B

BACKENOFF/BECKENOFFE
Alsatian stew of beef, mutton and pork, first marinated in local wine, with potatoes and onions; originally cooked in the baker's oven.

BADRÉE
Apple and pear preserve.

BAGUETTE 
Stick. Long, thin white loaf.

BAGUETTE LAONNAISE 
Rectangular very strong cheese produced in the Laon region.
Demi-baguette Laonnaise is a smaller version.

BAIE
Berry, of fruit.

BAIGNÉ (E) 
Bathed in.

BAIGNETON
Light pastry in Poitou.

BAISER
To kiss (also used in a more vulgar sense).
Two small meringues joined with cream.

BAJOUE
Cheek, of pig.

BALLON
Ball.
Boned and rolled into a ball-shape (e.g. épaule de mouton en ballon).

BALLOTTINE 
Type of loaf or galantine, of meat, poultry, sometimes game or fish, boned, stuffed and rolled into a bundle, usually served hot.

BANANE
Banana.
Bananes baronnet - with kirsch and cream.
Beauharnais - cooked with rum and sugar, served with cream and crushed macaroons.

BANON
Small round cheese, of sheep's, goat's or cow's milk, wrapped in chestnut leaves. Named after the market town. Banon au Pèbre d'Ai: see Poivre d'Ane.

BARSea bass, white-fleshed, flavoursome and free of bone.

BARAQUET
Local name for haricot bean in Languedoc. 

BARATTÉ(-E)
Churned.

BARBE-A-PAPA 
Papa's beard.
Candyfloss.

BARBERY
Soft cheese cured in ashes, made around the village of Barbery, near Troyes; also known as From-age de Troyes and Troyen Cendré.

BARBEZIEUX 
Town in Charentes known for poultry.

BARBOUILLADE 
Artichokes with broad beans; also au-bergine stew from Provence.

BARBUE
Brill, flat sea fish, lesser cousin of turbot.

BARON
Large joint comprising the two legs and saddle, usually of lamb or mutton.

BARQUETTE 

Small boat-shaped pastry.

BAS(-SE)
Low.

BASILIC
Sweet basil, the herb.

À LA BASQUAISE 
In the style of Pays Basque. With tomatoes, peppers, rice etc.
Garnish of cèpes, Bayonne ham and potatoes.
Pommes (de terre) basquaise - baked potatoes stuffed with tomatoes, sweet peppers, ham and garlic.

BASQUE
Basque, of Pays basque. The Basque language.

BATAVIA
Short for lettuce Batavia.

BÂTON (NET)
Stick. Small French loaf. Stick-shaped biscuit or pastry.
Soupe au bâton (Provence) - soup traditionally stirred with a branch of the bay leaves.

BATTU (E) 
Beaten, whipped up.

BAUME
Balm, mint-type herb.

BAVAROIS
Bavarian. 
A cold dessert of thick egg custard and whipped cream set in a mould, variously flavoured, often served with fruit; also known as crème bavaroise and originally as fromage bavarois. Savoury mould/loaf, especially of shellfish.

BAVETTE
Skirt, of beef.

BAVEUSE
Runny. Blenny, small sea fish.

À LA BAYONNAISE 
In the style of Bayonne.
Oeufs frits à la bayonnaise - fried eggs with Bayonne ham.

BAYONNE
Town in Pays Basque, famous for ham.

BÉARN
Province covering two-thirds of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department.

À LA BÉARNAISE
In the style of Béarn.
With sauce béarnaise - thick sauce of egg yolks, vinegar, shallots, tarragon and white wine with butter. Created at Saint-Germain around 1830, usually served with steaks (e.g. entrecôte béarnaise), sometimes with lamb.

BEAU (BELLE) 
Beautiful.

BEAUFORT 
Large round cheese (AOC), with smooth ivory interior, rich and fruity; made in small dairies in the Beaufort mountains, also known as Gruyère de Beaufort.

BEAUMONT 
Mild cheese, made around the town of Beau-mont. From Savoie.

BEAUNE
Historic town in Bourgogne, centre for the wine trade and commune (AC) growing mainly red wines. Also the home of the Hospices de Beaune, endowed with some of the best vineyards of the Côte de Beaune.

