Behind the French Menu: wild garlic

Showing posts with label wild garlic. Show all posts

Morille, the Morel Mushroom. Morel mushrooms on French Menus. The Mushrooms of France V.

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

Morels in a farmers’ market.
Photograph courtesy of Al
www.flickr.com/photos/wessel1943/7170856890/

La Morille – The Morel Mushroom

Morels are a family of tasty mushrooms with a decidedly different look to most other mushrooms. Morels lack the gills and domed caps of many other mushrooms, but they all have white-to-ivory colored stems and a conical cap. Dried morel caps that you may see in the market look tube-shaped, but that is part of the drying process and when rehydrated the conical cap returns. The morel’s taste and texture make them a French favorite; they will be served fresh from early spring through to the beginning of June. (The idea that morel stems are not edible is an urban legend, though they are a little tougher than the cap).

Now that a few members of the morel family have been cultivated, mushroom farmers all around the world are trying to produce mushrooms all year round. Nevertheless, it is still a work in progress and not enough product is reaching the markets to change the prices. On the wild side, each member of the morel family has its own short six-to-eight weeks of glory in France between late February and June. The morel is providentially an easy mushroom to dry and so they may be on menus all year round. Some French chefs freeze morels and extend their "almost fresh" shelf life by a month or two. two.

Dried morels in the market.(The row in the center).
Photograph courtesy of Tom Bridge

www.flickr.com/photos/tbridge/5559121011/

The two most common members you will encounter in France are:

The Yellow Morel, the Morille ronde or Morille blonde – This is the most famous member of the morel family; identified in the markets by its rounded or egg-shaped cap and its honey-yellow to pale brown color. Unlike its cousin, the Black Morel, the ridges on the Yellow Morel are irregular and look like a sponge or a honeycomb. The flavor is mild, nutty, and creamy.

The Black Morel, Morille noire or Morille conique – This variety is identified by its pointed, conical shape and dark brown to black ridges. It appears earlier in the season and is highly prized by chefs for its intense, smoky aroma and stronger flavor.

Morels can grow quite large.

Photograph courtesy of Jena Fuller

www.flickr.com/photos/jsf539/14038716515/

French chefs like wild mushrooms and wild herbs and most will have long-term contracts with ramasseurs: professional wild mushroom and wild herb gatherers. These professional gatherers know the exact season for each member of the morel family, as well as other mushrooms, herbs, fruits, berries, and more. These gatherers keep the places where they find the mushrooms close to their chests; they know they can expect the same wild mushrooms and herbs to appear every year. Importantly, they also know how to keep well away from the false morel and other "look-alike" mushrooms which can be poisonous.

Veloutéd'Asperges Blanches aux Morilles Fraîches- A creamy white asparagus soup served with morel mushrooms. Veloutés are smooth velvety soups and were made from, at least originally, a sauce base; veloutés were one of the five mother sauces of French cuisine

Émincé de Veau aux Morilles – Thin slices of veal served with morel mushrooms.

Filet de Féra du Léman aux Morilles, Risotto à l’Ail des Ours, Tomate Confite - A filet of the broad whitefish caught in Lake Leman (Lake Geneva) prepared with morel mushrooms. The dish is accompanied by a risotto flavored with wild garlic and a tomato confit. The broad whitefish is a relative of salmon and trout and a very tasty fish. When this fish is on your menu in France it will come from a lake or a river, while outside of Europe they may be caught at sea. When this fish comes from Lake Leman, it is considered particularly tasty and so its provenance will be on the menu. The wild garlic in the risotto has a much lighter and delicate taste than cultivated garlic, but do ask the waiter as not all wild garlic plants will have read this post! The tomato confit that accompanies this dish is made with tomatoes cooked very slowly until they reach the consistency of a tomato jam.

Morel Mushrooms

with a Tomato and Pinot Noir Reduction and an Artichoke Pasta

Photograph courtesy of Janet Hudson

www.flickr.com/photos/veganfeast/4803891520/

Poêlée de Ris de Veau aux Morilles à la Crème, Jus au Porto. – Lightly fried veal sweetbreads served with creamed morel mushrooms and flavored with a port wine sauce.

