culinary delicacies

watched ratatouille, the new pixar animation, I think it was nice, though they some how managed to keep away from the more renowned French culinary exports, but then there is at least one delicacy for each living specie out there in the French cuisine and I guess it would have been really boring if the movie was to focus on the cuisine rather then the little chef. All and all the movie does make you want to go to Paris for you next vacation.

Escargot, de foie gras, cavier and truffles. I have my own theory about these delicacies, I think it was the chef's revenge on the French aristocracy, they came up with an ingenious plan that would not only work to satisfy there masters but also give them a way to get back right at them, this was executed so well that even today people happily pay a premium for fungus (truffles), now the interesting thing is that China is now the biggest truffle exporter, they are putting out more truffles then Italy and France combined, and so here is the dilemma, truffle prices are going down which again doesn't sit well with the Europeans, so they are saying that the Chinese truffle quality isn't as good, come on guys potato potata, big difference.

culinary dictionary:

1- goose liver (foie gras)

de foie gras (French for "fat liver") is "the liver of a duck or a goose that has been specially fattened by 'gavage'. Liver from a regular goose doesn't become foie gras, its the force feeding, that bestows that honor on the goose

2- truffles (fungus)

most decadent expensive foods on Earth, a pound of white truffles can sell in excess of $2000 per pound. Truffles are a fungus of which there are over 70 known varieties. The two most prized varieties are black truffles from the Périgord and Quercy regions in France and Umbria in Italy . The second most prized variety is the White truffle from Piedmont in Italy


3- cavier (fish eggs)


4- escargot (snails)