French Culture & Savoir‐Faire

Alsace Sauerkraut (Choucroute d’Alsace in French) is a traditional sauerkraut dish and a staple of Alsace cuisine, made using a natural cabbage fermentation process. It is often paired with red meat, fish, beer or white wine from its native Alsace region, in eastern France along the border with Germany. Alsace Sauerkraut is a very well-known […]

On the Cotentin peninsula on the English Channel (in the Normandy region), subject to the most powerful tides in Europe, Cotentin cider carries with it the strength of its birthplace. Non-carbonated, unpasteurized, this authentic, full-bodied and slightly sweet cider displays its nature with the characteristic taste of the sea, punctuated by the subtlest hints of […]

The French agency in charge of managing geographic indications has just released its report highlighting the organization’s activity for 2017. The French National Institute of Origin and Quality (INAO) is a public agency of the French Ministry of Agriculture and Food, that for more than 80 years has been in charge of managing and protecting […]

The Queen Victoria Pineapple is smaller than African and South American pineapples, but has a deliciously fragrant taste. It is harvest ripe on the French island territory of Réunion in the Indian Ocean from December to January, and then sent by plane to mainland France. In that ways, it doesn’t lose any of its flavors […]

On May 12, the Embassy of France in the United States once again opened its doors to the public and, as always, French agriculture and food took center stage. The Agriculture Department, with the generous help of volunteers, spoke with visitors about French agriculture and, of course, shared a generous amount of fine French cheese, […]

Traditionally called by a variety of names, including notably Lambig, Fine Bretagne, gwinardant, odivi or labout, the Cider-based eau de vie produced in Brittany is made by distilling cider and has about 40% alcohol content. Coming from the traditional orchards of Brittany, rich in its multiple varieties of bitter, sweet and acidic apple ciders, it […]

Cantal cheese is one of France’s oldest continually produced cheeses, with its origins in the area around the Cantal département of France (both cheese and département names are derived from the Cantal mountain range), dating back a stunning 2,000 years. In the first century, the ancient Roman historian and naturalist Pliny the Elder even references […]

Kintoa ham is an exceptional ham, in the same way that a Grand Cru is for wines. The rearing and processing of this breed of pig is based on an ancestral and natural savoir-faire that allows for a tender and succulent meat that delivers exceptional aromas, based on nuts and grilled spices. This breed takes […]

The French National Institute of Origin and Quality recently released its annual report outlining data on agricultural signs of quality and origin for the year 2016. Revenue, production volumes, wine exports, the number of products recognized… These data allow to have a global vision of the economic activities of the industries on agricultural products under […]

In a region referred to as “cherry country” centered around the small town of Fougerolles in east-central France, a special type of French eau de vie has been made for hundreds of years. Kirsch de Fougerolles is a type of distilled spirit made by fermenting dark, unpitted cherries, producing a crystal-clear alcohol that is frequently […]