Behind the French Menu

Grenadier – Grenadier. The Fish Called Grenadier on French Menus.

from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

Grenadier

www.naturalhistorymag.com

The Grenadier family members seen on French menus includes the Grenadier gris or Grenadier Berglax and the Grenadier de Roche. (On most French menus only the word Grenadier will be used). These two members of the larger Grenadier fish family compete for space on some beautiful French tables. Nevertheless, you and I are unlikely to tell the difference between either of these two fish. On the menu, only a filet will be offered.

Steamed Black grenadier

prepared with coconut milk and a light touch of curry

Photograph courtesy of Pavillon France

These two family members come from the deep waters of the North Atlantic, and they provide very firm sweet white meat. Chefs consider it them superior to pollack or whiting and they will be offered as filets pan fried or baked. They are large fish reaching up to a meter in length; however, the head takes up to 25 of the length and the long thin tail even more. All that is brought back to France is the filet.

The Grenadier fish on French menus:

Filet de Grenadier à la Concassée de Tomates et Basilic – A filet of grenadine prepared with coarsely chopped tomatoes flavored with basil. I imagine that the filet being offered here is pan-fried.

Grenadier Piccata with Zucchini Noodles.

In the UK the zucchini is called a courgette.

Piccata means sliced, sautéed, and served in a sauce containing lemon, butter, and spices. In this photograph, we can see chives and parsley. Piccata is usually a fish or meat dish.

Photograph courtesy of Real Good Fish.com

Grenadier Cuit au Four, Concassée de Tomates, Beurre de Sydre

"Les Argelettes" - Grenadine, the fish, baked in the oven with coarsely chopped tomatoes cooked in a cider butter prepared with cider from Les Argeletts.

When a chef has a duck, chicken, wine or cheese that he or she believes is very special then the name of the farm or the producer may well be on the menu. Here the menu notes the brand name of a cider used for the cider butter in the dish mentioned above. I looked into Les Argelettes and found that this is the private brand of cider. It is produced by a boutique cidriculteur, a boutique cider maker. In this case, the cider is made by an ex-three star Michelin Guide sommelier, Eric Bordelet. Eric gave up the world of wine to return to his family’s roots as a cider maker.

Pan fried Roughhead Grenadier

with fresh prawns and bok choy in crayfish sauce.

Photograph courtesy of Ingrum.

Filet de Grenadier aux Épinards Sauce Citron – A filet of grenadine prepared with spinach and served with a lemon sauce.

There are quite a number of other grenadier family members and no doubt some of them may grace the occasional French menu, but I have yet to encounter them. As you travel, you may meet the Pacific Grenadier on a menu on the USA’s West Coast and the Blue Grenadier in Australia or New Zealand.

Grenadier Gris

attached to the back of this fish is a parasitic copod.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/noaaphotolib/14318884118/

Photograph courtesy of NOAA Photo Library

https://www.flickr.com/photos/noaaphotolib/14318884118/

The Grenadier fish in the languages of France's neighbors:

The Grenadier Gris or Grenadier Berglax: - The Grenadier, the Roughhead grenadier or Onion-eye grenadier. (Dutch - noordelĳke grenadier),(German- grenadier, grenadierfisch or rauhköpfiger grenadierfisch), (Spanish - grenadero de roca).

The Grenadier, Grenadien, Grenadier de Roche – The Roundnose grenadier, Black grenadier, Rock Grenadier. (Dutch - grenadier ), (German –- grenadier, grenadierfisch), (Spanish – granadino).

Connected Posts:

Basil, Common Basil or Sweet Basil. Basilic or Herbe Royal; Herbs and Spices in the French Kitchen II.

Beurre - Butter in French. Butter in French Cuisine.

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

Ciboulette – Chives, the herb, in French Cuisine.

Cidre - Cider in France. France's Fabulous Ciders, Sparkling Ciders and Basque Cider.

