used there are produced locally (yes, even big fast food chains!). This is usually not a problem for French people who love fast food so much they simply don’t care about the prices.

22. France is obsessed with the quality of wine

This is not limited to wine of course, but whenever it comes to gastronomy, French people are just crazy about showing how tasty and important the food or drink is.

For wine, they created the name “Grand Cru”, which is used to identify the best wines in the country. Only some vineyards are allowed to use it, the most famous of them coming from the region of Bordeaux, Champagne or Burgundy.

23. In France, people say “Santé” as the traditional toast

While English speaking people say “Cheers”, the tradition in France is to say “Santé”. It is a way of wishing for good health, and people clink their glasses together.

However, make sure to never cross over someone’s arm, as it is said it brings bad luck. French people are sometimes very superstitious…

24. We still don’t know who created the madeleine

The famous shell shaped cake of France is called the madeleine, and though it is very tasty, no one really knows who created it.

Madeleines have been around for centuries and are a national pride for French people. Some legends say they were invented by a young maid, and that they were named after her.

That’s all for my 24 first general French food culture facts.

Keep reading though, as there is still a whole lot waiting for you, starting with even more general facts:

More French Cuisine Facts

I simply had too many French food fun facts to share with you, so I decided to add another part dedicated to the general best facts. Enjoy the 12 of them:

25. The French diet is similar to the Mediterranean one

Although French people in general really love fast food, they are also fond of simpler and healthier foods, such as yogurt, soup and bread. This makes the French diet very close to the Mediterranean one.

More and more, cooking with unprocessed ingredients, richer in vitamins and minerals, has become a general concern.

26. Breakfast in France is very simple… and sometimes even skipped

There might be some confusion for you when it comes to distinguishing breakfast and lunch in France. That is because breakfast is called “petit-déjeuner” (small lunch), and lunch is named “déjeuner”. You really have to lay emphasis on the “petit”.

Usually, breakfast is made of something very simple like bread with jams, honey or butter. Lots of people even skip it or simply drink a cup of coffee or tea.

27. Vegetarians will not be happy in France

Yes, French cuisine is very reputed and it is simply amazing, but vegetarians and vegans should never eat it. This is because almost all of the most famous dishes are made with animal products of some sort.

Nowadays though, the tendency is that people are taking the environmental and vegetarian causes seriously: the overall meat consumption has been decreasing in the past few years.

28. Dinner in France depends on what happened at lunch

This might be another unique feature about France, but in general French people eat differently for dinner depending on what they ate for lunch.

It remains quite simple overall, and the quantity is variable. Because of how copious lunch usually is, dinner is often made of vegetables, a bit of stew and cheese.

The famous onion soup often eaten at dinner

29. Fish and seafood is very popular in France

Because of the number of coasts in France, it is no surprise that fish and seafood are very appreciated and often incorporated in French cuisine.

All around the country, people enjoy eating mussels, scallops, eels and cuttlefish. On top of that, the fanciest meals include lobster, red scorpionfish and caviar.

30. Fruits are appreciated by everyone in France

The most popular fruit in France is strawberry. It has been considered a symbol of Venus, which is the Goddess of Love, since Roman times.

Other than that, either raw or cooked, French people enjoy apples (“pommes”), peaches (“pêches”), bananas (“bananes”), oranges (“oranges”), cherries (“cerises”) and raspberries (“framboises”). Grape is not very popular and is rather used for wine.

31. Tarte Tatin (“Tatin pie”) was created by mistake

It is said that Tarte Tatin, a very loved apple pie from France, was created by mistake.

Stéphanie Tatin, a hotelier, was making a classic apple pie. She forgot to remove the apples from the sugar and the butter and they cooked in there for too long. The tart became the signature dish of the hotel and you can still enjoy this mistake to this day.

32. Pastries are very refined in France… and very sugary

Pastries are more important in France than in probably any other country. You have probably heard of the most famous ones at least once: éclair, croissant, mille-feuille, pain au chocolat.

They are in fact a major part of French culture, and it is said that Marie-Antoinette, King Louis XVI’s wife, said the famous phrase “Let them eat cake”.

Chocolate eclair

33. Milk is not kept in the fridge in French grocery stores

If you come from North America, this might surprise you or maybe even scare you, but in France, milk is not kept in the fridge.

Don’t worry, it is completely normal! This is because French milk is pasteurized at higher temperatures, allowing for a longer shelf-life. Of course, once it’s opened it has to be kept in the fridge though.

