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FOOD AND DRINK

Why do the French love saucisson so much?

Cheese and wine may be quintessentially French to the rest of the world, but the Gallic amour for cured, salty pork sticks or saucisson, is just as strong and timeless.

Published: 23 February 2018 16:20 CET
Why do the French love saucisson so much?
There's something about this salty snack that's special. Photo: Saucisson/Depositphotos

It’s official. The first Saucisson World Cup will be held in the tiny village of Vanosc in Ardèche,southern France this June. And who cares?

Well, in a matter of days organizers have received just as many applications to be part of the tasting jury as there are villagers in Vanosc.

“It's going to be chockablock! We’ve received 600 requests from tasters aged 12 to 92,” René-Louis Thomas, head of The Ardèche Academy of Sausage Lovers, told French daily Le Parisien.

France is of course the perfect place to host a Saucisson World Cup given that some 2.2 kilos of saucisson are said to be munched each second in France, which adds up to a total of 70,000 tonnes a year.

So why is it that the saucisson is such a simmering sensation in the hearts and taste buds of people of all ages in France?

Tradition

Saucisson, which gets in name from salsus (salty in Latin) has been made in France since Roman times, with archaeological finds proving so.

According to geography and gastronomy academic Jean-Robert Pitte, cured sausage is a “living historical monument” and a symbol for France since the time of the Great War.

“It was the source of bonding for soldiers in the trenches,” said Pitte about how saucisson would be chopped up and dealt around French troops in WWI. “It was probably the last pleasure for many fallen soldiers.”

For Thomas, saucisson’s symbolism is even older: “It forms part of the traditional Epinal image (19th century illustrations): the beret, the baguette, the Camembert and the sausage”.

Social snack

In the same way as saucisson strengthened the brotherhood between soldiers in the trenches, the tradition of sharing these salty spoils with loved ones and friends lives on to this day.

“For me, the popularity of saucisson stems from its strong association with the apéro (appetizer),” French food writer Clotilde Dusoulier told The Local.

“It’s that special moment at the end of the day when you get together with mates for a drink and some nibbles, to unwind and catch up.

“It feels festive and fun, like a carefree moment taken from a busy day.”

Guilty pleasure

When in 2015 the World Health Organization labeled processed meats like the sauccisson as carcinogenic as smoking and drinking, the reaction in France was nonchalant at best, if not one of complete disdain.

“I survived the war, I’m not going to give up saucisson!”, An 83-year-old Frenchman told The Local at the time.

“I'll stop drinking alcohol and smoking if needs be, but I could never give up meat as it's essential to my diet,” a butcher in the 19th arrondisement added.

And so it is that despite the health warnings from the WHO that eating read meat can cause cancer, the French would rather enjoy the sumptuous salty taste of cured and smoked pork and die with a smile on their faces.

“If it gives you cancer then so be it. I could never live without it,” Maxime, a 21-year-old student in Paris, concluded.

Easy eating

However lazy you’re feeling vis-à-vis preparing something to eat, slicing up some saucisson is as easy as it comes.

There aren’t that many foods either that can be so easily carried around in you pocket or bag without making a complete mess, thanks largely to the natural pig fat wrapping most of them come with.

What’s more, saucisson keeps for ages!

 “There are many varieties of saucisson in France because, like cheese, it’s an age-old way to preserve food from the time when there was no refrigeration,” food blogger Clotilde Dusoulier explains.

“Fresh meat goes off but charcuterie like saucisson keeps for months. “

Simply irresistible

Even vegetarians might at times admit to missing the salty, full-flavoured body of cured ham.

Perfected with passion over the centuries, French saucisson is a world on its own.

“Each region independently came up with its own ideas of seasonings depending on what’s available locally in terms of herbs, nuts, etc,” Dusoulier describes.

However many varieties, all saucissons have one thing in common, their ability to calm the most rumbling of bellies, satisfy our protein cravings and on many occasions, be the perfect partner for a lovely glass of wine.

Tomas Hulley/Flickr

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SCHOOLS

Are packed lunches really banned in French schools?

School children in France are entitled to a lunchtime meal of three, or even four courses – but what if you prefer to provide meals yourself? 

Published: 22 May 2024 12:24 CEST
Are packed lunches really banned in French schools?

French school meals are, famously, pretty good – children get a three or even four-course meal of properly prepared dishes and the menu (including cheese course) is usually published in the local town newsletter so everyone can see the types of meals being served.

The concept of a proper meal at lunchtime is an important one. “The diet of a school-age child is essential for their growth, mental development and learning abilities,” the French Education Ministry says in a preamble about school meals on its website. “It must be balanced, varied and distributed throughout the day: for example 20 percent of total energy in the morning, 40 percent at midday, 10 percent at four o’clock and 30 percent in the evening.”

