What is goûter? Definition: Goûter v. to taste, n. a light meal in the afternoon.
Goûter is an institution in France without a real equivalent in British culture. It’s tea-time, almost religiously eaten at 4.30 pm, almost exclusively by children as they come out of school, consisting solely of sweet treats.
My first experience of goûter was as an 10 year old on a French exchange for a month at school in Vernon near Paris. Most of that exchange was horrendous but it introduced me to the delights of squares of chocolate in a chunk of baguette and the classic tea-time biscuit “Prince”. Oh, what a treat! Chocolate in bread has got to be one of life’s greatest simple pleasures.
Now, as a mum in France, goûter is very much part of everyday life. When I first started giving my children afternoon snacks to keep them going I would insist on pieces of fruit, dried fruit and raw vegetables. At birthday parties I would always serve sausage rolls, crisps and sandwiches but no one touched them. I remember feeling quite mortified when a French mum remarked “savoury at goûter, gosh, how odd!” (in French of course) as the realisation dawned that it just wasn’t done. But, hey, I 
wasn’t French and I wouldn’t change just because I was in France, I’d continue my resistance to a 100% sweet tea (for just a little bit longer!) More than ten years later I realise how much of my adopted country I’ve assimilated as I now take a packet of chocolate biscuits or a pain au chocolat to the school gate along with everyone else!
The thing is, dinner in France is usually served around 8 to 8.30 in the evening and children eat with their parents so they need something to keep them going. Primary school and maternelle (pre-school from 3-6 years old) have the longest school day in the world, from 8.30 am to 4.30 pm and the kids usually come out starving. If they are then going straight to sports or other extra-curricular activities (which is very often the case particularly on Tuesday evenings as there’s no school on a Wednesday) they need to eat goûter on the trot. Hence the packet of biscuits at the school gate. If they eat at home the snack may consist of a tartine (open sandwich) with jam or nutella, or a croissant or chocolate in bread or some biscuits (usually chocolate, are you 
getting the theme here?) accompanied by a glass of milk or Grenadine. French children are brought up on Grenadine in the way British have Ribena. It’s a mixed red fruit cordial (not pomegranate as the name should suggest, grenade meaning pomegranate) diluted with water. It’s so sweet it makes your teeth curl!
Whether you approve of this sugar intense snack or not, it can’t be all wrong when you consider the fact that French children suffer far less from obesity than in other industrialised countries. Yes it is beginning to creep in now but that’s probably more related to fast-food and the ever increasing presence of ready-meals than this age-old mid-afternoon snack. It is still very rare to see an overweight child in most of France and I can honestly say there are none in our local primary school of 600 or so kids.
Is this yet another example of the French paradox? What do you think of this?
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My parents were British (I now live in France) but my Mom would often give us a crispy roll with a kit-kat or square of thin milk chocolate in it if we were out and about and hungry. She would never buy fast food.
Good memories.
We do see the rolls in the boulangerie here, small dinner size rolls with milka chocolate strips already in them… didn’t click until I read your article.
I give my kids Gouter now, after reading French kids eat everything by Karen LeBillon. I (and they) think its great!
Here is my 2 cents on the French paradox ….I think that one thing that America (where Im from) has got wrong and I think the French (and other countries im sure) right- they understand that savoring really really good food that took time and effort is part of the satiation. Scientifically, when we smell and taste and see our food, it contributes to the overall experience. In my country, fast pace and convenience is a relatively high priority, pushing out the craftsmanship of food and art of eating. When we don’t slow down and experience our food, our stomach may be full (hunger), but we aren’t satisfied (appetite) because we are wolfing down our microwave food that was made by a factory machine. I myself eat WAY too fast, and I realized that when I slowed down, I ate less, and felt overall more satisfied. I think this is what the French understand, and therefore, why they are not as obese as USA.
