French Baguette Gets UNESCO Recognition
2022-12-03
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1UNESCO, the cultural organization of the United Nations, voted this week to recognize the importance of the French baguette.
2The international experts gathered in Morocco to discuss the French bread and other subjects, including a traditional Japanese dance and the drink called rum from Cuba.
3The baguette is a long, narrow tube-shaped bread.
4It is made of simple ingredients: water, flour, yeast and salt.
5It dates back a few hundred years in its early form.
6But, the baguette grew wildly popular during the 1920s and became a staple in French kitchens.
7However, France's cultural agency has warned that the country's bread making tradition is failing.
8About 400 bakeries have closed every year since 1972, the agency reported.
9At the start of 2022, French bakers and farmers criticized Leclerc, a large food store group, for making low-cost, low quality bread.
10They said the store's bread, which cost just 30 cents, was not as good as the bread from traditional bakeries where it costs about a dollar.
11Marine Fourchier lives in Paris.
12She said it is easy now to get a bad baguette in the city.
13"It's the traditional baguette from the traditional bakery that's in danger. It's about quality not quantity," she said.
14Audrey Azoulay leads UNESCO and formerly served as France's culture minister.
15She said buying and eating baguettes is a "daily ritual" in France.
16Ten billion are sold in the country each year.
17"It is important that such craft knowledge and social practices can continue to exist in the future," she continued.
18The French government will start a yearly baguette event, called "Open Bakehouse Day" to expand public understanding of the bread making tradition.
19Asma Farhat is a baker at Julien's Bakery near the Champs-Elysee in Paris.
20She said "you can't have a proper meal" without a baguette.
21In addition to the rum, the Japanese dance and the bread, UNESCO honored many more traditions in places including Hungary, Greece, Guatemala and South Korea.
22I'm Dan Friedell.
1UNESCO, the cultural organization of the United Nations, voted this week to recognize the importance of the French baguette. 2The international experts gathered in Morocco to discuss the French bread and other subjects, including a traditional Japanese dance and the drink called rum from Cuba. 3The baguette is a long, narrow tube-shaped bread. It is made of simple ingredients: water, flour, yeast and salt. It dates back a few hundred years in its early form. But, the baguette grew wildly popular during the 1920s and became a staple in French kitchens. 4However, France's cultural agency has warned that the country's bread making tradition is failing. About 400 bakeries have closed every year since 1972, the agency reported. 5At the start of 2022, French bakers and farmers criticized Leclerc, a large food store group, for making low-cost, low quality bread. 6They said the store's bread, which cost just 30 cents, was not as good as the bread from traditional bakeries where it costs about a dollar. 7Marine Fourchier lives in Paris. She said it is easy now to get a bad baguette in the city. 8"It's the traditional baguette from the traditional bakery that's in danger. It's about quality not quantity," she said. 9Audrey Azoulay leads UNESCO and formerly served as France's culture minister. She said buying and eating baguettes is a "daily ritual" in France. Ten billion are sold in the country each year. 10"It is important that such craft knowledge and social practices can continue to exist in the future," she continued. 11The French government will start a yearly baguette event, called "Open Bakehouse Day" to expand public understanding of the bread making tradition. 12Asma Farhat is a baker at Julien's Bakery near the Champs-Elysee in Paris. She said "you can't have a proper meal" without a baguette. 13In addition to the rum, the Japanese dance and the bread, UNESCO honored many more traditions in places including Hungary, Greece, Guatemala and South Korea. 14I'm Dan Friedell. 15Dan Friedell adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on a report by the Associated Press. 16__________________________________________________________________ 17Words in This Story 18ingredient - n. one of the things used to make a food product 19staple - n. an important food eaten often 20ritual - n. an activity that happens daily or regularly 21practice - n. something done often, or a usual custom 22proper - adj. correct or following traditional standards 23_________________________________________________________________ 24We want to hear from you. What is something from your country that should be honored by UNESCO? 25We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 26Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.