The Temptations Of Cuisine In Northern France

2024 Author: Jasmine Walkman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 08:29

Northern France has a lot in common with some parts of England, but there is one major difference - the French live to eat, while the British eat to live.

Geographical influences

The cuisine of northern France can be divided into three main areas - Normandy, Brittany and Champagne. The local terrain plays an important role in the choice of products, because the coast produces fresh fish, the forests are rich in game, and the pastures mean that there will be a variety of dairy products.

The Norman culinary style is classic, a lot of butter and cream are used for rich sauces, the Bretons like the simpler but also delicious food, while the champagnes cook simple but highly flavored dishes.

Quality products

Both Normandy and Brittany are known for the quality of their natural products, especially apples, salted lamb, cheese, fish, cider and calvados. The Champagne region is famous for its sparkling wine and sausages, especially the anduyet sausages.

Main products

Cheese

Some of the finest French cheeses come from northern France. The most famous is probably the Camembert, which is exported and copied around the world.

Other famous Norman cheeses are Pon l'Eveque and Livaro - a very fragrant cheese with a soft inside. Famous species are Neufschatel, BriaSavaren and Brie. The most characteristic cheese from the North is Maroy, called by the locals the old stink bug because of its typical aroma when it is fully ripe.

Apples

Apples are grown in both Normandy and Brittany, used in many local dishes. They can be salty, such as Norman cod (with apple wine, cream and mushrooms), or sweet, such as burden (apples in batter).

Lamb

Northern France is known for its lambs and sheep grazing in the salt-rich swamps around Mont Saint-Michel. This meat is highly valued for its slightly salty but characteristic taste.

Seafood

The northern coast of France supplies seafood to most of the country - lobster, oysters, black mussels, pectin mussels, sea bass, turbot, mackerel. The local stewed dish cotriad is a northern version of the southern French bouillabaisse and is prepared from the fish distributed to the sailors after the catch is sold - mullet, trout, St. Peter's fish, eel, monk fish and others. The dish is complemented with sorrel, cream, garlic, mushrooms, potatoes and carrots. For additional flavor, you can add a little brandy or a drop of Muscade wine.

Cider and calvados

Northern Normandy is famous for its dry cider. Calvados is distilled from it, like brandy from wine. It is often drunk early in the morning with coffee or for good digestion after eating.

Techniques and tips

Pancakes

They are prepared according to two recipes. One is with buckwheat flour, water, salt and a little milk, which makes thick pancakes, and the other, lighter, has a rich sparse dough with milk, eggs and wheat flour. P

Buckwheat pancakes are filled with salty fillings such as cheese and ham, while wheat is for sweet fillings, such as marmalade, chocolate or apple puree. They can be eaten for breakfast or as a main course - depending on what time they are served.

In the western part of Brittany the pancakes are called crepe, and in the eastern part, where Breton is spoken - breadcrumbs. The most famous regional recipe in Brittany is pancakes. In every town and village you will find a restaurant where you can taste them from early morning, baked on a large plate.

Making pancakes may seem easy, but you need to learn to spread the dough evenly to make the pancakes the same thickness.

Camembert selection

It is quite difficult to choose the perfect Camembert. Take a pie with a smooth, soft white crust and press lightly. It should be equally soft everywhere, which indicates that it is ripe inside. When you cut it, the core should be all light golden, soft and slightly swollen. Never buy Camembert with a wrinkled and dark crust; if possible, there should be a pleasant aroma of cheese, not a strong odor and especially not ammonia, as overripe cheese smells. Allow the cheese to reach room temperature before serving.

Camembert is made from whole milk and gets its characteristic bitter streak of oat straw in the baskets where it is usually stored.

Sea plateau

One of the specialists on the coast of northern France is the plateau of seafood. Most fish restaurants offer a dizzying selection of seafood as an appetizer. The feast for the eye is also a wonderful way to experience the purely sensory gastronomic pleasure of serving seafood with a variety of melting sauces.

This dish presents the freshest possible specimens, a picture of all that the sea and local rivers have to offer. The selection usually includes raw oysters (another Breton specialty), black mussels, pectin mussels and cooked small shrimps that have a slightly spicy taste, large shrimps, crabs, lobsters and sometimes lobsters.

They are beautiful, arranged on a bed of algae and crushed ice on a large cork tray that lies on a wire rack; served with either mayonnaise or vinegar and chives sauce, as well as lots of black bread.

Champagne

What distinguishes him from the others in this sparkling and sparkling wine? To be called champagne, the wine must have originated in north-eastern France and been processed by the champagne method. This process requires a lot of time and money - the wine is bottled, then fermented again, adding sugar and yeast. A precipitate appears which must be removed so that each bottle is inverted, the throat is frozen and the precipitate is removed. Then the bottle is refilled and the process continues.

Champagne is made from grapes from only one harvest, instead of taking fruit from several harvests. Unlike most other wines, champagne is sold by the name of the winery, not by the name of the vineyards.

Cooking with champagne is a complete waste, because when heated, the bubbles disappear. It is served cold, but not icy, otherwise its aroma is lost. The cap should always be removed slowly, not banging, which causes loss of valuable fluid.