Behind the French Menu

from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

The Snow Crab

Photograph courtesy FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department

Crabe de Neige - The Snow Crab, Tanner Crab, Queen Crab and Spider Crab. The snow crab is a star among the families of long-legged crabs. Snow crabs have a sweet and delicately flavored meat. They are for, historical reasons, considered less interesting than the king crab. The main reason being that that they are smaller and so were considered less valuable. The king crab meat is a little firmer but both are excellent eating. Enjoy the snow crab when it is not overcooked.

The snow crab and France's homegrown crabs.

Snow crabs are abundant in the Atlantic Ocean and I was told that most of those sold in France come from Greenland, but I have also seen them in supermarkets labeled imported from Canada. France’s has some excellent local crabs and they may be enjoyed in season; they include the Crabe Tourteau, the edible brown crab; the Crabe Araignée, the Crabe Bleu, the blue Crab, and the Crabe Mou, the local soft-shelled crabs.

The snow crab legs in France are totally different to 90% of the snow crab legs that appear on your plate in the USA.

The crabe de neige is well prepared in France; rarely will you just see snow crab legs and a cocktail sauce like so many USA offerings. At its simplest, you may be offered a salad with snow crab meat and a vinaigrette dressing. If the chef is enterprising you may be offered snow crab meat fried in butter or a recipe that is even more compelling. Too often in the USA snow crab legs, are over cooked and served when tasteless and without any texture. I have never had that happen to me in France; in fact, I have never seen snow crab legs boiled and just served with a cocktail sauce and nothing else. In any case, French cocktail sauce is very different to that in the USA; French cocktail sauce has no horse-radish to cover up a tasteless crab leg. French cocktail sauce is fresh mayonnaise, tomato ketchup, tabasco, and cognac.

The snow crab on French menus:

Le Cocktail de Crabes des Neiges en Verrine, Mangue, Pomme Verte, Céleri Rave, Cappuccino de Crustacés – A cocktail of snow crab meat interleaved in a glass bowl, this is for your visual appreciation. Here this dish includes slices of mango, green apple, and celeriac all served with a frothy mousse made from crustaceans; that moose would probably be made from shrimps and crab.

The original Cappuccino coffee got its name from the color of the coffee and the similar color of the Cappuccino monks’ headwear. However, since then the cappuccino coffee has given its name to anything frothy, without any connection to the color. Hence the menu reading Cappuccino de Crustacés just means a frothy moose.

A verrine is a glass, a glass dish or glass bowl that allows you to see and enjoy the display of the foods inside. In France, the attractive presentation of the food you will eat is just a little less important than the taste.

A verrine of snow crab.

Photograph courtesy of Au gré du marché

Des Pinces de Crabe de Neige, Semi Décortiquées, Poêlées Dans du Beurre. Snow crab pincers with the shells partially removed lightly fried in butter.

A serving of snow crab.

Photograph courtesy of FishEx Seafoods

Les Ravioles de Crabe de Neige, Consommé de Champignons Sauvages, Râpures de Truffe d'Automne - Ravioli made with the snow crab meat served in a consommé of wild mushrooms and presented with gratings from the Autumn truffle; this is the Burgundy truffle. With a dish like this ask if the truffle can be grated in front of you and do not be embarrassed to ask for more if the truffle gratings look to few and far between. The Burgundy truffle and the Perigord truffle are the two most expensive among France’s edible truffles. However, too little truffle wastes whatever you pay for the dish as the truffles effect on the dish’s taste will not be noticeable.

Catching Snow Crab

Photograph courtesy of Radio Canada.

Rosace de Crabe des Neiges Décortique – Shelled crab meat from the snow crab presented in the shape of flower petals or a circle or semi-circle.

Wrap au Saumon Fumé Par nos Soins et Chair de Crabe des Neiges – A wrap of home-smoked salmon served with snow crab meat.

A smoked salmon and snow crab meat wrap

Photograph courtesy of CusinesAZ.com

The snow crab in the languages of France’s neighbors:

(Catalan - cranc de les neus) (Dutch - Arctische sneeuwkrab) (German - Arktische seespinne schneekrabbe, kurzschwanz-krebs). (Italian - granseola artica), ( Spanish – cangrejo de las nieves),

France's home-grown crabs:

The edible brown crab, call the Crabe Tourteau, the European Spider Crab, the Crabe Bleu, the Blue Crab and the Crab Mou, the local Soft-Shelled Crabs.

Connected Posts:

Beurre - Butter in French. Butter in French Cuisine.

Céleri - Celery. The Joys of Celery on French Menus.

Crabes - Crabs. Crabs Among the Crustaceans on Your French Menu. Crustaceans II.

Crevettes - Shrimps and Prawns. Some of the Many Tasty Crustaceans on French Menus.

Cocktail de Fruits de Mer How Seafood Cocktails Ended up on Menus in France.

Mayonnaise Fraîche - In France all Mayonnaise is Fresh Mayonnaise

Searching for truffles in France, and truffles on French Menus. The Black Perigord Truffle and Truffles Oils and Truffles Essences.

