Behind the French Menu: Alsace

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Brasseries in France.

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Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

Brasserie Midi.

A brasserie is a brewery in French. Even 200 years ago the Alsace and the Lorraine in Northern France were known for their many small but good breweries that also served light meals. Today more that 50% of the beer brewed in France comes from large breweries in the Alsace and Lorraine.

The Alsace and the Lorraine.

In 1870 Germany had mostly become a single German state and forced the Franco-Prussian War on France. This was the war that saw the exile of Napoleon III to England and the establishment of France’s Third Republic. After Germany’s victory, it annexed most of the French regions of Alsace and the Lorraine. Following the annexation, there was a rush of emigrants from the Alsace in the North to Paris and the south.

A sign in Brasserie Lipp in Paris today.

Photograph courtesy of Corinne Moncelli

The first brasseries were in Paris.

Some of these Alsatian immigrants had worked in or owned brasseries in the Alsace brewing and selling beer. In Paris, and in other cities, they opened restaurants whose first menus were typically Alsatian, and some did, in the beginning, brew their own beer. These brasseries began as open noisy restaurants and, apart from whatever else they offered, they included traditional Alsatian dishes such as Choucroute, pickled cabbage; Timbales, pies; Foie Gras, fatted goose and duck liver;Baeckeoffe, a hearty stew, and of course beer.

Le Grand Café, bar-brasserie in the town of Moulins.

Its decoration has remained since 1899.

The style is a mixture of Art Nouveau and Art-Déco.

Photograph courtesy of Jean-Pierre Dalbéra

At the end of the World War I, the Alsace and the Lorraine returned to the rule of France. Now came more Alsatian immigrants to follow on the success of those who came earlier. At the same time, by the 1920’s Art Deco had become popular and many Brasseries are still recognized by their unique Art Deco exteriors or interiors. Brasseries were well established and while they offered a full menu that included Alsatian specialties they still sold more beer than wine.

Brasserie

Photograph courtesy of Karol Franks

Brasseries menus today.

Today Brasserie menus may have less visible links to the Alsace, in some maybe just a quarter of the menu will offer Alsatian dishes and wines and they will be selling more wine than beer.Most Brasseries are open every day of the week serving the same menu all day.

Dinner in Brasserie Margaux

Photograph courtesy of Ali R

Connected Posts:

Baeckeoffe – A Traditional Alsatian Peasant Stew That Made the Big Time.

Choucroute Garnie. Famous Dishes of France’s Alsace Region.

Foie Gras in French Cuisine. Foie Gras is Fattened Goose or Duck Liver Foie. Foie Gras on French Menus

Ordering a Beer in France? All the French you need to know.

Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

Gewurztraminer the white, semi-dry wine. The best is the Gewurztraminer AOP (AOC) from the Alsace, France.

from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

Gewurztraminer

Photograph courtesy of pinchables.net.

I was introduced to the Gewurztraminer AOP, a white wine from the Alsace some 40 (plus) years ago. Then, at a dinner in the Alsatian town of Mulhouse, my hosts served a semi-dry, incredibly floral wine. The wine had me spellbound. At that time, few visitors France had heard of Gewurztraminer, including yours truly, and practically no one would see a Gewurztraminer on a wine list unless they were here in the Alsace region in north-eastern France. Gewurztraminer, called Gewürzt, by the locals, is a white wine that is very different, full of flavor, and scented like no other.

Gewurztraminer grapes.

Photograph courtesy of fleecetraveler

www.flickr.com/photos/25005304@N04/2372316220/

Unlike most other French AOP wines, the AOP (AOC) wines of Alsace are allowed to be named after the grape variety from which they are produced. Today Gewurztraminer wines are produced in just about every wine-producing country in the world. However, the best of the Alsatian Gewurztraminer AOP wines beat the best of the best from anywhere else. For some clarity on these AOP and AOC labels, see my post: AOC and AOP on France's Foods and Wine labels?

Mulhouse France and Basel Switzerland.

The town of Mulhouse in the Alsace, France, where I was introduced to Gewurztraminer, is close to the Swiss city of Basel that holds many important exhibitions. The two towns are interlocked and even share the same airport.