BÉCHAMEL 
White sauce made with four, butter and milk, one of the 'mother' sauces and the basis for others (e.g. Mornay and Soubise). Possibly invented by the Marquis de Béchameil in Louis XIV's reign.

BEIGNE (T)
Sweet or savoury fritter.

BELLE
Feminine of beau: beautiful. Beauty. Used to describe varieties of fruit and vegetables Belle-Alliance, Belle-Angevine (see also poire), Belle-de- Berry, Belle-et- Bonne (pear); Belle-Chevreuse.

BELLE BRESSANE 
Smooth, creamy blue cheese, round with hole in centre, factory-made; similar to Bleu de Bresse.

À LA BELLE-DIJONNAISE
With blackcurrants, for which Dijon is well known. Fruit with blackcurrant ice and purée and crème de cassis.

BELUGA
Caviar.

BÉNÉDICT
Oeufs Bénédict - poached eggs with hollandaise sauce and ham.

BÉNÉDICTIN
Cake flavoured with Bénédictine.

BÉNÉDICTINE 
Liqueur invented by a Benedictine monk in the 16th century, distilled at Fécamp in Normandie; also known as liqueur de Fécamp.
Garnish, for fish or eggs, of pounded cod with garlic, cream and perhaps truffles, covered with cream sauce.

BERGAMOTE 
Bergamot.
Variety of pear.

BERGER
Shepherd.
Soupe du berger - onion soup with cheese, tomatoes, leeks and garlic in Bearn.

À LA BERGERE 
Shepherdess's style. Meat or poultry baked with ham, onions, mushrooms and straw potatoes.

BERGERAC 
Major town in Périgord, producing red, white and rosé wines (AC).

BERGERETTE 
Salad with rice, hard-boiled egg and chive salad.

BERGUES
Small round cheese cured in beer, with sharp taste. Made around the town of Bergues.

BERLINGOT 
Boiled candy. Usually peppermint-flavoured.

BERNY
Garnish of potato croquettes, chestnut tartlets and pepper sauce, for game. Pommes (de terre) Berny: potato and truffle croquettes.

BERRY
Province equivalent to the departments of Cher and Indre.

BERTON
Cheese fondue with garlic and wine in Savoie.

BETTE
Spinach beet, similar to Swiss chard (blette).

BETTERAVE 
Beetroot, thought to have been introduced to France by Napoleon.
Betteraves à la provençale - beetroot, potato and hard-boiled egg salad with anchovy dressing.

BEUGNON
Sweet, ring-shaped fritter.

BEURRE
Butter.
Beurre demi-sel: slightly salted.
Beurre oux: unsalted, the commonest.
Fine butter is produced in many parts of France, and there is an AC beurre des Charentes (et du Poitou).

BEURRÉE
Slice of buttered bread.

BEURSAUDES 
Fried and baked pieces of pork, kept in earthenware jars and eaten warm.

À LA BIARROTTE 
In the style of Biarritz in Pays basque. Garnish of cèpes and potato cakes.

BICHE
Doe, hind, of deer.

BIÈRE
Beer.

BIFTE(A)CK 
Steak of beef or perhaps horse, fried or grilled (but treat with caution).
Bifteck à cheval - fried or grilled steak with fried eggs on top.
Minced beef.
Bifteckà l'américaine - name for steak tartare.
Hachélà la hambourgeoise - hamburger, also known as steak à l'allemande.
Poitevin - with sorrel and bone marrow.

BIGARADE 
Bitter orange.
Sauce bigarade - orange sauce, for wild duck or game.

BIGNON
Sweet fritter.

BIGUENÉE 
Sliced ham wrapped in pancake and fried.

BIS (-E)
Wholemeal, as in pain bis.

BISCOTIN
Sweet biscuit.

BISCOTTE
Rusk.

BISCUIT
Sponge cake, sponge mixture, lighter and drier than génoise. Used as the basis for many cakes, also for biscuit de Savoie.
Biscuit à la cuiller - sponge finger.
Biscuit glacé - ice cream with sponge and fruit and/or liqueur.

BISQUE
A thick soup based on puréed seafood, often lobster, with white wine, tomato purée and cream. Originally, game soup coloured red with crayfish.
Bisque aux légume -: puréed lentil soup plus other vegetables, with paprika.