Suprême de Chapon au Vin Jaune et Morilles – Boneless capon breast prepared with the yellow wine of the Jura and morel mushrooms. A capon is a cockerel, a rooster, that was castrated as a chick and they grow to 3 or 4 kilos and have very tender meat. The Vin Jaune, the yellow wine from the Jura is a very aromatic dessert wine; it will have been aged for a minimum of six years in oak barrels. The Vin Jaune is a very unique wine, apart from its preparation, taste, aroma, even its bottle shape and size is different to other French wines.

The season, in France, for Fresh Morels.

Outside of the late February to early June season when one member or another of the morel family may be collected fresh the morels on the menu will have been dried. When dried morels are rehydrated, there is only a little change in the taste and texture, and for morel aficionados, any morel is better than none.

None of the members of the morel family has ever been truly cultivated, and there are nearly fifty members. However, in Europe, only five or six morels grow abundantly and it this small number who reach the restaurants and markets in quantity. There are slight differences in taste and texture between the different family members but you will need a lot of exposure to tell the difference.

Nearly enough for breakfast

Photograph courtesy of Jacob Kaplan-Moss

www.flickr.com/photos/jacobian/8689783655

Dried morels are anywhere from 2.5cm (1”) to 5cm (2”) long, without the stem. Wild morels are often larger with some wild morels more than three times that length.

Gathering wild mushrooms.

If you gather wild morels in France be aware of the false morel that the uninformed can mistake for the real thing; false morels are poisonous! Every town and village in France have a trained mycologist, a mushroom expert and local pharmacists have these expert’s addresses. All mushrooms should be shown to these volunteer experts before being eaten, and, in any case, all morels must be cooked.

The Mushroom Gatherers

Painting by Henry Herbert La Thangue (1859 – 1929)

Yellow Morel, Morille ronde or Morille blonde), in the languages of France’s neighbors: (Catalan – múrgola, rabassola, or morilla), (Dutch – morielje), (German – Speisemorchel or Rund-Morchel), (Italian – spugnola or spugnola gialla), (Spanish – morilla, mazorquita, or pancita), (Latin – Morchella esculenta),

Yellow Morel in other languages: (Chinese (Mandarin) – yángdǔjūn / 羊肚菌), (Greek – manitári morchéla / μανιτάρι μορχέλα), (Hebrew – morel / מוריאל), (Hungarian – kucsmagomba), (Norwegian – Morkel), (Polish – smardz), (Romanian – zbârciog), (Russian – smorchki / сморчки), (Swedish – Murkla),

Black Morel, Morille noire or Morille conique, in the languages of France’s neighbors: (Catalan – múrgola negra), (Dutch – morielje), (German – Spitzmorchel), (Italian – spugnola nera or morchella conica), (Spanish – colmenilla negra or morilla), (Latin – Morchella conica).

Black Morel in other languages: (Chinese (Mandarin) – hēi yángdǔjūn / 黑羊肚菌), (Greek – mávri morchéla / μαύρη μορχέλα), (Hebrew – morel shakhor / מוריאל שחור), (Hungarian – ízletes kucsmagomba), (Norwegian – Spissmorkel), (Polish – smardz wyniosły), (Romanian – zbârciog conic), (Russian – smorchok konicheskiy / сморчок конический), (Swedish – Toppmurkla), (Turkish – sivri kuzu göbeği). (Turkish – kuzu göbeği).

Other mushroom posts:

Rosé des Prés or Agaric Champêtre – The Field or Meadow Mushroom in French Cuisine. French Mushrooms X.

Bolet, Cèpe Jaune des Pins or Nonnette – The Weeping Bolet Mushroom in French Cuisine. The Mushrooms of France IX

Shiitake or Lentin du Chêne –The Shiitake Mushroom in French Cuisine. The Mushrooms of France VIII

Corne d'Abondance, Craterelles or Trompette des Morts, - The Horn of Plenty, the Black Chanterelle and the Black Trumpet Mushroom. French Mushrooms VII

Pleurote – The Oyster Mushroom in French cuisine. The Mushrooms of France VI

Chanterelle Mushrooms. The Most Famous Four. Chanterelle Mushrooms on French Menus. The Mushrooms of France IV

The Cèpe, The Porcini Mushroom, Grows Wild in France. Enjoy the Tasty Wild Mushrooms Of France III.

The Mousseron or St. George's Mushroom, The Wonderful Wild Mushrooms of France II.

