principalement frais

You use principalement as an adverb to modify the adjective frais. In French, adverbs usually come after the verb or before the adjective they modify. Because frais is an adjective, it needs to agree with the noun it describes. For a feminine noun like la salade, you would say principalement fraîche. For plural items like les légumes, it stays principalement frais. It is a flexible phrase that fits easily into many sentences. You will often see it following the verb être (to be).

This is a superstar phrase at the local French market. Use it when asking a vendor about their daily catch or harvest. It is also perfect for reading or writing restaurant menus. If you are describing the weather to a friend, this phrase works beautifully. 'The morning is mainly fresh' sounds very natural in French. You can also use it in a professional setting when discussing food supply or logistics. It shows you care about quality and detail.

Do not use this phrase to describe frozen or processed foods. That would be quite a contradiction! Also, avoid using it to describe a person's personality. While 'cool' works for people in English, frais in this context refers to temperature or state of matter. If you want to say someone is 'cool' or 'trendy,' use branché instead. Finally, if something is 100% fresh, you might just say tout frais to be more emphatic. Principalement implies there might be a tiny bit of something else.

France has a deep, almost spiritual connection to fresh food. The concept of 'produits du terroir' (local products) is central to French identity. When you go to a boulangerie or a marché, the expectation of freshness is very high. Using the word frais is a sign of respect for the ingredients. Historically, the French diet relied on what was available that very morning. This phrase captures that long-standing tradition of valuing the 'now' in your kitchen.

You might hear people say surtout frais in very casual conversations. If you are in a fancy restaurant, the waiter might say essentiellement frais. Both mean roughly the same thing. Another common one is plutôt frais, which means 'rather fresh' or 'quite cool.' If you want to emphasize that something is fresh every single day, you would use toujours frais. Each variation adds a tiny bit of flavor to your description.