14 French Specialties That The Rest Of The World Will Never Understand

And we're not talking fries here.

1. Boudin noir with apples:

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This dish involves sausages made from pig's blood, cooked with apple slices on the side.

2. Croque Madame sandwiches:

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A fancy AF version of a seemingly simple ham and cheese sandwich (which would be a Croque Monsieur), topped with an egg. It's more than a thing — it's the national lunch.

3. Mussels with white wine:

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The French love to eat mussels in all kinds of ways, but doing them up with white wine, shallots, and a little bit of parsley is the MVP option.

4. Andouillette sausage:

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This kind of sausage, made with a pig's large intestine, won't look appetizing at first glance — but it's insanely good.

5. Crepes:

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Crepes are on this list because you won't understand their delicious perfection until you've actually had one. Fact: every time someone makes a pancake and calls it a crepe, a French person screams.

6. Aligot:

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Mashed potatoes mixed together with delicious melted cheese, butter, and a little bit of garlic. It's one very compelling idea of heaven.

7. Foie gras:

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Many French people are passionate about foie gras, which served either with bread or accompanied with fig jam or onion confit. If we said it was fattened duck liver, would you still try it?

8. Tripes à la mode de Caen:

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A classic staple from the cuisine of Normandy, France: chunks of cow stomach served along with the hoof.

9. Snails:

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TBH French people don't eat them that often, but with a little butter and parsley, these are freakin' delicious.

10. Oysters:

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They're gray, questionably slimy and cause you to make weird noises when you slurp them down — but ohhhhh man, are they worth it.

11. Roquefort:

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A nice, runny sheep milk cheese all covered in mold, just the way we like it.

12. Chocolate eclairs:

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This one doesn't need as much of an explanation: pastry, cream, and fantastic icing speak for themselves.

13. Canelés:

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These cakes might look like buttholes, but doesn't that make them even better?

14. And of course, sliced bread with butter & cocoa:

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The inexplicably simple recipe to make a French person happy: bread, butter and cocoa powder sprinkled on top. Literally, that's it!

This post was translated from French.