Showing posts with label French cuisine explained. Show all posts
Showing posts with label French cuisine explained. Show all posts

Ordering a Steak Rare, Medium-Rare, Medium or Well-Done in France.

from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

 


All the French you need to order a perfectly cooked steak.
   

Steak and French fries (chips).
www.flickr.com/photos/dongkwan/2943140653/


The short version
for ordering a steak in France.
  
Very, very rare Bleu
(Pronounced ble).

Rare -  Saignant
(Pronounced say-nyon, do not pronounce the T).

Medium Rare with the accent on the rare -  À Point
(Pronounced ah pwa).
  
À Point
Medium-rare.with the accent on the rare.
www.flickr.com/photos/bokchoi-snowpea/4454588117/

Medium rare,  closer to medium  -    Entre à Point et Bien Cuit.
(Pronounced awntr a pwan ay bien kwee).

Medium to well done -   Bien Cuit
(Pronounced bien kwee).

Well done - Très Bien Cuit
(Pronounced tray bien kwee).
N.B. An exceptionally well-done steak; however, “très bien cuit” is not in any French chef’s dictionary though it will be clearly understood.  Be careful when ordering!,  Do not order France's popular steak frites very well-done; you will be served cooked cardboard or leather, that is if the server agrees to take your order.         

For an in-depth answer on ordering steak in France click on this post:

More detail in this post.

To begin with there is no direct translation
 for medium or medium-rare.
Read on.

North American and UK steakhouse terms such as medium, medium-rare, or well-done do NOT translate, conceptually, into traditional restaurant French. Your English-French travel dictionary may offer the word Moyen as the translation of the word medium, and that is correct.  Unfortunately, in French Moyen is not used as a cooking term.

Ordering a steak requires little French. It does not matter whether you order a steak in English, or in perfect or poorly accented French.  Every French waiter understands an order for a steak.  Problems only appear when the waiter asks:  Quelle cuisson, votre steak?  How would you like your steak cooked?  
      
Check these pictures.

A lexicon of French terms for ordering a steak or cuts of beef

Bleu – Bleu is also the French word for the color blue, and for a steak, it means very, very rare; leaking onto the plate when cut.  When you feel the need for an almost raw steak, then a steak bleu will fill that need. A steak bleu indicates that the chef will have allowed the steak to take a quick peek at the grill or frying pan, in passing, on its way to your plate. A steak bleu is just sealed on the outside; when cut that steak will leak copiously onto your plate; it will have been cooked, maybe, for one to two minutes on each side.    (Bleu is pronounced ble).  
   
Saignant – French for a rare steak.  The direct translation into English of the word saignant would be bloody, or bleeding; despite that, a steak saignant will have been cooked a little more than a steak bleu. A steak saignant will also leak, when you cut into it, though less copiously than a steak bleu.   In North America and the UK, a steak saignant will still be considered a rare steak. (Pronounced say-nyon, do not pronounce the T).
   
Saignant
A rare steak.
www.flickr.com/photos/bhamsandwich/5520541126/
   
À point - Perfectly cooked, just ready or just right. À point is the term used, in France, for all perfectly cooked foods, and not for steaks alone. Unfortunately, many guidebooks give the term à point as the way to order a medium-rare steak. A perfectly cooked steak, for most French men and women, is NOT medium-rare; rather, it is a rare-to-medium-rare, a lot closer to rare than the US or UK medium. (Pronounced ah pwa).

À point
Medium-rare.with the accent on the rare.

  
I prefer my steaks cooked à point, (medium-rare with the accent on the rare), but that is my choice. French servers with experience with English-speaking tourists will agree, generally with a smile, to take your à point steak back into the kitchen for a few more minutes on the grill, or the frying pan when à point is too rare for your tastes.
       
 When English speaking diners, in France, wish to order their steaks medium-rare, I suggest they order steaks cooked entre à point et bien cuit.  That translates as “between well cooked and à point” the result will be a US or UK medium-rare steak, closer to medium than rare. For a medium-rare steak just ask for your steak entre à point et bien cuit. See the following paragraph.
       
Entre à Point et Bien Cuit  –  In France, entre à point et bien cuit has worked well for me when ordering a steak cooked to medium  for friends.  All French servers will understand it. A French diner sitting near you, and observing you order a steak cooked entre à point et bien cuit may consider your steak as overcooked; however, you are paying the piper. (Pronounced awntr a pwan ay bien kwee).
   