I spent ten or more days every year, for over twenty-five years, at exhibitions in Basel. The evening were filled with endless opportunities to enjoy excellent French cuisine and wonderful French wines, including my favorite Alsatian white wine: Gewurztraminer.

The oldest wine barrel in the world.

Ste Caterine cask dated 1715 at Hugel Winery, Alsace, France.

Still in use according to the Guinness book of records

Photograph courtesy of http://www.Hugel.com

Before or after an exhibition, I would join friends and explore the Alsace Route des Vins, the Alsace wine road. The wine road begins close to Mulhouse which is thirty minutes from Basel and continues on for another 115 km ( 72 miles) past Colmar and onto the region's capital of Strasbourg. (Strasburg is also home to the European Union's parliament and Colmar, less than an hour's ride from Basel is the Alsace’s second-largest city. Colmar and to the left and the right are tens, maybe hundreds, of excellent French restaurants, large and small. While there are many outstanding restaurants in Basel itself, France is always beckoning, and the wines are from France).

The City of Colmar

In the Alsace region of France.

(On 1-1-2016 the Alsace became part of the new super region of the Grand Est).

Photograph courtesy of Flavio Ensiki

www.flickr.com/photos/flavouz/11908478103/

Choosing a Gewurztraminer AOP wine.

When choosing a Gewurztraminer AOP or another regular Alsatian white wine (not a Grand Cru or Vendange Tardive wine), do not buy wines more than three years old. Trust me; most Alsatian three-year-old AOP white wines will be no better than a two-year-old wine. Four or five-year-old white Alsatian wines are best when left in the wine shop unless you have an expert to advise you. Ordinary Gewurztraminer wines are excellent wines with only a few meant to be kept for years; drink them young.

Gewurztraminer Grand Cru

Grand Crus are different, and so when Grand Cru is on the bottle of an Alsatian wine, it indicates a separate appellation, a distinct and unique growing area. The vineyards with the right to produce Grand Cru wines are the home of the best of Alsatian wines. In 1975, the right to add Grand Cru on an Alsatian wine’s label was legalized after tests (a rarety for French wines),that included taste tests. Other vineyards that applied later are tested, tasted, and some are added. When you buy a Grand Cru wine, then the name of the vineyard must be on the label, and you need an updated wine guide to choose among the many vintners and different years. N.B. If you find a surprisingly cheap ten-year-old wine in a supermarket or wine shop leave it; if it was any good the real experts would have bought all there was long before you got there.

Gewurztraminer Grand Cru Zotzenberg.

Organic

Photograph courtesy of Domaine Haegi

I leave the Gewurztraminer Grand Cru wines at dinner to the real mavens who can afford them, and enjoyed them when I was invited. Though the Grand Crus do include the very very best, I do find excellent Gewurztraminer AOP wines without Grand Cru on the label, and when the bill comes, they are easier to digest.

Gewurztraminer Vendange Tardive (VT) wines

Vendange Tardive wines are made with grapes that are left on the vine long past the usual harvest date; then, as the grapes begin to dry out, the sugars and flavors are concentrated, resulting in the perfect grape for a sweet dessert wine. Open a bottle of a Gewurztraminer Vendange Tardive, and the area around is filled with the scent of flowers. These wines may be offered as an aperitif or as a single glass accompanying certain dishes.

Gewürztraminer Sélection de Grains Nobles (SGN)

Sélection de Grains Noble (SGN) Alsatian wines are even sweeter than the vendange tardive wines and are considered the highest grade of the Alsatian dessert wines. These wines are made when the grapes, on the vine, have been infected by a helpful fungus called botrytis cinerea (mostly known in English as the “noble rot”). As long as the climate is not damp, this fungus does its magic and concentrates the sugars and scent a few steps higher than the vendange tardive wines. The famous sweet Sauterne wines of Bordeaux are also produced with the aid of the “noble rot.” When you buy any of these fabulous SGN Alsatian dessert wines, remember this is a wine for sipping and smelling, not for quaffing.