Mushrooms in France I, The Champignon de Paris, the ButtonMushroom. -

Soup on the French Menu. A Soup by Any Other Name, but France has So Many Names for Soup.

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

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Ail - Garlic. Garlic in French Cuisine.

from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

Garlic is an important herb.

But, it is not the most important herb in France.

Garlic flowers.

Flickr photo by Maja Dumat.

www.flickr.com/photos/blumenbiene/4800720621/

Fleur d’ail – Garlic flower; in the French kitchen little goes to waste. The garlic flower itself, the green leaves and its scapes (buds), all with their light garlic taste and scent are important. They are used as additions to salads, sauces and wherever a very light garlic touch is needed without cooking. They are a pretty flower but think twice before using them to decorate your home; as a reader warned it can take a week to get the scent out of your home!

How garlic is used in French cuisine

Garlic’s place in the French kitchen cannot be conveyed better than by using a quote from France’s most famous, early 20th century, food critic.

Une caresse d'ail revigore, un excès d'ail endort.

A caress of garlic invigorates, an excess of garlic deadens.

Curnonsky - (1872-1956).

Author, food writer, and food critic.

Curnonsky, (Maurice Edmund Sailland), was, by far, the most knowledgeable and influential of all early 20th-century French food critics.

Garlic in French

Ail – Garlic.

Gousse d’ail - An individual garlic clove.

Bulbe d'ail - A bulb of garlic; that group of garlic cloves that grow together.

Garlic in French cuisine

You may not care, or may not be aware of the differences in the tastes of different garlic plants. At home, whoever sees a particular type of garlic mentioned on the menu? Many French chefs: however, make their customers aware when special herbs or spices are used and, in the season they may choose to remind the diner that different garlic plants have different tastes.

Garlic is way down the list of important spices. The most important herbs and spices are those that make up the herb and spice group called the Les Fine Herbes, the fine herbs. Neither, Les Fine Herbs herb or the Provencal herb and spice group called the Herbes de Provence, the herbs of Provence, include garlic.

What chefs look for in garlic.

Fresh garlic changes when cooked; its strong taste and odor changes and then harmonizes with other herbs and spices. That change and harmony is the effect that chefs look for. Garlic’s influence on flavor in the kitchen is very different from its cousins, which include the onion, the leek, the chive, and the shallot. Never look down on garlic and its family members that work in the kitchen as they all belong to the lily family.

Lily.... A close cousin of garlic.

Flickr photo by Toshihiro Gamo

www.flickr.com/photos/dakiny/14915303925/

Garlic heaven or garlic hell in France?

Forget the occasional travel horror stories that have visitors to France, returning home from a garlic-flavored hell. I can only imagine these stories come from travelers who insist on going to the same bad restaurant every day! French cuisine does not use garlic in even half of its recipes, and when garlic is used, it is mostly with a light touch.

Herb and spices in the French kitchen.

Herbs and spices are every French chef’s second right hand, or if the chef is a lefty, like two of my children, a second left hand. Garlic is used as a herb or a spice, and so that is how it will be referred to in this post and in the whole blog. By definition, garlic is a vegetable, but I am not going to confuse the readers with the facts.

Chopped garlic.

Flickr photo by Beatrice Murch

www.flickr.com/photos/blmurch/558729473/

Ail or Ail Blanche – White Garlic.

White garlic is the garlic that stores best and is available as white leafed bulbs all year round.

White garlic on French Menus:

Grosses Crevettes Sautées à l'Ail et Flambée au Pastis – Large shrimps lightly fried in garlic and flambéed with Pastis, the traditional aniseed-flavored alcoholic drink.

Pain Grillé Frotté à l'ail – Toasted garlic bread.

Assiette de Bulots à l' Aïoli - A plate of whelks served with aïoli, the famous garlicky mayonnaise created in Provence. A plate of whelks with aïoli is a French Mediterranean, seaside, seafood restaurant, favorite; whelks are also served with mayonnaise or aïoli along the Atlantic coast. Usually, a plate of French fries, chips, are served alongside.

White garlic

Photograph courtesy of Marco Verch

www.flickr.com/photos/30478819@N08/47439315882/

Ail Nouveau – New garlic.

Fresh garlic, new garlic, will be available from June through July, and then many French menus may note its role. French chefs prefer fresh garlic as its far more adaptable.

