(Bloomberg) -- Baguettes have risen to a whole new level.
The French staple has been deemed eligible to join UNESCO’s “Intangible Cultural Heritage” list, an award given to practices or traditions that have been passed down from generation to generation. It includes rituals, performing arts, traditional crafts, and specific food dishes.UNESCO, which is part of the United Nations, said in a statement on Wednesday that baguettes held cultural importance given the “artisanal know-how” needed to make them, as well as the rituals around eating them — not to mention, their “crisp crust around a fluffy center.”
The organization said that baguettes are special among other kinds of bread due to the “modes of consumption and social practices” around them, including daily visits to the bakery to pick one up.
French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his joy at the award in a tweet, describing the baguette as “250 grams of magic in our daily lives.”
The baguette joins other traditional foods on UNESCO’s list, including Ukrainian borscht, kimchi, flatbread, Belgian beer culture and Neapolitan pizza. Other “intangible” traditions to have been given the status in the past include Chinese acupuncture, dry stone walling and capoeira.
Baguettes are not the first French food to join the list. The “gastronomic meal of the French” was awarded the honor in 2010, with UNESCO specifying that it must begin with apéritifs before dinner, followed by “at least” four courses, then liqueurs. It should also preferably include local foods, and be served with carefully paired wines and on a beautifully-set table.
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