La Nourriture Française

Today I had the pleasure of sampling several dishes representing national plates of different French nations. There are a lot of French-speaking countries around the worlds, and all of them have their own variations on language, customs, values, music, and most importantly, food. In these cases, the food is mostly influenced by the climate and surrounding cultures of the country. However, these nations also had many things in common. Here are the dishes I sampled and a little background on the country they came from. I cannot remember which country each dish came from, and I do not know the exact names of all of the dishes, but here is what I can remember.

• Pain Patate, Haiti. This was featured yesterday. It is made with Créole and island flavors including coconut and banana.
• Chocolate Fondue, Switzerland. The Swiss are famous for their chocolate and cheese, and both chocolate and cheese fondues are traditional in Switzerland.
• Luxembourgish Cheesecake, Luxembourg. Luxembourg also has a strong German influence, and German cheesecakes made with quark, a different type of cheese are common. This cheesecake was not made with quark, but it was certainly rich and delicious!
• Coconut Cream Mousse, Sheychelles. A tropical dish from these French islands.
• Banana Poe, French Polynesia. A dish made with cooked banana and served with coconut milk. It has a very spongy texture.
• Spiced Tea, Chad. A popular drink for a relatively poor country.
• Gourmet Chocolates, Belgium. What could be better than Belgian chocolate?
• Phyllo Quiche, mini quiches baked in a phyllo crust with bacon.
• Cake with Yogurt Filling, This was quite good, though I don't remember where it came from.
• Rice, This is a possibility for many countries, really.

I know some of the countries mentioned were also Senegal, Niger, Morocco, and France, but I don't know if all of these dishes are listed here. Surprisingly, there were no stereotypical French foods, like French fries, croissants, escargots, crème brulee, or éclairs. This just goes to show there are a wide variety of French foods and cultures.

PHOTO CREDIT:"bon-appetit"  http://unbornmind.com/myblog/2012/02/28/bon-appetit/ .Unborn Mind Zen, n.d. Thursday, November 29, 2012.