Burger vs. Baguette
The French have been cheating on their beloved baguette with a saucier culinary import - the hamburger.
It’s no secret that the french are famous for their baguette, especially if you follow our blog! One might even say they are sacred (especially if you ask France's President Emmanuel Macron who is lobbying to have the french delicacy listed as a Unesco cultural treasure). The French government actually regulated when bakers could take their vacations at one point so that its citizens wouldn’t ever be faced with a shortage of their favorite bread. However, a recent study shows that that the French are cheating on their beloved baguette with a much less authentic culinary import - the hamburger.
According to a recent BBC reported study, French citizens purchased approximately 1.5 billion burgers last year and only about 1.2 billion baguettes which equals to 14 times more burgers than a decade ago. The figures include the purchase of baguette sandwiches, known as jambon-beurre. The study also showed that nearly 85% of all restaurants in France now have at least one burger on their menus.
French purists have nothing to fear however as Gira Conseil, who provided the data for the study, says the report has been greatly exaggerated by stating “Let me explain: baguettes are taken away and eaten with fingers, burgers are mostly eaten sitting down with a knife and fork.” “It’s not comparing like with like.” Regardless of the French obsession with the burger, one aspect that will always make it uniquely French is that unlike their American counterparts, the French enjoy their burgers with a fork and knife—a concession even McDonald’s has made in the land of the baguette.
We hope you've enjoyed learning about the culinary French battle: Burger vs. Baguette! While may French are skeptical about the legitimacy of their reported burger obsession, we'd love to hear what you think about the Gira Conseil study. Comment below!