Behind the French Menu: Behind the Fench Menu

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Sardines – Sardines. The Sardine in French Cuisine.

from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

If you have not tasted freshly grilled sardines,

you have not really tasted sardines.

Photograph courtesy of Rouvrais/Prisma and Cuisine Actuelle, France.

Sardine, Sardine Commune, Sardine d'Europe

The names for the sardine in France.

Fresh sardines taste nothing like canned sardines, nothing at all, so begin your entry into the world of fresh sardines with a sardine entrée, the French first course. Order fresh grilled sardines, that's Sardines Fraîches Grillées, or marinated sardines, Sardines Fraiche Marinées. Afterward, you will be licking your lips every time you think about them.

A grapefruit, fennel, and sardine salad.

Photograph courtesy of Alpha

https://www.flickr.com/photos/avlxyz/

The fresh sardines served in France are quite a bit larger than those we see in a can. A portion for a French entrée, the starter, will be three or four fish. The fishermen and fisherwomen will sell small sardines, along with similar-looking small fish to the canning industry; if they are tiny, they may appear on the menu as a Friture de Poissons a tasty fish fry.

Where did the sardine get its name?

The name sardine relates historically to the pilchards, and similar small fish caught off the coast of the Italian island of Sardinia. These were the first fish to be preserved, in large quantities, by packing them in oil; hence from the Island of Sardinia came sardines. Around France’s freshwater lakes, small fresh lake-fish may also be on the

Your French menu may offer:

Filets de Sardines Fraîches Marinées au Citron Vert et Feuilles de Coriandre - Filets of fresh sardines marinated in lime and coriander leaves.

Marinated sardines

Photograph courtesy of Trip Advisor

Sardines Fraîches Grillées – Grilled fresh sardines.

Sardines Fumées - Smoked sardines; a unique treat.

Rillettes de Sardines Fraîches à la Ciboulette - Fresh sardines grilled, boned and then mashed and flavored with chives; they make a tasty spread on toast. Rillettes are more often on menus when made with goose, duck or pork, but definitely should not be ignored when made with fresh sardines.

A sardine fishing boat

Gulls and others have a free lunch

They catching any fish they can reach when the net is reeled in.

Photograph courtesy of Anita Gilmore.

www.flickr.com/photos/ag_gilmore/8169949194/

Une Fougasse de Sardines Fraiches, Huile d'Olive au Basilic et Vinaigrette de Tomate – A fougasse with fresh sardines, basil flavored olive oil and a tomato vinaigrette. The fougasse was originally a crusty Provencal bread. It is made of baguette dough brushed with olive oil and flavored with orange zest, and that is still the tradition. However, Fougasse bread has changed beyond recognition. Now Fougasse comes with a wide variety of shapes and flavorings or fillings. For more about the different types of French bread click here.

The canned sardine

Photograph courtesy of Alpha

www.flickr.com/photos/avlxyz/13884758569/

Visiting France’s fishing ports and their celebrations.

When traveling to France, there is more than just restaurants to dine in and chateaus and museums to visit. Call or mail the French Government Tourist office in your home country and ask for information on fetes in the area where you will be staying. There are fetes for breads, cheeses, fruits, beef, sausages, wines, fish and even sardines; that’s apart from fetes and festivals for music, art, and antiques, etc.

Spaghettis aux sardines, sauce tomate.

Spaghetti with sardines and a tomato sauce.

This spaghetti dish has a sauce made with tomatoes, garlic, herbs, and, of course, flavored just before serving with one of France’s AOP olive oils.

Photograph courtesy of Iana Peralta

www.flickr.com/photos/upto6only/5559941513/

If you have already arrived in France when you read this, walk into the local tourist information office. There are over 1,600 Tourist Information Offices scattered around France, and one will be near you with someone who speaks English. The adverts for these fetes are mostly in French, but there will invariably be music, attractions for the kids, and food and wines fetes that will be tastings and cooking instructions with more options than you can think of. Entrance is always free, and overseas visitors are always welcome.

