If I want to be clear that I mean nuts rather than fruits sec in the broader sense I would say fruits à coque.
British recipes all use raisins. It completely puzzled me and my Kiwi friend Megan when we lived in London why you would use raisins when you could use sultanas, which are so much nicer. In France the frustrating thing is the midget bags sultanas come in. I’m used to being able to buy them in 1 kg bags, but the biggest here is 500 g. To make a decent fruitcake you need lots of sultanas, and my family recipe includes candied stem ginger in syrup, another product you can’t get in France.
There is no tradition of fruitcake in France like there is in the British anglo world, but I am pleased to note that my French friends all love it once I introduce them to it (as do most Americans, who also don’t have a tradition of heavy fruitcakes). My French plumber quizzed me as to how it was made and what spices I used and was clearly a fan.
Rosemary Kneipp
December 7th, 2013 at 7:06 pm
Ah, I hadn’t thought of fruits à coque and neither did JM when I asked him.
I have had the same experience with my fruit cake. All the French people I know love it! The thing they call “cake” in French is not even remotely like it, is it? I was able to buy a one kilo bag of currants at G. Detou and was surprised it only cost 5.50 euro. I can buy some for you next time I’m in Paris if you like.
Hello! Very interesting post indeed…
“Now, that’s a word that doesn’t exist in French – nuts.”
nut is noix ! Well…. for nuts that’s another story as a nuts is (fou, cinglé….) 🙂
une noix can be
– a fruit (walnut)
– a small quantity (une noix de beurre = a knob of butter)
– a specific piece of meat (une noix de boeuf = a beef cushion)
As a fruit ( as seed as a matter of fact) a nut it is what you call a walnut (walnut nut), other nuts are noisette (hazel nut), noix de cajou (cashew nut), cacahuète (peanut nut) so I can’t see much difference, in English the type of nut is specified too, and it has to be as they are very different fruits. It’s only the way we built nouns that hides the similarity sometimes…
It’a s very interesting point you are raising… To a frenchman it’s not usual to name a tree (walnut) and its fruit (walnut) with the same name… Or to built the name of the fruit by “merging” the tree’s name with “nut” (hazel, hazelnut / french noisetier/noisette)
You can find most of these in any supermarket but probably in small packages…
And yes Susan is right they are more ‘fruits à coque’ than ‘fruits secs’ that will include many other fruits (apricot, figs, apple, etc.)
Rosemary Kneipp
December 7th, 2013 at 7:11 pm
Hello Ago and thank you for stopping by and commenting. Yes, noix = walnut, but not “nut”. If an English speaker says “I would like some nuts”, they are not necessarily referring to walnuts at all. They could mean hazel nuts, macadamias, peanuts, pecans, walnuts, mixed nuts or whatever. What I’m trying to say is that “nut” is a generic term for “noix à coque” as Susan suggests.
that’s the same in France… We are talking about 2 different things here.
– If you look for the translation of nuts the rigorous translation would be ‘fruits à coque’
– but like in the UK (and probably because of the english word nuts) you can ask for “assortiment de noix” or “mélange de noix” in France and get assorted/mixed nuts… I cannot remember seing a pack of nuts labeled “nuts” in the UK it always said “mixed nuts” or “assorted nuts”, but that is only my experience…
While at that, do you know that a mix of nuts and dried fruits is often called in France “un mendiant” (a beggar)
Rosemary Kneipp
December 8th, 2013 at 6:35 pm
I didn’t know about “mendiant”. Thank you. However, I continue to maintain that the word “nut” in English does not correspond to a walnut. You wouldn’t say to someone in French – “est-ce que vous voulez des noix” if you intended to give them hazelnuts, but you would in English. In the UK, you would never have a packet called “nuts”, only “mixed nuts”.
Yes Rosemary I agree with you.
I was just pointing to the fact that “noix” as an equivalent to “nuts” is used in french in expressions like “mélange de noix” (and not “mélange de fruits à coque”) probably because of an “adjustment” to what already exists in english. Languages take from each other often…
So despite “une noix” translates to “a walnut”, “mélange de noix” does NOT tranlate to “mixed walnuts” but to “mixed nuts”
Also, and please don’t take that badly, a typical frenchman will ask you “why do you ask me if I want some nuts, when I fact you offer me hazelnuts only?”
Culture is more than a language it’s also a thinking process behind it… That weird question above is not weird to a frenchman. And I’m sure you know that bit is the most difficult to grasp for all of us!