Entrecôte Grillée à L'ail Nouveau, Concassé de Tomates, Courgettes et Aubergines à la Plancha - An entrecote steak grilled with fresh garlic and served with chopped tomatoes and courgettes (zucchinis in the USA) and aubergines (eggplants in the USA) prepared on a plancha. A plancha, a planxa in Basque, is a solid, thick, flat sheet metal used for cooking; it achieves a cooking form and tastes somewhere between grilling and frying.

Morilles Farcies à l’Ail Nouveau et Oignons Confits – Morel mushrooms stuffed with fresh garlic and onions cooked as a confit; that is until they have become a sweet onion jam.

Ratatouille à l 'Ail Nouveau – Ratatouille, that unique Provencal dish made here with new garlic.

New garlic

Photograph courtesy of ilovebutter

www.flickr.com/photos/jdickert/3395292910

L'Ail d'Automne - Fall garlic; fresh winter garlic.

Fresh fall garlic is on the market in France from late October through December, depending on the region; it will be part of many winter stews and soups.

Fall garlic on French Menus:

Fricassée d'Escargots et Pleurottes, Émulsion à l'Ail d’Automne. A snail stew; probably the gray snail, and oyster mushrooms with a thick sauce made with fall garlic.

Wild Garlic

Ail des Bois, Ail des Ours or Ail Sauvage

Latin - allium ursinum

Photograph courtesy of Woodland-bulbs.co.uk

Wild garlic grows all over Europe, the UK, and North America. There are other plants that do look somewhat similar, especially wild onions. Despite there looks, worry not, their clearly different smells make it hard to make a mistake. French market gardeners also grow wild garlic for restaurants, and wild garlic can be replanted in private vegetable patches.

Wild garlic leaves may be used raw in salads and cooked in other recipes; the wild garlic bulb itself is very small and generally imparts a lighter garlic taste and odor than the cultivated varieties. Despite that caveat, you should still be careful when cooking with wild garlic; I have had a dish where the wild garlic plants involved had obviously had not read this post.

Wild garlic on French menus:

Rôti de Porc à l'Ail des Bois – Pork roasted with wild garlic.

Filet de Pagre et Citron Confit, Pesto d'Ail Sauvage et Asperges Vertes – Filet of sea bream prepared with a lemon confit served with a pesto sauce made with wild garlic and green asparagus. Lemon confit, as with other fruit or other vegetable confits, will be slowly cooked and offered as a sweet jam or condiment. The taste of the confit will be made to contrast with the main dish.

Crème de Céleri à l'Ail des Ours – A cream of celery soup flavored with wild garlic.

Ris de Veau à l'Étuvée aux Champignons Crème à l'Ail Sauvage - Steamed veal sweetbreads served with a button mushroom and wild garlic cream sauce.

Wild garlic in the languages of France’s neighbors:

(Catalan - all de bruixa, all bord, all ursí, all d'ós), (Dutch - daslook ),(German - bärlauch, wilder knoblauch, waldknoblauch, ramsen), (Italian - erba orsina, aglio orsino), (Spanish - ajo silvestre, ajo de oso) (Latin - allium ursinum).

Ail Doux – Sweet garlic.

Sweet garlic on the menu may come from a number of cooking techniques, including one that caramelizes white garlic. There are also a small number of plants that are related to garlic and have a sweet garlic taste. Also, menus will offer black garlic that is white garlic that passes through treatment invented in Korea and Japan. In France, some market gardeners raise a plant called Tulbahia, a distant member of the garlic family; its taste is sweeter than regular garlic, and yet it retains a light garlic taste and smell.

Sweet garlic on French menus:

Souris d'Agneau Braisée à l'Ail Doux et Romarin - The braised for-shank and knuckle of lamb flavored with sweet garlic and rosemary.

Médaillon de Lotte à l'Ail Doux – A medallion, a round cut of monkfish tail flavored with sweet garlic.

Ail Noire - Black Garlic

Black garlic on French menus began to be imported from Japan or Korea twenty years ago but is now available from local producers. This tasty garlic with its sweet overtones is an Asian invention using the white garlic bulbs. Black Garlic has its own post so for more in-depth information click here.

Peeled black garlic.

