The humble baguette B次元官网网址� the crunchy ambassador for French baking around the world B次元官网网址� is being added to the U.N.B次元官网网址檚 list of intangible cultural heritage as a cherished tradition to be preserved by humanity.

UNESCO experts gathering in Morocco this week decided that the simple French flute B次元官网网址� made only of flour, water, salt, and yeast B次元官网网址� deserved United Nations recognition, after FranceB次元官网网址檚 culture ministry warned of a B次元官网网址渃ontinuous declineB次元官网网址� in the number of traditional bakeries, with some 400 closing every year over the past half-century.

The U.N. cultural agencyB次元官网网址檚 chief, Audrey Azoulay, said the decision honors more than just bread; it recognizes the B次元官网网址渟avoir-faire of artisanal bakersB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址渁 daily ritual.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淚t is important that such craft knowledge and social practices can continue to exist in the future,B次元官网网址� added Azoulay, a former French culture minister.

The agency defines intangible cultural heritage as B次元官网网址渢raditions or living expressions inherited from our ancestors and passed on to our descendants.B次元官网网址�

With the breadB次元官网网址檚 new status, the French government said it planned to create an artisanal baguette day, called the B次元官网网址淥pen Bakehouse Day,B次元官网网址� to connect the French better with their heritage.

Back in France, bakers seemed proud, if unsurprised.

B次元官网网址淥f course, it should be on the list because the baguette symbolizes the world. ItB次元官网网址檚 universal,B次元官网网址� said Asma Farhat, baker at JulienB次元官网网址檚 Bakery near ParisB次元官网网址� Champs-Elysees avenue.

B次元官网网址淚f thereB次元官网网址檚 no baguette, you canB次元官网网址檛 have a proper meal. In the morning you can toast it, for lunch itB次元官网网址檚 a sandwich, and then it accompanies dinner.B次元官网网址�

Although it seems like the quintessential French product, the baguette was said to have been invented by Vienna-born baker August Zang in 1839. Zang put in place FranceB次元官网网址檚 steam oven, making it possible to produce bread with a brittle crust yet fluffy interior.

The productB次元官网网址檚 zenith did not come until the 1920s, with the advent of a French law preventing bakers from working before 4 a.m. The baguetteB次元官网网址檚 long, thin shape meant it could be made more quickly than its stodgy cousins, so it was the only bread that bakers could make in time for breakfast.

Despite the decline in traditional bakery numbers today, FranceB次元官网网址檚 67 million people still remain voracious baguette consumers B次元官网网址� purchased at a variety of sales points, including in supermarkets. The problem is, observers say, that they can often be poor in quality.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 very easy to get bad baguette in France. ItB次元官网网址檚 the traditional baguette from the traditional bakery thatB次元官网网址檚 in danger. ItB次元官网网址檚 about quality not quantity,B次元官网网址� said one Paris resident, Marine Fourchier, 52.

In January, French supermarket chain Leclerc was criticized by traditional bakers and farmers for its much publicized 29-cent baguette, accused of sacrificing the quality of the famed 65-centimeter (26-inch) loaf. A baguette normally costs just over 90 euro cents (just over $1), seen by some as an index on the health of the French economy.

The baguette is indeed serious business. FranceB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淏read ObservatoryB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� a venerable institution that closely follows the fortunes of the flute B次元官网网址� notes that the French munch through 320 baguettes of one form or another every second. ThatB次元官网网址檚 an average of half a baguette per person per day, and 10 billion every year.

The B次元官网网址渁rtisanal know-how and culture of baguette breadB次元官网网址� was inscribed at the Morocco meeting among other global cultural heritage items, including JapanB次元官网网址檚 Furyu-odori ritual dances, and CubaB次元官网网址檚 light rum masters.

B次元官网网址擳homas Adamson, The Associated Press