34. Crepes have their dedicated day in France

On February 2nd, French and Belgian people celebrate “La Chandeleur”, or Candlemas. On the “Jour des Crêpes” (Day of the Crepes), it is the tradition to eat a whole meal of crepes, sometimes salted and sometimes sugary.

This dates back to 472 AD when Pope Gelasius I offered crepes to French pilgrims who were visiting Rome at that time.

35. There is a notion called the “French paradox” related to French food

You must have understood it by now, French meals are very copious and often very heavy. On top of being delicious, they are full of fats.

However, when you compare France to other countries, it turns out that French people have a very low rate of heart diseases! A true paradox if I have ever seen one…

36. On January 6th, the Epiphany, French people eat a specific pastry cake

France celebrates the arrival of the Three Wise Men on January 6th by eating a “Galette des Rois”, a flat pastry cake with a sweet filling.

The tradition is to add a small ceramic figure inside the cake. Whoever finds it is crowned King or Queen for the day, and gets to wear a toy crown.

So there you go, we are now actually done with all the general best facts about French food.

But now, there’s the fun side of it, I hope you will love reading about my fun facts. 

Fun Facts About French Food

French food is so varied that there are definitely lots of fun facts you will definitely want to hear about.

I have 12 of them for you right here. 

37. Ten billion baguettes are being baked in France every year!

We all know France as the land of baguettes. But what might surprise you is that bread is so popular there are ten billion baguettes are being baked every year!

It makes sense though, since it is being eaten for lunch and dinner, and sometimes even breakfast. A genuine French meal always comes with a fresh baguette on the side.

38. Baguettes are literally sacred in France

Bakers in France have their own saint patron: Saint-Honoré (Saint Honoratus)!

Honoratus was the bishop of Amiens. His feast day is on May 16th, and it is said that he performed a large number of miracles. After a baker donated to Paris to build a chapel for the saint, the bakers of the French capital established their guild in this very place. There is also a cake called the Saint-Honoré.

39. Even President and legend Charles de Gaulle was wrong about the number of cheeses in France

There are so many cheese varieties in France that even the most influential French figure of the 20th century didn’t know the actual number. De Gaulle thought there were 246 varieties, but there are actually over 400 of them.

This means that you can eat a different French cheese for all days of the year!

Read more: Discover more facts about French cheese

40. French people can enjoy some of the best dishes in the world, yet they love fast food

It is fairly known that France is one of the (if not the) best country in the world in terms of gastronomy. It is home to amazing chefs, delightful restaurants and traditional cuisine.

However, despite all this top-notch food quality, French people are actually crazy about fast food. Whenever there is a new one opening, especially Burger King, it is always a huge event.

41. Macarons, a French food pride, do not come from France

If you have ever been to Paris, you must have heard, seen or hopefully eaten some macarons. They are a true pride of fine French cuisine, and the fanciest ones can be bought in most of the Champs-Élysées’ bakeries.

However, because they are a national pride, don’t tell French people that macarons actually come from Italy… Catherine de Medici brought them in 1533.

42. Even croissants, the almighty and famous French breakfast, are not originally from France!

That’s right, croissants, probably the first thing that comes to mind when you think about French breakfast, come from Austria! The quintessence of French bakery was called “kipferl” in the 13th century.

Croissants started to take over pretty late in France starting in 1839 when an Austrian opened a bakery in Paris.

43. Paul Bocuse is the Pope… of French food

France has its own Pope, dedicated to its food.

Paul Bocuse was a true pioneer of the French “nouvelle cuisine”. He introduced a new, lighter cuisine and contributed a lot to the media coverage of French chefs. In fact, he even invented several recipes, like the famous truffles soup for Valéry Giscard d’Estaing Legion of Honor in 1975.

Alain Elorza / CC BY

44. You can buy baguettes from vending machines in France

You know it, baguettes are sacred in France. So much in fact that up until 2015, all bakeries required official government approval to go on vacation, to make sure that all the nearby bakeries were not closed at the same time.

Now though, you can buy baguettes from vending machines if the bakery is closed… sometimes even in the middle of the night!

45. The Roquefort’s invention is legendary

Roquefort is a blue cheese, very appreciated in France. Be wary before eating some, because there is literal mold on it! This is what gives it its special taste.

According to the legend, Roquefort, one of the first blue cheeses, was created by accident. A young boy left behind a piece of bread and a milk cheese when he saw a magnificent girl in the distance. When he came back months later, Roquefort was born.

46. French McDonald’s have alcohol on the menu

Even McDonald’s is different in France. Maybe they adapted themselves to the fact that French people absolutely love fast food, and they added beer to the menu.

