So, the other day, this question popped into my head, maybe I saw it somewhere online, I don’t quite remember: ‘Does France eat cows?’ Seemed like a really basic question, almost funny, you know? Like asking if fish swim.
But it got me thinking. I actually stopped and thought about it for a second. Have I personally seen evidence of cow-eating in France? I started digging through my memories. I went to France a few years back, visited Paris and a bit of the countryside. What did I actually see? What did I eat?
My Brain Went Searching…
Okay, first thing that jumped out – steak frites. Seriously, it felt like it was on the menu in every single bistro I walked past or ate in. Little places, slightly bigger restaurants, didn’t matter. Steak frites, steak frites, steak frites. And steak, well, that comes from a cow, right? Pretty simple connection there.
Then I thought about other stuff. What’s that famous French dish, the stew? Boeuf Bourguignon. Beef Burgundy. The name literally has ‘beef’ in it. I remember seeing that offered too, especially in more traditional places. It’s a classic, slow-cooked beef dish. Definitely cow.
And I remember walking around, just exploring the streets. You see those butcher shops, the ‘boucheries’. They’re pretty impressive, actually. Big displays of meat in the window. Lots of cuts of beef, big roasts, steaks, ground meat. Clearly, they aren’t just putting it there for decoration. People are buying it. Cooking it. Eating it.
- Steak frites everywhere.
- Boeuf Bourguignon is a national treasure.
- Boucheries full of beef.
Funny Story Time (Sort Of Related)
Thinking about French food actually reminded me of this time I tried to cook something French myself. Total disaster. It wasn’t even beef, I think I was trying to make Duck Confit because it sounded fancy and impressive. I’d bought the duck legs, found a recipe online that promised ‘simple steps’. Yeah, right.
Let’s just say my ‘simple steps’ involved way too much duck fat, a smoke alarm screaming its head off, and a final product that was less ‘confit’ and more ‘charcoal briquette’. The kitchen smelled weird for days. We gave up and ordered pizza. It kinda put me off trying complex French cooking for a while. Stick to what you know, right? Or at least, stick to eating it in France where they know what they’re doing.
So, Back to the Cows…
Anyway, that little detour through my kitchen nightmare aside… yes. France definitely eats cows. A lot of them. It’s a huge part of their cuisine, from everyday bistro meals to fancy restaurant dishes. Thinking about it now, the initial question seems even sillier. It’s like asking if Americans eat burgers. It’s just a given.
So, my personal investigation, digging through memories of trips and even my own cooking failures, confirms it. The French eat cows. Case closed. Wasn’t much of a mystery, but hey, sometimes you just gotta walk through the process.
