Terry Marsh's Blog
Posted by Terry Marsh
I used to think that having to select from an extensive restaurant wine list was quite a hardship, until I visited Charente Maritime. That’s not because the wines here have pretensions to vie with the great wines of the nearby Bordeaux vignobles, but because this is cognac country. And among my many failings I have this weakness for cognac, the rarer, the finer, the better.
So, imagine my torment when faced with cognac at the coal face, so to speak.
Do I opt for Grande Champagne or Petite Champagne, and start with the best from the countryside around the eponymous town of Cognac? Or do I lower my sights and go for the Bois Ordinaires or the Bons Bois? In the end I feigned ignorance and had something with ‘XO’ on the label, knowing it to be up there alongside ‘Napoleon’, ‘Extra’ and ‘Hors d’Age’.
The extensive vineyards of Cognac sprawl across an area of around 200,000 acres. It is the combination of the quality of the soil, what the French call terroir (but which really defies translation), the proximity to the sea and the warming sun that is so perfect for the production of what has been called a ‘happy accident of nature’.
Cognac was not produced until the 16th century. Before then, vines had been planted around La Rochelle from the 13th century onwards, developing a lively trade in wine production along the Charente. In the 16th century, however, English and Dutch merchants hit on the idea of distilling the wine to produce something stronger that could travel without the risk of deterioration. Alas, a slump in the demand for this ‘improved’ wine meant that large quantities were unsold, until the day someone happened to taste the wine and found to the delight of all that it had significantly improved with age. Brandy production had arrived. But I found it worrying to discover that during the process of distillation around 2-3% of the brandy evaporates – what the distillers call ‘the Angels’ Share’, but something that amounts to around 23 million bottles each year!
There must be quite a party going on in Heaven!
Posted by Terry Marsh
The author makes the point that regionality and seasonality are key gastronomic topics that explore an incredible diversity of produce and culinary tradition. But the book is much more than that: in inviting you to discover the perfect Parisian steak tartare, served with a chilled Brouilly on a sunny autumn afternoon, Sarah Woodward also prompts you to study the waiter who serves them. He is as much a part of the dining experience as the steak and the wine.
Recipes there are galore, all influenced by that special regionality. Sarah has unified the vast départements of France into 15 manageable regions, promoting quintessential dishes and charming and intimate accounts of eating them. And those regions are not some geographical concept, but created and defined by what goes on in the fields, the markets and the kitchens.
There is no AOC for cooking, but what Sarah Woodward has defined is a 'correctness' about cooking, a term very much intended as a compliment. But it underscores the very essence of French cuisine – a meal can be well cooked, but unless the local standards and traditions have been observed, it is not 'correct'.
'The Food of France' by Sarah Woodward is published by Kyle Cathie Ltd, priced £25.
Posted by Terry Marsh
A delicious and very more-ish treat, especially around Christmas time in Alsace. These tasty sweet biscuits are easy enough to make, and will disappear quickly once cooked.
Ingredients
600g plain flour (sieved)
500g of caster sugar
6 eggs
3 packets of vanilla-flavoured sugar
30g of aniseed grains.
Method
Beat the eggs with the caster sugar and the vanilla-flavoured sugar for about 20 minutes, to obtain a frothy mixture that forms a ribbon off the fork.
Blend in the aniseed grains and the sieved flour, and mix carefully.
Pipe the mixture through a forcing bag with an 8mm mouth, onto a floured, buttered baking tray to form small domes 2cm in diameter.
Leave overnight to dry, at room temperature.
Bake the next day in a hot oven (Gas Mark 6, 160°C) for 10 minutes.
Posted by Terry Marsh
This is really easy to make, and delicious served on toasted baguette. Once you get the ingredients sorted out for your preferences, you can make it fresh in minutes, without the need to store it. Perfect in summer, with a chilled Sancerre.
Ingredients
100-150g black olives without stones
1 tbsp olive oil (make sure it's French, of course, and the best!)
1 clove of garlic (experiment with smoked garlic, perhaps)
2 anchovies
6-8 capers
The last three items are variable according to taste.
Instructions
Put olives and the oil into a pestle and mortar and grind to a paste.
Add the garlic, anchovies and capers, and continue grinding the mix either to a fine paste or a rough consistency, to taste.
Posted by Terry Marsh
AOC stands for Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée. It is a law that guarantees that a product has been made within a specified region and by following established methods of production. The milk used, the region of collection and the length of the maturation are all clearly specified as part of the law.
The first cheese to have been awarded the AOC status was Roquefort – as long away as the 25th July 1926.
Abondance AOC
Banon AOC
Beaufort AOC
Bleu d'Auvergne AOC
Bleu de Gex, Bleu du Haut-Jura AOC
Bleu des Causses AOC
Bleu du Vercors Sassenage AOC
Brie de Meaux AOC
Brie de Melun AOC
Brocciu AOC
Camembert de Normandie AOC
Cantal AOC
Chabichou du Poitou AOC
Chaource AOC
Chevraillon AOC
Chevrotin des Aravis AOC
Comté and Comté Reserve AOC
Comté AOC
Crottin de Chavignol AOC
Epoisses de Bourgogne AOC
Fourme d'Ambert AOC
Fourme de Montbrison AOC
Laguiole AOC
Langres AOC
Livarot AOC
Macônnais AOC
Maroilles AOC
Mont d'Or, Vacherin du Haut-Doubs AOC
Morbier AOC
Munster AOC
Neufchâtel AOC
Ossau-Iraty AOC
Pélardon AOC
Picodon AOC
Pont-l'Evêque AOC
Pouligny Saint-Pierre AOC
Reblochon, Reblochon de Savoie AOC
Rocamadour AOC
Roquefort AOC
Saint-Maure de Touraine AOC
Saint-Nectaire AOC
Salers AOC
Selles-sur-Cher AOC
Tome des Bauges AOC
Valençay AOC
