Seasonality
When we first arrived in France for a change to our pace of life, I was excited to explore the seasonality of its produce. I had noticed on our visits, before moving here full time, that the markets rarely promoted the same things for sale two months running. At first I found this difficult, because I would come with a menu plan based on what I’d seen the previous month, only to find a lot of the ingredients weren’t available. I would end up scouring the supermarket shelves for less fresh alternatives. This was a habit I needed to change, as what became clearly apparent was our local markets were working to a natural, seasonal pattern, one that ensured both quality and freshness and an alternative to extreme food miles, I just had to learn how to work with it. I needed a plan.
Firstly, I would always buy what the lady in front of me bought, whatever that was, even if I didn’t recognise it. Then I would look up a recipe online and try that, I had a few ‘go-to’ french websites that helped with this. Next, I would always mention what I had cooked to my french friends, and they would then give me either advice or other recipes – asking the market stall owners what they would do with it also helped. Finally, I’ve started buying old French cookery books, as they are inevitably styled around the same produce.
After almost three years, I’m getting used to the seasonality of our food, enjoying citrus season, and the different types of fruit that brings; I discovered pomelo this year, so our B&B guests can look out for pomelo marmalade at the breakfast table. I’m now looking forward to the large bundles of asparagus due in the market very soon, as the taste of a chilled creme of asparagus soup on a warm day, and a crisp glass of Chablis, is dreamy. We’re slowly moving away from our old eating habits, and enjoying the wonders of a changing year that brings little delights back to the table.
Embracing seasonality is part of understanding the culture of France and the French people, it’s a deeply rooted element of their identity, and it’s a feature of French life that I love.