Citron – The lemon; the fruit behind many of France’s culinary successes. Also the Citron Vert - Lime, the Cedrat – the Citron, the Combava – the kaffir lime and the Chadec - the Pomelo.

Crevettes - Shrimps and Prawns on French Menus. Shrimps and Prawns are Some of the Many Tasty Crustaceans seen in French Cuisine.

Écrivisse - Crayfish, Crawdad, or Crawfish. The Écrivisse is the Freshwater Crayfish and may be Among the Crustaceans on Your French Menu. Crustaceans III.

Persil - Parsley in French Cuisine. Parsley on French menus.

Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

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

from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

The black chanterelle mushroom

Photograph courtesy of the Biodiversity Heritage Library

https://www.flickr.com/photos/biodivlibrary/8510515768/

In France, this tasty trumpet-shaped, hollow, mushroom has a pleasant smell with a creamy and woody taste. Fresh horn of plenty mushrooms will be on many menus in France from August through November. This fungus loves France as there are many oak and chestnut forests where after the rains they may appear in significant numbers.

The family of Chanterelle mushrooms

The black trumpet mushroom belongs to the family of Chanterelle mushrooms; there are about 70 species of Chanterelle mushrooms around the world, and of the nearly ten family members found in Europe all are edible. The black trumpet mushroom will be found in black, black and white, dark brown or blue-gray and has the shape of a hollow trumpet or horn.

The horn of plenty mushrooms in the woods.

Photograph courtesy of Björn S...

https://www.flickr.com/photos/40948266@N04/29072509564/

The post on France’s Chanterelle mushrooms:

I have written a post on the three chanterelle mushrooms most often seen on French menus. In that post I did not include this mushroom, the black chanterelle, the horn of plenty; black trumpet mushroom, it deserved a separate link.

The other family members most often seen on French menus include:

The Chanterelle Girolle, the chanterelle; the Chanterelle Gris, the trumpet chanterelle; and the Chanterelle à Pied Jaune, the yellow foot chanterelle. To follow the link to that post click here.

The Corne d’Abondance, Craterelles or Trompette des Morts mushroom on French Menus:

Suprême Poulet Poché, Sauce Veloutée aux Craterelles et sa Boule de Riz - Poached chicken breast served with a velvety black trumpet mushroom sauce and a bowl of rice.

Filet Mignon au Pinot Noir et Craterelles - Pork fillet, a cut from the tenderloin, in a pinot noir wine sauce served with theblack trumpet mushroom.

Le Suprême de Pintadeau et ses Légumes Cuisinés à la Crème de Craterelles – Breast of Guinea fowl and vegetables cooked in a creamy sauce from the black trumpet mushroom.

Guinea fowl with horn of plenty mushrooms.

Photograph courtesy of patrick janicek

https://www.flickr.com/photos/marsupilami92/6927629344/

Terrine de Sanglier aux Trompettes des Morts – A pate of farm-raised wild boar prepared with the black trumpet mushrooms.

Filet de Bœuf, Jus aux Trompettes de la Mort et Salsifis – A fillet of beef, (a cut from the tenderloin), served with its natural cooking juices and accompanied by the black trumpet mushroom and salsify, the oyster plant.

Filet de Truite au Beurre de Trompette de Mort, Sauce Riesling – A filet of trout, this will be the Arc-en-Ciel, the rainbow trout, prepared in a compound butter with a black trumpet mushrooms and serve with a Riesling wine sauce.

Petit Risotto Crémeux de Trompettes des Morts – A small creamy risotto made with the black trumpet mushrooms.

Horn of plenty mushroom risotto,

Photograph courtesy of SITS Girls

https://www.flickr.com/photos/sitsgirls/6320280072/

The origin of the name the Corne d'Abonance, the Horn of Plenty.