Photograph courtesy of H. Alexander Talbot

www.flickr.com/photos/ideasinfood/8302477460

Black garlic on French menus:

Filet De Turbot à l'Ail Noir Japonais – A filet of turbot, the fish, prepared with Japanese black garlic.

Spaghettis à l'Ail Noir, aux Tomates Sèches et aux Copeaux De Parmesan – Spaghetti prepared with black garlic, dried tomatoes and served with shavings of Parmesan cheese.

Ail Géant or L’Ail Rocambole – Giant or Rocambole Garlic.

Rocambole garlic covers a number of large-sized members of the hard-neck garlic family. All the rocambole garlic family members are usually sold under the same name. On some menus, the rocambole garlic may be called the rocambole onion.

Rocambole garlic on French menus:

Cuisses de Grenouilles à La Rocambole – Frog’s legs prepared with rocambole garlic.

Velouté de Patate Douce et Rocambole – A velvety soup made with sweet potatoes and flavored with rocambole.

Rocambole garlic is both cultivated and found in the wild, and it is appreciated for its stronger garlic taste. Unfortunately, for those who prefer this particular garlic strain, it does not store well; it will only be on menus for at most two months in the year.

Rocambole and long-neck garlic

Photograph courtesy of Swallowtail Farm

Rocambole garlic in the language of France’s neighbors:

(Catalan - rocambole), (Dutch - slangenlook), (German – rockenbolle, schlangen-knoblauch), (Italian - aglio romano, aglio romano rocambola), (Spanish - rocambola), (Latin - allium sativum var. ophioscorodon).

Aillet– Young garlic or early garlic.

Aillet- Early Garlic

The French have a love of early vegetables, and that is no less true for garlic. But don't confuse young garlic with wild garlic; young garlic is regular garlic picked early when the full bulb has not yet formed. Young garlic has a single bulb at the end that, together with its leaves, looks quite similar to a spring onion. Young garlic in France is sold in farmers' markets. If you have the opportunity to taste one raw, you will find that the end is crunchy and sweet, with just a hint of garlic. Young garlic, together with its green shoots, will be added raw to a salad.

Young garlic on French menus:

Noix de Saint-Jacques Poêlées aux Aillets, Copeaux de Truffe Noire – The meat of the King Scallop fried with young garlic and served with shavings of the black truffle from Perigord.

Omelette à l'Aillet - An omelet made with young garlic. The garlic taste will be very mild.

Ail Fumé - Smoked Garlic

Smoked garlic.

Photograph courtesy of « R☼Wεnα »

www.flickr.com/photos/rubber_slippers_in_italy/249616965/

Smoked garlic provides a different taste and each area where smoked garlic is a specialty arrives at a different taste. An example is the Ail Fumé d'Arleux which is peat-smoked white garlic from the area around the town of Arleux. Arleux is in the Nord department in the new super region of Hauts-de-France in the north-east of France

Smoked garlic on French menus:

Le Coquelet Rôti à l'Ail Fumé d’Arleux – A 4-6 week old cockerel oven roasted with the peat-smoked garlic from Arleux.

Gigot d'Agneau Piqué à l'Ail Fumé, Herbes Fraîches, Jardinière de Légumes – Leg of lamb studded with smoked garlic and fresh herbes and accompanied by diced cooked vegetables. Traditionally this was just carrots and turnips cut 4 – 5 mm long by about 3 cm across. Today a Jardinière de Legumes will often include other vegetables.

The town of Arleux is in the area traditionally called Flanders that borders Belgium. Arleux has a smoked garlic fair, the Foire à l’Ail d'Arleux, the Arleux Garlic Fair, on the first Sunday in September. If you are in the area at that time visit and enjoy a taste that is different. Visiting the fair will introduce you to many dishes made using light touches of Arleux's smoked garlic.

Ail Rose, Ail Rouge, Ail Violette - Rose, Pink or Violet garlic.

Ail Rosé de Lautrec

Photograph courtesy of Rhian

www.flickr.com/photos/rhian/3826530410/

These colorful garlic strains have a lighter and clearer flavor than white garlic, and that difference can be critical for a chef. Each growing area claims theirs as the very best. When pink, rose or violet garlic is in the markets alongside other garlic plants, sniff and you will note how different the scent is to white garlic.

Ail Rosé de Lautrec, IGP, Label Rouge

The Pink Garlic of Lautrec.

