21 Traditional French foods you must try in France

Burgundy invented France’s favourite stew made with beef simmered in Burgundy wine, pearl onions, mushrooms and lardons. Julius Caesar’s chef (or so they say!) invented coq au vin, a similar dish made with chicken.

The celebrated fish soup from Marseille is made from scorpionfish, gurnard, conger eel, John Dory and shellfish (among others) along with saffron, leeks, onions, fennel, garlic and tomatoes. Traditionally the soup is served first, with garlic toast and rouille (a spicy garlicky sauce), with a platter of seafood to follow.

Softy white rounds of Camembert, wrapped in paper and sold in poplar wooden boxes are made from raw cow’s milk in Normandy; they are slightly stronger than their close cousin, Brie. Gooey-baked Camembert is a popular starter.

This iconic country dish from Languedoc is a rich melt-in-your-mouth casserole of white beans (ideally the big white ones, from Tarbes) with baked with garlic, pork, Toulouse sausage, duck or goose confits and pork rinds, served bubbling hot.

Alsace’s entry in the list of national favourites, often featured in urban brasseries: sauerkraut and potatoes with plenty of sausages and charcuterie. A seafood version – choucroute de la mer – is popular too.

Scallops are always a favourite in France. In the most popular recipe they are cooked with onions, butter and white wine, then put back in their shells and baked in the oven with cheese and bread crumbs on top.

These ultra-thin pancakes from Brittany are a symbol of the delicacy and lightness that France does so well. Wrap them around something sweet: sugar and lemon, jam, strawberries, or Nutella. Savoury ones made from buckwheat flour are called galettes.

The perfect way to start a French day, golden flaky and buttery, croissants actually originated in Vienna (which is why the French count them as viennoiseries). Many bakeries bake frozen ones, but try to find one made from scratch: you can taste the difference.

The French have eaten snails since prehistoric time, but the classic Burgundian recipe, stuffed with butter, garlic and parsley was invented in 1814 by the famous chef Marie-Antoine Careme to serve to the visiting Tzar Alexander I. You can even try snail eggs, caviar d’escargot.

The richest, beloved and most controversial of French delicacies is the liver of the fatted duck or goose; half of the annual consumption takes place at Christmas and New Year. It’s traditionally served with a fig compote and sweet white wine, ideally Sauternes.

Yes, the French really do eat frogs’ legs, especially in the east, where they were an important food during Lent in the Middle Ages. Often compared to chicken wings, they are usually lightly battered and fried.

Introduced to Paris by Catherine de Medici’s Italian chefs, these pretty meringue mouthfuls are made of powdered almonds, confectioner’s sugar and egg whites and come in every colour and flavour imaginable – including foie gras.

Sometimes the simplest recipe is the best. This one is from Normandy: mussels in white wine, with a little cream and butter, thyme, onion, garlic and parsley. And fresh, crusty baguettes to sop up the juice.

A mix of inexpensive beef cuts and oxtail, simmered for hours, with a bouquet garni, carrots, potatoes, turnips and leeks or onions. You can serve the soup separately or everything at once, with mustard on the side.

A Savoy treat now popular everywhere in France, done at table with a special electric grill. Melt your raclette cheese on your little paddle, scoop it over boiled potatoes with slices of ham and charcuterie and pickles on the side.

This vegan classic from the south of combines tomatoes, aubergines, courgettes, bell peppers, garlic and herbs sauteed in olive oil; properly, each ingredient should be cooked on its own first to preserve its flavour.

Crumbly, tangy and salty, the world’s most famous blue cheese comes from the Massif Central, invented when a young shepherd left his ewe’s milk cheese sandwich in a cave to chase a pretty girl. To be called Roquefort it must be made from the milk of Lacaune sheep and aged in the caves of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon.

Nice contributed the classic salad of the French Riviera. Tomatoes, tinned tuna (or anchovies), spring onions and black olives are essential, with hard-boiled eggs, basil, green beans and baby potatoes frequently added, all dressed in olive oil, lemon, garlic and Dijon mustard.

In the 1880s the Tatin sisters, who ran a hotel outside Paris, were making a tart but forgot the apples simmering in sugar and butter on the stove. The apples caramelised, a sister slapped some pastry on top, baked it, then served it upside-down – accidentally creating one of France’s best-loved desserts.

Everyone knows Parisian onion soup; but do try its southwestern counterpart – garlic soup. That’s at least two heads of garlic, sautéed in duck fat then boiled forever in good chicken stock, with onion, tomato, egg and vinegar and serve over slices of stale bread with grated cheese.

The aromatic luxury fungus comes from Provence, Perigord and Quercy. Expensive, but a little goes a long way. The French like truffles grated into omelettes, with foie gras, in meat sauces, in risottos, Brie and even in desserts.