Yes Susan… I was talking about a ‘plateau mendiant’, there are lots of “cakes” called mendiants. All this is coming from an old tradition from Provence I think… http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mendiant
Jane Orson
December 7th, 2013 at 9:24 am
Thanks for this, as I am truly allergic to nuts and have to be careful what I eat! I assume I would say I am ‘tres allergique’? Also I would respectfully say that Susan Walter’s comment that ‘British recipes all use raisins,’ isn’t true at all as recipes would include sultanas, raisins, currents and mixed peel. (Can you get that in France?)
Jane: to clarify — yes if the recipe is for fruitcake then a British recipe will specify a variety of dried fruit, just like an Australian recipe would, but it is very noticeable to an Australian arriving in the UK that raisins dominate, whereas in Australia it is sultanas. Where British cake recipes (and I’m not just talking fruitcake here, but across the board) tend to call for raisins, the equivalent Australian recipe would call for sultanas.
Rosemary Kneipp
December 7th, 2013 at 7:23 pm
Hi Jane, yes you would say “je suis très allergique aux noix à coques”. I saw a mixture of sultanas, raisins and currants on the market in Blois today, but that is the first time ever. They are in bulk. I’ve never seen packets such as we have in Australia. I will let Susan answer your other question.
Jane: I don’t think you can get mixed peel here. I’ve never been very keen on commercial mixed peel and always make my own, so I’ve not really looked for it here. You can get candied peel, but it is small packets of just lemon or just orange.
butcherbird
December 11th, 2013 at 1:31 am
Yes I love to make different fruit cakes – the problem is that when you make a few in the Christmas season people ask me for recipes – how do you tell the difference sometimes! I make a note now of a different shape or nuts in the top part of the cake so that I can see to tell the difference. On another Christmas cake note: I noticed last year that the mixed fruit and nuts, cherries, figs etc did not come on sale before Christmas so when some of them were half price later in the year, and the expiry date was extending past December I bought my supplies. I have many friends and family who hang out for my cakes and I’m always needing more than jsut a few kilos of fruit. My cakes can be quite expensive at the regular price!
Rosemary Kneipp
December 11th, 2013 at 10:35 am
Good thinking Butcherbird! The fruit can add up very quickly. Mine is a very expensive cake this year because I ended up buying in very select stores. Like you, I’ll be shopping earlier next year.
[…] generic is used in English with something tagged on to describe the individual species. Remember nuts? I then asked what the difference was between a biche and a chevreuil. “The biche is much […]
If I want to be clear that I mean nuts rather than fruits sec in the broader sense I would say fruits à coque.
British recipes all use raisins. It completely puzzled me and my Kiwi friend Megan when we lived in London why you would use raisins when you could use sultanas, which are so much nicer. In France the frustrating thing is the midget bags sultanas come in. I’m used to being able to buy them in 1 kg bags, but the biggest here is 500 g. To make a decent fruitcake you need lots of sultanas, and my family recipe includes candied stem ginger in syrup, another product you can’t get in France.
There is no tradition of fruitcake in France like there is in the British anglo world, but I am pleased to note that my French friends all love it once I introduce them to it (as do most Americans, who also don’t have a tradition of heavy fruitcakes). My French plumber quizzed me as to how it was made and what spices I used and was clearly a fan.
Ah, I hadn’t thought of fruits à coque and neither did JM when I asked him.
I have had the same experience with my fruit cake. All the French people I know love it! The thing they call “cake” in French is not even remotely like it, is it? I was able to buy a one kilo bag of currants at G. Detou and was surprised it only cost 5.50 euro. I can buy some for you next time I’m in Paris if you like.
Thanks Rosemary, that’s a kind thought, but I probably don’t need a kilo of currants. If they were sultanas I’d definitely have a couple of packets.
Hello! Very interesting post indeed…
“Now, that’s a word that doesn’t exist in French – nuts.”
nut is noix ! Well…. for nuts that’s another story as a nuts is (fou, cinglé….) 🙂
une noix can be
– a fruit (walnut)
– a small quantity (une noix de beurre = a knob of butter)
– a specific piece of meat (une noix de boeuf = a beef cushion)
As a fruit ( as seed as a matter of fact) a nut it is what you call a walnut (walnut nut), other nuts are noisette (hazel nut), noix de cajou (cashew nut), cacahuète (peanut nut) so I can’t see much difference, in English the type of nut is specified too, and it has to be as they are very different fruits. It’s only the way we built nouns that hides the similarity sometimes…
It’a s very interesting point you are raising… To a frenchman it’s not usual to name a tree (walnut) and its fruit (walnut) with the same name… Or to built the name of the fruit by “merging” the tree’s name with “nut” (hazel, hazelnut / french noisetier/noisette)
You can find most of these in any supermarket but probably in small packages…
And yes Susan is right they are more ‘fruits à coque’ than ‘fruits secs’ that will include many other fruits (apricot, figs, apple, etc.)
