The French baguette, one of the country’s most abiding images, was given world heritage status by UNESCO, the organisation announced.
This “celebrates the French way of life: the baguette is a daily ritual, a structuring element of the meal, synonymous with sharing and conviviality,” said UNESCO chief Audrey Azoulay.
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“It is important that these skills and social habits continue to exist in the future,” the chief added.
The baguette, a fluffy, elongated loaf of bread with a crunchy crust, is a symbol of France around the world and has been a central part of the French diet for at least 100 years.
Although baguette consumption has declined over the last decades, France still makes around 16 million of the loaves per day – that’s nearly 6 billion baguettes a year – according to a 2019 Fiducial estimate.
Made only with flour, water, salt and yeast, baguette dough must rest 15 to 20 hours at a temperature between 4 and 6 degrees Celsius, according to the French Bakers Confederation, which fights to protect its market from industrial bakeries.
