THE VOCABULARY OF FRENCH DAIRY

Just when you think you are starting to make real progress with your French, a new level of detail emerges: In France even the animals speak a different language. It’s true, mes amis – it isn’t quack quack. Here, ducks go coin coin! Parisian pups don’t woof, they ouaf; and the glorious French cow meuuuhhhhs.

Cooking a family recipe using the equivalent French ingredient is not any easier. Here we will focus on the mainstay of dairy or produits laiter: milk and butter.

The French take their dairy seriously. Entire aisles are dedicated to the stuff, both in the refrigerated section and on the shelves. The milk and cream that is stocked in grocery stores is UHT, which stands for ultra haute temperature or ultra-high temperature pasteurization. Fresh milk is immediately blasted with a super high heat then cooled, which sterilizes the milk and allows it to keep at room temperature for three months or more. However, once UHT milk or cream is opened, it must be kept in the fridge and lasts as long as fresh milk or cream does.

Once you have decided which side of the aisle you are shopping on, then you need to wade through the elaborate French vocabulary surrounding the various kinds of milk:

Entier

whole milk, denoted by a red cap or label

Demi-écrémé

skim milk, denoted by a blue cap or label

Écrémé

non-fat milk, denoted by a green cap or label

These are the most important terms to master. But if you would like to plunge further into the nuances of French milk here are a few more:

Cru

raw or unpasteurized, milk in its purest form and with the most pungent flavor

Microfiltré

milk that has been purified with an ultra-fine filter which removes 98% of the bacteria and treats the milk without heating, leaving its natural flavor intact

Bio or Biologique

indicates that the product is organic

Lait fermenté or Lait Ribot

Fermented milk is popular in North Africa. Lait Ribot is a traditional drink from Brittany. Both correspond roughly to buttermilk and are perfect for all your pancake-making and chicken-frying needs.

If you are looking for a milk-like non-dairy drink or boisson,then swing by your local organic shop where you will find:

Lait de riz – rice milk

Lait de soja – soy milk

Lait d’amande – almond milk

Lait d’avoine – oat milk

Pass Me The Butter, Please

The French slather their morning baguette with butter and pack it into their delicate pastries. But you won’t find it at the lunch or dinner table. In restaurants, the bread basket arrives with your meal and is meant to help you sop up all those lovely French sauces on your plate and to accompany any cheese or charcuterie. The one exception to this rule is oysters, which are served with rye bread and very salty butter.

Note these useful vocabs:

Beurre doux – unsalted butter

Beurre demi-sel – salted butter

Beurre salé – very salty butter, typically from Brittany and reserved for the strong of heart

Beurre aux cristaux de sel – semi-salted butter which is spiked with crunchy flakes of sea-salt

If you have your kitchen now fully stocked with butter and dairy, here is a wonderful use for it: a creamy chilled dessert infused with vanilla and sitting on a bed of toasty caramel.

Oeufs au Lait

A classic recipe for Oeuf au Lait

Serves 4 to 6 people

500ml whole milk – lait entier

Half a vanilla bean (or a spoonful of vanilla extract)

4 egg yolks and 2 whole eggs

150g white sugar – sucre semoule

1 spoonful of water

Bring the milk and vanilla bean to a boil and then turn off the heat and let that delicious vanilla flavor infuse the milk. In the meantime, beat the eggs and sugar together until the mixture is a pale straw color. A minute or two with a whisk should do it. Pluck out the vanilla bean from the milk, scrape the seeds into the milk and toss the pod. If you are using vanilla extract, heat the milk and pour in the extract, no need to let the milk sit.

Now slowly pour in the warm milk mixture into the eggs while mixing constantly with your other hand. If you don’t mix while you pour you’ll end up with scrambled eggs.

In a clean pan, pour the sugar and the spoonful of water. Set it on medium high on your stove and let it bubble and cook until it is a uniform caramel color. Then pour the hot caramel into a pan or several small ramekins to coat the bottom. You can now pour the egg mixture on top of the caramel and bake in a water bath for 20 minutes, the mixture should be firm but wobbly in the center when you shake it. Let the oeufs au lait cool for at least an hour before diving in with a spoon.