French Food and Its Regional Influences

In some regions people contained there regional specialties but most of them became famous and enjoyed all over the world. In their own region of origin you can mainly find their specialty with more quality of preparation and ingredients, even if you can find them throughout France. In each region they have also their typical way of choosing the ingredients and cooking their meals. For example Tomatoes, different kinds of herbs and Olive oil are a must in the Cuisine in Provence.

Here are a couple main influences of regional cooking:

Economic conditions and history: The economic conditions, lifestyle and the culture of course have formed the local food traditions in different areas. Firm cheeses are found in the mountain regions since that over difficult and long winters they can be preserved. In the history when we speak about economy, we find that in some limited areas this firm cheeses are also the main means of support for a lot of homes since they can be produced in the mountains for the livestock. Over several centuries the economic prosperity of the region of Burgundy was great due to their excellence in raising cattle and that also helped them to provide their rich cream sauces and meat dishes.

Local availability: Fresh local ingredients that are not transported for long distances are of better quality and are the basics of the best food and of course the French nation of gourmets knows that. For example, the community of areas where herbs and fruit grow easily will use them in their local cuisine. Likewise, inland areas don`t really use a lot of sea fish but on the contrary Northwest coastal places of France like Normandy and Brittany offer a typical way of eating sea fish meals.

Immigration and neighbouring countries: The neighbors cuisine is formally incorporated in areas of France which border onto other countries. Near to the Italian border for example it will not be surprising to find Italian dishes. Because of immigration, the North African people residing in the South of France are letting enjoy the French people of their original African dishes. And also after various wars the border of Germany has been moved back in the area of Alsace but until now you find the German « Sauerkraut » and wine that became very popular in that kind of areas.

You will find in all parts of France, both in homes and in restaurants, a great range of dishes far extending beyond the regional specialities. However you will always remark the local influences in terms of cooking and ingredients. Local recipes and ingredients seem to be the best cooking and the most available in its own region. Therefore, the types of food one desires to enjoy is a great consequence of the choice where to visit or live in France.

These are a couple of examples:

• Fresh water fish is consumed in the inland areas, like in the Loire Valley, while sea food is preferred in the Mediterranean and near the Atlantic coast.
• The hot climate throughout the south, favorites the use of fruit and vegetables.
• The « Sauerkraut » and beer have been influenced in the northeast of France, like in Lorraine and Alsace, by the German.
• Apples, creme fraiche (soured cream) and butter are used in the cuisine of northwest France.
• Tomatoes, herbs and olive oil are mainly used by the French Mediterranean.

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Using Onions In North Indian Cooking

Onions are a basic ingredient in many North Indian dishes, and they are found in most curries. By using different techniques to cook them, you can achieve the best texture and flavour for your dish, but remember: cooking onions requires a good deal of patience, and as I like to say, your love.

You'll find that chicken dishes originating in North India ask for chopped onions, whereas sliced onions are more common with meat dishes. The stage at which onions are cooked can often depend on a chef's style: Mughlai cuisine chefs prefer to saute onions before cooking them along with the meat (and under their influence, this is how I usually cook my lamb and beef dishes), and Hindu chefs opt for cooking the onions first until they are brown over a low fire. You won't believe the passions that are roused by the debate over which is the right technique: I can remember being drawn quietly aside by supporters of each method to be given advice on the 'correct' method. The influence of both styles remains in my own cooking to this day.

Regardless of which method you use, be sure that you are patient with your onions. You want them to be fully cooked, and not burnt. My grandmother was always able to tell me when the onions were 'raw' in a dish, and I now share this habit of perception when eating curries.

Another point to remember is to limit the amount of onions in your dish carefully. If you overdo it, you will find that sweetness from the onions is infused through your dish. Onions should not be overpowering, but should give body to the dish.

In fact, you shouldn't even see the onion in many dishes. Rather, the presence of well-cooked onion is noticeable because of the beautiful and thick consistency of the gravy in the dish.