The Corne d'Abondance, the horn of plenty, is the mythical horn of plenty, the Cornucopia from Greek mythology. The story of the Cornucopia is one of the most popular myths linked to Zeus the King of the Greek gods. As the story goes the baby Zeus was hidden in a cave on the Island of Crete, and there he was fed by a goddess Amalthea who appeared as a goat and fed Zeus her milk. The baby Zeus already had magical powers, and when he broke Amalthea‘s horn, he gave her, in repentance, the gift of the horn of plenty. The Cornucopia is a horn that would always be overflowing with fruits, meats, vegetables and wine at the owner's desire. The shape of the cornucopia has become an international symbol of plenty and part of the flag of a number of nations.

A Cornucopia

Photograph courtesy of morano.vincent

https://www.flickr.com/photos/30326710@N02/2867405986/

Checking the wild mushrooms, you have found while in France

Every town and village in France have a trained mycologist, a volunteer mushroom expert, and local pharmacists have these expert’s addresses. Regular mushroom gatherers may easily spot the difference as look-alike mushrooms are poisonous and can make you very very sick! In the kitchens of France’s restaurant's wild mushrooms, of all types, may be on the menu and chefs only buy wild mushrooms that have been clearly identified by their ramasseurs de champignons, their professional mushroom gatherers.

NB. If you gather wild mushrooms when in France, do not eat any that have not been checked!!!

Horn of plenty mushrooms may be dried and retain much of their flavor, however, fresh they should be eaten or dried within 24 hours of being collected.

One of the mushroom’s French names is the Trompette des Morts, and that, unfortunately, translates into English as the “Trumpet of the Dead” though this mushroom is not poisonous. It second and third French names sound much better: Corne d’Abondance means Horn of Plenty, and Craterelle is a link to its Latin name craterellus cornucopioides’ take your pick; it is mostly called the black trumpet mushroom in English.

Black Chanterelle mushrooms, radicchio,

and Talegio Italian cheese

Photograph courtesy of the Tasting Table

The black trumpet mushroom in the languages of France’s neighbors:

(Catalan – trompeta or trompeta de la mort ), (Dutch –doodstrompet, hoorn van overvloed), (German – totentrompete, herbsttrompete), (Italian - trombetta dei morti, orno dell'abondanza), (Spanish - cuerno de la abundancia; trompeta de los muertos).

(Latin - craterellus cornucopioides)

Connected Posts:

Chanterelle or Chantarelle Girolle - The Chantarelle Mushroom on French Menus. Three of the Four Chanterelle Girolle Mushrooms in French Cuisine. The Mushrooms of France IV.

Filet Mignon on French Menus and Filet de Bœuf in French Cuisine.

Pates and Terrines. An introduction to the meat, fish, vegetable and fruit pates on French menus.

Pintade - Guinea Fowl. Guinea Fowl on French Menus.

Radicchio or Chicorée Italienne on French Menus

Salsifis – The Salsify or Oyster Plant on French Menus. The Salsifis in French Cuisine.

Sanglier - Wild Boar on French Menus?

Truite - Trout, the Fish. Trout on French Menus

Velouté Soupe and Sauce Velouté - A Veloute Soup and a Veloute Sauce. - A Velouté is One of France's "Mother" Sauces and one of the Many Styles of Soups and Sauces on French Menus.

Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

Sorbet - Sorbet. Sorbets on French Menus.

from
Behind the French Menu
by
Bryan G. Newman

behindthefrenchmenu@gmail.com

Cranberry Sorbet with Clementines and Mint.

Photograph courtesy of angela schmeidel randall

https://www.flickr.com/photos/arandall/3138859555/

The sorbet in France.

France traditionally served sorbets twice during a meal to stimulate the appetite and clean the palate between courses; the purpose was to prepare the diner for different tastes. Nevertheless, modern French cuisine today often forgoes the sorbet that was usually included in the price; many sorbets have become a dessert or part of a dessert. Those who choose from a dinner menu and include at least the sorbet served before the main course will find the taste of their main course sharpened. Of course, the serving of a sorbet or two during the meal also allowed the chefs another ten minutes to organize the serving and carefully timed service is a central part of French cuisine; serving all the diners at the same time is essential.

