Meert Paris

First of all, THANK YOU darling PBers for all the lovely messages and warm welcome to my new home in Paris! I'm looking forward to sharing many new adventures on the island with you.
 

Frederic, the manager of the new Meert shop (since 1761) in the 6th (3, rue Jacques Callot off rue Mazarine) somehow found Parisbreakfast and decided I must come visit on Friday. It's a mere 15 minute walk away.
 

This shop is bigger than the Marais store and absolutely dreamy.
 

Come inside.
 

All 19th century fixtures are modeled after the famous first Meert shop in the Northern town of  Lille. I have to go there.
 

Remember we were talking about candy as medicine? In the Middle Ages Medieval knights brought back all manner of spices and herbs from the East. Many went straight into the coffers of pharmacists of the day, to be made into elixirs and pills(dragees). Frequently they were stored in these big glass jars still used in most French candy stores.
 

Or ceramic jars like these. Pharmacists were truly the first candy makers of their day. Just consider. They had ginger, cinnamon, vanilla (brought back by Cortez from Mexico), licorice, almonds, citrus, lavender, anise, sugar and finally chocolate just to name a few ingredients to work (play) with. These were luxury items savored only by the rich. Luckily things have changed.
 

Here's some favorite medicine, guimauve/marshmallows, I fell instantly in love with at Meert.
 

Their framboise guimauve is some of the best I've tasted in France. Now I get it! Goodbye Campfire marshmallows. I'v moved on.
 

Meert is of famous for their Flemish waffle cookies filled with a cream made of butter, brown cassonade sugar and Madagascar vanilla. Seasonally, the flavors can change to marron/chestnut and rum or pistachio and Morello cherries etc.

President de Gaulle was a huge fan of these waffles/gaufres. He grew up in Lille but remained attached. De Gaulle's driver was sent from the Elysees Palace to fetch a dozen cookies weekly. He did the 'waffle run' I guess.
 

This shop is so darn pretty. Even if sugar never passes your lips you have to visit. And they do have lovely gift items like cards and books.
 

Gorgeous chocolates too.
 

And caramels.
 

Marron glace.
 

Only on Saturdays does Meert receive a delivery from Lille of special pastries from their tea salon like le Cramique (6,50 a brioche plain, sweet or with raisins) and perfect with Meert's devine jams.

I couldn't resist getting le moelleux a l'orange and le moelleux aux fruits rouges (2.80 each). Anything red fruits I'm a sucker for.Yes, I came back Saturday morning.
 

An homage to Meert's owners is set up in the shop.
 

Look at adorable feves/favors that hide inside Meert's galette du roi (Lindsey has a picture here). More instant love. They're taken straight from an old 19th century ad on the cover of their new beautiful double bookset. Yum. Don't miss Meert Saint-Germain next visit please. More pictures to drool over here.
 

Le Bonbon au Palais - Guimauve 101

Trying to match the delicate pale colors of French guimauve (or what we call marshmallows) is not nearly as easy as eating them.
 

As someone with a long history of roasting marshmallows while my parents were out of the house, I assumed I'd some background knowledge of guimauve. This proved not to be the case at all.
 

Let the leçon begin students.
 

The only appropriate schoolroom is at  Le Bonbon au Palais at 19, rue Monge 75005 Metro;Cardinal Lemoine.
 

No other site in Paris offers the variety of guimauve. I checked. And you can buy just one piece if you're unsure about making a commitment just like when you were a kid at your local candy store.
 

Professor Georges is in deep contemplation preparing the lesson.
 

The traditional Chamalow found in most shops are from Arnaud Soubeyran in Montelimar. You can find them in the US too. On the right, Guimauve fantasie (meaning faux or fake) from Montpelier. Both are made (horrors - industriale) by machine in a kind of taffy-like fashion. They have about 10% egg white in them and tend to be seche or dry and elastic. I rather like them since they remind me of the chewy Campfire marshmallows of my childhood though none came in framboise or citron flavors.
 

Georges handles each guimauve rope like it was a precious strand of pearls. I would like a drawer of these.
 

These pillowy big squares have no animal gelatin in them so are perfect for vegetarians. And they have no whites of egg either or blanc d'oeuf (which sounds like 'blond-Ouf' to me when Georges says it).

These even bigger squares are made with a new special artisanale technique from Pascal Jeanblanc, Toulouse. They are beaten to a fair thee well (by hand of course...) till a huge bubble thing forms. So they are much more airy in texture (nothing like my crisped, blackened marshmallows but the flavors are intense and not overwhelmingly sugary with flavors like banane, coco, framboise, poire, citron, chocolat, vanilla, rose, cerise, fleur d'oranger.
 

And as mentioned you can buy just one and try it.

These are cutup versions of the strips
 

I felt I should check out a few other candy shops in town.
 

I always love La Mere du Famille. This branch is on rue Montorgeuil.
 

They just have the strip version tied up in knots. They have many other traditional regional French candies as well...
 

Patisserie Ble Sucre is back from summer hols and open. Hooray! when I spotted squares of guimauve I asked where they were from. The chef was standing by and announced, all their candies are made on site a la maison. Ooopla. These were of the airy, fluffy variety by the way. I got a pack of fleur d'orange (5 euros).
 

Here is my haul or rather this was my haul. Most of it has disappeared...hmmm.
 

Georges happily gift-wrapping someone's candies. This year's Salon du Chocolat (end of October) will have an annex with all the French confisieurs separate and Georges is in charge. I attempted to roast one of the small elastic guimauve but it tasted like Franprix matches. Ugh. Much better to go with the real thing unroasted.
 

Dior compote de framboise

 Next Spring 2013 Dior says you'll be wearing this eye makeup.

 I do like these neck ribbon-scarfs. Do you?

 Wouldn't it be fun to be at the show in Paris sitting front row with De Niro and Kenya?

 Stripes are always in, in Paris. Pink and black - a classic.

Much discussed hot new designer at Dior, Raf Simon puts stripes the hem as well

 On tinselly, cellephane dresses with flowing mini trains

 Lots of simple clean designs from Simon at Dior. NYTimes Bill Cunningham says they're clothes real women can wear. But what about us unreal women?

 Nevermind. These swirly roses remind me of...

 A top-down view of 'Le Macaron de Rêve Framboise Melba de Dalloyau'

petite description:

Un biscuit macaron a la framboise montée comme une religieuse, fourré d'une crème vanille ultra légère et d'une compotée de framboise, le tout décoré par des framboises fraîches et de la gumauve

~

A raspberry macaroon cookie mounted as a nun, filled with a vanilla cream lightweight and a raspberry compote, all decorated with fresh raspberries and marshmallows.

If you want to hear Google Translate read this bit of poetry aloud go here.

 Last night while making applesauce again I got inspired by all this framboise and pink and threw in some frozen berries to make compote de framboise...

 If I really wanted to get creative I could knock off Eric Kayser's verrine de cheesecake but use Greek yogurt instead for a framboise stripey layered/couches affair like this.

 By the way Dior designer Raf Simon took his bow at the show wearing stripes on his back. Was Simon rushing off to indulge in a striped, layered bit of gateaux after all the fashion show angst. Did you experience angst last week getting a shortened versions of PB in your mailbox? Sorry. I was just testing. Everything's back to normal today.
Bon Appetit!