The humble baguette 鈥� the crunchy ambassador for French baking around the world 鈥� is being added to the U.N.鈥檚 list of intangible cultural heritage as a cherished tradition to be preserved by humanity.
UNESCO experts gathering in Morocco this week decided that the simple French flute 鈥� made only of flour, water, salt, and yeast 鈥� deserved United Nations recognition, after France鈥檚 culture ministry warned of a 鈥渃ontinuous decline鈥� in the number of traditional bakeries, with some 400 closing every year over the past half-century.
The U.N. cultural agency鈥檚 chief, Audrey Azoulay, said the decision honors more than just bread; it recognizes the 鈥渟avoir-faire of artisanal bakers鈥� and 鈥渁 daily ritual.鈥�
鈥淚t is important that such craft knowledge and social practices can continue to exist in the future,鈥� added Azoulay, a former French culture minister.
The agency defines intangible cultural heritage as 鈥渢raditions or living expressions inherited from our ancestors and passed on to our descendants.鈥�
With the bread鈥檚 new status, the French government said it planned to create an artisanal baguette day, called the 鈥淥pen Bakehouse Day,鈥� to connect the French better with their heritage.
Back in France, bakers seemed proud, if unsurprised.
鈥淥f course, it should be on the list because the baguette symbolizes the world. It鈥檚 universal,鈥� said Asma Farhat, baker at Julien鈥檚 Bakery near Paris鈥� Champs-Elysees avenue.
鈥淚f there鈥檚 no baguette, you can鈥檛 have a proper meal. In the morning you can toast it, for lunch it鈥檚 a sandwich, and then it accompanies dinner.鈥�
Although it seems like the quintessential French product, the baguette was said to have been invented by Vienna-born baker August Zang in 1839. Zang put in place France鈥檚 steam oven, making it possible to produce bread with a brittle crust yet fluffy interior.
The product鈥檚 zenith did not come until the 1920s, with the advent of a French law preventing bakers from working before 4 a.m. The baguette鈥檚 long, thin shape meant it could be made more quickly than its stodgy cousins, so it was the only bread that bakers could make in time for breakfast.
Despite the decline in traditional bakery numbers today, France鈥檚 67 million people still remain voracious baguette consumers 鈥� purchased at a variety of sales points, including in supermarkets. The problem is, observers say, that they can often be poor in quality.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very easy to get bad baguette in France. It鈥檚 the traditional baguette from the traditional bakery that鈥檚 in danger. It鈥檚 about quality not quantity,鈥� said one Paris resident, Marine Fourchier, 52.
In January, French supermarket chain Leclerc was criticized by traditional bakers and farmers for its much publicized 29-cent baguette, accused of sacrificing the quality of the famed 65-centimeter (26-inch) loaf. A baguette normally costs just over 90 euro cents (just over $1), seen by some as an index on the health of the French economy.
The baguette is indeed serious business. France鈥檚 鈥淏read Observatory鈥� 鈥� a venerable institution that closely follows the fortunes of the flute 鈥� notes that the French munch through 320 baguettes of one form or another every second. That鈥檚 an average of half a baguette per person per day, and 10 billion every year.
The 鈥渁rtisanal know-how and culture of baguette bread鈥� was inscribed at the Morocco meeting among other global cultural heritage items, including Japan鈥檚 Furyu-odori ritual dances, and Cuba鈥檚 light rum masters.
鈥擳homas Adamson, The Associated Press