Of course, you need to be 18 years old to be authorized to buy one, and you cannot get one in the drive-thru, but if you want a beer besides your burger, well you can.

47. French food is almost never spicy

If you want to eat very spicy food with maybe tabasco on top, then don’t go to France. French food is very rarely spicy. Instead, meals tend to focus on the ingredients with a light touch of natural herbs.

The most used plants are thyme, parsley, oregano and garlic. Not very spicy, huh?

48. French people take a very long lunch break

In case you didn’t understand it yet, let me tell you once more: eating is sacred in France!

Be careful, as most shops are closed from 12 PM to 2-3 PM, which is approximately how long the average French lunch break is. Not only are the meals very long but they also enjoy relaxing before and after eating.

And that’s it for the fun side of French food. Up next are the French food facts for kids. 

French Food Facts for Kids

Though every fact on this list is suited for kids, I want to dedicate a special part to the youngsters, eternally curious and thirsty for knowledge. 

Keep reading to discover my 12 facts about French food for kids.

49. French people love eating out

Wherever you go in France, you will most definitely see bars, bistros and all sorts of restaurants, all filled with people. This is because French people absolutely love going out and eating in a cozy or traditional place.

Can you really blame them with how tasteful their cuisine is?

50. Crepes, a very spread dish in Europe, comes from France

Brittany, the westernmost region of France, can pride itself with the invention of the famous crepes that everyone loves, especially kids.

While they are very simple, you can eat both sugary and salted ones. Everyone can bake them but the best ones can be eaten in restaurants. Add either a bit of Nutella, ham and egg, or simply sugar, and enjoy your meal!

51. France is the second-largest wine producing country

Though wine is one of the most famous parts of French gastronomy, especially in regions like Bordeaux, the country is not the first producer in the world.

Instead, Italy is the number one country in terms of wine production. Don’t worry though, just because France isn’t the one producing the biggest quantity doesn’t mean it’s not one of the best!

52. The earliest French recipe collection dates back to the 14th century

French cuisine is reputed worldwide for good reasons: it has been around for many centuries now!

Guillaume Tirel, known as “Taillevent”, was a royal chef at that time. He wrote “Le Viandier”, gathering the most popular recipes from then. This is probably the oldest piece of real French gastronomy.

53. A very popular hot sandwich among kids is the Croque-Monsieur

Croque-Monsieur is loved by everyone, not only kids, but it is usually served in cafes for the younger ones. Very simple, this sandwich is made of grilled ham and cheese.

There are some variations with different cheeses or hams, and the most famous of them is the Croque-Madame, with an egg added on top.

54. French cuisine has developed under lots of influence

You might think of French cuisine as a standalone, but it actually grew because of the neighboring countries. Indeed, Spain, Switzerland, Germany and Italy all had a very huge impact on its development.

However, France still had its own traditions before that, but it definitely wouldn’t be where it is now without nearby countries.

55. French cuisine became “haute cuisine”, or high cuisine, during the 20th century

Nowadays, French cuisine is very high-standard and refined. Some French people even laugh about how small the gastronomic dishes are.

However, that was not always the case, and we have to thank Auguste Escoffier for his work. In the 20th century, the chef, restaurateur and most importantly culinary writer popularized and upgraded traditional cooking methods.

56. The tire company Michelin took care of the rest of France’s gastronomy

Because Escoffier only focused on the high-end French cuisine, someone had to think about the multiple regional cuisines in France.

Well, very unexpectedly, it is a tire company, Michelin, who popularized it. When they invented the famous Guide Michelin, all dishes from all regions started to be more and more hyped up.

57. The most general French meal usually is made of 3 courses

While the most sophisticated meals are made of lots of different courses, the most general one consists of 3 of them: entrée, plat principal and fromage or dessert.

Let me give you some examples for each course: in the entrée (starter), you can eat foie gras. For the plat principal (main course), steak-frites. For dessert, pastries like mille-feuille are very appreciated.

58. Cheese and wine became a major part of French cuisine during the 17th century

While France is very well known today as the land of wine and cheese, it was not always the case.

It was not before the 17th century that France shifted away from its foreign influences and started popularizing both wine and cheese. François-Pierre La Varenne and Marie-Antoine Carême were a huge part of this movement that set the foundations of French cuisine.

59. French eggs are brown but their flavor doesn’t change

Most eggs all around the world are white, and their color depends on the genetics of the chicken. In the United States, the biggest breed is the “leghorn” breed, and it gives white eggs.

Don’t worry, the taste is not different in France, but you can eat eggs in lots of different ways, as they are part of lots of different dishes.

