Behind the French Menu: Agriculture Biologique

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Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman
behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

The Mouton Barèges -Gavarnie AOC

The Mouton Barèges-Gavarnie AOP; the sheep are something very special. This mutton is on only French restaurant menus from June through January. Practically none of their meat is exported, so when Barèges-Gavarnie is on the menu, do not let the opportunity pass you by.

Le Lac d'Aumar

Photograph courtesy of Tourisme Grand Tourmalet

www.flickr.com/photos/grand-tourmalet/14992824740/

Mutton, you may say, is meat from old sheep that no longer supplies milk and is only good for sausages. Now is the time to change your mind. The menu may offer a roast from a doubloon, an 18-month to two-year-old castrated male, that is considered the best of the breed. Another menu may offer a winter stew prepared from a two-year-old ewe. There are excellent lambs in France, but mutton has a different taste and texture, and the Mouton Barèges-Gavarnie sheep have red, marbled, tender meat.

To begin with, these are a unique breed, they are hardy and their summer pastures where they graze in complete freedom day and night at an altitude of between 1,600 meters ( 5,250 feet) and 2,600 meters (8,300 feet) high. The temperatures change from below freezing at night to 90ºF ( 32ºC) during the day, so they need their special wool.

Until you have tasted this mutton, you will never be able to understand how very different this is to lamb. It is not a replacement for lamb; you cannot compare them. They are very different meats with different tastes and textures.

The Official Logo of The Mouton Barèges -Gavarnie AOP.

Mouton Barèges-Gavarnie on the menu:

Brochette de Mouton Barèges Gavarnie à la Réglisse, Choux Vert et Châtaigne des Pyrénées – Skewers of the Barèges-Gavarnie mutton flavored with licorice served with cabbage and chestnuts from the Pyrenees.

Côtelettes de Mouton AOC Barèges-Gavarnie à la Crème de Serpolet - Chops from the Barèges Gavarnie mutton flavored with a cream of wild thyme sauce.

Gigot de Mouton Barèges-Gavarnie et Haricots Tarbais - Roasted leg of the Mouton Barèges-Gavernie served with the Label Rouge, red label dried beans from Tarbes in the Pyrenees.

Gigot de Mouton Barèges-Gavarnie

Photograph courtesy of Mon Œil

www.flickr.com/photos/claveirole/6064373291/

Navarin de Mouton Baréges-Gavarnie Printanier Navarin - A stew of Baréges-Gavarnie mutton cut into regular shapes, along with vegetables, nearly always including turnips. The navette, a turnip, is considered the source of the name navarin, a turnip stew. A Navarin becomes a Navarin Printanier, a springtime stew when it is made with lamb and young spring turnips along with other early vegetables.

Civet de Mouton AOC Barèges-Gavarnie – A slowly cooked stew from the Barèges-Gavarnie mutton. A stew like this will be prepared with vegetables and red wine. Civet were traditional stews associated with small wild game; that meant a lapin, a rabbit, or a lièvre, a hare, and occasionally a marcassin, a young wild boar. Now the term civet is used for many other stews like this menu listing.

The Mouton Barèges-Gavarnie sheep are brought to their mountain pastures in the area called the Pays Toy, in the department of the Hautes-Pyrénées, in the late spring.

Heading for higher pastures

In the high pastures, these sheep have total freedom; not even a shepherd to watch out for them except maybe once every ten days. Nevertheless, since writing this, I have been told that the tradition of permanent shepherds and sheepdogs is returning, as the wild animal protection laws have seen the local bear population increasing. By November, the sheep are back in a covered shelter in the valleys and feed on hay that comes from their summer pastures.

There is, of course, a fete for the Mouton Barèges-Gavarnie, but the date and place move every year within the region. Check ahead with the Tourist Information Office website below. This is not just a fete where the children can pet the sheep; this is also a chance to taste and enjoy, and then everyone can enjoy sheepdog trials and competitions.

For the fete and touring in the region in summer or winter, see the English language website:

http://www.luz.org/en/

The same website has information on the highest spa in France, where the Barèges waters, a constant 42 °C (107.6 °F), are known for their help with bone reconstruction, rheumatism, and respiratory system. The spa has been known since the beginning of the 17th century and is the highest in the Pyrenees. The ski resort of Barèges is one of the largest skiing centers in the region of the Midi-Pyrénées.

Cross-country skiing with the family

Photograph courtesy of Tourisme Grand Tourmalet

www.flickr.com/photos/grand-tourmalet/7008047935/

The English language website of Gavarnie Tourist Information office:

http://summer.gavarnie.com/

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Côte, a rib or rib roast, a cutlet or a chop; Côté, a side or a filet; Côtes, (cotes) the hills or the coast in French. All will be on French menus.

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Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

Agriculture Biologique – Organic Agriculture.

When in France and looking for organic produce watch for the AB label.

Organic wines, meats, vegetables, milk, cheeses and more are all available in France, and there are many organic restaurants. The initials AB identify Agriculture Biologique, and it is France’s most respected green organic label.

Colombard Vin Bio, Côtes de Gascogne

RÉSERVE NATURELLE 2016.

Photograph courtesy of CDiscount.

All produce and products bearing the label AB will have been controlled at many stages, and they will have met a host of stringent requirements. All produce bearing the logo AB will have been grown and or produced without synthetic pesticides, insecticides or genetically modified seeds. Animals will only have eaten or been fed organic feed, and none will have been injected with antibiotics or growth hormones, etc. Organic vineyards are found in some of France's most famous wine producing regions and the sales of organic wines are increasing by over 10% per year.

Many restaurants offer individual organic dishes or dishes made with organic eggs, but there are hundreds of entirely organic restaurants in France. Just Google “Restaurants bio France” and you will find tens of guides including:

http://www.guide-restaurant-bio.com/

https://www.placetobio.fr/

https://www.parisobiotiful.com/type/restaurant-bio/

Whole grain organic rye bread

Photograph courtesy of La Vie Claire

The AB label, introduced by the French government in 1985 is well regulated and supervised; it is trusted, and it will be the initials for the organically produced foods that one sees most often. (N.B. In France, as in other in other countries, organic farming regulations do not seriously attempt to regulate for better living conditions for farm animals).

Organic eggs.

Photograph courtesy of Bureau de Presse Agro.

In the USA processed foods may be labeled 100% organic if 95% of the contents are organic, the 5% left comes from a shrinking list of items that are not yet available organically. In France, unlike in the USA, no synthetic products at all are permitted in that 5%. There is no control for saltwater fish and or seafood caught in the wild, as no one can control what your oyster or fish fillet had for lunch, but organic freshwater trout and sea farmed fish are on restaurant menus and in the supermarkets.

Organic shrimps

Photograph courtesy of Monoprix,

The French organic farming industry may lag somewhat behind some other countries in Europe, but it is growing. Over 4% of all farmland is now used for organic products; the organically raised beef cattle industry show numbers rising by 15- 20% a year and the number of organic fish farms are also growing.

The taxpayer’s Euros are involved as the government subsidizes farms that switch to organically raised crops and animals; the government also supports farms that use organic solutions to groundwater pollution problems.

Miel De France Lavander Bio Honey.

Photograph courtesy of Naturalia.fr

Local associations such as AgroBio Périgord in the Dordogne and the Association de l'Agriculture Biologique de Picardie are two of the many local associations and organizations that work together with the government-managed Agriculture Biologique.