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

Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

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

Sainte-Maure de Touraine AOC

Photograph courtesy of Fromagerie-Jacquin.com

Sainte-Maure de Touraine goat's milk cheese.

The Sainte-Maure de Touraine AOC is an excellent, mild, 25% fat, goats’ cheese made with unpasteurized milk with a light, nutty, taste. Each cheese is matured for at least ten days before being sold. A cheese must weigh between 250 and 300 grams. When the cheese is ready to be sold, it is covered in ash. Like other goats’ cheeses, the taste of the Sainte-Maure de Touraine changes and gets stronger as the cheese matures. I noted that this is a mild cheese; nevertheless, as it ages it still gives a fair bite. When you buy this cheese in a fromagerie, ask how old it is.I enjoy the older cheeses, but for a salad you will want a milder cheese. A version made with a pasteurized milk is made for export.

Sainte-Maure de Touraine with its signature straw.

Photograph courtesy of Ma Fromagerie Fine, Rennes, France.

Sante-Maure de Touraine
and plain Sainte Maure are different cheeses.

N.B. The name Sainte-Maure on its own, without the “de Touraine,” is a generic name that can be produced anywhere. Outside France, the Sainte Maure produced is often not a goat’s milk cheese. Look carefully at the Saint-Maure, without the “de Touraine” that you are considering buying. The better industrial versions are goat's milk cheeses and are produced in Touraine and in Poitou-Charentes. The French “Sainte-Maure” cheeses are practically never covered in ash. As good mass-produced cheeses, they do not go out of their way to mislead the consumer. They rely on their taste to bring the customers back, not ambiguous coverings.

The production team

Photograph courtesy of the Tourist Information Office Sainte-Maure de Touraine.

The straw in the cheese?

For the AOC/AOP version of the Sainte-Maure de Touraine, the length is specified between 16-18cm (6”-7”) and the width 4.5-5.5cm ( 2”). The noticeable feature of a traditional Sainte-Maure de Touraine is the piece of straw that runs through the middle. The original reason for the straw was to assist in the cheese maturing evenly as the straw allows air to reach the center of the cheese. Today each straw is marked with the identification of the farm or dairy which made the cheese. Now others have copied the idea and have put straws in the center of their cheeses as a marketing ploy.

The country around Saint-Maure de Touraine.

Photograph courtesy of Saint-Maire de Touraine Tourist Information Office

The five AOP goat's milk cheese of Indre and Indre-et-Loire.

The recipe for the Sainte-Maure de Touraine cheese is one of the oldest in France; its history can be followed back to the 8th or, at the latest, the 9th century CE. The small and beautiful town of Sainte-Maure de Touraine that gave the cheese its name is in the department of Indre-et-Loire in the région of the Val du Loire. The cheese is also made over the border in the department of Indre, part of the ancient province of Berry. Together the two departments of Indre and Indre-et-Loire offer five AOP cheeses: the Crottin de Chavignol AOP; the Valençay AOP; Pouligny Saint Pierre AOP; Selles sur Cher, AOP as well as the Sainte-Maure de Touraine AOP. All are goat’s milk cheeses. Additionally, the area produces many other excellent cheeses that do not have an AOP. To taste most of these cheeses, you will have to visit the region as their limited production is snapped up by the locals. If you are in the area visit a local Fromagerie, a cheese shop, and buy 100 grams of two or three local goat's cheeses, a baguette, a bottle of a cold local white wine and enjoy. If you are traveling in the area then drive over the border into the department of Indre and you will find more to enjoy. For background on the initials, AOC and AOP seen on many French and European Union wines and foods click here.

The production area of Sainte-Maure de Touraine

Photograph courtesy of fromages-aop.com

The wines of Touraine include Chinon and Vouvray.

Apart from cheese, this is wine country, and you will see many AOC/AOP wines. The Touraine wines include reds, roses, and whites. Look for the Touraine-Amboise AOC, the Touraine-Azay-le-Rideau AOC, the Touraine-Mesland AOC, the Touraine-Noble Joué AOC, the Touraine-Chenonceaux AOC, and the Touraine-Oisly AOC. Other wines that come from the ancient province of Touraine include Chinon AOC, Vouvray AOC, Montlouis-sur-Loire AOC, Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil AOC and the Bourgueil AOC and the IGP Val-de-Loire.

Their sparkling wines include the Touraine-Mousseux AOC, Touraine-Pétillant AOC, and the Crémant de Loire AOC. Remember that the sweetness grades for sparkling wines are very different to still wines. At the end of the post on France's Cremants and at the end of the post on Champagne are lists that may assist when ordering or buying sparkling wines.

The new initials and names on French wine labels.

For wines, there are new initial and names on the labels of French and European Union wines. The AOP and IGP initials have new meanings and the Vin de Pays has ceased to be used as a wine grade. The French grade of Vin Table, table wine, has also ceased to be used. Along with the new and regulations,a grade called the Vin de France has been added. For more information on these initials and labels click here.