Chouchen the Drink of the Druids. Drinking Like a Druid in Bretagne, Brittany.

from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

 

  
 
Chouchen

Chouchen and the Druids.
 
Originally only drunk by the Celtic priests, the Druids, Chouchen is an alcoholic mead made with fermented honey, a hydromel.   The recipe was brought from Britain by the British Celts who crossed the English Channel to the most westerly part of mainland France, along with their priests over a period of over 900 years. 

The Celts had left Britain in waves to escape the invading Romans who had arrived in 50 BCE followed by the Germanic tribes of Angles and Saxons who came when the Romans left around 410 CE; that gave the inhabitants of Britain the name Anglo-Saxon, Then in 793 CE came the Vikings followed by the arrival of William the Conqueror, himself a descendant of the Vikings, in 1066. The Celts meanwhile had claimed a large part of modern France’s Atlantic coast and called their new home Bretagne (Britain)  I can imagine that they also enjoyed a glass or two of their Chouchen to brighten their first evening in a foreign land.
  
Plymouth, Great Britain to Roscoff. Brittany.
Approximately 215 km (134 miles)
Photograph courtesy of Google Maps.
  
Dining when Chouchen is on the menu:
   
Crepe aux Pommes Arrosées de Chouchen -  A crepe,  with apples sprinkled and flavored with Chouchen

Loup de Mer Rôti, Aromatisé à la Moutarde de Truffe, Crème au Chouchen  Roasted sea bass, flavored with mustard accented truffles and a Chouchen cream sauce.
  
Chouchen and Brittany Cider.
    
Noix de Pétoncle en Coquille, Gratinées au Chouchen – The meat of the queen scallop (queenies) served on the half shell lightly browned and flavored with chouchen.
                               
Onglet de Veau au Pralin de Chouchen à l'Échalotes – A veal flank steak prepared with a pralin like preparation made from caramelized almonds or hazelnuts flavored with Chouchen and shallots.
  
Druid Festival - SAMAÏN FEST
www.flickr.com/photos/21753643@N08/6319144863/
 
Suprême de Pintade au Miel et Chouchen – Breast of Guinea fowl prepared with honey and chouchen.
            
The different varieties of Chouchen.

The wine shops of today’s Brittany offer Chouchen in a wide variety of flavors. The original differences were explained by the different honeys used and those are still available today; however, some versions are flavored with fruit juices and or wines. Whatever the style that is being offered Chouchen may be on your menu as an apéritif when it is best when served chilled or part of a sauce or flavoring on the entrée, the  French first course, through the dessert. The original fermented honey had, at most, 8% alcohol today’s higher level is arrived at through distillation usually with apple juice and sold with 14% to 16.5% alcohol, 

Among the locals, Chouchen is no longer as popular as Brittany’s famous ciders, probably because it is more expensive. Nevertheless, Chouchen will be in many local recipes, old and new, and it will be in all the wine shops. 


The Bollée
                                
Chouchen was traditionally served in a small cup with a handle; that cup is called a Bollée and it looks something like a small teacup.  Today, in the café or restaurant you visit that cup may well have been replaced by a regular glass.  Nevertheless, if you are visiting a cafe or restaurant where they keep to the old traditions do not be surprised when a small cup, that holds around 200ml of Chouchen, is placed on your table. That is a Chouchen Bollée and you will know what it is for.
   
In Brittany celebrations will have oysters at the center
They will be accompanied by cidre bouché, or chouchen, not champagne.

Mid-Summer Night with the Druids
  
The good citizens of Bretagne are proud of their Celtic and Druid heritage and on the 21st of June every year, mid-summer night, the summer solstice, and the day before, and sometimes for a few days after many communities will be celebrating their Druid ancestry; visitors welcome.

The celebrations include many local variations along with a great deal of food, cider, lambig, their apple brandy, and, of course, chouchen. Call the nearest French Government Tourism Office and you may experience a mid-summer day and night very different to Shakespeare's Mid-Summer Night’s Dream. The English website for the Brittany Tourism office is:



Before Bretagne the area was Amor
And then the Romans came.

As you drive around Bretagne you will see many place names and business names that include the words Amor, Amorica, Armorique and similar; this is all part of Bretagne's history.  Amor was the ancient name for Bretagne before the British Celts came; then came the Romans under Julius Caesar and he changed the name to Amorica. The largest national park in Bretagne is called the Parc Naturel Régional d'Armorique, the natural regional Park of Armorique.

Amor and Amorica have nothing to do with America.  America's two continents are named after Amerigo Vespucci (1454 – February 22, 1512) the Italian explorer who was the first to show that the two American continents were not part of Columbus’s India.  Though he never made it to North America his name is still honored on both continents.

Remember,  it was the British Celts through their various immigrations that founded Brittany and so if you want really good British food and drink go to Brittany! In 1532 Bretagne, Brittany became part of France.
 
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Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

 

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

 

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2 comments:

  1. You seem to forget to mention that Chouchen is not just water, honey and yeast (which would simply be mead, or hydromel). In fact Chouchen is made with apple juice, honey and yeast, sometimes with water. It is very different!

    Great site.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for the comment on Chouchen.

    I took my list of ingredients of modern Chouchen from the labels on the bottles and the shops where Chouchen was sold.

    In my post I did note " Today the local wine shops offer different varieties of Chouchen; the main difference is explained by the different honeys used; however, some versions arrive at their different tastes by adding fruit flavors."

    Apple may be the most popular, or possibly the most traditional but I saw at least twenty different flavors on the sehlves.

    Thank you for the coment on the blog.

    Bryan

    ReplyDelete