The French Baguette granted World Heritage Status by UNESCO 

France’s staple bread, the French baguette, was added to UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage on Wednesday. 

The United Nation’s heritage body voted to include the "artisanal know-how and culture of baguette bread" in its list of cultural heritage, which includes 600 traditions from more than 130 countries. 

The announcement "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.

"It is important that these skills and social habits continue to exist in the future," he added.

The French Baguette, an elongated loaf of bread with a crunchy crust, has been a quintessential part of the French diet for more than 100 years. 

While the origin of the baguette is unknown, some speculate that it was created by Napoleon Bonaparte’s bakers, who sought to create a lighter, portable loaf for the troops. Yet others claim it was an Austrian baker named Andrew Zang who came up with the bread. 

The famous bread is made of only flour, water, salt, and yeast. To make it acquire that classic baguette taste, the dough must rest for 15 to 2- hours at a temperature of 39 to 43 degrees Fahrenheit (4 to 6 degrees Celsius), according to the French Bakers Confederation. 

Although the consumption of baguettes has declined over the past decades, around 16 million loaves of bread are made a day in France, according to a 2019 Fiducial estimate. However, each bakery has its own style of making it. 

The popularity of this fluffy-yet-crunchy bread has spread throughout the world, with many countries selling the bread even in their local supermarkets. 

Other items in UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage include China’s traditional tea making and a Korean mask dance known as “talchum.”