Bon Appétit Bien Sur - Robuchon TV show

[bleudauvergne]

Those who live in France can watch Joël Robuchon's cooking show, where he invites chefs from all over France to come and teach us how to cook their dishes. The website that goes with this show has a recipe database and a chef database where you can search by ingredient or look up a chef and get the recipes that have been featured on the show. You can also get a bio of the chefs. Many of the chefs of restaurants discussed in the France forum have recipes featured in this database. I love it!

Anyway, I'm going to try and make the famous Aussie in France William Page's Raviolis de Foie Gras dans un Bouillon de Poule next week, and take it one step further from an idea of an eGullet poster who had this dish (forgot where) with bouillon de poulet de bresse. But that will have to take place next Thursday because the market where I can get the poulet de bresse direct from producer (thus reasonably priced) is next wed.

If anyone gets any of the recipes from this site and they turn out well, post here about it! The recipes are in French...

Edit to thank naf for initially posting the link to the website in the Mon Vieil Ami-New Bistro thread!

Edited April 15, 2004 by bleudauvergne (log)

[naf]

Actually, I think it's just more than a cooking show. For those who couldn't watch this show. Actually, the program is divided into two section, the first part is about the invited chef introducing their own suppliers with their highlight product (probably the ones the chefs have used for their own restaurants). It's very interesting to know the diversity from each region in France. The second part is as mentioned, the invited chef along with the over enthusiastic Robuchon. Luckily, Robuchon's cooking skill is much better than his presentation skill, but nonetheless, we found him very entertaining.

One thing that is exceptionally good about this show, Robuchon makes sure the measurement of the ingredient is exact, he would ask the chef at least 5 times how much this or that has been used. The homepage that come along is actually one of the best french recipes that one can found online. And since the program is aimed at average home cooker, the procedure is simple, and it is simply delicious.

For people that don't read French, don't get panic, there is french web translator that is quite useful... or this link if you have just some text you want to get translated. It's not perfect, but I think this helps a lot.

I have tried many recipes from the site.

One that I tried, and everybody simply loves it, is a simple dessert CRÉMEUX VANILLE AU COULIS D'ORANGE by FRANÇOIS BENOT (from Le seize au seize)

naf

[raisab]

Bleu or Naf or anyone else for that matter, can you help with some terms?

I have never understood the differance between creme fluide and creme frais. I know what creme fraiche is.

On the recipe for Foie Gras Raviolis it asks for Pate a Raviolis, is this something I can buy at the hypermarche or do you make your own?

I have to admit I stock up on the Pate Brisee and Pate Feuillette Pur Beurre at Auchan, its easy,taste great and much better than Pillsbury!

[winemike]

Creme fluide is liquid creme fraiche. You can get it in any supermarket/Auchaun/Carrefour and alikes.

It's sold in small boxes or plactic bottles.

"Pate a ravioli" is just pasta, I guess. You can easily make your own if you have a pasta machine ("laminoir" in French). 1 egg per 100g flour, form a dough, let rest for 1 hour .. bob's your uncle.

[bleudauvergne]

Here is Moby's stuffed pasta class. Read it and learn.

[Louisa Chu]

Creme fluide is NOT liquid creme fraiche - it's just what's called in the States heavy whipping cream - a cream about 30% fat. I don't know what LIQUID creme fraiche would be - I've never heard of such a thing. Creme frais is just fresh cream. I haven't looked for a ravioli pasta but I guess you could buy that - wonton wrappers could be an alternative - just stick with an egg wash.

[bleudauvergne]

Actually, fresh cream, the subsitution for which would be heavy cream in the U.S., is sometimes in France commonly called "creme fraiche liquid", and this term appears often in contemporary as well as older recipes. If you were translating directly from French... This is not to be confused with or interchangeable with the crème fraîche epaisse that is a fermented product. . It is sometimes called creme liquid, and sometimes called creme fleurette too. All the same thing. So to answer raisab's question about creme frais and liquide, there is no difference between those two products.

A cloud of annoying vagueness and translation difficulties also surrounds fresh soft and fresh farm cheeses as well. Fromage frais which is the clotted product you find in pots or have with cream for dessert is nothing like the fromage frais fermier one finds at the market. I can only make a cheesecake that calls for cream cheese from fromage frais fermier. Julia said that a close equivalent to cream cheese would be le p'tit suisse but I know that this is not true, at least not from any source that I know. There are things that are closer. The list goes on and on.

Edited April 27, 2004 by bleudauvergne (log)

[Jonathan Day]

Er, isn't fraîche the feminine form of the adjective frais, meaning either cold, new or unchanged? And isn't crème feminine?

So I don't think you would find crème frais (or crème liquid for that matter: it would be liquide).

Grammar apart, I think bleu is correct: crème fleurette is unfermented, and is the same thing as crème liquide and crème fraîche liquide. Crème fraîche also known as crème fraîche épaisse is the fermented product.

But perhaps a real connoisseur of crème, someone who understands la crème de la crème can set us straight on all of this.

[degusto]

Jonathan is right.

There are basically two types of cream in France. Crème and crème légère. There are regulations governing these and each must contain a minimum percentage of fat to be called crème and crème légère, I think it is 30% and 15 % respectively.

In addition to this the French distinguishes between crème liquide and crème épaisse. Crème épaisse is slightly sour and thick because it has been fermented. Crème liquide is unfermented cream. Both crème and crème légère can be found as liquide and épaisse.

As Jonathan says crème liquide can also be called crème fleurette or crème fraîche liquide. Crème épaisse is also called crème fraîche épaisse and sometimes, if rarely in writing, crème solide or crème fraîche solide, although usually they then refer to the more artisanal (or rather claimed to be artisanal) creams that are so thick and with heavy fat content they are almost hard. When French say just crème fraîche is it normally understood that it is the thick fermented cream they are talking about. If it is not understood you will get the question: Liquide ou épaisse?

Crème liquide is the equivalent of whipping cream. But with berries it is quite nice to mix the liquide and épaisse and make a whipped cream with a bit of suger in it. Proportions after taste.

[winemike]

loufood, I was not giving a course on how fat or exactly what creme liquide is, but how it's commonly

called in France. And how to get it. The French do not make the difference between fermented and

non fermented cream and as a matter of fact, they're both called "creme fraiche". If you ask for creme

fraiche without precision, you're likely to be asked "liquide ou epaisse" indeed.

As for "creme frais", this does not exist. Full stop. Creme is feminine.

As a matter of fact, when creme is produced, after "ecremage" , creme is liquid.

It is "creme crue" at this stage.

To be allowed to be called "fraiche" it needs to be pasteurised (not sterilised !!)

and conditioned within a day (I believe) .. hence "fraiche".

So, creme fraiche, before fermenting (to become "epaisse") would be liquid anyway.

The fact that it is "legere" means simply that its fat content is less than 30%.

Creme legere can be both "epaisse" and "liquide".

Edited April 28, 2004 by winemike (log)

[Louisa Chu]

Hey - give me a break - I'm working with jet lag, no sleep, and five languages here! In French kitchens - where there's a fair need for speed and precision - when you're talking just creme - it's just liquid heavy cream; creme epaisse - thick, spoonable heavy cream - NOT acidic; creme fraiche - thick, acidic cream; creme fouettee - whipped creme; chantilly - sweetened creme fouetee. Beyond that we'd have to continue this conversation at the cremerie - or the cafe.

[bleudauvergne]

All cleared up.