It is not possible to leave out FOOD when writing a newsletter about France.
When I think of France, I think of wine, Paris and BAKERIES.
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In French, bakeries are boulangeries, and then there are the pâtisseries, or pastry shops. I wanted to find out the exact difference between the two, so I consulted the Cordon Bleu website:
“Pâtisserie is used to describe French pastries and the pastry shop they are sold in. … A boulangerie is a French bakery, as opposed to a pastry shop. Bakeries must bake their bread on-premises to hold the title of 'boulangerie' in France. … One key difference to note between a French baker and a pastry chef is that while pâtissiers work with mostly cold ingredients, a boulanger (or baker) will master the techniques and processes of warm rising dough.”
Whenever I walk past either one of these establishments, it’s hard not to be mesmerized by the sweet delights staring back at me from the display case.
There’s the croissant, pain au chocolat, pain aux raisins.
The buttery brioche, the baguette (of course!).
At some point in the year, special treats will come out, like the chocolate babka (which always reminds me of that babka episode of Seinfeld). It’s probably one of the most delicious desserts I’ve ever had.
One of my bakeries on rue Mouffetard in Paris made enormous babkas and sold them by the gram. Every crevice is filled with chocolate, and I mean good chocolate. Not too sweet. And it also has whole hazelnuts twisted up in there too. The first time I tasted one I could have fallen over, it was so good.
On any given day, you can walk on a Paris street and see someone eating a patisserie as an afternoon snack. One favorite is the éclair — which comes with a chocolate filling, a custard filling known as crème pâtissière, coffee cream filling — you get my point.
Personally, my two favorite desserts are the tarte au citron meringuée (lemon tart with meringue) and the tarte au rhubarbe. There are other, more sophisticated desserts like the mille-feuille (known sometimes as Napoleon) and the opéra, or the Paris Brest (named after a cycling competition and resembles the tire of a bicycle!). These are fancier desserts and not really my style.
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Whatever it is that you typically go for, I highly recommend you try everything just to see what you like. Just tell yourself it’s all fat-free and calorie-free. Guilt = gone. Besides, you’ll walk it off.
Desserts are a great gift to bring when you’re invited to someone’s house. The baker will put them in a little box with a paper cover and wrap it with string or tape it up so that your sweet little package is safe to carry.
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Depending on where you are in France, it’s good to have a lay of the land in terms of which bakeries are open/closed on certain days. In Paris, I had three that I could go to on my street alone: one is open on Sunday and closed Monday, the other two are open on Monday but closed Sunday. This is important, valuable information to make sure you’re covered any day of the week! Because to deprive yourself of the option for a sweet dessert or a croissant on any given day is a great shame indeed…
I want to eat this post badly :-)
Great article and is making my sweet tooth craving go off! Looks so delicious!