Marches des Producteurs

Back to French farmers marches in the streets. This time Marches des Producteurs on Bd de Reuilly12th arron.

Saucisse sautéed on the spot - the aromas put you in the right frame of mind.

Crowds form when there's cooking going on...

Onion beignets frying up.

But I saved my euros...

For this gorgeous bottle of vinagre a la framboise from la Comtesse de Chateau Merle. The look was so enticing, jam-packed with berries.

I bought a bunch of Laurel/Bay leaves too. I better get a French cookbook soon...

I did make apple compote and tossed in a vanilla pod today. Perfection.

Vin chaud. Tis is the season. It will be everywhere but I'll end up on the floor out cold if I down half a cup.

The Raspberry lady from Pari Fermier was here too. These farmers make the rounds on the weekends and produce like crazy during the week on their farms.They come up with endless variations on a theme whether the product is honey, walnuts or raspberries.

Sheep yogurt in a wide variety of flavors including chestnut. I meant to go back...

A sheep from the Alps-Pyrenees at Salon Saveurs, another food fair.

Salon Saveurs was at Porte de Versailles this weekend.  There are farmers but more distributers, so more polished and much less hay. Still very fun.

I almost got vanilla pods from Tahiti (2 gousses for 10 euros). They were so much more delicate and fragrant than the Bourbon beans. I do regret not diving in.

Duck/canard at both food fairs in every form under the sun including almost life size chocolate.

At both marches the tastes are endless. No wonder the French are discerning from an early age.

Shopping is much more fun than the high-end department stores at the marches too. And the interchange is informing and friendly.

You won't find these big home-made nut tartes at l'Epicerie or at these prices.

I got my snails last night.

They were delicious. A PBer from Australia said, there's an awful lot of food at Parisbreakfast these days. Heading into the holidays, which begin much earlier in France, it will be difficult to avoid. I'll try for balance but preparation for holidays/fetes commences here with passion.

The next Marches des Producteurs will be on Square des Batignolles in the 17th arrondissement December 7 - 8. Don't miss it if you want to sample fresh foods straight from the farm in the city.

The Christmas windows on PB tomorrow. 

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Marche Batignolles Biologic

Saturday I finally made it over to the marche Biologique des Batignolles in the 17th arr, near Place de Clichy. I seem to zigzag between the intensely healthy and heavenly excess in my food adventures. This week will be a plunge into the deep end of heavenly chocolate and sweets at the Salon du Chocolat, so why not shore up with a little healthy balance?

It appears many producteurs here show up at the marche Raspail organic the following day on Sunday. This setting is a bit easier to navigate. Four rows of purveyors on an esplanade in the middle of the boulevard. More zigzagging of course.

I've been flirting with fresh figs for weeks in the marche. Le noire de Sollies AOC from the Var are very fine indeed. I'd read somewhere they should be a bit firm. At organic marches in Paris you're allowed to pick out the fruit and veg yourself unlike other marches. I roasted these split with portobellos and cherry tomatoes drizzled with Balsamic, honey and topped with Za'atar. Plus Longley Farm Cottage cheese and roquette...sigh.

Fresh hazelnuts. Nothing like them! They're crunchy yet not the least bit dry like other noisettes I've eaten. They don't shake in their shell either.

Look for the letters BIO and AB and AOC when you're buying organic. Some of the most simple vegetables here have a CV as long as your arm.

Fresh oysters...next time.

An Italian purveyor who goes to Raspail as well.

At Raspail the lines are always so long

For these onion-potato pancakes. No line so I bought. I'll be back for these.

Just beautiful produce.

The colors!

Les légumes oubliés are trendy and hot. Black radishes like these. Rutabagas, Jerusalem artichokes, blue potatoes, beets Chiogga.

Kale is super hot.

Chefs were buying it up in the market.

Who else would be buying flat after flat of unusual veggies?

Plus they co-ordinated with the tomatoes.

To market, to market to buy a fig..

Today it's off to the Chocolat Salon Professional and a dive in the deep end. It's sink or swim in Paris.

 

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What I ate at Pari Fermier

OK I didn't eat these goodies but I bought them and more at the Pari Fermier Autumn salon this past weekend.

A Fall cornucopia waits just down the escalator at Espace Champerret.

Metro ligne 3 Porte Champerret. All kinds of delicious events take place here including the dollhouse miniature salon.

And all manner of animaux du France are waiting..

Plus miles of fromage straight from the farm.

Some cheeses as big as your head. Of course Geraldine says,"How old iare they? That's what counts not size". Hmmm...

France has the best prunes on the planet if you ask me.

These are mi-cuit from d'Agen in the Sud-Ouest. They go in a special oven for 15 hours to roast to absolute lusciousness. They're made into everything imaginable - confiteur, jus de fruits, Prun'choco, crepes and ...

Pruneau Eau de Vie of all things - brandy. I mentioned to Geraldine that the French probably make Eau de vie out of everything including water and she corrected me,

"No, only fruit goes into Au de Vie".

Lots to learn in France besides just your conjugations...

I've been rambling but the reason you should check out Pari Fermier (they occur at least once a month in Paris, sometimes more) is it's your best chance to buy directly from regional producteurs. The prices are great and you get to taste/gouter like crazy. Plus you can ask the makers-farmers lots of questions. They're thrilled to tell you about their products and extremely proud of the awards they've won in competitions.

Like this Medaille d'Argent from 2008. These annual contests keep producteurs on their toes maintaining product quality. It's a good thing to look for these badges.

Also look out for all the ducks and chickens and cows at the show. Such playful touches in the displays.

Though it might have helped to know I was tasting rillettes de lapin/bunny if I'd bothered to look at the rabbits on the shelves.

I did buy their eggs which were marked perhaps with the name of the hen on the shell?

Other shoppers came better prepared with big laundry baskets and granny bags for their purchases. Ha! I thought I would just browse. Instead I had to go to the ATM for more euros.

I did buy this jambon de Bayonne. Who could resist?

Perfect example of why French taste buds are more finely tuned then the rest of us. They get trained to try new foods from the get-go.

This little kiddie got to taste every single jar of jam and honey on the table. His mom and dad did too. They had a fit when he tried to DOUBLE DIP. No Way Jose! I was a tad surprised they didn't buy a thing. Was that lunch?

I tried every product made from chestnuts at this stand. Did I have a choice? No. I bought the crème de chataigne nature...

And a kilo of chestnuts in the shell(2.2 pounds). Gawd only knows what I'll do with them. The sirop de chataigne looked tempting to throw in an apero/cocktail.

Same here at the Basque espelette stand. You could not taste just one thing. Every product was offered. I bought the marmalade d'Espelette...no clue what I'll do with it but this is such fun and the girls were adorable. I'm an easy sell I guess...

Believe me when I tell you there is probably a museum and a fete for every single product in France. So please mark you calendars for next years raspberry festival! Where the heck is Ajou? They had a fabulous sparkling framboise drink (no alcohol). I only resisted because I ran out of money.

When is the caramel fete? This one I have to attend. So much I didn't show you like the picnic tables where you could sit down and dive into your foie gras or freshly shucked oysters. Or the pictures of all the farmers (looking deadly serious) posted around or oh so many things. PLEASE JUST GO to Pari Fermier when you're in Paris.

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