Entre à Point et Bien Cuit - Medium
www.flickr.com/photos/140547216@N04/42441238032/
   
Moyen   Average or the middle. In the French kitchen, the word moyen has nothing to do with steaks.  Look to the two previous paragraphs and the terms À point or Entre à Point et Bien Cuit to order a medium-rare or medium steak.
    
Bien Cuit  Bien cuit translates into English as well done; however, an order for a steak bien cuit, in France, generally produces a medium-to-well-done steak.  A steak bien cuit will not run at all; however, its center will still be slightly rosé, pink. (Pronounced bien kwee).
  
Bien Cuit
Very slightly rose in the center.
www.flickr.com/photos/suburbanadventure/6855666864/
          
Très Bien Cuit   Very well cooked; an extremely well-done steak.  Unfortunately, très bien cuit is not used for steaks in French kitchens; I made it up.  Despite that, all servers with some experience with overseas visitors will understand the request. For the French très bien cuit means a very overcooked steak, and the server may ask you to repeat that instruction. If you have ordered steak frites, an experienced server may advise you re-consider, or order something else.  The cuts used for France’s relatively inexpensive steak frites are usually flank steaks or hanger steaks, and a well-done flank or hanger steak will be tough and tasteless, practically inedible. For an enjoyable meal with a well-done steak, I suggest that you look through the menu again.  Consider ordering a more expensive entrecôte, or change your request for your steak très bien cuit to just bien cuit. (Pronounced tray bien kwee for very, very well-done).
    
The French view of a steak cooked très bien cuit, very well done.

 
------------------------------------------

Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

 

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

 

Copyright 2010, 2012, 2013, 2018, 2019.
 
----------------------- 

Searching for the meaning of words, names or phrases
on
French menus?

Just add the word, words, or phrase that you are searching for to the words "Behind the French Menu" (best when including the inverted commas), and search with Google, Bing, or DuckDuckGO.   Behind the French Menu’s links, include hundreds of words, names, and phrases that are seen on French menus. There are over 450 articles that include over 4,000 French dishes with English translations and explanations.


Steaks and cuts of beef on French menus:



  
  


  







When ordering your steak remember the French
also make great French fries, chips.
   
Photograph by MonkeyBusiness/YayMicro.com
  

Water in French Restaurants. Free or to be Paid For? Water - Eau. Eau on French Menus

from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

 

 
Eau – Water.
Eau is pronounced oh
   
The Baïsole River
Its source is in the department of Hautes-Pyrénées in Occitanie.
www.flickr.com/photos/algarve04/32802846116/
  
Water is part of every French meal 
and nearly as important as the wine.
  
Order eau du robinet for free - drinkable tap water,
   
Many French restaurants will have placed bottled mineral water on the table before you arrive; however, the bottled water on your table is not a free gift!  In a French restaurant, choose between free tap water, eau du robinet, and various types of mineral water that you will be expected to pay for.
  

Bottled mineral water.

   
You may order tap water in French restaurants.
  
If you do not want mineral water and are content with the local tap water just say so, no one will be surprised, a least 25% of the French population will do the same. When you ask for eau du robinet, tap water, it will, as a rule, be brought, cold or with ice, usually in a carafe and many restaurants may add a sprig of mint or a piece of lemon.  If you receive water that came directly from the tap ask for ice and consider going to another restaurant next time.  The French do know how to serve tap water correctly and pleasantly.
   

When you order tap water, you should receive a pitcher, 
a jug or a carafe as well as a glass.
CC Public Domain.
     
The French drink more mineral water, per capita,
than any other nation on earth.
  
The French restaurant tradition of placing mineral water on the table without asking you is not a sales technique created for tourists.  The French expect it as they do drink a great deal of mineral water. There are over 500 different mineral water labels competing for their place at your table in a restaurant or in a private home.  There are more brands of  French mineral waters than there are names for French wines. If you do choose a bottle of mineral water that was already on the table, it will be replaced by a cold one.
   
Before Perrier was called Perrier
Photograph courtesy of Perrier
  
You may drink the tap water in France.
    
Despite the French affinity for natural mineral water, the tap water in all the large cities in France is drinkable, even if chlorinated.  Whether you order mineral water or tap water is your choice.
  
In French restaurants, you pour your own water.
 
By tradition, neither mineral water or tap water will be poured for you by the sommelier, the wine steward, or a by a server; you may pour the water yourself.  If water is poured for you that may indicate that you have been identified as a tourist. It may also mean that you have been identified as someone who may not realize that a tip, at the end of the meal, is not required!   Equally, the sommelier traditionally does not take orders for water; he or she will be too busy with the serious business, the wines. You may order water from any waiter, and the sommelier will not be offended.
    
