Tartiflette tops online recipe searches in 2017

Winter favourite tartiflette was the most searched-for recipe by French users of Google in 2017, the search engine giant has revealed.

The artery-clanging Savoyard dish of potatoes, Reblochon cheese, lardons, cream (or creme fraiche), onions and wine - a favourite among holiday skiers after a day on the slopes - came ahead of that most typical of French meals, boeuf bourguignon, with gratin dauphinois, Italian classic osso bucco, and aligot making up the top five most-searched for recipes in France, Google said as it unveiled its lists of the most popular searches of the year.

Pancake batter came in sixth, Google said, followed by traditional southwest soup garbure, then cassoulet, paella, and Halloween favourite witches' fingers.

• Find out more about tartiflette – and its 1980s origins – in the January issue of The Connexion which has a feature on classic regional dishes. Chef Gisèle Angelloz-Pessey details the version she makes for her Alpine restaurant in Le Grand-Bornand. On sale in good newsagents at the end of next week.

Autumn's butter crisis, meanwhile, also saw internet users in France enter 'How to make butter' into the search engine. When it came to a choice of making salted or unsalted, most opted for the former.

But even that paled in comparison with the most searched for 'how to' question in France in 2017 - how to make playground favourite 'slime'.

In the entertainment world, Game of Thrones continues to rule the roost for a TV series, followed by Netflix eighties throwback sci-fi drama Stranger Things. Fifty Shades of Grey was the most searched-for film among cinema goers.

The death of Johnny Hallyday in early December quickly became the most sought-after news item in France, overtaking the long-running story about the disappearance of Maëlys and the results of the presidential election.