60. Only kids snack in France, usually at least

Generally, it is only the children that snack in France. The after-school fourth meal of the day is called the “goûter”, usually at 4 PM. It is made of very sugary snacks, like crepes, cookies and cakes.

On the other hand, adults generally don’t eat anything at that time, but they enjoy a cup of coffee or some fruit once in a while.

So there you have them, these were all my 60 interesting facts about French cuisine. I hope you enjoyed them and that you learned something new today.

In case you want to learn more about the rest of the country, feel free to keep reading, as I still have lots of things to tell you about. 

More Facts!

Want to learn more facts about France?

Well, I have other France facts posts I’m sure you’ll love reading!

Here is the main guide of the best France facts 👉 The 60 Best Facts about France

Check out these France facts by city:

• Facts about Paris
• Facts about Lyon
• Facts about Marseille
• Facts about Strasbourg
• Facts about Nice
• Facts about Bordeaux
• Facts about Toulouse
• Facts about Cannes

Or these French facts by region:

• Facts about Brittany
• Facts about Normandy
• Facts about Corsica
• Facts about Guadeloupe
• Facts about French Guiana
• Facts about Martinique

You can also check these French facts by topic: 

• Facts about French people
• Facts about the Tour de France
• Facts about Christmas in France
• Facts about the French language
• Facts about French schools
• Facts about French cheese
• Facts about fashion in France
• Facts about Easter in France
• Facts about the French Alps
• Facts about Disneyland Paris

Or click here to see ALL the facts up on the blog! Spoiler alert: there’s A LOT of them.

The Full List of 60 French Food Facts

1. French gastronomy is so good that is included in UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage
2. French fries… are not French!
3. Throwing away leftovers is illegal in France
4. Ketchup is available in limited quantities in school and college cafeterias
5. Snails are very, very popular in France
6. French people love alcohol so much that they drink some before and after the meal
7. The way of eating in the old days was a true social status in France
8. Most French people have specific table manners
9. If you drink wine with a Parisian, be careful about when you start drinking
10. Christmas dinner is very elaborate in France
11. Wine is cheap in France, for the worst ones of course
12. French people don’t eat bread with butter in restaurants
13. French people eat burgers and pizza with cutlery in restaurants
14. French cuisine looks so good because chefs take a long time for presentation
15. The city of Paris has its own mushroom
16. In a French restaurant, you should order the meal as it comes
17. The famous “Crêpe Suzette” was first cooked by accident
18. French do not only drink wine, they also eat it
19. There are as much types of French cuisine as the regions in the country
20. French people eat weird meat
21. Most meals and snacks are more expensive in France than in other countries
22. France is obsessed with the quality of wine
23. We still don’t know who created the madeleine
24. In France, people say “Santé” as the traditional toast
25. The French diet is similar to the Mediterranean one
26. Breakfast in France is very simple… and sometimes even skipped
27. Vegetarians will not be happy in France
28. Dinner in France depends on what happened at lunch
29. Fish and seafood is very popular in France
30. Fruits are appreciated by everyone in France
31. Tarte Tatin (“Tatin pie”) was created by mistake
32. Pastries are very refined in France… and very sugary
33. Milk is not kept in the fridge in French grocery stores
34. Crepes have their dedicated day in France
35. There is a notion called the “French paradox” related to French food
36. On January 6th, the Epiphany, French people eat a specific pastry cake
37. Ten billion baguettes are being baked in France every year!
38. Baguettes are literally sacred in France
39. Even President and legend Charles de Gaulle was wrong about the number of cheeses in France
40. French people can enjoy some of the best dishes in the world, yet they love fast food
41. Macarons, a French food pride, do not come from France
42. Even croissants, the almighty and famous French breakfast, are not originally from France!
43. Paul Bocuse is the Pope… of French food
44. You can buy baguettes from vending machines in France
45. The Roquefort’s invention is legendary
46. French McDonald’s have alcohol on the menu
47. French food is almost never spicy
48. French people take a very long lunch break
49. French people love eating out
50. Crepes, a very spread dish in Europe, comes from France
51. France is the second-largest wine producing country
52. A very popular hot sandwich among kids is the Croque-Monsieur
53. The earliest French recipe collection dates back to the 14th century
54. French cuisine has developed under lots of influence
55. French cuisine became “haute cuisine”, or high cuisine, during the 20th century
56. The tire company Michelin took care of the rest of France’s gastronomy
57. The most general French meal usually is made of 3 courses
58. Cheese and wine became a major part of French cuisine during the 17th century
59. French eggs are brown but their flavor doesn’t change
60. Only kids snack in France, usually at least

 
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