Beyond their use in North Indian dishes, onions can be used as a garnish. Chefs at weddings or banquets commonly deep-fry onions for this purpose (they can subsequently be kept for up to two weeks when cooked in this fashion), whereas people cooking at home will mostly just stir-fry or shallow-fry them.

How to Cook Steak

Steak, though a grill favorite, can be cooked in several other ways. They can be pan-fried, braised, broiled, baked, etc. Selecting the proper method for cooking steak depends on its tenderness. There are dry heat methods and moist methods. Dry heat methods are generally applied for more tender steaks such as filet mignon and sirloin, while moist heat methods are more suited to tougher cuts of beef. The water helps in tenderizing the steak.

The tenderness of cooked steak is influenced by how much it is ‘done’. Depending on the time for which the steak is cooked, it may be raw, very rare, rare, medium rare, medium, medium well-done and well-done. Rare steaks are exposed to the flame for a very short time. They still maintain their rawness and are very pink in color. Rarely done steaks maintain their original beefy flavors, but they are not very healthy as they still contain microorganisms. As the cooking time increases, the pinkness of steak gets converted to brownness and its juiciness also reduces. Well-done steaks are brown throughout and also tough to chew. For ordinary palates, medium rare steaks are the best bets.

The best way to cook a steak is definitely grilling it. Everything matters while grilling a steak – the tenderness of steak, the marinade, the quality of the coal and lighter fluid and even the concentration of the person cooking. Most steaks require about 8-10 minutes on the barbeque. The time will depend on the degree of doneness required.

Tender cuts can also be broiled. Broiling is done in the oven with no liquids used. It gives a different flavor from grilling as in an oven the heat surrounds the meat from all sides. Less tender cuts can also be broiled provided they are marinated earlier.

Thin and tender cuts of steak such as the sirloin, T-bone and rib-eye taste very well when they are pan-fried. Steaks are fried in an open pan placed over a flame. No oil is added. The steaks cook in their own fats.

If the cut of beef is bigger, then it is ideal for roasting. Roasting is also a dry heat cooking method that uses no liquid and no cover. Tender cuts roast better and they are to be sliced before serving.

Tough cuts of beef such as chuck, round, briskets and blade are usually braised. Braising is a moist-heat cooking method done with a little amount of liquid in an oven with a closed lid. It is a slow process as it slowly allows the meat to tenderize.

Another method for tough cuts is stewing. Beef is completely covered in water and cooked slowly over a medium flame. Stewing is not a very popular method for steaks; but if the cut is large enough and tough, then it better be put into the stew pot.

In all the methods of cooking steak, the degree of doneness is measured by using a meat thermometer. However, by practice, one can also judge the doneness by merely touching the steak externally.

Chicken with White Wine & Pasta

Recipe:

3 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1/2 C. Chopped Onions
4 Tbsp. Chopped Garlic
Sautee all of the above until onions start to turn a bit brown.

Add all of the following...
1/2 C. White Wine
Let simmer on medium heat for about 5 mins.

Add all of the following...
White Wine into a wine glass, and enjoy for yourself!

Add one of the following...
1 C. canned red sauce
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 can chopped tomatoes
4 chopped fresh tomatoes
Let simmer for about 5 mins.

Add one of the following...
4 chicken quarters
4 chicken breasts

Add all of the following...
4 sprigs of Fresh rosemary (I leave them whole and remove once dish is completed)
Salt & Pepper to taste

Pleace in 400 degree oven & cook until chicken reaches an internal temp. of 180 degrees.

Add all of the following...
At this point, you should be ready for your second glass of wine! Enjoy!

Serve over a bed of pasta.
Garnish with parm.

Tips from Chef Bek:

* Wheat pasta can be substituted for white.

* Dried Rosemary can be substituted for fresh. (when using fresh herbs in a recipe, use 3 times as much as you would use of a dried herb)

* Chicken broth can be substituted for the white wine. * Cooking spray can be substituted for the oil you sauté your vegetables with. * Fish can be substituted for chicken.

