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| “ Discord in the identity of food” – discover a fascinating extract of Jean Paul Branlard course |
| Jean-Paul Branlard is a Lecturer in "Food and Gastronomy Law” and a researcher at the Jean Monnet School of Law, Economics and Management at Sceaux (Paris South University). He is a Docteur d’Etat, graduate of the University Panthéon-Assas, Institute of Judicial Studies and Institute of Criminology. In addition to his teaching activities, he has published chronicles in numerous journals (Gault-Millau, Option Qualité, Chocolat-Confiserie, la Revue des Gourmands). He delivers a course on Law, Food and Gastronomy within the program Hautes Etudes du Goût. Jean Paul Branlard reveals an extract of his lesson to all who are interested in an introduction to this topic. |
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| Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), GM foods, nitrates in the water used in drinks, salmonella in eggs, listeria in cheese, dioxin in chickens …a day doesn’t go by without the media terrorizing us. A jurist in gastronomy isn’t put off by food scaring. « Nihil nove sub sole » - Nothing new on your plate In France, in 1743 for example, in the interests of health safety, industry wastage was prohibited in cow fodder who, not being mad, prefered to eat grass. Health risks have never been, are not and never will be non-existent. In terms of hygiene, safety and health, food has never been safer than it is today. A much more insiduous danger that is never in the media but which nevertheless exists, and can be found at the dinner table: discord in the identity of food. |
| A food stuff receives its name from a regulated text (ex., chocolate), and from the purpose for which it is used (ex., andouilles and andouillettes), otherwise, the name will be descriptive (ex., « Salmon escalope with sorrel »). The correspondence between the identity of the dish and its preparation/composition is normally smoothed over with words. If the rules are applied without the necessary strictness, there is gastro-anomie. In order to stand out from the crowd in marketing and or in the name of technological musts, the producers (and the Michelin star chefs won’t be the last) decide to rename something which has long been known by another name or an « appellation » which is already « registered » and present something different to what was expected. |
The first discord is that which affects the composition of a dish.
1 – Replacing an essential ingredient: a common example of this is the « îles flottantes » where gelatin or any kind of dairy protein is floating instead of egg white
2 – The use of an ingredient in different ways than those specified in the original recipe: a low class restaurant makes a « lobster bisque » with concentrate and not by using the actual eponymous crustacean as it should be
3 – Removing an ingredient : desserts such as « Liégeois », « Melba » or « Poires belle Hélène » sold in the fresh produce section (but not only) don’t contain any ice cream and their identity is flawed.
4 – Adding an ingredient: margarine, for example, should not be found in snails « à la Bourguignonne » or in the Brittany specialty « pound cake ». |
| The second discord is linked to the way in which products are prepared. An important part of the production process is not respected: a ham “au torchon” is pumped full of flavored jus after being cooked in airtight packaging with no direct contact with the broth. This superior ham should take all its flavor from the bouillon, which means it should have been cooked in a permeable cover for good osmosis. Also, a piece of ham from which the femur has been removed before it has been pickled in brine and then put back in place before cooking is not really a ham cooked on the bone. The procedure which facilitates the pickling in brine through the use of numerous needles means the tendons which link the muscle tissue to the bone must be cut; these tendons play an important role in giving the ham flavor. The importance of words (worse!) is fully appreciated here. Insisting on respecting the identity of food is to defend the quality of the products as well as the idea that one has of them and, even, our own cultural identity. |
Jean-Paul Branlard
Speaker - University - Paris Sud XI
In charge of educational program & speaker Hautes Études du Goût |
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