A French breakfast is sweet. It is composed of slices of buttered bread and jam spread on it, sometimes croissants or other pastries and cereals. Usually, the drinks are coffee, orange juice or milk.
A typical French breakfast consists of a croissant or bread with butter and jam and sometimes a sweet pastry. Fresh fruit juice and hot beverages, like coffee or tea, are also included. Here all meals for French breakfast. The tradition of eating a large meal mid-day continues at dinner time in France.
One of the most popular French breakfasts is Pain Perdu. This is your French toast made with bread that is dipped in eggs and milk, then fried. Pain Perdu actually translates to “lost bread” which refers to stale bread.
A typical breakfast in Paris is a croissant (buttery roll of flaky pastry) and/or a tartine (French bread sliced lengthwise, with butter and jam), café au lait (coffee with milk, also called café crème), and perhaps some fruit or juice.
The most common breakfast in a café is a coffee and croissant (café et croissant) or another viennoiserie. Some Parisian cafés also offer cheap eats like a croque monsieur, croque madame, o jambon-beurre on their menus, and they are filling and delicious with a coffee.
Straight up Yogurt
The French are amoureux des produits laitiers (in love with dairy products) in general. After all, France is one of the largest milk producers in Europe. It's not uncommon to eat yogurt every day, especially with breakfast.
This food culture has a significant impact on the dynamics of daily life in France. The French typically eat pastries for breakfast, potatoes for lunch, and soups for dinner. France, like most developed countries, also has its share of meat eaters, vegetarians, and salty-and-sweet food enthusiasts.
Considering France is well-known for its gastronomy, it may come as a surprise to you that French people typically eat a very simple meal for breakfast. Usually more sweet than savory, le petit déjeuner, as the French say, is not a very big or important meal in France.
It may surprise you that eggs are not usually part of traditional French breakfasts. Even though omelettes originated in France, in French cuisine, they are usually served for lunch or dinner. Even at the best cafés in Paris, the breakfast menu will mainly consist of a variety of French breakfast pastries.
French Breakfast vs.
It usually consists of fried eggs with sausages and bacon, or perhaps scrambled eggs or poached eggs with bacon. The traditional English breakfast includes fried mushrooms, tomatoes, hash browns, and black pudding. There are also baked beans, which are cooked in tomato sauce.
While France is renowned for its pains au chocolat and croissants, Lyon has a long-standing tradition of tucking into wine and offal at breakfast.
An usual French lunch will include: an appetizer (une entrée), such as a mixed salad, soup, terrine or pâté; main course, (le plat principal), choice of beef, pork, chicken, or fish, with potatoes, rice, pasta and/or vegetables; cheese course (from a local selection) and/or a sweet.
A croissant (French pronunciation: [kʁwasɑ̃] ( listen)) is a buttery, flaky, viennoiserie pastry inspired by the shape of the Austrian kipferl but using the French yeast-leavened laminated dough.
' Peter Gordon makes note of something interesting. It's not an egg.
Bread in France: It's a Staple
Most French people eat bread every day. It's not just a cliché, bread in France is a staple and something most people care about.
In France, lunch is typically the main meal of the day, and French people spend more time enjoying lunch than most people in other countries.
From a warm baguette, a pain de campagne (country bread) or a cereal ball, slices of bread are the signature element of a French breakfast. You can choose to put them in a toaster if you like your bread crispy but watch out for mischievous slices of bread, you might have to fish them out.
And of course cereals are a big hit with French kids. Pretty much the same cereals as in the US, with less choice, and usually a bit less sugar… Cheerios, Rice Crispies, Chocapic… No peanut butter and jelly in France.
One thing to keep in mind about French breakfast foods is that the vast majority of French people do not eat a pastry daily for breakfast at home. Most people will grab a fresh croissant here and there, maybe more often on Saturday or Sunday, but it's certainly not a daily occurrence, despite what you see on Instagram.
France is a country known for its fine dining, fresh produce and the slim waistlines of the locals, but the reality is quite different. Half of French adults are overweight and one in six is obese and it's mostly to do with the fact the nation has been having a not-so-secret love affair with junk food for years.
Fixed meal times and no snacks
The French have always stuck to three meals a day and generally don't do food outside these set meals.
A few facts about breakfast in France
Unlike many other countries, breakfast is considered the least important meal of the day. Our big meal is lunch or supper. While in many countries, breakfast contains savoury elements – cheese, cold meats, eggs or bacon, breakfast in France tends to be sweet and carb-heavy.
The traditional evening meal in France is considered a family affair – around a table, lots of chatter, more good food, and an all-round convivial experience that rolls along merrily for an hour or so. They usually run from roughly 7.30pm until 8.45pm.
You are expected to pass dishes around and to hold a dish so your neighbour can retrieve some of the meal. When one begins a meal, they typically say “bon appétit” (enjoy your meal). Dinner guests should not open their mouth or talk when eating, and should gently wipe their mouth after taking a drink.