Bringing Food from France

[niemeyjt]

The DT has published an item on items to bring back to UK - https://www.telegraph.co.uk/food-and-dr ... om-france/ (below for those behind the paywall)

So, if you had to rely on only occasional visits to French supermarkets, what food(s) would you bring back?

For me, confit de canard and a selection of cheeses (esp Roquefort) would be near the top of my list.




The best foods to bring back from France, from pâté to macarons

Look out for these locally produced delicacies and savvy supermarché buys recommended by Britain’s well-known French food lovers

Few countries can rival France for its variety of produce, but not all of it makes its way to the shelves of British supermarkets. Every département has its speciality – be it a gooey cheese, a hearty terrine or an intricate patisserie – which can be difficult to find in other countries, or indeed outside the village where it is made.

Many of these local delicacies are best devoured close to their terroir, but others are ideal for bringing home. Government guidelines outline what foodstuffs you can bring back to Britain, but in general the customs rules allow for cheeses, meat, fish and fresh dairy for personal consumption.

If you’re not taking your car, you may need to choose wisely to keep the weight down. When we’re travelling, our plug-in cool box is invaluable and allows for cheeses, butter and charcuterie to be kept fresh in the car boot. Having searched out hundreds of different regional foods for my book Amuse Bouche: How to Eat Your Way Around France, here is my pick of some to bring home.

Brittany

The far western region is spoiled for great produce, from creamy, salt-studded butter to nutty buckwheat, used in traditional savoury galettes. Yet when it comes to products to take home, my first choice is always Roscoff onions.

These pink-hued bulbs thrive in the gentle climate of north-west Finistère and were historically imported by the ‘Onion Johnnies’, the beret-clad, bicycle-riding Frenchmen who peddled their wares door-to-door throughout the UK in the 19th and 20th Centuries.

As they’re woven into strings (or les tresses) they stay fresh for several months. Look for the real AOP-recognised onions with a pink and white label, which are widely available in Roscoff’s shops (€7.90/kg approx).

Bretons are rightly fond of their region’s superior tinned pork pâté, called Le Pâté Hénaff. Made with free-range pork, pork liver, Guérande salt, pepper and spices, the small tins (ideal for one or two people, €1.35 for 78g in supermarkets) are great for keeping in the larder for slicing onto crusty bread with a few cornichons.

Provence

Tucked in the corner of Provence between Monaco and the Italian border, Menton is famous for its sweet lemons, which thrive in a microclimate warmed by steep cliffs and Mediterranean humidity. Maison Gannac’s grove is tucked away in the Garavan district, where a father-and-son duo grow the citrus fruit and transform them into a wide range of products such as jams, cordials, and preserved lemons (confiture de citron €8.50, 210g, Maison Gannac).

Further west, in the Var department, it is the chestnut groves that have fed the people of Collobrières since the 12th century. This wonderfully rustic village is the antidote to chichi Saint Tropez an hour away, and in its heart the Confiserie Azuréenne caramelises the chestnuts into the ultimate treat: decadent, fudgy marron glacés, which are hard to resist for long enough to take home. Buy a jar or two of crème de marrons, sweet chestnut paste, to swirl into yoghurt or serve with meringues (€5.10 for 220g, Confiserie Azureenne).

Dordogne Valley

The people of Périgord have long savoured their duck dishes, which became popular when maize was brought from South America in the Middle Ages to feed the birds.

When on holiday, you can feast on magret de canard (duck breast) with cherry sauce, but be sure to bring home jars or tins of tender confit de canard – duck legs preserved in their own fat, which can be quickly heated in the oven and which make for an easy dinner on a cold autumn night.

Look for it at the expansive market in Sarlat-la-Canéda (Wednesday or Saturday mornings), or the enchanting village of Issigeac (Sunday mornings). Or visit a local farm, such as La Garrigue Haute near Sarlat, where you can buy direct (€11 for 250g, lagarriguehaute.fr). If you follow the banks of the Dordogne east towards Martel, you’ll see the walnut groves that have grown there for a millennium. At the family-run walnut mill, Moulin Castagné, where an ancient millstone crushes the walnuts, you can buy a bottle of the resultant oil to drizzle on salads or lamb chops (€10 for 250ml, moulincastagne.com).

Hauts de France

Many of France’s cheeses can make for whiffy travel companions, so save your fromagerie visits for the home straight. The northern region of Hauts-de-France actually produces a wide variety of cow’s milk cheeses and the stinkiest of the lot is Maroilles, a semi-soft cheese with a brine-washed rind which they serve in myriad ways – in a pie, melted onto frites, or even dipped in coffee at breakfast.

There is a beer-washed version of it called Vieux-Boulogne, which was named the world’s smelliest cheese by scientists at the UK’s Cranfield University, but its flavour is much less offensive than its aroma. Find it in all fromageries, such as Philippe Olivier, which has several branches including Boulogne, Calais and Lille.

The attractive city of Lille has a more delicate treat on offer too: Meert waffles. Visit the ornate confectioners-cum-patisserie (25-27 Rue Esquermoise, 59000 Lille, France for the very fine, cross-hatched, vanilla cream-filled waffle loved by Winston Churchill and Charles de Gaulle (box of six, €19.90, Meert).

