UNESCO protection goes to the French baguette

Freshly baked news: The baguette, a long, crusty bread that is a delicious staple of French life, has been given special protected status and has entered the culinary pantheon alongside other regional delicacies around the world. is placed in

“The craftsmanship and culture of the baguette” is now officially recognized on UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list, the organization announced Wednesday, highlighting the expertise behind French bread as an integral part of human culture. I have written

UNESCO, the cultural agency of the United Nations, defines intangible cultural heritage as “traditions or living expressions passed down from ancestors and passed down to descendants”.

The baguette joins other food and culinary cultures on UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, including Neapolitan pizza, kimchi, Belgian beer culture, the “Mediterranean diet” and Arabic coffee making.

US sites such as the Statue of Liberty, Yellowstone National Park, and Independence Hall in Philadelphia have been recognized as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO, but are currently on the organization’s Intangible Cultural Heritage List from the United States. there is no.

tradition and craftsmanship

UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay told CNN that the baguette’s protected status honors “tradition” and “craftsmanship”, and that “artisan baking” is “passed down to the next generation.” I guarantee that it will be possible.

“It’s kind of a way of life,” Azoulay said. “There is always a boulangerie nearby. You can go buy fresh bread at a reasonable price and meet people and bakers. This is a very important part of social cohesion. .”

Azoulay said it took France six years to gather all the necessary documents before submitting the request to UNESCO.

“This will make people realize that this regular baguette they know so well is something precious,” she said. , it is important to make the public aware of this and be proud of it.”

French boulangeries usually sell different types of baguettes, but the best are baguette de tradition or simply tradition. These can be made with only four ingredients: flour, water, salt, yeast or leaven and must be baked on the spot.

According to the Observatoire du Pain, a research group that tracks bread consumption habits and trends in France, the average daily consumption of bread by adults has increased from 143 g/day (5 oz/day) in 2003 to 103 g/day. 3.6 The rise of supermarket chains selling bread has been blamed for the closure of hundreds of family-run bakeries.