And it’s not all about nutrition, the social aspect of sitting together and eating a meal is also important – the ministry continues: “Mealtime is an opportunity for students to relax and communicate. It should also be a time for discovery and enjoyment.”

All schools provide meals in a canteen and most pupils take up the opportunity – however it’s also possible for pupils to go home at lunchtime so that they can eat lunch with their parents.

The idea of taking in a packed lunch (panier-repas) is much less common in France – but is it actually banned?

The rules on lunch

At écoles (up to age 11), the local authority or établissement public de coopération intercommunale (EPCI) is responsible for providing quality school meals. This generally involves meals being provided via a central kitchen, and then delivered to the school’s kitchen, where it can be kept warm, or reheated as necessary.

The system is slightly different in collèges and lycées (attended by children aged 11 and up). In those establishments, catering falls into the purview of the wider département or region – and is routinely managed directly by individual establishments, which will have catering staff on site to prepare meals. Often, meal services are outsourced to private businesses, which operate the kitchens.

There are various rules and regulations in place regarding what food is offered, and how long a child has to eat – which is, in part, why the school lunch period is so long. Children must be allowed a 30-minute period to eat their meal, from the moment they sit down with it at the table. 

Then, they’re given time to play and relax before afternoon classes start.

READ ALSO What you need to know if your child is starting school in France

At a minimum lunch must include a main course with a side dish, a dairy-based product, as well as a starter and/or a dessert. Meals must also, the government says, be composed of 50 percent sustainable quality products (including 20 percent organic).

Some local authorities go further and serve only or mostly food that is organic, locally sourced or both.

Water and bread must be freely available, but salt and condiments can only be added in preparation – no sauce bottles or salt and pepper on the tables. 

Daily menus are generally available to view on school websites and many town newspapers or newsletters also publish them.

Parents pay a fee for the school lunch, which is calculated according to income and can be free in the case of low-income families.

Packed lunch

But what if your child doesn’t like the school lunches and you don’t have time to pick them up, cook a full lunch and take them back in the afternoon everyday? The obvious solution would seem to be to send them in with a packed lunch, as is common in the UK and USA.

In theory this is possible, but only in certain circumstances and with very strict rules and caveats. 

The Ministry, in a written response to a Senator’s question in 2019, said: “The use of packed lunches [home-supplied meals] by primary school students can provide an alternative to school meals. This method of catering is authorised in particular for children with a medically established food allergy or intolerance, requiring an adapted diet.”

READ ALSO How to enrol a non-French speaking child in school in France

It added: “the preparation and use of packed lunches in schools must follow certain rules. First of all, it is important to respect the cold chain”.

The cold chain is a term applied to food handling and distribution – it’s usually used by food-preparation businesses, but in the context of a packed lunch it means that food prepared at home must be kept in appropriately cool conditions until it is ready to eat. It would be the responsibility of parents to ensure that the food is delivered to school in containers appropriate for the job (ie an insulated cool bag).

Once at the school, it is up to whoever manages the kitchen to ensure that food is properly reheated. This becomes the sticking point at which many parents’ requests to send their children to school with a packed lunch, rather than go to the canteen, or eat back at home, are refused.

The reheating concern suggests that schools are also expecting parents to prepare a proper meal – rather than just throwing some sandwiches and a cereal bar into a bag.

Unless there’s a genuine and proven health reason for your child to eat a home-prepared meal, most parents will probably find the school won’t budge on this – even in cases of a strike by kitchen staff or lunch monitors.

READ ALSO Just how much do private schools in France cost?

The Ministry’s written response explains: “[A]s this is an optional public service, the municipality can justify its refusal to admit the children concerned by objective material and financial constraints, such as the need to equip itself with additional refrigerators, or for additional supervisory staff to supervise them during lunch.”

As well as the practicalities, for some schools this is an equality issue – because of the varied fee structure for school lunches what happens in effect is that richer parents are subsidising a good quality lunchtime meal for poorer students in the class; if everyone brought in a packed lunch and therefore stopped paying the fee, the lower-income kids would miss out. 

What about allergies or other health issues?

Children with allergies or other health issues that require a particular diet must be accommodated. An individual meal plan – known as a projet d’accueil individualisé (PAI) can be set up. More details (in French) are available here, on the government’s website.

It also becomes easier for parents to provide home-produced meals in such instances. As ever, it is up to the parents to ensure any meals are appropriately packaged and transported to school.

Not all schools

Some individual schools in France do permit pupils to bring in meals from home. They must be taken to school in an appropriate cold-storage container, and they will be stored in the kitchen area until they are needed, when meals will – if necessary – be reheated.

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