Marc de Gewurztraminer

Marcs, like Italian Grappas and similar brandies from other wine-producing countries, are made from grape skins, leaves, pulp, and seeds that are leftover from the production of wines. Initially, these leftovers were processed into very rough brandies that were given freely to the workers in the vineyards; they got drunk, and that took their minds off their poverty. These cheap marcs and grappas were then slightly improved and subsequently sold, cheaply, to the townspeople who could also get drunk cheaply and forget their problems. Over the years, the methods of distillation developed, and a second distillation produced a brandy that was smoother, tastier, and more fragrant that could be sold to more discerning customers.

Today the better French Marcs and Italian Grappas, with a 40 % alcohol content, are offered like other fine brandies in the finest restaurants. A pleasant Marc’s scent will tell you the type of grape that was used, and In the Alsace, your digestif should be a Marc de Gewurztraminer.

Vinaigre de Gewurztraminer:

Gewurztraminer vinegar adds its unique scent and taste to sauces. Vinaigrette and other sauces made with vinegar bring that scent of flowers.

Vendanges Tardive Grand Cru Zinnkoepfle

Leon Boesch Gewurztraminer

Photograph courtesy of VintageandCo.com

Menus in the Alsace may Include:

Un Verre de Gewurztraminer Vendanges Tardives - A glass of sweet Gewurztraminer late harvest wine. One of the best ways to enjoy this wine without buying the whole bottle.

Asperges Blanches d'Alsace et Écrevisses au Vinaigre de Gewurztraminer - White asparagus from the Alsace served with crayfish and flavored with a Gewurztraminer vinegar. N.B. The white asparagus from the Alsace is fabulous and during the season will be on nearly every restaurant menu.

White and green asparagus

Along with other goodies in the market.

Photograph courtesy of Sarah Bodri

www.flickr.com/photos/juniper_trees/3035879144/

Foie Gras de Canard "Maison," Gelée au Gewurztraminer et Pain de Campagne Toasté – Fattened duck’s liver prepared with the chef's own recipe, served with a jelly made from the cooking juices flavored with Gewurztraminer and accompanied by toasted country bread.

N.B. On French menus "Maison" while also indicating a home or implying "homemade" does not infer that the competition is buying their product in the local supermarket! On a French menu, "Maison" indicates a particular restaurant's or chef's take on a well-known dish.

Dos de Maigre aux Effluves d'Epices Cuit sous Vos Yeux Sauce Beurre Blanc au Gewurztraminer et son Risotto aux Champignons - A thick cut of meagre the fish, also called croaker, scented with spices; all cooked in front of the diner in a Beurre Blanc sauce made with Gewurztraminer wine and accompanied by a button mushroom risotto. (Be careful using the word "maigre" as it also means lean).

Escalope de Saumon Frais, Sauce Légère au Gewurztraminer – Fresh salmon served with a light Gewurztraminer flavored sauce.

Le Sorbet Citron Arrosé au Marc de Gewurztraminer – A lemon sorbet lightly flavored with a Marc de Gewurztraminer; this may be offered between the main course and the dessert menu:

Granité au Melon Rose et Gewurztraminer AOC Alsace Grand Cru - A granite made with crushed frozen melon and rose water, flavored with a Gewurztraminer Grand Cru. Granités were originally the French take on Italian granitas, and in the beginning, they were sugar, fruiKougelhopf cake, and water served with crushed ice, a sludge. Many guide books still translate a French granité as sludge in English. However, the granités served in most French restaurants have moved on and are now very different from a sludge.

Kougelhopf Glacé au Marc de Gewurztraminer, Coulis aux Fruits Rouge - This is a popular Alsatian dessert where an ice-cream cake is often made using the traditional engraved Kougelhopf cake pan. You will receive a slice of this ice-cream cake shaped like a regular Kougelhopf cake. In this menu listing the ice cream is flavored with a Marc de Gewurztraminer and accompanied by a puree of berries, strawberries and other red fruits.

Un Verre de Gewurztraminer Vendanges Tardives - A glass of sweet Gewurztraminer late harvest wine. One of the best ways to enjoy this wine without buying the whole bottle.