BISTOUILLE 
Coffee laced with spirit.

BISTRO (T) 
Café, snack bar, small restaurant.
The bistro came into fashion in Paris in the 1940s. Various theories for its origin connect it with 'bistouiller' to make bad mixtures, with 'bastringue'-dance hall. And, with 'bystro-quick, supposedly shouted by hungry Russian soldiers as they made for the cafes on entering Paris in 1815.

BITOK
Minced meat or poultry cake, fried and served with sour cream, of Russian origin; also known as bifteck à la russe when of beef.

BLANC (-HE) 
White. White wine. White, of egg. Blanc (de volaille): white meat, of chicken. Au blanc: cooked to preserve whiteness or paleness (e.g. of brains, artichokes).

BLANC DE BLANC (S) 
White of white. White wine made from white grapes, but only significantly applied to Champagne (normally made from a blend of red and white grapes).

BLANCHE-NEIGE 
Snow-white. Cold chicken, fish etc, coated in a firm cream sauce.

BLANC-MANGER 
Blancmange, correctly almond milk with gelatine chilled in a mould.

BLANQUETTE
Stew of veal, lamb, chicken or seafood (previously simmered in stock, as opposed to sautéed for a fricassée), in white sauce made from cream and egg yolks.

BLÉ
Corn, wheat.
Blé noir: buckwheat, also known as sarrasin.
Blé de Turquie - maize, sweet corn, also known as maïs.

BLETTE
Swiss chard. Vegetable similar to spinach beet (bette). Cultivated for its large leaves and especially the fleshy white ribs, which are sometimes known as cardes/ côtes de blette.

BLEU (E)
Blue. Term for steak cooked very rare.
Au bleu - method of cooking trout especially, by plunging into boiling vinegar court-bouillon as soon as it is killed and gutted, resulting in a bluish tinge to the skin.
Blue-veined cheese or cheese with a bluish rind.

BLEU D'AUVERGNE 
Uncooked unpressed blue-veined cheese (AOC) in the form of a large disk with a sharp smell and flavour. Created by a 19th-century peasant. From Auvergne region. 

BLEU DE BASILLAC 
Blue sheep's milk cheese, also known as Basillac.

BLEU DE BRESSE 
Factory-made blue cheese in the shape of a small cylinder, creamy and smooth with strong flavour.

BLEUDE CORSE 
Blue sheep's milk cheese made in shepherds huts, cured in caves; the only cheese to resemble Roquefort.

BLINI
Small thick Russian pancake.

BLOND (E) 
Fair, blond. Light-coloured, pale.
Blonde- pale ale.

BOEUF
Beef.
Boeuf à la bourguignonne/boeuf bourguignon. Cooked in red wine with bacon, small onions and mushrooms, the classic dish of Bourgogne, also adopted by Paris, often just bourguignon.
À la ficelle. Tied with string, roasted, then dropped by the string into broth.
À la gardiane (Camargue) - marinated, then stewed with onions, tomatoes, garlic, olives and red wine.
Au gros sel - boiled with vegetables and sea salt.
Miroton - reheated slices with onions, mustard and broth.
À la mode - simmered in wine with vegetables and herbs, served hot, or cold in jelly.

BOIS
Wood. Au bois de chêne: smoked over oak wood.

BOISSON
Drink. Boisson sucré: soft drink.

BOÍTELLE
Poached in white wine with mushrooms of fish.

BOLET
Boletus, large family of fungi, fleshy and usually very good to eat; also known as cèpe. Main varieties also known as cèpe de Bordeaux d'étél noir, champignon polonais and tête de nègre.

BOMBE
Ice cream of two different flavours, initially made in a spherical mould.
Bombe cardinal - raspberry filled with vanilla.

BONBON
Sweet, candy.

BONDARD
Soft, creamy cheese in Normandy made by farms. With strong smell and fruity flavour; shaped like the bung (bonde') of a barrel.

BONITE
Bonito. Small oily fish similar to tuna, often sold in steaks; also known as pelamide.