Evian's automated natural mineral water bottling plant.
Water is big business

   
Still, mineral water is eau plate.
Sparkling, mineral water is eau gazeuse.
Lightly sparkling, mineral water is eau pétillante.
Very, very lightly sparkling, mineral water is eau légèrement.
  
Eau – Water.

Eau Bouillie – Boiling water.
                            
Eau Chaude – Hot water.
                  
Eau Courante  Another term used for tap water; however, the term eau du robinet is the word more generally used.
                      
Eau de Rose - Rose water.  Rose water is still considered essential for the preparation of particular delicately scented pastries. By tradition real rose water was, and occasionally, though very rarely, may still be used to scent the water in finger bowls.  Rose water was and is made with real rose petals.
  
Eau de Source Gazeuse or Eau Minérale Naturelle Gazeuse -  Both of these indicate naturally sparkling waters. These are French government tested and approved natural mineral waters. Eau du source is the one most often seen and the least expensive. The second is eau minérale naturelle, which is the one the French government has decided, is particularly good for your health and, of course, it costs more.
   
 Eau de Table  – Bottled table water; water that has been filtered and treated.  Its main difference to tap water is the absence of chlorine and fluoride; some bottled table waters also have added minerals, they replace the minerals the filtration removed.  The added minerals will be noted on the label. Effervescent or sparkling table water, eau de table gazeuse, is soda water; the gas used is carbon dioxide.
    
Eau-de-vie – The water of life.  This is not water; this is the French word used for all types of basic grape brandies that are not yet ready for sale. Eau-de-vie is also the name used for mature fruit brandies.
  
Eau de Vie de Cidre - Apple brandy
  
Eau du Robinet - Tap water. Tap water is drinkable in all the cities of France, and it is chlorinated and fluoridated. 
    
Eau Froide – Cold water.
  
Eau Gazeuse or Eau Pétillante –  Sparkling or carbonated water. Among French diners, there are often discussions about how natural the sparkle is in a particular “so-called” naturally sparkling mineral water.  These arguments can take hours, some never finish. So that is an argument I will not get into here.
      
Ordering a club soda in France
    
In France, any flavored drink that is made with artificially sparkling water is a soda. You have been warned; if you want soda-water then ask for eau gazeuse.  Eau gazeuse is either naturally sparkling water, or if the label reads "eau de table gazeuse" that is city water that has been filtered and bottled with added carbon dioxide.  If you just ask for a soda, you may well receive the French equivalent of a 7-Up.
  
The source of Thonon still water at the Versoie Spring.
The town of Thonon-les-Bains is on the French side of Lac Leman, Lake Geneva which France shares with Switzerland. Thonon-les-Bains is in the department of
Haute-Savoie in the region of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
The water’s use was authorized in June 1864 and was declared of interest to public health by the French Academy of Medicine in 1890.
You may visit the spring and bottle some yourself and go swimming in the lake.
      
Eau Gazeuse Chargée en Gaz Carbonique – Sparkling water made by adding carbon dioxide.
   
Eau Minéral – Mineral water. You will see many different brands of mineral water as you move from town to town, or even from restaurant-to-restaurant.  Some of France’s mineral waters, such as Perrier, Evian, Badoit, and Vittel, are well known internationally, others may have a small output along with only a local following.  The taste of all these waters depends on their mineral content, and the mineral content must be noted on the label. 
  
Do you want to know more about mineral water?
  
For the best, and very amusing, review of the whole world of natural mineral waters, and city waters, read the chapter “Water” in the book: The Man who ate everything, Jeffery Steingarten, Vintage books.
  
    Eau Non-Potable – Water that is not fit to drink; you have been warned!
   
    Eau Pétillante – see Eau Gazeuse.

We all need water.
www.flickr.com/photos/dannysoar/8537766413/
    
 Eau Potable - Any kind of water that is drinkable.
  
 Eau Plate - Still mineral water; pronounced plat.  If you prefer sparkling water say eau minérale gazeuse.
  
 Eau Traitée - Purified and filtered tap water. Eau traitée minéralisée is purified tap water with added minerals.
       
Connected posts:
  

 Searching for the meaning of words, names or phrases
on
French menus?

Just add the word, words, or phrase that you are searching for to the words "Behind the French Menu" and search with Google. Behind the French Menu’s links include hundreds of words, names, and phrases that are seen on French menus. There are over 450 articles that include over 4,000 French dishes with English translations and explanations.

Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

 

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

 

Copyright 2010, 2012, 2016, 2018.

Responsive ad