Soupe des Sardines - Sardine soup.

Photograph courtesy of CuisineAZ

Fêtes de la Sardine de La Turballe

Consider, as an example, the Sardine Fete held in the beautiful small town, (pop 5,000) of La Turballe. La Turballe is in the department of the Loire-Atlantique, in the région of the Pays de la Loire. The Prefecture, the departmental capital of Loire-Atlantique, is the lovely city of Nantes, just 80 km (54 miles) away. They have two Fêtes de la Sardine, the first on the third Saturday in July and the second on the third Saturday in August. N.B. Always always check the dates of celebrations with the nearest Tourist Information Office or in the case of La Turballe on their English language website:

http://www.tourisme-laturballe.fr/?code_langue=EN

You may visit La Turballe’s fête from 11:30 in the morning until 10:00 at night. There you will be offered tastings of grilled sardines, sardine based fish soups, sardine tartare, and many other tempting dishes as well as other local products. The organizers claim that during fete a ton of sardines is consumed! All the sardines you can eat may be accompanied by the extensive choice of the wines of the Pay de la Loire.

The fishing port of La Turballe.

Photograph courtesy of the Mairie de La Turballe

At other times stop at La Turballe for lunch even when there are no sardines. All year round, there will be fresh sole, mackerel, skate, St Peter's fish, monkfish, and many other fish and seafood options in the local restaurants. Take time to visit the town's museum, La Maison de la Pêche, their fishing museum. The museum's website is in French, but using Google or Bing translate, you will be able to understand it very well:

http://musee-laturballe.fr/.

When you have eaten enough sardines or other fish for lunch, take a short drive, about 10 km (6 miles), to La Turballe's beaches. There you may rent an umbrella and a beach chair and relax and watch the world go by. If you are traveling in the area, note that Guérande, so famous for its Fleur de Sel, is only 7 km (4 miles) away.

Great Cliff Beach at La Turnballe.

Photograph courtesy of en.plages.tv.

There are food and wine festivals in nearly every French City town and village. Do not miss out on France's wine roads, cheese trails, and fetes for everything from sardines to figs.

Sardines in the languages of France’s neighbors:

(Catalan - sardina),(Dutch – pelser, sardien),(German – sardine, pilchard), (Italian - sardine, sarda, sardella, sardina comune), (Spanish - sardine commune), (sardina pilchardus).

--------------------------------

Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

--------------------------------

Searching for the meaning of words, names or phrases

French menus?

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Chablis; One of France's Finest White Wines and Chablis the Town.

from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

Chablis Grand Cru.

Photograph courtesy of Dale Cruse.

www.flickr.com/photos/dalecruse/8706768713/

Chablis AOP is a dry, crisp, white wine produced from Chardonnay grapes around the town of Chablis in the department of Yonne, Burgundy that since 1-1-2016 is part of the super region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté.

The town of Chablis, despite its famous name and history, is still a small French town; albeit an exceptionally pretty one. If you are driving to Chablis, remember it is a small town. You may quickly drive through the town and be back out among the grapevines before you realize you have exited the town. We did that! We, of course, did turn around and drive back. In the town center, we found an inviting looking restaurant to sample the local cuisine, and, again, of course, to order a bottle of Chablis.

The entrance to Chablis

Photograph courtesy of Jameson Fink

www.flickr.com/photos/jamesonfink/13187892615/

Despite its size, Chablis and its immediate area have quite a number of hotels, B & Bs, restaurants, and, of course, wine shops. You may also choose to stay in the towns of Avallone or Auxerre; both are about 20 km (12 miles) from Chablis. We stayed in an excellent hotel in Avallone. The hotel is built on the sight of a post house where Napoleon I had once watered his horse! Auxerre has many more hotels, but none whose claim to fame competes with Napoleon and his horse.