À LA BORDELAISE 
In the style of Bordelais or Bordeaux.
With sauce bordelaise - sauce of shallots, red or white wine, butter, tarragon and sometimes bone marrow (e.g. entre-côteà la bordelaise).
Fish and shellfish, cooked in wine with vegetables and herbs.
Or simply cooked in wine (e.g. pêches à la bordelaise). Garnished with cèpes sautéed in oil with shallots and parsley (cèpes à la bordelaise) and potatoes.
With finely diced vegetables and sometimes ham.
Garnish of artichokes and potatoes for poultry.
Pommes (de terre) bordelaise - potatoes cooked in butter with garlic.

BORDELAIS 
The area around Bordeaux. Roughly the same as Gironde.

À LA BOUCHÈRE 
Butcher's style.
Consommé à la bouchère: clear beef broth with cabbage and bone marrow on toast. Salade bouchère: cold boiled beef with tomatoes, potatoes and hard-boiled eggs.

BOUCHERIE 
Butcher's shop. Boucherie chevaline: horsemeat butcher.

BOUCHON
Cork, of a bottle.

BOUDIN
Type of large fat sausage or savoury pudding, of two kinds.
Boudin noir - black/blood pudding, made of pig's blood and suet wrapped in an intestine, usually grilled.
Boudin blanc - white pudding, sort of large quenelle, of white pork meat, poultry or game, and fat, eggs, cream, but no blood.
Among well-known types are boudin blanc havrais, boudin de Brest, boudin de Saint- Romain, boudin de Strasbourg/Alsacien.

BOUGON
Small smooth goat's milk cheese with nutty flavour, made around Bougon.

BOUGUETTE 
Sweet pancake in Auvergne. 

BOUILLANT (-E) 
Boiling, hot. A small pastry puff filled with chicken. Served hot.

BOUILLE 
Soft creamy cheese, strong smelling and with fruity flavour; made around La Bouille, a version of Monsieur-Fromage.

BOUILLI (-E) 
Boiled. Boiled beef (boeuf bouilli) from a dish of boiled beef and broth (pot-au-feu), as opposed to the broth (bouillon). Bouillie: gruel, porridge.

BOUILLON 
Stock, broth, especially from a pot-au-feu. Soup.
Bouillon de boeuf aux quenelles de moelle (Alsace) -  broth from a pot-au-feu with bone marrow quenelles.
Bouillon de noce (Périgord) - soup of beef, calf's foot, stuffed chicken, vegetables, pasta.

BOULANGERIE 
Bakery, baker's shop.

À LA BOULANGERE 
Baker's style.
Braised of baked with onions and potatoes, of lamb, chicken, fish like cod. From the practice of bringing casseroles to the baker's oven for cooking.
Oeufs durs boulangère - hot bread rolls filled with hard-boiled eggs and onion sauce.

BOULAUD
Pastry cake with fruit.

BOULE DE LILLE
Mimolette cheese.

BOULE DE NEIGE 
Snowball. Little round sponge cake or ice cream covered in whipped cream. Name for variety of fungus (psalliote).

BOUQUET
Bouquet of flowers.
Name for prawn (crevette) and see also crevette.
Crowning piece, of decorative preparation. Bouquet; nose, of wine.

BOUQUET GARNI
Bunch of herbs, to flavour soups, stews etc.

À LA BOURBONNAISE
In the style of Bourbonnais. See chou-fleur, pâte and tarte.

BOURDAINE 
Apple dumpling with plum jam.

BOURDALOUE
Hot poached fruit with vanilla custard, crushed macaroons, apricot and kirsch sauce.
The rue Bourdaloue in Paris was known for pâtisserie, but the dish may have been named after a 17th-century preacher.

BOURGOGNE 
Burgundy, province covering the departments of Core- d'Or, Saône-et-Loire, Nievre, Yonne and parts of Ain, Rhône and Loire

À LA BOURGUIGNONNE

In the style of Bourgogne. With red wine sauce, mushrooms, small onions and sometimes bacon (e.g. boeuf bourguignonne).
Potée bourguignonne - cabbage and salt pork soup with sausage, vegetables etc, poured over slices of bread.
Omelette bourguignonne - pig's blood omelette. See also escargot, fondue, glace and matelote.

BOURRACHE 
Borage, herb, used in salads, drinks etc.

BOUZY
Village in Champagne making still red wine.

BRAISE
Charcoal.

