C.B.S.

Vendredi 1Mars C.B.S. caramel au beurre sale

I went to the annual Breton fair in Montmartre in January and was instantly immersed in a bath of caramel au beurre sale much to my delight and horror.

How to resist so much temptation?

Olivier Magny in his book STUFF PARISIANS LIKE has nailed this conflict as he has many other mysterious Parisian ways. This book remains a source of answers in a mysterious town. I'll quote him liberally here:

Sweet in Paris is guilty. Gently. Guilty. Sugar It carries all the afflictions of decadence. It is coating and fattening, sensual and tempting, enjoyable and slippery. Anything sweet in Paris should therefore be consumed in great moderation. (Will I ever acclimate?)

Just enough for the threatening shadow of decadence not to ruin the tender moment of sweet collapse. In that unspoken tug-of-war between good and bad, the Parisian found an ally in caramel au beurre sale.

Le caramel au beurre is as sweet as it gets. Devilishly so. But in all that sweetness and perversion comes a salvatory adjective, a redeeming flavor: le sale/salt.

Taunting and irreverent. Obedient nd rebellious. Le sale makes caramel acceptable.

This is the best koign amann of my life by the way from the fair in Montmartre. Merci deux I only bought one.

I returned to the Agricultural Salon last night to visit the Bretonne section. Le caramel au beurre sale was once a Bretonne oddity.

The uncanny account for the local tradition of salting butter. Salt is one powerful little thing.

The Bretonnes were out in full force last night with plenty of salt on offer...

Caramel au beurre sale can take many, many forms.

At the chocolate salon Henri Le Roux was serving up tiny tarts to die for...

And his classic caramel au beurre sale (C.B.S. for short for the French) caramels.

Olivier Magny's STUFF PARISIANS LIKE has remained on Paris bookshop counters since it came out a few years ago. Evidently Parisians need to bone up on their peculiar habits not just me. It's a terrific reference. His final words on C.B.S:.

...Salt miraculously washes sugar away, brushes off decadence. The Parisian is freed.

USEFUL TIP: When it comes to caramel au beurre, Henri Le Roux is the man.