Vineyards in Chablis

Photograph courtesy of Jameson Fink

www.flickr.com/photos/jamesonfink/13191848163/

8163/

In books on pairing wines, Chablis has always been one of the wines recommended to accompany oysters. (The other favored choices are Muscadet, which comes from the area close to the city of Nantes in the Pay du Loire, and, of course, Champagne). Chablis and oysters are an interesting coincidence. The vineyards around Chablis are all set above an ancient limestone landmass with many fossilized oysters. Those old oysters must have spread the word, and so the wheel of life goes on.

Choosing a Chablis

French Chablis is very different from most of the New World versions I have tried. However, I am not an educated wine maven, and with hundreds of producers and four appellations when we arrived in Chablis, I needed help. Luckily, in the restaurant we had chosen, there was a friendly and knowledgeable sommelier, and I had an up-to-date book in French wines. We discussed our interest in Chablis along with our budget. The sommelier suggested a reasonably priced wine that turned out to be fabulous. This was a Chablis from one of the lower Chablis appellations, but good sommeliers know a great deal more than just the names, the price, and appellations. More about Chablis appellations and the information they contribute later. While we were enjoying our lunch and our wine we overheard the couple on the table next to us discussing their dissatisfaction with a much more expensive Chablis. They had chosen a top of the line Chablis from the wine-list, it had been their own choice. As with other wines, so with Chablis, the price does not guarantee any more than how much you will pay. More about the different Chablis Crus and grades toward the end of this post.

Chablis on French menus:

Cassolette d'Escargots au Chablis – A dish of snails served with a Chablis based sauce.

Bottle and glass of Chablis

Photograph courtesy of brett jordan

www.flickr.com/photos/x1brett/46088122924/

Filet de Raie au Chablis – Skate, the fish, sautéed with Chablis. In the UK, skate is mostly seen when deep-fried in batter and sold in fish and chip shops. However, in France, skate will be served in the finest restaurants. In French kitchens skate be may be baked, poached or sautéed, but never deep-fried. Dishes with skate will be served hot with a butter or wine sauce, as skate tends to jell when cold.

Paupiettes au Saumon Sauce Chablis – Rolled filets of salmon cooked in a Chablis based sauce.

Poire au Vin de Chablis - Pears cooked in Chablis.

Chablis vineyards

Photograph courtesy of Olivier Letourneux

www.flickr.com/photos/lreivilo/2741453629/

Sauté de Queues d'Écrevisses, Brunoise de Petits Légumes au Chablis - Crayfish tails sautéed with Chablis and served with finely cut young vegetables. Brunoise is one of the important sizes in the French world of chopped fruits and vegetables, it denotes a cut about 2 mm (0.08”) thick.

Chablis has a number of unique local dishes that may also be on your menu. They include Jambon Chablis, ham cooked in Chablis, and a locally made Andouillette AAAAA sausage.

N.B.: When a sommelier or a wine-list only offer wines that are above your budget, then that is the time to choose a house wine. Most French restaurants, outside of some of the more exclusive, have house wines that have been chosen with their regular diners in mind. House wines will be approved by the sommelier and in smaller restaurants by the owner and the chef; the wine will be priced to keep the regulars returning.

French Chablis is made from very close to 100% French Chardonnay grape with a taste that is quite different from most New World Chardonnays that I have tried. Maybe it is the barrels, maybe its science, maybe it is the terroir. (Worry not, I will not get into terroir here). Whatever the reason, French Chablis is different from other French wines made with Chardonnay grapes.

The town of Chablis and some twelve villages linked to her have festivals and fetes almost every month of the year. These celebrations are not only about the Chablis wines, though a sizeable number are. The festivities include concerts, artist’s festivals and more.

The Sereign River flows through Chablis

Photograph courtesy of Olivier Letourneux

www.flickr.com/photos/lreivilo/2742287464/

Finding the dates of Chablis linked festivals and fetes.

You may check the dates and places of wine and food celebrations throughout France when still in your home country through the local French Government Tourist Office. For Chablis tourism the town’s visitor information website is www.chablis.net. If you are already in Chablis, the tourism information office is on the town’s main street: 1 Rue du Maréchal de Lattre de Tassigny.

