A Bite-Sized History of France Quotes

“Veuve Clicquot”
― Stephane Henaut, A Bite-Sized History of France

“If you want to come to a compromise over something, you must “cut the pear in two” (couper la poire en deux). Picking one’s brain might be expressed as “squeezing one’s lemon” (presser le citron). If you want to convey a sense of “eh” or “so-so” when asked for an opinion on something, you might say it’s “half fig, half grape” (mi-figue, mi-raisin).”
― Stephane Henaut, A Bite-Sized History of France

“The French have kept this love for pork and in fact have a saying that dans le cochon tout est bon (in the pig, everything is good).”
― Stephane Henaut, A Bite-Sized History of France

“But actually, there was one practice in particular that the Romans considered so uncouth, so unimaginably foul, that it revealed a complete lack of civilization. This was, of course, the unforgivable sin of cooking with butter instead of olive oil, and it was one of the most important elements in the Roman definition of a “barbarian.”
― Stephane Henaut, A Bite-Sized History of France

“there were four basic “mother sauces” from which all other sauces could be derived: allemande, béchamel, espagnole, and velouté.”
― Stephane Henaut, A Bite-Sized History of France

“Il se prend pour le moutardier du pape, meaning “He behaves like the pope’s mustard maker.” It is an expression used to describe someone who, although rather stupid, thinks very highly of himself.”
― Stephane Henaut, A Bite-Sized History of France

“The Christmas Day meal at Voisin, Choron’s restaurant on rue Saint-Honoré, began with a stuffed donkey’s head, an inelegant successor to the usual porcine centerpieces of prewar banquets. The soup course included elephant consommé.”
― Stephane Henaut, A Bite-Sized History of France

“Clearly, if eating meat, fancy foods, and unnaturally early vegetables took mankind away from the benevolent state of nature, harmony might be encouraged by avoiding such foods and adhering to a simple diet of bread, eggs, dairy, fruit, and conventional vegetables, which is exactly what Rousseau advocated. He was particularly fond of omelettes, and apparently considered himself something of a specialist in preparing them.”
― Stephane Henaut, A Bite-Sized History of France

“Special tribute must go to the Gauls for inventing the wooden barrel, and to the Romans for introducing vineyards to this part of France.”
― Stephane Henaut, A Bite-Sized History of France

“French and English styles of rum emerged with distinct tastes, as the French borrowed distillation methods from cognac production, which were a bit different from English methods for distilling scotch.”
― Stephane Henaut, A Bite-Sized History of France

“He promoted the development of luxury products like glassware, tapestries, and silk, and France began to develop the reputation for high-end goods that it continues to enjoy to this day.”
― Stephane Henaut, A Bite-Sized History of France

“Indeed, if one seeks the cradle of the French Renaissance, it is in Amboise and the Loire Valley that one must look.”
― Stephane Henaut, A Bite-Sized History of France

“The French often end a satisfying evening meal not with an elaborate chocolate dessert but with a simple orange, peeled at the table.”
― Stephane Henaut, A Bite-Sized History of France

“The fall of Montségur represented one of the dying gasps of Catharism, but what really destroyed it completely was the Inquisition. In 1233, Pope Gregory IX decided that the Dominican order, founded by a Spanish priest named Domingo de Guzmán partly in response to the Cathar threat, would be the perfect tool to root out the heretics. The Dominican inquisitors were judge,”
― Stephane Henaut, A Bite-Sized History of France

“employing well-known Belle Époque artists like Alphonse Mucha to create beautiful and distinctive advertising posters.”
― Stephane Henaut, A Bite-Sized History of France

“Surprisingly, given modern perceptions of the “dark ages,” food hygiene rules were prominent, even though it would be another thousand years before anyone knew what bacteria or germs were.”
― Stephane Henaut, A Bite-Sized History of France

“its vineyards bequeathed by the Romans, its most famous pastry a gift from Austria, and the birth of the café unthinkable without that fabulous Turkish import, coffee. Chocolate? From Mexico. Provençal cuisine? Imagine it without tomatoes, another American import.”
― Stephane Henaut, A Bite-Sized History of France

“we say it is sad comme un jour sans pain (like a day without bread).”
― Stephane Henaut, A Bite-Sized History of France

“Le beau est toujours bizarre.”
― Stephane Henaut, A Bite-Sized History of France