How French is your palate? – answers and explanations
Here are the answers to all 15 questions in the How French is your palate? quiz, each with a short explanation. From croissants to coq au vin, test your knowledge of classic French food and drink. Haven't played yet? Take the quiz first and compare your score.
Play the quiz · 15 questions1. Bouillabaisse, the famous fish stew, comes from which French port city?
Answer: Marseille
Bouillabaisse is the traditional fish stew of Marseille, the Mediterranean port city in Provence. It began as a fishermen's dish made from the bony rockfish they couldn't sell, cooked in a broth flavoured with saffron, olive oil and herbs.
2. Which French dessert has a hard caramelised sugar top you crack with a spoon?
Answer: Crème brûlée
Crème brûlée is a rich custard topped with a layer of sugar that is caramelised under a grill or with a blowtorch until it sets hard. Its name means 'burnt cream' in French.
3. Besides eggs and cream, a classic quiche Lorraine contains what?
Answer: Bacon (lardons)
Classic quiche Lorraine is filled with eggs, cream and smoked bacon lardons baked in a pastry case. It comes from the Lorraine region of northeastern France, and the traditional recipe has no cheese.
4. In a Paris café, ordering simply "un café" usually gets you what?
Answer: A small espresso
In a French café, ordering 'un café' gets you a small black espresso, also called 'un express' or 'un petit noir'. If you want a large milky coffee, you need to ask for a 'café crème' or 'café au lait'.
5. Tarte Tatin is a famous French upside-down tart made with which fruit?
Answer: Apples
Tarte Tatin is an upside-down tart made by caramelising apples in butter and sugar under a pastry lid, then turning it over to serve. It is named after the Tatin sisters, who ran a hotel in Lamotte-Beuvron in the Loire Valley in the late 1800s.
6. Boeuf bourguignon is a beef stew slowly braised in what?
Answer: Red wine
Boeuf bourguignon is beef braised slowly in red wine, usually with onions, mushrooms and lardons. It comes from Burgundy, a French region famous for its red wines made from Pinot Noir.
7. On a French menu, "à la carte" means you are ordering what?
Answer: Individually priced dishes
Ordering à la carte means choosing dishes from the menu that each have their own price. A prix fixe or 'menu' is the opposite: a set meal with several courses for one price.
8. Ratatouille is a stewed vegetable dish from which French region?
Answer: Provence
Ratatouille is a stew of summer vegetables from Provence that is most closely linked to Nice. It is usually made with tomatoes, aubergine, courgette, peppers, onion and garlic cooked in olive oil.
9. Which French region is famous for crêpes and savoury buckwheat galettes?
Answer: Brittany
Brittany, in north-west France, is the home of crêpes. Its savoury galettes are made with buckwheat flour and are often filled with ham, cheese and egg in a dish called a galette complète, and they are traditionally served with cider.
10. Which colourful French treat is made of two almond meringue shells with a filling?
Answer: Macaron
A macaron is made of two meringue-based shells, made with almond flour, that hold a filling such as ganache, buttercream or jam. The Paris pâtisserie Ladurée helped make the colourful sandwiched version popular.
11. What turns a croque monsieur sandwich into a croque madame?
Answer: A fried egg on top
A croque madame is a croque monsieur, a grilled ham and cheese sandwich often topped with béchamel, with a fried or poached egg on top. The croque monsieur first appeared on Paris café menus around 1910.
12. A Kir Royale is Champagne mixed with which liqueur?
Answer: Crème de cassis (blackcurrant)
A Kir Royale is made by adding crème de cassis, a blackcurrant liqueur, to Champagne. The original Kir uses white wine instead and is named after Félix Kir, a mayor of Dijon in Burgundy.
13. The word "croissant" refers to which shape?
Answer: Crescent
Croissant is the French word for crescent, the curved shape of the pastry. It developed from the Austrian kipferl, which became popular in Paris in the 19th century.
14. Which dish of sliced potatoes baked in cream comes from the French Alps region?
Answer: Gratin dauphinois
Gratin dauphinois is thinly sliced potatoes baked in cream or milk. It comes from the Dauphiné, a historic province in the French Alps around Grenoble, and the traditional version contains no cheese.
15. On a menu in France, the "entrée" is which course?
Answer: The starter
On French menus, the entrée is the starter, because it is the dish that 'enters' or opens the meal. In the United States, the same word usually means the main course.