Don't Say Cheese, C'est Fromage

Barrels of Spices

Rural France has a rotating market system.  Each day there is a market somewhere, if you are willing to drive far enough.  In the towns closest to us (Cahors and Prayssac), there is a market Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.  Generally, the food culture in France can be hard to access—except at these markets, where it is on glorious display.  The central square in Cahors is converted into a space where vegetable stands, meat vendors, cheese producers, fish stalls, spice traders, and tea traffickers all sell their wares.  Everyone is happy to discuss cèpe* recipes,

Still in the Land of Olives

the best chestnut varieties, and which of their “noix” aperitifs are the best.  My father even got a lecture on when it was appropriate to drink which liqueur: before or after dinner.  And don’t screw this up! 

I don’t like chèvre in Vancouver.  I have discovered however, that chèvre in Vancouver is as different from French chèvre as herring are to saber-toothed tigers.  There seems to be only one type of chèvre in Vancouver: a soft flavourless spreading cheese, sort of a goat cream cheese.  There are infinite chèvre variations here, shaped and aged in different ways.  The most common chèvre locally in Lot is called Rocamadour and is like the best Brie money can buy in Vancouver.  Except there is no thick layer of spongy mold and the flavour is complex and interesting.  My favorite is the soft creamy Rocamadour that has been aged 6 days.  However, there is also a version that has been aged 6 months.  It looks like a tiny shriveled disk and tastes like a very pungent Parmesan.  I love chèvre.

La Fromage!

My mother cooks dinner and I make dessert.  Since I am more interested in sugar, it is my role to find the regional pastries and to try to recreate them.  There are two specialty cakes of Lot, one is very hard to make and I was told by our friends at the tiny general store not to attempt it.  The other is the Gâteaux du Noix.  We got the recipe from Isabelle, our hostess, who in a past life was a chef.  The recipe asked for an unspecified type of “noix”, so I asked our friends for clarification.  I was met with a blank stare and the blunt response “you know, ‘noix’”.  It turns out that there is no generic term for nuts in France.  Each species has its own name and “noix” means walnuts.  This is not something I ever learned in school. 

Home Base

In the end, I burned the cake that had so much potential.  My family ate it and seemed to love it anyway ...  Next on my “to make list” is an upside-down apple tort type thing that seems to be a specialty of southern France.  We will see if this works better.  If it does, I think I will attempt the Gâteaux du Noix again—this time with some help from ma mère. 

*Edible Boletus mushroom, the same type as porcini.