BRAISÉ(-E) 
Braised, originally with heat above and below in glowing embers (braises).

BRASSERIE 
Brewery, beer shop Café-restaurant serving a wide range of food and drink and often open from breakfast to early morning

BRAVAUDE 
Omelette brayaude - omelette with bacon, cream, potatoes and cheese.
Pommes (de terre) brayaude - baked potatoes.

BREBIS
Ewe. Short for fromage de brebis: sheep's milk cheese.

BRÉHAN
Garnish of artichokes, cauliflower, puréed broad beans and hollandaise sauce.

À LA BRESSANE
In the style of Bresse.
Potage bressane - pumpkin soup with cubes of fried bread.
Sauce bressane - brown sauce with madeira, chicken livers and orange juice for poultry.

BRESSE
Region occupying about half the Ain department, loosely included with Bourgogne and bordering Lyonnais.

BREST
Town in Bretagne.

BRETAGNE
Brittany, province covering the departments of Ille-et-Vilaine, Côtes-du-Nord, Finistère, Morbihan and Loire-Atlantique.

À LA BRETONNE
In the style of Bretagne. With white haricot beans, especially of lamb.

BRETZEL
Pretzel biscuit.
BRIE (LAITIER) 
Cheese made by factories in Brie and other parts of France and abroad. This, together with the versions from Coulommiers and Meaux (see below) is Brie as we know it-large, flat and round, with a downy white rind and pale yellow inside, faint mushroomy smell and full flavour.

BRILLAT-SAVARIN
Gastronome, ambassador and philosopher (1755-1826), born in Belley. His name is associated with foie gras, truffles and many more products. 
Consommé Brillat-Savarin - clear soup with chicken strips, lettuce, herbs and tapioca.
Mild creamy cheese with high-fat content, invented in 1930s, now made all over France; similar to other triple-cream cheeses.

BRINDAMOUR 
Soft, herb-flavoured cheese, of goat's or sheep's milk or a mixture; also known as Fleur du Maquis.

BRIOCHE
Rich bun, made from yeast dough with eggs and butter.
Brioche dough is used for breads, cakes, and for enclosing other ingredients Brioche en couronne is a ring-shaped brioche.
Brioche tressée/tordée - twisted ring-shaped brioche.

BRIQUE DU FOREZ
Small brick-shaped (brique) goat's milk cheese, with nutty flavour made by farms in the Ambert and Monts du Forez region. Also known as Cabrion du Forez and Chevreton d'Ambert.

BROCHE
Spit.
À la broche: roasted on the spit.

BROCHETTE 
Skewer. Food grilled or fried on a skewer.
Brochettes jurassienne - cheese wrapped in ham, fried in oil.
Du Puy - ham, sweetbreads and morels.

BROCOLI
Broccoli.

BROUILLADE 
Scrambled eggs.
Brouillade aux truffes - scrambled eggs with truffles.

BROUILLÉ (-E) 
Scrambled, of eggs. Mixed.

LA BROYE/BROYO 
Maize flour and milk porridge, savoury or sweet, often made into fritters.

BRÜLE (-E)
Burnt, flamed. Roastedcoffee.

BRUN (-E)
Brown.
Sauce brune - name for sauce espagnole.
Brune - dark brown beer.

BRUT(-E)
Raw. Unsweetened, very dry, especially of Champagne.

BÜCHE
Log. Rolled-up sponge cake, Swiss roll.
Büche de Noël - Christmas log, often of puréed chestnuts and chocolate.

BUFFET
As in English, buffet meal. Refreshment room, particularly buffet (de gare): station buffet, often consisting of a large bar and quality restaurant.

À LA BUFFETIÈRE 
In the style of the buffet.

BUGNE
Sweet pastry fritter. Lyon is the capital of bugnes.

BUSSY
Pommes (de terre) Bussy - dauphine potatoes with truffles and parsley.

BUVETTE
Small bar; refreshment room; counter selling drinks and snacks.

BYRON
Pommes (de terre) Byron - potato cake covered with cream and cheese, browned.
Sauce Byron - red wine sauce with truffles.

Inspired by a dear book to me I discovered in Le Prieure Bourg Charente
The taste of France. A dictionary of French food & Wine
Published in 1982