In the garlic world, this is about as good as it gets. The Ail Rosé de Lautrec garlic holds the Label Rouge, the red label, for its consistently high quality. The village of Lautrec is in the department of Tarn in the Occitanie and the village is so beautiful that they do not even need their Label Rouge to sell their garlic; any visitor will buy their garlic because they will become entranced by the magic of the place.

Lautrec’s most famous citizen

Jules Chéret and Henri Toulouse-Lautrec with his poster.

Henri Toulouse-Lautrec was born in Albi, 20 minutes from Lautrec

Photograph courtesy of Vidas Famosas

Grenouilles Sautées au Beurre d'Isigny et Ail Rose de Lautrec– Frog’s legs lightly fried in that unique AOC/AOP butter from Isigny together with the famous pink garlic of Lautrec.

Salade de Coquilles Saint-Jacques Écossaises à l'Ail Rose de Lautrec et Pignons de Pin - A salad served with King scallops, imported from Scotland, and prepared with the pink garlic of Lautrec and pine nuts.

Despite the village’s magic, some of the residents of Lautrec are working very hard to promote this local garlic; these are the members of the Confrérie de l'Ail Rose de Lautrec, the Brotherhood and Sisterhood of the Pink Garlic of Lautrec. This confrérie organizes a Friday garlic market in season and an annual garlic festival at the beginning of August; their Fête de l’ail Rose à Lautrec.

Ail Violet de Cadour, AOP

The AOP, violet-colored, garlic of Cadour.

The violet-colored, garlic of Cadour, the only AOP garlic in France. Here, as in Lautrec, all the villages in the immediate area are very much involved in the growing, promoting, selling or cooking this famous garlic. Cadours is in the department of Haute-Garonne in the super région of the Occitanie and 34 km (21 miles) from Toulouse.

Escargot aux l’Ail Violet de Cadour – Snails prepared with the violet garlic of Cadour.

The Cadour garlic has brought the town and the villages around a higher standard of living. If you want to try their violet garlic, visit the Cadours Fete d’Ail, the Cadour garlic festival held every year over the last weekend in August. The exact times are available from any French government Tourist Information Office.

Ail Rose de Billom - The Pink Garlic of Billom

The Ail Rose de Billom (also known as le Peul) is a distinctive pink garlic variety cultivated around the town of Billom in the Puy‑de‑Dôme department of Auvergne. Its cultivation dates back to the Middle Ages, and by the 19th century, it had become a significant economic force in the region. The garlic’s unique taste is closely linked to its terroir, benefiting from the mineral-rich volcanic soils of La Limagne—a vast, fertile plain in the Allier river valley.

Traditional growing techniques and customs associated with the Ail Rose de Billom are recognized as part of France’s Patrimoine Culturel Immatériel (Intangible Cultural Heritage). When purchasing this garlic to bring home, you can expect excellent storage qualities, allowing it to be enjoyed from the summer harvest through the following spring. It is typically sold tressed (braided), in keeping with time-honored traditions.

Two more garlic celebrations;

for those who enjoy garlic.

Piolenc - The town in the department of Vaucluse in the région of Provence, Alpes du Sud, 27 km (18 miles) from Avignon. The L’Aile en fête, their garlic fete begins the Wednesday before the last weekend in August through to the Sunday. That is five days of garlic celebrations In this small town of 5,000 they invite all the visitors to watch the preparation of a giant Grande Aïoli, and when it is ready, all the locals and all the visitors may enjoy. More information on their garlic fair at the French-language website of the local confrérie, the brotherhood, and sisterhood that organizes the fete; use the Microsoft or Google translation apps for English:

http://ail-piolenc.monsite-orange.fr/

Sainte-Helene - The village of Sainte-Helene is in the department of Gironde in the super region of Nouvelle Aquitaine; just 30 km (18 miles) from Bordeaux. Saint Helene has its Foire à l'Ail, their garlic fair, every year in the middle of September. The same time as the town’s Foire de Saint-Croix. Then their local restaurants, market stalls, parades will also help you taste the local wines and a wide range of garlic-flavored dishes, and other local delicacies. Check the dates at the municipality’s French-language website and use the Bing or Google translation apps for English:

http://www.ville-sainte-helene.fr/

The town of Sainte-Helene is not to be confused with the island of Sainte-Helene. That Sainte Helens is in the middle of the Atlantic, where Napoléon I was exiled for the second and last time. For more about Napoleon, I's link to the American FBI click here. For more about Emperor Napoleon III's link to the creation of margarine click here.