Sorbet is a type of water-ice served frozen. The sorbet will be made from sweetened water with frozen fruit puree or fruit juice and often includes a wine or liqueur. (The addition of alcohol reduces the melting point of ice, changes the taste and in many instances gives the sorbet a more delicate taste. Sorbet is usually considered the ancestor of ice-cream and is often confused with a granité the drink (sometimes called sludge). The general rule that distinguishes sorbet from ice-creams or a granité is that a sorbet never contains milk. N.B. That rule is, unfortunately, already being broken.

A strawberry sorbet with shortcake

and a poppy seed and sugar biscuit.

Photograph courtesy of stu_spivack

https://www.flickr.com/photos/stuart_spivack/3628307943/

Sorbets when offered between courses on French menus.

Sorbet au Citron Vert – A lime sorbet

Sorbet aux Poires – A pear sorbet

A sorbet sampler.

Photograph courtesy of Dale Cruse

https://www.flickr.com/photos/dalecruse/8550791397/

Coulis Citron Vert et Sorbet Pamplemousse – A lime puree served with a grapefruit sorbet.

Sorbet au Suc de Fleurs de Pissenlits – A sorbet flavored with the juice of dandelions.

Cointreau and blood orange sorbet

Photograph courtesy of rexie j jones

https://www.flickr.com/photos/littlecornishpasty/8150091612/

Sorbet Citron Arrosé de Vodka – A lemon sorbet with a vodka accent.

Sorbet Citron et Basilic et Liqueur de Citron – A lemon sorbet flavored with basil, the herb, and enlivened with a touch of a lemon liqueur.

Sorbets as desserts on French menus:

Délice Poires Amandes, Biscuit Épicé et Sorbet Poire – A délice notes a treat or a delicacy; often the chef’s view of his or her latest creation. Here this treat is made with pears and almonds, spiced biscuits and a pear sorbet.

Gazpacho de Légues et son Sorbet – A vegetable Gazpacho served with a vegetable sorbet. N.B. Légues is shorthand for légumes, vegetables.

Les Fraises de Marzan Confites, Meringuette, Sorbet Yaourt de Brebis - A preserve or jam made from the much-appreciated strawberries of Mazan in the department of Morbihan, Brittany. Here the strawberry preserve is served with a meringuette, that is a small cake made only with beaten egg whites and sugar and here it is served together with a sorbet made from sheep’s milk yogurt. Mazan is a center for the farming of many different berries as well as strawberries. The strawberries most often seen in Mazan are the Plougastel strawberries that originated around the town of Plougastel just over the border in the department of Finistère. This menu-listing breaks completely with the history of sorbet that had always been milk free; a sign that reminds us that French cuisine does not stop progress.

Sorbet "Watermelon Cake".

Lime sorbet, watermelon sorbet, the "seeds" are miniature chocolate chips.

Photograph courtesy of Joe Wolf

https://www.flickr.com/photos/joebehr/9326109480/

Salade de Poulpe, Mini Légumes et Sorbet Betterave – Octopus salad served with miniature vegetables and a beetroot sorbet.

Sorbet Mandarine, Citron Vert, Passion, Coulis de Fruits Rouges, Chantilly – A tangerine, or mandarin, sorbet prepared with limes, passion fruits and a puree of red fruits served with Chantilly cream.

Tartare de Fruits Frais et son Sorbet Kalamanzi - A Tartar of fresh fruits served with a Calamansi Sorbet. The calamansi is a citrus fruit from Asia especially appreciated in the Philippines. The fruit has a flavor somewhere between orange and lemon.

Sorbets Mélanges – Assorted sorbets, this would usually be a desert.

A Sorbet Mélange, a pear and yellow plum sorbet.