Basque Country

Travellers in the French Basque Country will encounter strings (known as ristras) of the local chilli pepper, piment d’Espelette, strung across this region’s traditional red timber-framed buildings.

This gentle chilli was imported from its native Mexico in the mid-17th Century, and has since thrived in the steep hills inland from Saint-Jean-de-Luz. Its mild, rich heat is much-loved by chefs throughout France, but it must be treated with care once you’ve opened your pot as it spoils quickly, so keep it in the fridge (€6 for 40g jar).

A great place to learn about it is the Atelier du Piment just outside the village of Espelette itself, where you can see it growing and drying, and enjoy a tasting session.

In Saint-Jean-de-Luz, seek out the Pare Gabea, a sweet and moreish almond macaron that was made by the Maison Adam to celebrate the marriage of the Sun King, Louis XIV, and Marie-Thérèse of Spain in 1660. The patisserie is still going strong today so pick up a tin to take home for dipping in your morning coffee (€32.40 for 24, Maison Adam).

Burgundy-Franche-Comté

Grapes aren’t the only fruits that do well in Burgundy, blackcurrants are also cherished and were traditionally grown by wine-makers’ wives to make into crème de cassis liqueur, to be served with aligot white wine.

This simple cocktail was made famous by post-war mayor of Dijon, Felix Kir. A more unusual product to seek out is blackcurrant ketchup, a delicious riff on a chutney made by producers Fruirouges, ideal with charcuterie and meat.

Buy it in epiceries fines (fine food stores) across the region such as La Planche, a fromagerie in the food village at Dijon’s Cité de la Gastronomie et du Vin. This is also the place to buy the city’s renowned mustard. Le Manège à Moutardes sells mustards from across France. Pick up a jar or two made by local producer Edmond Fallot; moutarde de Bourgogne is made with locally grown seeds (approx €3, 390g) while Dijon mustard uses those from North America, and you can find different flavours such as tarragon or blackcurrant, which make for tasty salad dressings and marinades.

The joy of exploring the aisles of a French supermarket can be a holiday highlight for food lovers; there is a ‘wow factor’ in the yoghurt aisle alone. But what do Britain’s well-known French food lovers seek out to bring home?

Rick Stein says: “I really like buying fresh fish from Carrefour because the quality is so good, so I will often nip in on my last day. What I really like in France are the hareng saur, smoked herring from Dieppe in Normandy.”

Michel Roux Jr might also need to pack a peg for his nose for his choice of gastronomic souvenir: “I always get andouillette [a tripe sausage] – the stinkier the better!” he says.

Restaurateur Henry Harris, from London’s Bouchon Racine, has quite the shopping list: “I always buy Amora Dijon mustard – it’s such good value, and a great mustard. I use it in my rabbit and mustard sauce, and anywhere I need mustard or alongside a côte de boeuf. In the supermarkets’ local region section, I always look for saucisson sec, and jars or tins of petits pois to plate under duck confit. Jars of cooked tripe make a perfect emergency supper.”

Before she moved to France herself, food writer Debora Robertson would bring back tins of confit de canard, chestnut honey, walnut oil, dried piment d’Espelette, fleur de sel, posh jams, tarragon mustard or cassis mustard and sablé butter biscuits. But now a permanent resident, she is lucky to enjoy them all the time.

[MAD87]

I remember having 2 soft cheeses (inc. roquefort) confiscated at Limoges airport on my way to Dublin one year.

[niemeyjt]

Yes - the old security scanners had difficulties differentiating between soft cheese and Semtx or C4 explosives.

Cheddar was OK though the other way.

[exile]

Yes I got pulled in Düsseldorf with a wedge of Parmesan. I was allowed to keep it.

[Hotrodder]

It would be an interesting article for foods from UK to France.

We have friends who used to come over to France several times a year and had no problems keeping us supplied with teabags, ibuprofen, and a few treats like curry sauces but more recently they are having to cut back on their visits. I for one couldn't survive on Lipton's Yellow Label dishwater and the ridiculous prices they want for paracetamol and ibuprofen here.

[Blaze]

I for one couldn't survive on Lipton's Yellow Label dishwater

We're fortunate having a Comptoir Irlandais in Saint Malo and the Barry's Tea is excellent and reasonably priced.
I think some supermarkets sell PG Tips and Yorkshire tea ...

[demi]

Marmite is my essential & I have been lucky enough to have visitors driving over to keep me supplied.

I don't drink tea which the French find amusing/incroyable and I can get/substitute nearly everything else.

[Hotrodder]

I for one couldn't survive on Lipton's Yellow Label dishwater

We're fortunate having a Comptoir Irlandais in Saint Malo and the Barry's Tea is excellent and reasonably priced.
I think some supermarkets sell PG Tips and Yorkshire tea ...

I recall seeing them somewhere. A box of 20 for the price of 80. Sorry. Not that desperate.

[L Austin France]

We once took a whole Stilton from the UK to Sarawak with a weeks stop over in Singapore.
That took some organising & got some funny looks from various customs officers.
I was bet we couldn't get it there but won.
Cheese was for a pal we were staying with & was well worth the effort when opened at the Christmas party for his expat colleagues & local friends.

[Lori]

We once took a whole Stilton from the UK to Sarawak with a weeks stop over in Singapore.

Amazing you managed that. That is my all time favorite cheese.