One of the dishes that we love eating in France isparmentier de canard(duck parmentier), sometimes also calledparmentier de confit de canard,so we thought it would be fun to find out why it’s called “parmentier”. Turns out that it’s a really interesting story.
The word “parmentier” is used to describe any dish prepared with potatoes.
A number of French potato dishes are called “parmentier”. For example,Hachis Parmentier, which is similar to shepherd’s pie made of beef with a mashed potato crust, andPotage Parmentier, which ispotato and leek soup. Many dishes served in France also come with some version of potatoes, often in the “parmentier” style. I think our favorite is stillParmentier de Canard.
These dishes are named for Antoine-Augustin Parmentier (1737-1813), a French pharmacist and agronomist who spent his adult life promoting the potato.
It’s hard to imagine these days that the potato wasn’t always well-known and popular: in fact, it was feared in many countries, including France. The Spanish brought the tubers to Europe in the mid-1500s from South America. Potatoes were domesticated in the South American Andes around 8,000 years ago and are a staple there. The French in particular did not take to this new food, saying it was only fit for pigs and believing that it caused leprosy. The French parliament actually banned potatoes in 1748.
Luckily for French cuisine as we know it today, along came Antoine-Augustin Parmentier, and the story of why he so passionately promoted the potato is quite entertaining. He was the army pharmacist under Louis XV and began his career during the Seven Years War, a global conflict that lasted from 1754-1763 (note: I need to find out why it’s called the Seven Years War when it lasted nine years). It involved most of the European great powers and was fought in Europe, as well as the Americas and Asia-Pacific.
Parmentier was a prisoner-of-war of the Prussians. During his imprisonment he was forced to eat only a mash made from a tuber called a “potato”, at which time he discovered the food’s nutritional value—and he did not get leprosy.
After his release he spent the rest of his life promoting potatoes as a food in France.
In 1772 the French government repealed the potato ban because of his work. He also won an award in 1773 for his research proving that potatoes were a good source of nutrition for people with dysentery. The ordinary French person still wasn’t convinced, so he started holding publicity stunts that included potatoes and lavish dinners. He invited the most famous and influential people of the time, including Benjamin Franklin. One of these dishes, a simple cubed potato dish, roasted with garlic, herbs and oil, became a favorite of the French. It became known as “parmentier potatoes”, a name that is now used around the world
Parmentier also was given a plot of land where he grew potatoes. He hired heavily-armed guards to guard his crops, the thinking being that when people saw the guards they would think it was something valuable and worth stealing. He even instructed the guards to accept bribes to allow the potatoes to be stolen. The tactics worked and potatoes started to become more popular. Leading up to the French revolution, potatoes were used to help fight famine, especially in northern France, and in 1794 Madame Merigot published a potato cookbook, and from then on potatoes became widely accepted.
And the rest, as they say, is history. French cuisine uses potatoes a lot, in many different ways, these days. And of course, potatoes are (almost) the staple food in many countries, such as Germany, Poland, UK, Ireland, and Russia.
About viviennemackie
Avid traveler, travel writer and photographer. In an earlier life I was a psychologist, but now am an ESL teacher. Very interested in multiculturalism, and how travel can expand one's horizons, understanding and tolerance.
