Fish and Seafood on Menus in France; the Variety is Incredible.

from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

 

    
Bar, Bar Commun, Loup, Loup de Mer.
The European seabass
Photograph courtesy of 4johnny5

     
French chefs, along with the French people, have always had an open love affair with fish and seafood. That love may be seen in countless recipes that were, and still are, created in their thousands. The French love of fish and seafood is consummated, in mainland France, in more specialist fish and seafood restaurants, per capita, than any other western nation. The choice of fish and seafood in France's fish restaurants is staggering; to their wide variety add France's unique and extensive selection of wines and cheeses; these additions allow for the creation of dishes that other nations can only dream of.
      
Cod in cider with Swiss chard and fried mussels.
Photograph courtesy of Arnold Gatilao

    
This is not a post about one particular fish or one specific member of the seafood family. This is an introduction to the fish and seafood that have links in this blog. French cuisine has so much to offer, and this is a reminder not forget when considering where to dine in France that the fish and seafood they prepare are exceptional.
 
Menus of even relatively small French restaurants that do not specialize in fish still often have one or more fish dishes on their menu. For visitors from the UK and North America, even those limited choices may still include a fish that is rarely seen in the UK and probably never in North America.


Click the links below; they include many of France's favorite fish and seafood:
  
Aiguillat, Saumonette, and Rousette

Aiguille, Aiguillette or Orphie.
 

Anchois - Anchovies, the Fish.
 
     

  
    
A genuine bouillabaisse is a whole meal.
Do not  order an hors d’oeuvre or an entrée if
you are in a restaurant that serves  a real bouillabaisse; it is a very large meal.
Photograph courtesy of Mira nyaa_birdies_perch.
www.flickr.com/photos/birdies-perch/407676260/
    
Brochet - Pike, the Fish.
Brochet on French Menus
      
Pike
Photograph courtesy of Biodiversity Library.

  
Cabillaud and Morue – Cod.
  


Cod
Photograph courtesy of the Norwegian Ministry of Fisheries and Coastal Affairs

Carpe – Carp.
   
Dorade or Dorade Royale – Gilthead.
 
Dorade Coryphène – The Pompano Dolphin Fish
 
Dover Sole or Sole Française.
 
Églefin, Eglefin, Aiglefin, and Haddock
    

Swordfish in the Eastern Mediterranean
   
Fera, Féra, or Palée du Léman – Broad Whitefish.
   
   
Hareng
 
     
Lotte or Baudroie
  
Maigre – Meagre.
  
Mulet and Mulet Dore on French Menus.
  
Merlan – Whiting.
       
Omble Chevalier
     
Freshwater Char

www.flickr.com/photos/63457916@N00/4306254774/
     
Pageot, the fish – Sea Bream.
 
Perche, Perche Commune.

Rascasse - The Scorpion
 
Rouget Barbet and Rougets de Roche
    
Saint-Pierre - John Dory.
  
Sandre – Zander or Pike-Pearh.
         
Sardine, Sardine Commune  - Sardines.
    
If you have not tasted freshly grilled sardines,
you have not really tasted sardines.

      
Saumon
    
The Atlantic Salmon
  
Silure or Silure Glane - France’s favorite catfish.
  
Sole Limande
Thon
   
Truite
      
Rainbow Trout

www.flickr.com/photos/rangewriter/26135904959/
 
Seafood
   
Algue or Algue de Mer – Seaweed.

Amander de Mer – the Sea Almond.
       
     
Anguille, Anguille d'Europe
    
Bulot, Bourget or Buccin.
  
Calmar, Calamar, Chipirons, and Encornets – Calamari.
    
Caviar  and Esturgeon.
  
Cocktail de Fruits de Mer
        

A Conger Eel looking out from its cave
and considering a possible main course for dinner.
  
Coques - Cocques
   
Coquilles Saint-Jacques and the Vanneaux or Pétoncle
            
Cuisses de Grenouilles
  
Crabes
    
King Crab.
This is a six and one-half kilo (14.3 lb) King Crab.

Photograph courtesy of  A. Lau.
   
Crevettes – Shrimps and prawns.
     
Écrivisse
         
Homard
   
Huitres
       
Oysters
         www.flickr.com/photos/jamesonfink/6193251586/

Huitres II Oysters II
  
Langouste
       
 
The Langouste, the rock lobster on the Left
the Homard, the two clawed lobster is on the right
  
Langoustine – The Dublin Bay Prawn or Scampi.
  
Moules - Mussels in France.
     
France borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea; to those borders add the oceans and seas that border France's five overseas departments and its many administered territories. These oceans and seas provide France with fishing rights greater than all the other countries of Europe combined. To these fishery resources add mainland France's hundreds of freshwater lakes, streams, rivers, and its immense aquaculture industry. France's fishermen and fisherwomen are working 24/7, and they are working very hard. The result is a diversity of fish that is truly astounding.
   
The Pink Shrimp
   
Visitors to France will have heard or read that the majority of French men and women enjoy a daily glass, or two, of red wine. Their daily intake of red wine has been proven to contain unique antioxidants that are good for the heart; with that knowledge the French now enjoy their red wine even more. In fish restaurants, the product looking after the hearts and the health of the French citizenry is not their many superb white wines which do not contain the same antioxidants; like the rest of us the French only occasionally drink red wine with fish. In fish restaurants, looking after the health of the diners are essential fatty acids that come from fish Omega-3.  Today, France competes only with Iceland, Japan, Spain and Portugal with the amount of fish eaten per capita. Omega-3 is helping to keep French citizens healthy. Fish, French cuisine, and good health are inseparable.
   
Cockles.
   
Usually, my search for the correct English names for the fish offered in France’s restaurants, along with the origins and information behind certain recipes, begins with lunch or dinner. Those searches included many mangled French and English discussions with Maitre D's, waiters and waitresses, and occasionally with the chefs themselves. I visited fish restaurants, sometimes just to see their menus, I visited fish markets, and on a few occasions the port-side fish markets in fishing villages. When I later double checked the information that I had acquired, I learned again and again that the French citizenry certainly do know their fish and seafood.
         
Shad
     
Local names for a fish sometimes make it to menus of the larger restaurants and can confuse the visitor.  So do not be surprised when occasionally your French-English dictionary offers no help. The multiplicity of different names for a single fish is not unique to France. Most other countries have more than one name for a particular fish; the UK, the USA, Germany, Spain, and Italy all have more than one name for many popular fish. In France, some of the names come from old French, old French dialects; others come from Basque, Spanish, the Occitan language and its dialects. I still, occasionally, needed the help of professional ichthyologists; ichthyologists are those who study fish and they also search for or know the correct English names along with the Latin. That professional help with fish names and other bits of fishy information came mostly from Froese, R., and D. Pauly. Editors. 2011. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org.
     
Bon Appétit – Enjoy!


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Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

 

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

 

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