Nouvelle cuisine is a French term for a healthier, lighter alternative to classic cuisine, focusing on simple yet elegant presentations. It originated in the 1740s and was popularized in the 20th century. Cookbook authors Gault and Millau defined its ten traits, including the use of fresh ingredients, shorter cooking times, and lighter sauces. It promotes the use of modern equipment and techniques and considers dietary choices.
Nouvelle cuisine, a French term meaning new cuisine, commonly refers to food that is a healthier, lighter alternative to haute cuisine or classic cuisine. It is generally believed to focus on delicate dishes with simple yet elegant presentations. However, it is also commonly associated with some chefs and cookbook authors dating back to the 1740s.
Haute cuisine generally refers to elaborately prepared foods. Cuisine classique typically refers to classic French cuisine, often featuring dishes laden with heavy ingredients such as cream and butter that are served naturally. The kitchen classic was popularized in the 20th century and replaced French-style serving, which required all dishes to be served at the same time.
French dishes prepared by the famous chefs Menon, Vincent La Chapelle and Francois Marin in 1740 were the first to mention this terminology. The legendary Auguste Escoffier, generally considered to be the impetus behind the development of modern French cuisine, often had the term applied to his creations in the 1880s and 1890s. Over the next century, the term re-emerged almost whenever a new French chef was at the center. of the scene in the culinary world.
Acclaimed French chef Paul Bocus, along with other culinary masters, created the menu and prepared the food for the maiden airliner flight of Concorde in 1969. Celebrated cookbook authors Henri Gault and Christian Millau used the term nouvelle cuisine to describe the dishes served on the historic journey. They praised the sophisticated menu offerings and complimented the chefs on the simplicity and lightness of the ingredients they chose.
This observation spawned the term minceur de cuisine, which translates to “subtle cooking.” The term became somewhat synonymous with nouvelle cuisine. As the terminology became more common, its meaning began to refer more frequently to menu items that were less fattening than classic French cuisine.
Cookbook authors Gault and Millau are commonly credited with defining the ten traits that characterize true nouvelle cuisine. The preparation must be simple and require a minimum number of steps. Cooking times should be shortened to maintain the natural flavors of vegetables, meat, fish and poultry. Only the freshest possible ingredients should be used in this style of cooking.
Other qualifying traits for nouvelle cuisine include short menus and lighter food choices. Strong marinades, for example, are normally replaced by lighter versions in this style. Heavy sauces made from dairy and starches are traditionally replaced with light sauces created with lemon juice and fresh herbs in this type of cooking. Other regional dishes made from local ingredients are generally preferred over nouvelle cuisine creations.
Unlike previous cooking styles, nouvelle cuisine promotes the use of modern equipment and techniques. The style also requires the chef to consider the best dietary choices for diners in terms of fat, sodium and salt. Nouvelle cuisine also requires cooks to develop innovative combinations of foods.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