At the end of a meal, Alsatian menus may offer an Alsatian coffee:

Café Alsacien – An Alsatian coffee; a shot of black espresso coffee served with whipped cream and a shot of Gewurztraminer Marc. (A similar coffee elsewhere in France, without the whipped cream, will be a Café Cognac).

Kougelhopf (Gugelhupf) with Alsatian Coffee by the side.

Photograph Courtesy of Lyons Coffee

The Kougelhopf cake, also called Gugelhupf, Kouglof, and other similar names, include cakes that today have a wide variety of recipes. The original Kougelhopf was a raisin-filled yeast bread made in traditional engraved pans with a hole in the middle; these pans with their engravings have become collectors’ items. As a child, I remember my Oma, my Austrian Grandmother making these cakes on the stovetop.

Kougelhopf pans

Betschdorf and Soufflenheim for Alsatian pottery

Photograph courtesy of Stars and Stripes

Exploring the Alsace

With friends and family who joined us after the annual Basel exhibition, we would explore the Route des Vins d’Alsace. This Alsace wine road extends from the South, near the small town of Thann, 25 minutes from Mulhouse to the North of the Alsace, just past Marlenheim, 24 minutes from Strasbourg for over 120 km (75 miles); however, that is as the crow flies, but double that distance if you follow the route on the map. There are close to 100 towns and villages along the way, all with wine and tourism an important part of their economies. We quickly learned the way to enjoy a weekend in the Alsatian wine country with the wine road as our guide was to take a single 5 km to maybe 10 km (3 to 6 mile) section.

The village of Eguisheim,

(Forty minutes from Basel and fifteen minutes from Colmar).

Photograph courtesy of Tambako The Jaguar.

_{www.flickr.com/photos/tambako/6083024453/}

We would wander around beautiful small towns and villages. There we could join in the wine tastings that sometimes seem to be set up every 20 meters and enjoy the beautiful houses, many with nesting storks on their roofs. For lunch, we would have a traditional Alsatian tarte flambé and then wander or drive around the beautiful countryside while discussing dinner.

A stork sitting on a house in Hunawihr, Alsace

(Thirty minutes from Colmar and one hour from Basel).

Photograph courtesy of Steven & Courtney Johnson & Horwitz

www.flickr.com/photos/unnormalized/7832026576/

The Gewurztraminer fete.

If you are in the Alsace at the end of July, then on the last Saturday and Sunday, there is a Fête du Gewurztraminer, a Gewurztraminer fete, in and around the communes of Ribeauvillé and Riquewihr. Ribeauvillé and Riquewihr, the small town and the village, are about 20 minutes' drive north of Colmar. You will find more information about their communes and their wine fete's exact dates on their English language website at:

http://www.ribeauville-riquewihr.com/en/

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Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

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Choucroute and Choucroute Garnie. Choucroute from the Alsace in French Cuisine

from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

Choucroute Garnie for eight.

Photograph courtesy of Pierre LANNES

www.flickr.com/photos/titounet/8727500919/

The Alsace, the home of Choucroute.

The Alsace, the historic French region, includes the departments of Bas Rhin and Haut Rhin that border Germany to the North and Switzerland to the east. (Since 1-1-2016 along with the Alsace the old regions of Lorraine and the Champagne Ardennes have been joined together in the new super region of the Grand Est). Dining in the Alsace offers the finest of French cuisine and traditional Alsatian dishes prepared by some of France’s outstanding chefs. Two of the most well-known traditional dishes are Choucroute, a pickled cabbage similar to the German Sauerkraut and Choucroute Garnie a humungous dish of meats and sausages served at family celebrations served on a bed of choucroute.

The story of choucroute

Choucroute, the pickled cabbage of the Alsace, like most pickled foods dates back to the days before refrigeration. Throughout the Old World pickling vegetables for winter was one of the few ways to have a guaranteed supply of green vegetables in winter. It is made with either the familiar white cabbage seen everywhere or preferably with Alsace’s own strain of giant white cabbages the Choux Quintal d'Alsace.

