French cuisine

For the first few weeks in France, I have noticed various French eating habits that greatly differ from those in America. We know the French are famous for their bread, wine and cheese. Unlike in the United States, however, cheese is normally eaten at the end of most meals and can sometimes be a substitute for your typical cake and ice cream. As for wine preferences, I mostly drink white wine or cider with my host family on special occasions. Of course, this all depends on the preferences of French families because some drink white wine to accompany their dinner while other prefer red wine. I much prefer red wine, since it is healthier and more appealing to my taste. My hosts always ask me what I would like best to eat for dinner every night, and I have to tell them my best interests. However, I feel this is best for hosts to ask foreign students about their likes and dislikes so that the students will not have to force themselves to eat foods they do not like to eat.

Although French people also eat strange delicacies such as snails or frogs legs, I have not yet eaten such things in my host family’s home, and I hope that in the next few months, I will have a chance to try some of these unusual foods. Despite American habits of eating too much fast foods, I find myself eating too many baguettes, so occasionally I try to consume thinner slices of bread made of wheat instead of white bread. According to dairy products, every night my hosts ask me if I would like yogurt or cheese, and I cannot understand why they cannot eat them together. For that reason, I usually try to have yogurt beforehand so that I can have cheese in the evening. I have also noticed that my host family hardly drinks juice in the morning, but mostly hot drinks like tea or coffee. However, there are some French families who choose to have both hot and cold drinks so as to have an experience of consuming different beverages for breakfast

Generally, I have nothing serious against the French cuisine, as I have studied French for twelve years and I am already familiar with their lifestyle and I know what to expect from their diet. I enjoy the opportunity of eating as much bread and cheese as I like, but it is important for me to maintain a well-balanced diet and eat as many healthy products as possible. As such, I prefer to consume more foods with olive oil and less foods with butter, as tempting as it may be.

Jenny Gurin, Wheaton College (MA)