Photograph courtesy of Nikchick

https://www.flickr.com/photos/nikchick/264869577/

China was making sorbets and ice cream and probably water-ices in the seventh century BCE. Then Rome began, about the first century CE, doing the same with ice brought down from the Apennines to Rome. That required horsemen and mules with changes of riders and animals every 40 km (25 miles) along the 200 km (125 miles) road to Rome. The changing of riders and pack animals ensured that a least half the ice was still frozen when it arrived in Rome. This was the time of Nero, and at that time nothing was too much for the Emperor and his inner circle.

The French word sorbet comes from the Italian sorbeta, and the word sorbeta came from the Arabic word sherbet. However, the sorbeta was in production long before the first sherbet and a sherbet was a very different creation to a modern sorbet. The introduction of sorbet to France came from the Italians, and the Italians would also bring the first coffee and later the first ice-cream seen by the public in France. According to tradition ice-cream was introduced to France by Francesco Procopius from Palermo, Italy. Procopius’s coffee shop Café Le Procope opened in Paris 1686 and remains the oldest coffee shop still open in Paris today; though, now it is mostly a high-class restaurant. When sorbets first appeared in France in the latter part of the 17th-century, they would be served as a palate cleanser or as an iced drink or as an ice suitable for eating and drinking. Sorbets served between courses came with the changes in Haute Cuisine in the late 18^th century; for that we may thank the most famous chef of the period Antonin Carême and also his friends. For those interested in the American Revolution and the French Revolution, you may sit in Café Le Procope and enjoy a coffee and an ice-cream when the restaurant is not serving lunch or dinner. Possibly you will be sitting right over the spot where John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Pain, Benjamin Franklin, Voltaire, Danton, Marat or Robespierre may have sat.

Ice Cream and Granité is based on milk and cream with air copiously whipped in while a traditional sorbet has neither milk nor cream and very little extra air. The method of sorbet preparation makes for a dense and full-flavored product. Granité is an Italian style of sorbet (Granita in Italian) that has not been churned; it's roughly mixed by hand with a fork or by a machine so it freezes as it forms larger granular ice crystals. The result makes a granité coarser and crunchier than a sorbet: that is apart from a granité nearly always being served as a drink.

Chestnut Profiteroles, Clementine,

Pinetree Sorbet and Chocolate Sauce

City Foodsters

https://www.flickr.com/photos/cityfoodsters/16079938063/

These differences in production and the fact that sorbets contain much more fruit than an ice-cream gives a sorbet its pronounced fruity flavor. Despite that, new uses for sorbets are being created; for example, changes in the traditional Tru Norman, a Normandy tradition of a shot of Calvados served between courses to aid the digestion. Today many modern Norman meals while shaming the traditionalists has the shot of Calvados replaced by a Tru Norman Sorbet made with crushed apples, water, sugar and a touch of Calvados.

Connected Posts:

Amande or Almondine – The almond, the nut. The Almond in French cuisine.

Antonin Carême: The Most Influential Chef in the History of French Cuisine.

Basil, Common Basil or Sweet Basil. Basilic or Herbe Royal; Herbs and Spices in the French Kitchen II.

Fraises - Strawberries. Wild Strawberries and the Unique story of the French Strawberries of Plougastel.

Calvados – The Most Famous Apple Brandy in the World. Calvados on French Menus.

Chantilly Cream -The Chef Who Created Chantilly Cream was François Vatel.

Citron – The lemon; the fruit behind many of France’s culinary successes. Also the Citron Vert - Lime, the Cedrat – the Citron, the Combava – the kaffir lime and the Chadec - the Pomelo.

Confit? All About That Confit on Your French Menu. Confit in French Cuisine.

Glace – Ice-cream. Ice-cream on French Menus. Glacé and Glacée are Desserts That are Frozen, Iced, Chilled or Glazed.

Granité (Granite) or Sludge in France?

Tartare - Tartar on French Menus. Steak Tartar, Fish Tartar and Vegetable Tartar.