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Monday, October 21, 2013

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 are they? That's what counts not size".

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 make Eau de vie out of everything including probably water. 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 take place 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. Look for these badges.
Look out for all the ducks and chickens and cows at the show. Such playful touches in the displays.
It might have helped to know I was tasting rillettes de lapin/rabbit if I'd bothered to look at the rabbits on the shelves.
I did buy their eggs which were marked with the date and area on the shell/coque.
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 kid 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! I was a little surprised when 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 I bought  a kilo of chestnuts in the shell(2.2 pounds). Gawd only knows what I'll do with them. The sirop de chataigne looks 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 such an easy sell.
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 must 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 on the walls. PLEASE JUST GO to Pari Fermier when you're in Paris.
 

28 comments:

  1. Bless you for supporting the lapin industry!

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  2. Fantastic! :-)
    Would love to explore that cheese mile - so beautifully presented.

    Even though I have never been to Paris, in my dreams, I am sure I was there, many times, thank to you, Carol!
    Merci and hugs,
    Merisi

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  3. You have been just a wealth of information for us "dolts" who only go to touristy spots. There is so much to see and do it makes the head spin! Thank you, Carol.
    We will get off the beaten path the next time we go to Paris.

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  4. Nothing of the sort
    There's just so much more out there than moniuments.
    Takes a bit of research but so worth it.

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  5. This looks like a wonderfully earthy event!

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  6. I love Food Fairs like these:-)

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  7. What fun! Chef Michael Symon said if you ever get a chance to taste Chestnut honey to be sure not to miss it. I have been on the lookout.

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    1. Thanks for the tip Ms Lemon!
      I've seen miel de Chataigne all over the place at these type of events.
      will do a report on it for sure.

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    2. I love chestnut honey. I would recommend tasting it before buying, the taste varies quite a bit.

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  8. What a fabulous event. I hadn't heard of them, now thanks to you Carol I have bookmarked their page, and will hope to time things to attend sometime next year. Great to see the kids getting into it.

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  9. Chestnut honey does sound delish..and honey keeps..Love your pepper jar aquarelle,,
    I would be such a sucker at these food fairs.
    5 yrs later I am still pining over the wicker market basket I left there..:( Actually never bought it.. as ..I was told..you're kidding right?
    Well ..I wasn't.

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  10. Patricia5:13 PM

    Do you just wander from one eating event to another? I can see a guide book writing itself just by following you around.

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  11. So much food! You don't shy away from trying new things! It seems that Paris survives by selling food and not tours of museums......

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    1. I didnt taste the eel or anything with stacks of duck fat on top. There was plenty i walzed by

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  12. As for the marmalade d'Espelette, try it over goat cheese. Fantastic!
    XOXO,
    Vicki

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  13. Well this is what I call paradise....
    Lynne

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  14. It was except i put onion confit on my muesli this morning instead of the creme of chestnut ;((

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  15. Does this market happen every month? I'll go in the spring or fall when I'm there. Deb

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    1. You have to check the website link in the post
      It does happen but this was the Big Fall version
      Each one is different...still i went to a street fair of just 25 producteurs and loved it

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  16. Ah those brown eggs look like ours. Nice and fresh :) All that wonderful food. I am not surprised you needed to find the ATM. :)

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  17. Well, I'm glad you didn't buy them all, but I'm afraid I would have caved!

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  18. Bonjour chère amie,

    Je vous aurais volontiers accompagnée dans cette visite du terroir... Les papilles devaient être en émoi !
    De très jolies captures photographiques.
    Gros bisous

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  19. Anonymous1:29 AM

    Miles of cheese is my dream! Eggs, ham and cheese...sounds like a great breakfast coming your way! Carolyn

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  20. What fun. I hope your kitchen has enough cupboards these days to store all of your goodies picked up on the fun galavanting around France, Carol. Hmmmm. I've fallen for that pruneaux apéro - never seen that before. Cheers!

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  21. where do you find out about the various salons in Paris?

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  22. where is the link?

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