Sweet corn is produced for human consumption only. It is low-fat, high fibre and rich in vitamin B. Over the past fifteen years it has become the fifth most popular vegetable in France.
Maize & French Cuisine
In Europe, maize has long been a staple food for poorer communities because of its nutritional value. In France, maize has gradually become a symbol of quality food. Maize is more than just a source of energy; it is also a key ingredient in French cuisine. It can be moist and tasty when served as a salad vegetable or prepared in different ways. As feed for animals, maize is known to produce tasty meat and top quality local produce.
CORNMEAL, SOUP & SALADS France discovered maize in 1493. In Europe and other parts of the world, it long remained a food for peasants and that was the time when regional dishes, today’s traditional dishes, were developed, for example yellow root (gaude) soup made in the Bresse and Jura regions using grilled maize meal, and polenta, the delicious, smooth cornmeal from Italy and a long-time favourite in southern France and Savoy.
Sweet corn has handsome, rounded yellow kernels; it originally came from America, and over the last twenty years has become a popular part of family meals in Europe. It is now vegetable number five in the French shopping basket. Whether served on the cob or as a salad, it is always fresh, with a fine, crisp texture and a sweet flavour that is quite unique. Sweet corn has even become popular with leading chefs devising new flavours and attractive dishes.
MAIZE-FED ANIMALS – A GUARANTEE OF QUALITY
Maize is more than just a vegetable which we enjoy eating. It is also feed for animals that produce tender, tasty meat. As animal feed, maize is popular in France and around the world, being traceable and recognised as a source of gastronomic quality. Grain maize is fed to “Red Label” Landes and Bresse poultry, to pigs for the famous Bayonne ham, and ducks producing duck fillets – all products of distinction and high repute.
In the aristocratic hierarchy of French cuisine, foie gras, the fine, delicate dish making festive meals so special is, when looked at closely, nothing more than naturally processed maize! Best practices on force-feeding geese and ducks in south-western France recommend a diet of maize only. Maize, or nothing! This could perhaps be taken up as one of the rules of French cuisine.
Maize & French Cuisine