Ask the Chablis tourist information office for a map of the town and a map of their Chablis Route des Vins, their Chablis wine road. Then request information on the town’s and surrounding communities’ celebrations and farmers’ markets. With all that information, you have the perfect way to explore the area, including stopping off for wine tastings and joining in the celebrations that coincide with your visit. The Chablis Route des Vins also passes quite a number of restaurants; choose one to enjoy lunch or dinner.

The most important wine fete in Chablis itself is the Fête des Vins de Chablis, the fete of Chablis wines. This fete it is held on the fourth Saturday and Sunday in October. Additionally, the entire department of Yonne, which includes Chablis, celebrates its many different wines on the first Saturday in May. The town of Chablis, of course, will be doing its part.

Seeing the town of Chablis

Inside Chablis, you do not need a car. Just park and walk around the town. Walk along streets that were laid down in the late middle ages with some of the original houses remaining. Visit its two churches, one of which dates back to the twelfth century the other to the 18th. Both churches were rebuilt in the 19th century. There is also a 12th-century synagogue that was rebuilt some ten years ago.

There is a farmers’ market in Chablis every Sunday morning. Given a bright summer’s day, you may want to pass on a traditional restaurant lunch and buy a chilled bottle of Chablis, a baguette and some of Burgundy’s magnificent cheeses. Find a road that takes you to the banks of the River Sereign that runs through the town and find a place for a picnic; enjoy.

Hiking in Chablis,

If you enjoy hiking, then consider joining one of the hikes that are organized by the Chablis hikers association, the Association des Sentiers Chablisiens The association organizes hikes in the country around Chablis twice a week for one and a half to two hours. Their French language website is:

http://www.sentierschablisiens.fr/masque.html

Google and Bing translate translate the French very clearly.

Chablis appellations.

Four Chablis appellations set the boundaries of the different Chablis wines. The Chablis Appellations were created to differentiate the quality of the Chablis wines produced in each area. Like the rest of France’s appellations and crus, they were set in 1935. They have been part of French law in 1946. However, since 1946, not one single Chablis wine, produced by any Chablis vintner, has had its quality grading changed! None are officially better or worse?

There are four Chablis appellations:

Appellation Chablis Grand Cru Contrôlée - Considered the very, very best of all the Chablis wines.

Appellation Chablis Premier Cru Contrôlée - Nearly the very best.

Aging bottles of Chablis

Photograph courtesy of Alexander von Halem

www.flickr.com/photos/barockschloss/26360271760/

Appellation Chablis Contrôlée - A snippet below the nearly the very best.

Appellation Petit Chablis Contrôlée Chablis - A little below the one below the nearly the very best.

Petit Chablis

Photograph courtesy of Dale Cruse

www.flickr.com/photos/dalecruse/9201791579/

I have listed these appellations, tongue in cheek, as I certainly do not know why a single producer's wine has not been recognized for having improved or worsened in over 70 years! However, the wine mavens know and the caves, the wine stores know, and their prices reflect the value. I also know that if you see a Chablis Grand Cru at a low price, leave it! There is no good top of the line Chablis wines at a discount price.

Other great white wines from Burgundy are also made with 100% Chardonnay grapes. These other wines have their own names and appellations. Despite having the same grape in the bottle, these other wines also have, by the different soils, local micro-climates, magic, science or terroir have different tastes. These additional 100% Chardonnay wines include famous names like Pouilly-Fuissé AOP, Chassagne-Montrachet, AOP, Corton-Charlemagne AOP, Meursault AOP, Montrachet AOP, and many others.

For more on all the wines from Burgundy see the website:

http://www.bourgogne-wines.com/

-----------------------

Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

---------------------------

Searching for the meaning of words, names or phrases

French menus?

Just add the word, words, or phrase that you are searching for to the words "Behind the French Menu" (best when including the inverted commas), and search with Google or Bing, Behind the French Menu’s links, include hundreds of words, names, and phrases that are seen on French menus. There are over 450 articles that include over 4,000 French dishes with English translations and explanations.

------------------------

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