Adding baguette to UNESCO’s list of intangible cultural heritage

The news of the bagels sent France into a meme frenzy — and members of the French delegation to UNESCO celebrated by lifting a baguette into the air as the decision was announced in Rabat, Morocco.

Baguette – which is the French president Emmanuel Macron once described “250 grams of charm and perfection” – an integral part of French culture and cooking customs, as many French people stop by bakeries daily to pick up a warm loaf before heading home for dinner.

France’s baking industry has led a years-long campaign to secure this status on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

The French Minister of Culture, Rima Abdelmalek, said the decision was “a great tribute to our artisans and these unifying places that are our bakeries.”

Olivia Gregoire, Minister for Small and Medium Enterprises, Trade and Tourism, celebrated the decision as a landmark for France and its bread industry. It honors the “French know-how of life”, our “tradition of sharing and conviviality, and above all the knowledge of our artisan bakers”, He said.

French bakeries produce about six billion baguettes annually, according to French Le Monde newspaper. But across the country, particularly in rural areas, bakeries have been disappearing over the past few decades at a rate of nearly 400 per year, leading to warnings from the industry that more must be done to protect the baguette-making know-how.

“A baguette is very few ingredients – flour, water, salt and yeast – and yet each baguette is unique, the key component each time being the skill of the baker,” said Dominique Anrac, president of the National Federation of French Bakery and Pastry. after the decision.

In August in Paris, a baguette is sometimes a full 20 minutes away

The French celebrated the decision and their love of baguettes.

Claire Denhot, 26, French-American food and travel creator, He said via email: “The baguette is such a staple of French identity, so I am really happy to know it has been added to the World Heritage List.”

I rarely eat a baguette outside of France because eating baguette without the “ritual” of walking into your local (and favorite) bakery is just like eating the baguette. “Eating a baguette is so much more than that,” said Denhot, who lives in London. “Nothing can compare to the first steal of a freshly baked baguette. It’s perfect on its own, with a greasy dollop of salted butter, sweet jam, a generous hunk of cheese…the list goes on and on.”

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Traditions, crafts and objects are recognized by UNESCO as part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity because of the “wealth of knowledge and skills passed” through them “from generation to generation”.

In this case, the file Nomination drafted by France He highlighted the fact that French bread “generates patterns of consumption and social practices that distinguish it from other types of bread, such as daily visits to bakeries to purchase loaves and specific display racks to match their tall shape”.

She added, “A baguette is consumed in many contexts, including during family meals, in restaurants, and in work and school cafeterias.”