Cuisine, by the way, originally just denoted the kitchen. So I'm inviting you into the French kitchen to look at some of the facets of French food that make it so renowned. Maybe French is not your favorite romantic cuisine, but it qualifies in my house, and we've had several things French this week for dinner.
Are you thinking that French is too tricky to make easily? Sure there are some advanced techniques, I guess, and apparently a whole pantry full of specialty supplies and food molds to make things the right way, with the correct shape: molds like bombe, brioche, madeleine, cassoulet, parfait, savarin, petit-fours, charlotte and many more. A French cook's batterie de cuisine can include an implement designed for every conceivable food preparation task.
But the real secret, I think, is far simpler.
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