What kind of foods came from France?

Answer 1

It's difficult to say without stating your country, so I'll stick to generics.

• French bread, like the baguette. Traditional sourdough breads like the excellent pain Poilâne are more rarely seen, but are exported by plane daily to the USA.
• French cheese are also world famous, although some countries restrict the importation to cheese made from pasteurized milk, not raw milk. There are about 500 different cheese in France. The small dry goat cheese called crottin can be found most of everywhere in farmers markets.
• Other dairy favorites are fromage blanc and yogurt. The two main USA brands Dannon and Yoplait are or were French (Danone in France). Yogurt is not originally a French food, but it migrated to most other countries from France, not from Bulgaria or other traditional sources.
• French wine from Burgundy or Bordeaux is world famous, wine from other French regions are less known, apart from Champagne. Alsatian white wines are rarely imported now that the Northwest wineries in the USA are planted in Riesling and Gewurztraminer in great quantity, providing a local equivalent of great quality.
• As for liquors, cognac is the most famous. Brandy is a mix of liquor and sugar water and does not exist in France. Pernod is the only anis liquor sold in the USA, the Pastis and Ricard brands don't seem to exist there.
• Some endemic food, like the Perigord's black truffle, which grows in the South West of France.
• French fries also come from France, they are much thinner than the British version in fish and chips.
• Croissants (meaning "crescent" in English) can be found all over the world and are a favorite for breakfast. The supermarket version only shares the shape with the buttery flaky croissant, none of the taste.
• Talking about breakfast, French roast coffee is a dark roasted coffee used for breakfast in drip machines, or after lunch in an espresso.
• Very few French dishes made it outside France, as the meat cuts usually don't match, or dishes in heavy sauce are not too popular these days. A couple of cheese dishes like fondue and raclette may be known but are rather expensive, as they require large quantities of imported cheese. The quiche is a great tart of bacon, eggs, milk and, you guessed it, cheese.

Some French food that did not make it outside France:

• All the regional liquors, such as Muscat, Gentiane, or spirits like fruit eau-de-vie, armagnac, calvados.
• Syrups are not used at all in the USA, or are used only to flavor coffee.

  Popular syrups are mint, orgeat, grenadine, cassis, mostly fruit syrups. They are usually mixed with cold water to make a refreshing drink, instead of the American pop fizzy drinks.

• The tradition of the "apéritif", which is an appetizer alcoholic drink with some snacks before the actual meal's first course. Actually, the whole English menu seems to have shifted in translation, as "appetizer" is not "apéritif" but what French call "entrée" (literally "entry", first course), and "entree" is not the "entrée" but usually the main dish.
• Tons of delicious pastries and desserts alone make the trip to France worth it! Try a quetsche plum or blueberry fruit tart.
• A great choice of sweets too, you may have heard of nougat and câlissons.
• The French use a large variety of meat animals that can't be found in most of the supermarket chains, such as rabbit, Guinea fowl, duck whole or detailed, quail (used less frequently but present in French supermarkets), young turkey, veal, lamb (both in many different cuts).
• The French "hypermarchés" (large supermarkets) are famous for their large selection of fish and seafood, which are always fresh thanks to the sheer number of consumers favoring these foods. It is sold in bulk, not packaged, so it looks more like what you would find at a fish market. I never buy mussels or clams or oysters in the USA because it always looks like I'd be the only buyer for them this year.
• A lot of vegs and salads are either missing or plain expensive. For instance, one of the most basic and delicious vegs, leaks, are luxury items.
• Many regional dishes, such as cassoulet, choucroute, pot-au-feu, daube, potée, aïoli, bouillabaisse, or imported recipes such as brandade, couscous.
• Many cured meats, such as saucisson, smoked sausages, boudin, andouille, andouillette, cured or smoked ham, pâté and rillettes, tripes, headcheese.
• The thin crèpes are totally different from pancakes, and the savory stuffed buckwheat crèpes ("galettes") from Brittany are to die for!