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renchies seem to know no limits to their gastronomic decadence. Just when you thought you knew of all their latest fads, there crops up something new again.
Unlike some other nations who attempt ill-conceived culinary innovations for all kinds of wrong reasons, Frenchies always get it right.
I discovered this unusual mustard last year but there still seems no mention of it in English anywhere. It has a delicate extra flavour and an intense light magenta colour but I still prefer the unripe black pepper one from the same producer.
hoa, this smells like pears!" Floyd's first gulp of what he thought was cider ends up in a surprise. Not an unpleasant one at that.
Poiré is cider's less known cousin. Also known as perry or pear cider, predictably, it is made from pears. In France it is only 2 percent alcohol as opposed to cider's 5, although British perries can be as strong as 8. I discovered it by accident shopping for regular apple cider in Brittany, although Mantilly in Norman department of Orne is the unofficial capital of poiré in France.
A distinction needs to be made between real perry and commercial perries. The former is produced to strict standards and uses natural ingredients and brewing techniques allowing no additives. On the other hand, commercial varieties are full of enhancers that do nothing but messing with the original taste to make more marketable to the masses.
Real perry is made from tart sorts of pears rich in tannin (the substance responsible for the astringent taste of red wine), which are not meant for eating. It has a somewhat sharp, dry taste. Because of its low alcohol content I use poiré as a picnic booze to accompany salads.
Bulmers pear cider is heavily advertised all around London these days. I am very curious to try it and share my impressions.
here is a strict 3PM caffeine curfew for me. I can't have even regular tea past that deadline else I stay awake with my eyes glowing in the dark until next morning. This is how I got into the habit of buying herbal teas wherever I go.
This apple cinnamon infusion is produced by Lipton but I saw it on sale only in France. It is a perfect companion to a warm blanket and a nice book on a cold winter evening.
Culinary delights don't have to be complicated. It is mostly down to quality ingredients and right combinations.
This grilled goat cheese sandwich takes 5 minutes to fix. First, I sprinkle delicious sesame bread I buy from a Brazilian grocer with a few drops of aceto balsamico bianco and olive oil. I cut the cheese (no puns here) into thin circles and line them on the bread. Three minutes under grill is enough to turn the dry and sharp mass into drippy flavour-oozing deliciousness.
Now tomato wedges and some Italian lettuce mix and your lunch is ready!
This is the French goat cheese I use: crottins de chèvre, "goat drops". What a poetic name.
ome cheeses are only to get hold of in France. Mostly it's cheeses made from raw milk that are difficult to transport. Pié d'Angloys is made from pasteurised cow milk but I fell in love with it from the first bite.
Decadently smelly and drippy inside it is reminiscent of a very ripe brie. As you may have guessed from the picture of a tiled roof house, it hails from Burgundy. As far as I know, it is sold in the Francophone zone only (France, Southern Belgium, Luxembourg, Western Switzerland). It seems a recent - post-WWII - invention but what it lacks in pedigree it makes good in taste.
One of Normandy’s trademarks and the inspiration behind Dali’s famous The Persistence of Memory, Camembert had a near escape from being sacrificed to cost reduction and mass production. Traditionally produced on small farms from unpasteurised milk of free-range cows, it gains its unique flavour from a variety of local terroirs. It would have stayed a local delicacy but for the advent of railways, when Napoleon III attending the opening of the Paris-Granville line discovers Camembert for the Parisian gourmet table. From a regional curiosity camembert became one of France’s cultural symbols. In recent times however it has fallen victim to its own popularity. The demands for larger production volumes has made manufacturing shift to factories. Economy of scale requires the streamlining of the costs. Farm-raised cows are nowadays fed mechanically mixed fodder and the quality uniformity of milk is the overriding objective. Starting in the late 90s culinary purists and industrial rationalists have been battling over just how much can Camembert depart for the traditional recipe without losing its essence.
Last year things came to head when dairy giants Isigny and Lactalis, which comprise 80% of Camembert sales, demanded that the National Institute of Origin and Quality modify the regulations for their product. To qualify for AOC Camembert needs to be made from raw milk, but the rebel producers insisted that pasteurising or microfiltering milk would reduce the cheese’s susceptibility to potentially dangerous pathogens. The defenders of the terroir, ODC, reasoned that such a step would kill the “very essence of Camembert”. The Laboratory for scientific research of eggs and milk, stated that health risks are "statistically insignificant". Angered, the two producers threaten to renounce their AOC.
The stand-off finally ended on the 18th of September this year with the issue of the PM-signed decree that stipulates the obligatory use of raw milk for Camembert production. Generic camembert however, stays outside this regulation.
Now watch out for the magic words “Camembert de Normandie au lait cru moulé à la louche” on the packaging meaning that you are getting the real deal, not the mass production imitation.
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