Hi, Phoebe, I am trying to write a kids book about gouter (I lived a summer in France many moons ago and was most impressed by the custom). Your post is one of very few things I can find to show people (other than the bringing up bebe crowd) that it’s REAL. I would love to see if you’d be willing to answer a few questions about my (very short, 2000 word) book. I realize this is a very old post, but hopefully you’ll still get the message!
Thanks!
Hillary
As a French mother, I can answer some of your questions if you like. Your post is quite old now but you never know
Did you write the book?? I’d love to read!
I came to Australia from France as a child and my parents fed their children this meal. It was very pleasant to arrive home from school to chocolate and biscuits.
Like you I first came across the end-of-school treat of chocolate in bread on an exchange visit to France back in 1969. Along with the breakfast-time hot chocolate in a bowl it started my love of food around the world!
I enjoyed your post!
I just had a “petit gouter”- Bread with butter and grape jelly, with hot chocolate — and had forgotten what the word was for that in French! …For those of you who love the croissant with chocolate (“pain au chocolat”), try this: butter aslice of white bread (or piece of a baguette), lay half a bar of chocolate on top (even Hershey’s would be okay!), fold and eat! Sounds bizarre to Americans but it’s delicious! It’s not a “pain au chocolat,” but it really is good. Bon app’! : )
Interesting post, love my pain au chocolats at breakfast, and am now seriously tempted to follow French tradition for afternoon tea, fascinating how embedded in French culture this appears.
Oh wow, yummy and so interesting that the French appear to understand moderation so they can enjoy sugar without all the awful side effects-thanks for linking up to #tastytuesdays
Despite living in the UK for nearly 4 years now we still talk about, and have, goûter. I was like you first of all in France, with my seeds, crackers, carrot sticks etc, but soon realised it was all about the chocolate! French Hubs and his twin brother used to shock everyone when they were younger as they would devour bread and charcuterie for their goûter!
We have “sirop de grenadine” and “sirop de menthe” here, and our eldest’s friends always want “French squash” when they come over!
#TastyTuesdays
How funny to think Ribena is big in Malaysia. What a funny legacy form the colonial past!!
Jam! Kids have jam or honey on their tartines too, it doesn’t really have to be all about chocolate!!
I think the “no demonising” that you mention Sara is crucial. You’re absolutely right.
My daughter would love it if I served her a sweet gouter after school. Her favorite snack currently is bread smeared with chocolate spread, so the baguette with a piece of chocolate seems like it’d be a tidier option. I had never heard of Ribena until we moved to Malaysia, so I thought it was a Malaysian drink. I guess they must have acquired a taste for it from the British who used to rule here.
“It’s so sweet it makes your teeth curl!” My kind of sweet. Interesting that they’re less obesity in France. So what do you give children who don’t like chocolate? (That would be me.)
Thanks for linking up this week, Phoebe!
I hadn’t heard of gouter until I read Bringing up Bebe, and it’s interesting that the French have such a low rates of obesity, but I wonder if it’s because food is treated differently. No demonising of snacks, so no cravings for the forbidden, and family meals eaten together not rushed in front of the TV… #TastyTuesdays
Lovely comment Linda, I wish I could make you a choccy baguette too. You’ll just have to come back. 🙂
I loved France for many reasons, but especially for the chocolate croissants. I sure wish I were French so I could celebrate with this every single afternoon. Your pictures sure captured memories I have of visiting. Thanks for sharing. I wish you’d make one of those and send it to me. 🙂
hundreds and thousands is really just brightly coloured sugar isn’t it, so that would make most English birthday parties guilty of serving bread and butter and sugar sandwiches! I do like the sound of this sandwich though Catherine, scrummy!!
I bet you loved that Catherine! Such decadence! Thanks for sharing your experiences with us.
Sixty five years ago in Australia I had a bread and butter and sugar sandwich after school. How about that?
Glad you think so! :p
Makes sense to me!
My children’s idea of heaven but as I do not live in France, I still insist on the piece of fruit – often with a biscuit or piece of fruit cake!