The Quintal d’Alsace cabbage can reach 7 kilos (14 lbs).

Photograph courtesy of Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.

Choucroute and Sauerkraute.

Sauerkraut’s creation is associated with Germany, and the Alsace and its neighbor the Lorraine do have a long association with Germany. The Alsace and the Lorraine were passed back and forth like a football between France and the various rulers of the German States and then again with a united Germany. Among the results were the addition of many German-influenced dishes to the Alsatian menu, and the use of a German dialect called Allemand Alsacien or Elsässerditsch still used alongside French. Despite these clear connections the local citizens will spend time explaining how their choucroute is far superior to German sauerkraut. They will explain that it is not only the added baies de genièvre, juniper berries, which some German recipes also use; there is much more to choucroute than just pickling cabbage for eight weeks. Choucroute is part of the Alsatian psyche.

Choucroute is a garniture, the accompanying vegetable.

Boudin Noir Sur Choucroute, Pommes Vapeurs et Légumes du Jour – Pork blood sausage, black pudding in the UK, served on a bed of Choucroute accompanied by steamed potatoes and the day’s vegetables.

Cuisse De Canard Conﬁt Sur Lit De Choucroute Braisée – Slowly cooked (confit) duck’s leg served of a bed of braised choucroute -

Duo de Sandre et Saumon Sur Choucroute, Pommes Vapeur, Sauce au Riesling – A matched serving of zander (pike-perch) and salmon that will allow the diner to enjoy the different tastes and textures of both fish flavored with an Alsatian Riesling wine served on a bed of choucroute accompanied by steamed potatoes.

Choucroute aux quatre poissons.

Choucroute with four different fish.

Photograph courtesy of Pierre LANNES

www.flickr.com/photos/titounet/16840204550/

Jarret de Porc Braisé Sur Lit de Choucroute- A braised cut from across the bone from a pig’s shank; the leg. This cut, when used for veal, is called osso buco in Italian and jarret de veau in French. This is a meaty cut with a bone marrow center that will provide a great deal of flavor while the meat is slowly cooked and then served on a bed of choucroute.

Cuisine à l'Alsacienne - Traditional Alsatian cuisine

Dining in the Alsace includes many dishes without choucroute: timbales, pies; foie gras, fattened goose and duck liver; carp dishes; tarte flambée, the dish the locals call flammen kuechen, and by others is often wrongly called Alsatian Pizza, excellent cakes, unique Alsatian honeys, Munster cheese, and much more. Today, you will rarely find a restaurant that only serves traditional Alsatian dishes, and despite that caveat, traditional accents and dishes will appear on menus along with modern French cuisine creating interesting combinations. There are many excellent chefs in the Alsace, and they are not only found in the most expensive restaurants.

Tarte tarte flambée

Photograph courtesy of janebelindasmith

www.flickr.com/photos/near_fantastica/3572534526

Choucroute Garni

Choucroute Choucroute Garnie is the Alsace’s famous humongous dish of sausages and meats that are at the heart of any local celebration. To begin with, a Choucroute Garnie includes two or more pork-based sausages including the region’s own Saucisse de Strasbourg and a local boudin noir, a pig’s blood sausage called a black pudding in the UK. The meats will be pork shoulder, smoked pork shanks, and other pork cuts. Goose, also an Alsatian favorite, may occasionally replace some of the pork or be added to it. The sausages and meats will have been simmered in the oven; each component is added one on top of the other, in accordance with the cooking time required.

Choucroute Garni

Photograph courtesy of Femme Actuelle

The main garnish for Choucroute Garnie is rather obviously the Alsace’s famous, juniper berry flavored, pickled cabbage called choucroute. While the meats and sausages were cooking in the oven, the choucroute, the dish’s essential companion, would have been cooking on the top of the stone being flavored with meat stock, gravy from the meats in the oven, goose fat, and herbs. Just before serving the choucroute will have an additional flavoring added when one of the région’s own great white wines is added; usually an Alsatian Riesling AOP.

Riesling from the Alsace.

Photograph courtesy of cave-beblenheim.

Then comes the presentation.

