I wanted to buy a nice souvenir from France because it is likely that our trip will be the last time we'll ever go there. I was thinking a tarte tatin dish, or a madeleine pan. I couldn't find a tarte tatin pan and I decided I wouldn't really use a madeleine pan so that seemed like an impractical souvenir. (I don't make or eat madeleines and I couldn't figure out what else to use it for--muffins? I couldn't decide. It didn't seem practical.) What I really wanted was something that I would use on a regular basis for the rest of my life and whenever I used it I would remember my trips to France. Since I couldn't find a souvenir that would last forever, I decided to get something that would last no time at all. In short, I decided the best souvenir would be an edible one. So I went to a French supermarket (the infamous Monoprix, yes, sorry!) and walked the aisles picking up things that looked interesting or things that I'd had before and wanted to take and eat over to the UK.
First, I have to mention the produce at various green grocers in France. I had to buy this carton of strawberries. Strawberries in March in the UK are a vile ghost of what they are in summer, when they are fabulous. But these strawberries which were all over Paris when we were there are unbelievable. They are so fragrant and so beautifully formed, so glossy and have such beautiful colour.
Look how beautiful they are! And they tasted so good--soft and juicy, they positively gushed in the mouth. And I bet they never even once saw the inside of a fridge. I would have loved to put these into an Eton Mess, but alas, I had no kitchen.
Okay, here is something that I found at the grocery store, which I am almost frightened to try. This is rabbit pate--yes, I know, scary. But I'm fascinated by potted, preserved meats. And at another time I had a really good pork pate, pate de campagne. So rabbit pate might just be up my alley.
Valhrona is supposed to be the best chocolate available (or to quote Withnail and I, the finest chocolate available to humanity), and having now eaten some, I have to agree. This is the best chocolate I have ever had. Since I only got a small amount, we've been eating it plain in small bites. If you ever have a chance to try it don't miss it. I like it because it is intensely chocolately without any of the acrid hit of most dark chocolate. It's also deliciously smooth when it melts in the mouth. It's fabulous.
Here are a couple of canned pates, pate de campagne, which I had at a restaurant with bread, and terrine aux cepes, a pate of mushrooms, for the vegetarians among us.
This is probably my second favourite pure candy (after American Smarties). They're hard candies with fruit syrup on the inside. There used to be an American candy called Juicefuls, which are pretty much the same, but I haven't seem them in a few years. Do they still exist?
I was also sure to pick up some charcuterie (cold cuts or other cooked meats) with these saucissons secs--dried sausages. I can't wait to try these, but I'm not sure what to have them with. I also got some refrigerated sliced jambon de paris (ham) which I hope to put into a sandwich or eat like proper charcuterie, with bread and some olives or cornichons.
I also got these fabulous packets of vanilla sugar. I've always wanted to make vanilla sugar (by putting some caster sugar in a jar with some whole vanilla pods) but the vanilla pods always seemed so expensive. These sugar packets are fantastic. I put half a packet in my hot chocolate this morning, and saw that not only does it smell and taste beautifully of vanilla, it is also full of tiny vanilla seeds, the true mark of a good vanilla sugar.
I know you can get Bonne Maman jams everywhere now, even at Super Wal-mart, but I've never seen this Fruitee Intense label before. It's still jam but more fruity and less sugary. It's less well-set and feels more like a juicy fruit compote than a jam. I've been spooning it over a butter-spread baguette just about every morning since we got back.
I once had a steak with a fabulous bearnaise butter and I thought this sauce might be an easy way to achieve a similar flavour without having to go to the trouble of making bearnaise myself, although I do hope to try it sometime. (But it sounds like a lot of work and I'm scared of sauces containing eggs!) Bearnaise sauce is made of butter and egg yolks with a white wine and shallot reduction, mixed with fresh tarragon. So complicated! I don't care if this jarred sauce is unsophisticated, I'm giving it a try.
This is a very interesting thing: fleur de sel--flower of salt. It's a type of salt gathered from sea marshes by hand. It's quite a bit more expensive than regular table salt but it's valued because it's quite rare, hand gathered, and because it's unrefined provenance gives it a special flavour and often a slightly pink or grey tinge. I've had a bit and haven't noticed too much of a difference, but I'm going to experiment more with putting it on fresh things like salads and tomatoes.
Last but not least...
The only thing better than an edible souvenir is a quaffable one! The Economist and I went to a wine shop and told the man we had 60 euro, and wanted 4 bottles, 2 red, 2 white; and could he please pick some good wines for us. And he did! And gave us a whole list of what we should drink each wine with. The two best wines I've ever had, I've had in France (and they were both white incidently) so we figured maybe we'd give it another try.
We are going to have an English style Sunday lunch sometime in the next few weeks for our friends and we're very much looking forward to enjoying some of these groceries with them, especially the wine!
C'est tout.
UPDATE:
I also wanted to mention that foods are also really cheap, as well as pleasing, souvenirs. Sometimes they can be a bit of hassle though. The Economist once drove down to Key West with a bunch of his friends for New Years. And he brought back an actual Key Lime Pie, stored, still frozen, in a styrofoam cooler full of dry ice. We're talking about a 28 hour drive split over two days. And a fully intact, delicious, true Key Lime Pie to eat when he got home. How fabulous is that?
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