Hello Ago and thank you for stopping by and commenting. Yes, noix = walnut, but not “nut”. If an English speaker says “I would like some nuts”, they are not necessarily referring to walnuts at all. They could mean hazel nuts, macadamias, peanuts, pecans, walnuts, mixed nuts or whatever. What I’m trying to say is that “nut” is a generic term for “noix à coque” as Susan suggests.
that’s the same in France… We are talking about 2 different things here.
– If you look for the translation of nuts the rigorous translation would be ‘fruits à coque’
– but like in the UK (and probably because of the english word nuts) you can ask for “assortiment de noix” or “mélange de noix” in France and get assorted/mixed nuts… I cannot remember seing a pack of nuts labeled “nuts” in the UK it always said “mixed nuts” or “assorted nuts”, but that is only my experience…
mélange de noix
http://www.webshop-casse-noix.com/detail/287909-110-melange-9-noix-sale
the fact that you ask for mélange will make your request unambiguous, and you won’t be given walnuts….
While at that, do you know that a mix of nuts and dried fruits is often called in France “un mendiant” (a beggar)
I didn’t know about “mendiant”. Thank you. However, I continue to maintain that the word “nut” in English does not correspond to a walnut. You wouldn’t say to someone in French – “est-ce que vous voulez des noix” if you intended to give them hazelnuts, but you would in English. In the UK, you would never have a packet called “nuts”, only “mixed nuts”.
Yes Rosemary I agree with you.
I was just pointing to the fact that “noix” as an equivalent to “nuts” is used in french in expressions like “mélange de noix” (and not “mélange de fruits à coque”) probably because of an “adjustment” to what already exists in english. Languages take from each other often…
So despite “une noix” translates to “a walnut”, “mélange de noix” does NOT tranlate to “mixed walnuts” but to “mixed nuts”
Also, and please don’t take that badly, a typical frenchman will ask you “why do you ask me if I want some nuts, when I fact you offer me hazelnuts only?”
Culture is more than a language it’s also a thinking process behind it… That weird question above is not weird to a frenchman. And I’m sure you know that bit is the most difficult to grasp for all of us!
Mendiants in this context is new to me too.
I know mendiants as discs of chocolate with nuts and dried fruit embedded in them. The origin is no doubt the same.
Yes Susan… I was talking about a ‘plateau mendiant’, there are lots of “cakes” called mendiants. All this is coming from an old tradition from Provence I think…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mendiant
Thanks for this, as I am truly allergic to nuts and have to be careful what I eat! I assume I would say I am ‘tres allergique’? Also I would respectfully say that Susan Walter’s comment that ‘British recipes all use raisins,’ isn’t true at all as recipes would include sultanas, raisins, currents and mixed peel. (Can you get that in France?)
Jane: to clarify — yes if the recipe is for fruitcake then a British recipe will specify a variety of dried fruit, just like an Australian recipe would, but it is very noticeable to an Australian arriving in the UK that raisins dominate, whereas in Australia it is sultanas. Where British cake recipes (and I’m not just talking fruitcake here, but across the board) tend to call for raisins, the equivalent Australian recipe would call for sultanas.
Hi Jane, yes you would say “je suis très allergique aux noix à coques”. I saw a mixture of sultanas, raisins and currants on the market in Blois today, but that is the first time ever. They are in bulk. I’ve never seen packets such as we have in Australia. I will let Susan answer your other question.
Jane: I don’t think you can get mixed peel here. I’ve never been very keen on commercial mixed peel and always make my own, so I’ve not really looked for it here. You can get candied peel, but it is small packets of just lemon or just orange.
Yes I love to make different fruit cakes – the problem is that when you make a few in the Christmas season people ask me for recipes – how do you tell the difference sometimes! I make a note now of a different shape or nuts in the top part of the cake so that I can see to tell the difference. On another Christmas cake note: I noticed last year that the mixed fruit and nuts, cherries, figs etc did not come on sale before Christmas so when some of them were half price later in the year, and the expiry date was extending past December I bought my supplies. I have many friends and family who hang out for my cakes and I’m always needing more than jsut a few kilos of fruit. My cakes can be quite expensive at the regular price!
Good thinking Butcherbird! The fruit can add up very quickly. Mine is a very expensive cake this year because I ended up buying in very select stores. Like you, I’ll be shopping earlier next year.
[…] generic is used in English with something tagged on to describe the individual species. Remember nuts? I then asked what the difference was between a biche and a chevreuil. “The biche is much […]