For the seated diners a well-presented platter of Choucroute Garnie can be awesome. A platter that I saw prepared and presented to a table of twelve was absolutely incredible; I think it would have sufficed for a table of twenty-four, it required two servers just to carry and display the platter. Choucroute Garnie is a dish for a crowd so its best to order Choucroute Garnie when you are at least six diners, the more, the merrier. Order an aperitif while waiting, but do not even think of ordering an hors d’oeuvre or an entrée, the French starter, you will never finish a whole Choucroute Garnie anyway. When the dish is ready, at the tinkle of a bell or with a clap of hands the server, and possibly the chef as well, will enter the dining-room bearing the platter of Choucroute Garnie. With the presentation of Choucroute Garnie so important at celebrations, the dish will be carried around the table so all the diners may enjoy the display before it is served.

Take Choucroute Garnie home with you.

Photograph courtesy of CasinoShop.fr

Always order Choucroute Garnie in an Alsatian specialty restaurant; even better, get invited to a Sunday dinner or celebration in a private home. All the components should cook together for several hours, and for that, you need someone who knows what he or she is doing; the presentation should also be a delight for the eyes. I am not a diehard Choucroute Garnie aficionado, but, when I do need my bi-annual Choucroute Garnie fix, I stay with the original, with all the bells and whistles.

How tourism has changed the Alsatian menus.

With the advent of mass tourism, the visitors with their varied tastes encouraged local restaurants to broaden their menus. Many visitors knew about the reputation of Choucroute Garnie but some did not want a dish with such a high-fat content, and some did not want all the pork that is part of the original recipe. The result will be will found in the restaurants that have upgraded the name and the recipes of Choucroute Garnie.

Your menu may offer:

Choucroute Royale - Choucroute Garnie prepared by using the Alsace’s sparkling crémant wine instead of the usual Riesling, it is added just before serving. Despite the use of this excellent crémant, from my experience, it does not make a significant change in the taste that an Alsatian Riesling provides. The Royale version of Choucroute Garnie would seem to me to be a dish originally created for the tourists with fat wallets.

Choucroute au Fruits de Mer – Choucroute served as an accompaniment to seafood. This and other similar dishes at least do not include Garnie in their title. Choucroute Garni needs meats that must be cooked for hours to create distinctive flavors; fish cannot be prepared like that. Choucroute au Fruits de Mer is what is; sea fish and seafood accompanied by choucroute. The Alsace is far from the sea, but fresh seafood arrives daily, and Alsatian chefs do wonderful things with shellfish including shrimps, Dublin Bay prawns, mussels and oysters among other options.

Choucroute au Poisson – Like the dish above, here the Alsace’s signature choucroute accompanies locally caught or locally farmed freshwater fish that will be chosen from among trout, pike, carp, Wels catfish, tilapia, freshwater perch, eels, pike-perch, and others. Usually, this dish is made with a single fish though a number offer two or even four; when the menu is not clear ask. The freshwater fish of the Alsace are excellent.7y

Choucroute de la Mer – Choucroute served with salt-water fish; the fish of choice may include gilthead seabream, red mullet, John Dory, monkfish or European sea bass.

The wines of the Alsace

The wines of the Alsace include some of the best white wines in France. Alsatian wines are also among the very few AOC wines known by the names of the grapes used. Apart from their dry and semi-dry white wines the Alsace also has some of France’s best sweet dessert wines. For choucroute try a semi-dry Gewürztraminer or a Pinot Gris d’Alsace also called or Clevner or Klevner. If it’s a celebration try a brut Crémant de Alsace. Or, try the local beer; nearly 50% of all the beers in France are produced in the Alsace and there are many microbreweries as well.

Gewurztraminer grapes in the Alsace.

Photograph courtesy of Randi Hausken

www.flickr.com/photos/randihausken/30304350585/

The Alsatians brought the brasseries to other parts of France.

Over many generations, Alsatians moved to other parts of France and some of were the owners and chefs of the originally Alsatian brewery based restaurants called brasseries. Today, a brasserie’s menu may have no connection to the Alsace while another, may give away its origins with specific Alsatian dishes on the menu.

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