Brittany - Gastronomy

Gastronomy

Although some white wine is produced near the Loire, the traditional drinks of Brittany are:

• cider (Breton: sistr or chistr) – Brittany is the second largest cider-producing region in France; Traditionally served in a ceramic cup resembling an English Tea cup ("bolennad" in Breton, "bolée" in French).
• beer (Breton: bier) – Brittany has a long beer brewing tradition, tracing its roots back to the seventeenth century; Young artisanal brewers are keeping a variety of beer types alive, such as Coreff de Morlaix, Tri Martolod and Britt;
• a sort of mead made from wild honey called chouchenn;
• an apple eau de vie called lambig.

Historically Brittany was a beer-producing region. However, as wine was increasingly imported from other regions of France, beer drinking and production slowly came to an end in the early to mid-20th century. In the 1970s, due to a regional comeback, new breweries started to open and there are now about 20 of them. Whisky is also produced by a handful of distilleries with excellent results, such as Eddu distillery at Plomelin near Quimper, which elaborates a real and successful creation using buckwheat, Glann ar Mor distillery which makes an un-peated Single Malt, as well as a peated expression named Kornog. Another recent drink is kir Breton (crème de cassis and cider) which may be served as an apéritif. Tourists often try a mix of bread and red wine.

Surrounded by the sea, Brittany offers a wide range of fresh seafood and fish, especially mussels and oysters. Among the seafood specialities is a fish stew called cotriade.

Galettes

Large, thin pancakes made from buckwheat flour (blé noir) are eaten with ham, eggs and other savoury fillings. They are made with plain buckwheat flour and water in Eastern Brittany and called galettes (Breton: galetes). La Galette Saucisse, a hot grilled pure pork Breton sausage wrapped in a cold galette, is the "fast food" of Eastern Brittany, sold from road side stands, and served at every occasion from football matches to the local school fête. In the western parts of Brittany buckwheat pancakes are made with eggs and called crêpes de blé noir (Breton: krampouezh). Galettes are often served with a cup of cider, but in Brittany they should traditionally be accompanied by Breton buttermilk called lait ribot (Breton: laezh-ribod). Brittany also has a dish similar to the pot-au-feu known as the Kig ha farz, which consists of stewed pork or beef with buckwheat dumplings.

Thin crêpes made from wheat flour are eaten for dessert or for breakfast. They may be served cold with local butter. Other pastries, such as kouign amann ("butter cake" in Breton) made from bread dough, butter and sugar, or far, a sort of sweet Yorkshire pudding, or clafoutis with prunes, are traditional.