Garlic and other food and wine fairs.

Most of these communal celebrations are organized by a local confréries, food-based brotherhoods, and sisterhoods that often also organize dinners celebrating their favorite, fruit, vegetable, herb or cheese. If you are visiting an area where a confrérie is active, remember that these confréries are prominent local culinary organizations. If you are invited to a confrérie celebration, or a fete organized by a confrérie, be prepared for plenty of their favorite product offered with massive amounts of wine and long rambling speeches, all in French.

Where did garlic come from?

Garlic was almost certainly brought to France by those early Middle Eastern wholesalers, the Phoenicians. That was long before the first Romans or the Greeks came to France 2,000 years ago. The Phoenicians would have bought their garlic plants from the Egyptians as those two ancient peoples were important trading partners. The Phoenicians were trading with Egypt over 3,000 years ago, and the ancient Egyptians had been using garlic for at least 1,000 years before the Romans and Greeks came to France. The Egyptians not only cooked with garlic but worshiped with it. Additionally, according to tradition, garlic was also fed to the slaves building the pyramids. Eating fresh garlic while making bricks, I believe, may have been another reason that convinced Pharaoh to allow the Children of Israel to leave!

The French have developed quite a number of garlic subs-species, and these garlic family members are mostly named after the place where they were first grown.

The abundant use of garlic, in France, is oft associated with Provençal cuisine, and the region of Provence does produce over 20% of all France’s garlic. Some Provençal dishes, such as aïoli, their very famous garlicky mayonnaise, has become internationally renowned. With the addition of popular local flavors, aïoli, been added to menus and cuisines in tens of countries around the world. All that being said, many Provençal recipes use no garlic at all.

Garlic in homeopathic medicine.

Homeopathic doctors still recommended garlic for heart problems, high cholesterol, and even bad breath! Historically, one of the French names for garlic was thériaque des pauvres, the cure of the poor. Before the availability of modern medicines, garlic was considered a cure-all, and probably garlic was all that the poor could afford. I suppose that the poor thought a whiff of garlic was better than nothing?

Garlic in the languages of France’s neighbors:

(Catalan - L'all, l'all roig, el gra), ( Dutch - knoflook )(German - knoblauch), (Italian – aglio), (Spanish-ajo), ( Provencal – alh).

Acknowledgments

The history of French cuisine is not written in stone and added to this post on garlic are my own value judgments. The history of French garlic includes much that I have collected from waiters, chefs, and market tradespeople. To that I have added some French geography and food history connected to garlic.

The two important sources I use for checking my information on the origins of herbs and spices are Gernot Katzer from Austria and his Gernot Katzer's Spice Pages and Eric Schoenzetter from France, and his Toil d'Épices. I have used their knowledge to lay-to-rest many old wives' tales about garlic that I had been sold along the way. From Gernot Katzer, I also took many of his translations for garlic; his list includes garlic in over 120 languages! Any mistakes that have resulted are mine alone.

Garlic in other languages:

(Amharic - ነጭ ሽንኩርት - netch shinkurt), (Arabic - ثوم ),(Bulgarian – Чеснов лук, Чесън), (Chinese (Mandarin) -大蒜 – da saun), (Danish –hvidløg), (Dutch – knoflook), (Finnish -valkosipuli), (German - knoblauch), (Greek – Σκόρδο - skordo ) (Hebrew- שום, shum), (Indonesian - bawang putih, kesuna). (Italian – aglio), (Japanese -蒜, 大蒜 - ニンニク - nin'niku, garikku ), (Korean -갈릭, 마늘 - kallik, manul), (Malay - bawang putih), (Polish – czosnek pospolity), (Provencal – alh), (Rumanian - usturoi), (Russian – чеснок - chesnok ) (Spanish – ajo),(Swedish - vitlök), (Tagalog -bawang ), (Turkish - sarımsak), (Thai - กระเทียม, กะเทียม - krathiam, gratiem, kathiam), (Ukrainian -Часник, Часник городній,Chasnyk, Chasnyk horodni), (Latin - allium sativum).

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