{"id":21901,"date":"2015-04-15T13:57:24","date_gmt":"2015-04-15T11:57:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/?p=21901"},"modified":"2015-04-16T17:57:02","modified_gmt":"2015-04-16T15:57:02","slug":"21901","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/french\/21901\/","title":{"rendered":"Just Add Water – Le Pastis"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Photo<\/a>

Photo by cyclonebill<\/a> on Flickr.<\/p><\/div>\n

Au Sud de la France<\/strong> (In the South of France) there is a famous drink that isn\u2019t wine. It often brings up thoughts of the Mediterranean sun for les Fran\u00e7ais<\/strong>. C\u2019est le pastis<\/strong>! Un ap\u00e9ritif \u00e0 base de r\u00e9glisse parfum\u00e9 \u00e0 l\u2019anis<\/strong> (an anise flavored licorice based ap\u00e9ratif<\/em>, or pre-dinner drink).<\/p>\n

The name pastis<\/em> vient d’un mot proven\u00e7al<\/strong> (comes from a proven\u00e7al<\/em> word), and means mixture<\/em>. En fait, il faut ajouter de l\u2019eau<\/strong> (in fact, you have to add water) to le pastis<\/strong> if you want to create the potent mixture.<\/p>\n

When I first tried la boisson alcoolis\u00e9e<\/strong> (the alcoholic drink) I knew to regarder dans les yeux<\/strong><\/a> (look into the eyes) when toasting, but I still had a lot to learn about le pastis<\/strong>. Not knowing that you have to ajouter de l’eau<\/strong> (add water), I poured myself du pastis sans eau <\/strong>(without water) and after one sip I had to spit it out.<\/p>\n

The strong taste was too much for mes papilles<\/strong> (my taste buds). I went in to try another sip, thinking it\u2019s just une question d\u2019habitude<\/strong> (a matter of habit). Malheureusement, ce n\u2019\u00e9tait pas le cas<\/strong> (unfortunately, that wasn\u2019t the case). Je pensais que le pastis n\u2019\u00e9tait pas mon truc <\/strong>(I thought that pastis wasn\u2019t my thing).<\/p>\n

Then one day mes amis fran\u00e7ais m\u2019ont invit\u00e9 au bar<\/strong> (my French friends invited me out to a bar) and asked me a question:<\/p>\n

\u201cJohn, tu veux du pastis?\u201d<\/strong>
\nJohn, do you want some pastis?<\/em><\/p>\n

I quickly told them mon histoire d\u2019\u00e9pouvante<\/strong> (my horror story), which was met with a round of laughter. Mon ami<\/strong> looked at me and said:<\/p>\n

\u201cIl faut ajouter de l\u2019eau!\u201d<\/strong>
\nYou have to add water!<\/em><\/p>\n

I was still sceptic, but I wanted to go in with an open mind. Surprisingly, il m\u2019a plu<\/strong> (I liked it)!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

Au Sud de la France (In the South of France) there is a famous drink that isn\u2019t wine. It often brings up thoughts of the Mediterranean sun for les Fran\u00e7ais. C\u2019est le pastis! Un ap\u00e9ritif \u00e0 base de r\u00e9glisse parfum\u00e9 \u00e0 l\u2019anis (an anise flavored licorice based ap\u00e9ratif, or pre-dinner drink). The name pastis vient…<\/p>\n

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