Santé! The Tradition of Apéritif in France
Aug 31st, 2010 | By Sarah | Category: English
In France, when people get together with friends for a meal, they traditionally start with an apéritif (they also call it “apéro”). It consists of (mostly alcoholic) drinks, in order to open one’s appetite for the rest of the meal. They are served with some nibbles: either small-sized food (olives, crisps, peanuts…), or small pieces of bigger dishes (pieces of cheese, slices of savory “cakes” or of quiche…). No apéritif is like another – hosts use their imagination, as long as they share the food and have a good time together.
The apéritif is also an occasion of seeing one’s friends or family even if there is not much time. Instead of inviting people for dinner, which requires a lot of work from the host and lasts several hours, more and more people decide to go and see their friends for apéritif – it only lasts about an hour, is cheaper, and does not require so much preparation. Most of the time, when one is invited for apéritif, it is a good idea to bring a bottle of alcohol or something to eat.
The French like apéritif so much that some even have it when they do not have any guests. And this idea of eating different kinds of food in small quantities was so successful that more and more people organize « apéritifs dînatoires » – instead of cooking one single dish, the meal consists of a large number of small sweet and savory dishes, which can generally be eaten with one’s fingers. In that case too, it involves less fuss than a proper meal, and guests can easily bring something to eat or drink.
If you decide to invite your friends for apéritif, here are a few ideas to make sure you don’t forget anything:
- Drinks: liquors, whiskeys, martini, alcoholic drinks to mix with juice, beer, cider, kir, fruit juice, water, and why not, ingredients to prepare cocktails
- Pistachios, crisps, peanuts, olives, savory apéritif biscuits…
- Cheese, delicatessen…
- Toasts (small slices of bread with pâté, hummus, tapenade spreads or smoked salmon…)
- Ham and fromage frais rolls (spread some fromage frais on a slice of ham, roll it, cut it into small portions, and maintain together with toothpicks)
- Bacon-prune rolls (roll small slices of bacon around a pitted prune, leave in the oven for a few minutes)
- Savory « cakes » cut into small pieces
- Quiches and savory pies cut into small pieces
- Verrines (small glasses filled with salmon, prawns, avocado…)
- Small fruit salads
- Various cakes cut into small pieces
- Biscuits
Bon appétit 