Caribbean Food - A Little History

The Arawak, Carib, and Taino Indians were the first inhabitants of the Caribbean islands. These first inhabitants occupied the present day islands of British Virgin Islands, Cuba, Dominica, Grenada, Haiti, Trinidad, and Jamaica. Their daily diet consisted of vegetables and fruits such as papaw, yams, guavas, and cassava. The Taino started the process of cooking meat and fish in large clay pots.

The Arawaks are the first people known to make a grate of thin green wood strips on which they slowly cooked meat, allowing it to be enhanced by the flavor of the wood. This grate was called a barbacoa, and the word we know today as barbeque is taken from this early Indian cooking method.

The Carib Indians added more spice to their food with hot pepper sauces, and also added lemon and lime juice to their meat and fish recipes. The Caribs are said to have made the first pepper pot stew. No recipes exist since every time the Indians made the dish, they would always add new ingredients. The Carib had a big impact on early Caribbean history, and the Caribbean sea was named after this tribe.

Then the Caribbean became a crossroads for the world . . .

Once the Europeans brought Africans slaves into the region, the slaves diet consisted mostly of food the slave owners did not want to eat. So the slaves had to be inventive, and they blended their traditional African foods with staples found on the islands. The Africans introduced okra, callaloo, fish cakes, saltfish, ackee, pudding and souse, mangos, and the list goes on.

Most present day Caribbean island locals eat a present diet that is reflective of the main ingredients of original early African dishes, and includes cassava, sweet potatoes, yams, plantains, bananas and corn meal.

African men were hunters in their homeland, and often away from home for long periods of time. They would cook spicy pork over hot coals, and this tradition was refined by the early slaves in Jamaica. The technique is known today as “jerk“ cooking , and the secret involves a slow meat cooking process. Jamaica is famous for jerk chicken and pork, and you’ll find jerk all over the island.

After slavery was abolished, the Europeans went to India and China for labor, and more cooking styles were introduced. Much of the Indian cooking culture remains alive and well in the Caribbean of today with the introduction of curried meats and curry powder. Indians call it kari podi, and we have come to know this pungent flavor as curry.

The Chinese introduced rice, which is always a staple in home cooked island meals. The Chinese also introduced mustard, and the early Portuguese sailors introduced the popular codfish.

Most visitors to the Caribbean have no idea that the fruit trees and fruits so familiar to the islands were introduced by the early Spanish explorers. The fruit trees and fruits brought from Spain include orange, lime, ginger, plantains, figs, date palms, sugar cane, grapes, tamarinds and coconuts.

Even the Polynesian islands play an important role in Caribbean cooking. Most of us remember the movie “Mutiny on the Bounty”, but do not know that particular ship carried breadfruit, which was loaded on board from the islands of Tahiti and Timor. In the movie the crew took over the ship, forced the captain into a small boat to fend on his own, and they threw the breadfruit, which they considered “strange fruit” overboard. Another ship was more successful in bringing breadfruit from Polynesia to Jamaica and the St Vincent and the Grenadines. Breadfruit is a staple diet in the current day Caribbean

America is responsible for introducing beans, corn, squash, potatoes, tomatoes, and chili pepper to the Caribbean. In fact these particular foods had never been seen in Asia, Europe or Africa, so America actually introduced these foods the rest of the world via the Caribbean.

So it's no wonder Caribbean cooking is so rich and creative with the flavors of Africa, India, and China, along with Spanish, Danish, Portuguese, French and British influences. Food served in the Caribbean islands have been influenced by the cultures of the world, but each island adds its own special flavor and cooking technique.

Linda Thompkins is a Caribbean travel consultant and owner of Travel 2 the Caribbean online agency. Linda and her husband reside in Indianapolis, Indiana and have traveled extensively throughout the Caribbean.

Travel 2 the Caribbean has been in business for seven years and offers secure online booking, and travel agent booking.

http://www.travel2thecaribbean.com

Moments: HOME COOKING

Lombok is a mix of ethnic Indonesian but majority of the people are Sasak Muslim.
One compound in the heart of the city are "immigrants" from the neighboring Bali, where they form their close knit community. We got invited to this small community and this man was preparing our Bali feast for that day!

Mataram, Lombok, INDONESIA