Food and wine experts we are not...food and wine lovers we are! Here are
some of our
discoveries and experiences as we explore our region, France and the
world, all done in the spirit of armchair travel.
So many studies, cookbooks and essays on French
food and wine are approached regionally because each region of France evokes in
each person a different memory, a different taste, a discrete food experience.
Regional specialties are complex, complicated, and
personal, but all should have the three “Ts” in common:
Terroir, Tradition, and Typicity. Terroir reflects a region’s
particular soil, climate, and vegetation; tradition reflects
time-honored practices heightened by an artisanal tour de main;
typicity implies exactly that, the taste, texture, smell and color
reflect what is typical for a particular product or specialty.
French foods and wines run the gamut, from those
items that are gathered, hunted or fished (mushrooms, herbs, game, fish)
to those raised, grown, harvested or slaughtered (fruits, vegetables,
fowl, meats), to those truly manmade products given further treatment
for a different, more heightened taste (wine, cheese, charcuterie,
confections).
Difficult to organize, impossible to cover
completely…but we hope that our little forays into la France
profonde, the heart of France, will bring us a bit more wisdom and
pleasure.
