Beware: the 12 dishes you might not want on your plate in France

On the way over the toll road to our southern neighbors. Put the vin blanc on ice, because we would love a glass of that on the terrace. By the way, it's smart to do a little research before you ask for the menu in France. Before you know it, you're biting into a sausage you didn't want. Our neighbors from FavorFlav suggest 12 dishes you might not want on your plate. In the category: know before you go.

There you are, on the terrace in that picturesque French town. The French waiter comes with the menu and oh, you can speak a little French and the French cuisine is world-famous. Don't all the star chefs let themselves be guided by this? Exactly! So waiter, I'll have that salade de gésiers! Salad, sounds good right? Think again. Frog legs, pig intestines, tripe & trotters… You really want to know what you're ordering with these French dishes. (And yes, I speak from experience.)

Andouillette

The famous French horror sausage is made from pig intestines. I already know enough (au revoir!) but I'm not the kind to turn down food and I'm open to almost everything. So it could happen that this turd, traveling through Burgundy, was right in front of me. Andouillette smells like a clogged sewer and tastes like it too. Or as the mayor of Lyon once said: “Politics is like an Andouillette – it should smell a little like shit, but not too much.” Andouillette almost always consists of multiple intestines, for the die-hard fans there is also a variant made only from pig intestines. For the acquired taste, let's just leave it at that.

Vieux Boulogne

The smell of socks you take off after running a half marathon disgusting? Then don't order a Vieux Boulogne, because this cheese stinks worse than all the sports socks of all the runners combined. According to a British study, this is even the worst stinking cheese in the world! In France, they think differently about it: it's a fromage de caractère!

Tripes à la mode de Caen

There is no French region where tripes – INTESTINES – are not on the menu. Simply put: the less desired parts, the offal. But don't say this last part to organ meat lovers, because they consider this anything but waste. Les tripes à la mode de Caen is a specialty from Normandy and consists of four different pieces from the stomach of the cow + its trotter + veal trotter. This peasant dish simmers gently for eight hours in cider with a bit of calvados, vegetables, and spices. A delicacy for one, a horror for another.

Cuisses de grenouille

The French love frog legs. Correction: the hind legs of a frog, because they don't have thighs. When well made, it tastes like chicken breast should taste: deliciously tender. Especially when fried in butter and garlic (à la Provençale). Eating with your eyes closed.

Boulette d’Avesnes

Another devilish stinker of a cheese. In fact, this red cheese washed in beer has such a penetrating smell that it even has a travel ban!

Pieds de porc

Pig trotters, anyone? The French make the most culinary preparations from offal. Even from trotters. From a pig, it's called pieds de porc, but veal trotters are also on the menu. It's called pieds de veau then. On vacation in the Rhône? Watch out for pieds de mouton, or sheep trotters.

Pieds et paquets

Eight, how sweet it sounds. Trotters and packages. They love it in Marseille: sheep trotters and packages of sheep stomach, filled with pork in tomato sauce.

Langue de veau

Veal tongue and beef tongue (langue de boeuf) are very fatty and according to many French people also deliciously fatty. Often something sour is eaten with it, like sauce piquante, with chopped pickles.

Salade de gésiers

Yep, you ordered a salad. But one with gizzards. In many cases, duck gizzards. Richly sprinkled over a head of lettuce, decorated with walnuts and drizzled with a classic French vinaigrette.

Foie gras

Foie gras literally means fatty liver. It is creamy, sweet, and silky soft. That buttery, soothing texture is incomparable. For many people, it is an absolute delicacy. Foie gras has even been declared part of the French cultural heritage by law. However: merde! The enlarged liver of force-fed ducks (formerly mainly geese) makes this tempting luxury food quite controversial, to say the least. During the fattening process, the animals are fed several times a day with a funnel or soft rubber tube down their throat. A fatty corn mash ensures extra rapid growth and the desired yellow color. Animal suffering? We are of course against that.

Ris de veau

Ah! Sweetbreads! The gland of young animals (veau = calf) that is never missing from the menu in France. Especially the heart sweetbread is popular. Traditionally, the sweetbread is blanched and then sliced and either fried or grilled.

Escargots

Snails, another beloved French snack. They come in many shapes and sizes. The Burgundy snail, or escargot de Bourgogne, is the most culinary snail in France. They are prepared à la Bourguignonne, gratinated with garlic butter. Often you eat them from special dishes with deep holes. When the snails are gone, you can dip your bread in the butter for the ultimate French vacation feeling. Bon appétit!

Text: Favorflav