Changing shopping habits
As we change our shopping and eating habits here in the south of France, I can’t help but imagine on this cold dreary day, the soft juicy melons of the summer or the first crop of scarlet strawberries in summer. Unfortuanely the drizzle has set in. Even Waffles our Samoyed, who lives to be outdoors, has drooped inside to smear our cream sofa with little muddy paw prints. Can I just say that the cream sofas were bought before the Samoyed. Now all of our possessions have this time-stamp of “after Samoyed”, including our cream furniture which I suppose was never really thought through at the time.
Typical food of the region
If you visit France, you quickly realise that each region holds it’s speciality food close to their hearts. It is no different down here in Occitanie, specifically the Tarn-et-Garonne. Depending on the season, you might want to look for the “Chasselas de Moissac”, a honey-flavoured grape whose skin is so fine that the grape will literally pop with an explosion of flavours in your mouth.
Maybe you are more of a fan of the “melon du Quercy”, grown in the heavy clay and calcium-ridden soil of this area, which can be served with a local dry white wine. Obviously whilst cooking your fabulous platters you would want to use garlic, and the “ail de Lomagne” would be the product of choice, a large white fleshy product that is heavily flavoured.
Travelling along the rivers or the gorges you cannot miss the fruit orchards, protected with their fine mesh of nets flung over acres and acres of plantations. These would be the pears, plums and apples where 80% of the product is produced here for the whole region. There are obviously other fruit produced as well, such as the juicy peaches, nectarines and apricots which you can’t miss on a hot summer’s day.
Interestingly, the Quercy region is also a producer of saffron, foie gras and the unique breed of chicken “la Poule Noire” which is based (in of all places) Caussade. This type of chicken is raised for it’s eggs but also it’s meat, which is less fatty and full of flavour. To be honest, when you visit the local farmer’s markets you are already spoilt for choice, but to have these unique products as well… I sometimes forget how lucky we are.
Our challenge
Part of our challenge as a family is to become more aware of the environment around us, and to become more conscious eaters, trying to follow the seasons and to try and buy as local as possible. This means shopping at the local farmer’s markets, but also trying to wean our teens off the idea that we can eat strawberries in the winter even though they are being sold in the major shopping chains. Garlic, asparagus and even certain types of cheese are seasonal here in France, and it is perhaps best to understand this before you pop to your local farmer’s market and ask (for example) asparagus in September. You might be laughed off the stall!
It is a complicated course to navigate as we, as a population, have been used to shopping for convenience (me included) and with prices now starting to spiral on food, the challenge becomes not only trying to live sustainably but also within a budget. We as a family do slip up regularly and there is a huge amount of improvement to be made, but we are on the first rungs of our journey. Tiny steps!
So what could you expect at a market around this time of year?
Farmers market
This week I took a trip around the big farmer’s market we have in Caussade, and found some food that would make your mouth water. In the photo gallery you will see some of the produce that I discovered. My next challenge is to find interesting and delicious French recipes that will take advantage of this treasure trove of colours, textures and flavours!
MidLife Crisis In France
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