Catching a Rainbow

Give me my scallop-shell of quiet,
My staff of faith to walk upon,
My scrip of joy, immortal diet,
My bottle of salvation,
My gown of glory, hope's true gage;
And thus I'll take my pilgrimage...
The Passionate Man's Pilgrimage

Sir Walter Raleigh

With that poem begins one of the most awaited seasons of the year, not climatic but gastronomic, the Scallops or perhaps the better known, Coquilles St Jacques!
It is not unusual in France for their arrival to attract banner like announcements in the papers such as,
“They have arrived!”
People stop in the street and discuss what the coming season is going to be like: will there be enough, are they going to be more expensive than last year, but most of all, ‘when will they arrive.’
In the region of Brittany in which I live, nothing is anticipated quite like the first Coquilles St Jacques of the year, fairs being organised to celebrate this wonderful harvest from the sea.
Coquille St Jacques, as with other shellfish are not generally popular in England, we seem to find mussels, oysters and other shellfish somewhat daunting and yet, they are what the British want to eat when they come to Brittany on holiday.
France not only produces, but also imported 7840 metric tons of scallops in 2007 alone, including 60% of the UK catch . In the UK during 2007 nearly 18,500 tons of scallops were landed grossing £32,000,000 for the fishing industry, but so few are eaten by the inhabitants.
It is a sad fact that very few children in Britain will taste the wonderful sweet flavour of fresh Coquilles St Jacques and although the sale of frozen scallops has increased two fold in the past ten years, the availability of good fresh scallops, away from the coasts is still abysmal for a country surrounded by the sea. As a nation, unlike the French, we have not grown up with shellfish as part of our diet and our lives are poorer for it.


HISTORY:

The name Coquilles St Jacques is so recognisable; it transcends language barriers, being known as Coquille St Jacque in other tongues apart from French. Even in Britain the name Coquille St Jacque is more recognisable to most than the mundane scallop. The shell is the archetypal shape for a seashell, and the one most easily recognisable by adults and children alike.
The scallop shell is the traditional emblem of Saint James the Great, better known as James an apostle of Jesus or St Jacques in French. The shell is worn by pilgrims following the route to the shrine of St James in Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain.
More commonly known as Santiago, which is Spanish for St James, was named after the apostle who some believe spent time in Galicia, spreading Christianity. His connection to scallop shells comes from myth and legend and is derived from two similar stories.
In 40AD, James returned to Judea to continue his ministry, which was not long lived; he was put to death by King Herod Agrippa four years later. Following James’s execution, the king refused to give permission for the body to be buried and during the night friends removed the corpse and sailed for Spain, his final resting place.
The first story tells of James wading out into the sea and rescuing a fallen knight who had become unseated from his horse. When the knight emerged from the water he was covered in scallop shells. The other story, along similar lines, attests that whilst St. James's remains were being transported to Spain for burial, the horse of a knight fell into the water, and emerged covered in the shells.
Centuries later a hermit called Pelayo was sitting in a wood, when he saw a strange light shining over the place where James was supposedly buried. Pelayo named the place, "Campus Stellae", or ‘the field of the star.’ That name later evolved into Compostela and hence to Santiago de Compostella or St James- field of the star.


BUYING:

Scallops should, whenever possible be bought in shell, making it easier to tell if they are really fresh. Scallops are heavy. They have a large shell, full of dense flesh and sea water and a Kg of fresh shells will only render five or six scallops. €2-3 (£1.50-2) a Kilo is a good price but in times of poor weather they can increase to €6 (£4.50) a Kg. (French prices)
Shells can be closed or open as most scallop shells will open when brought into the warm but is not a sign that the scallop is dead. They should however close when tapped.
Scallops should never be stored in water and avoid tubs of shelled scallops sitting in their own juice, they are probably defrosted frozen. Frozen scallops are a good second choice and are ideal used in recipes using longer more involved cooking methods, but they should not be stored in water.
Unlike other shellfish such as oysters, mussels and clams, not all the scallop is eaten. In the case of scallops only the adductor muscle or the large off-white meat and sometimes the red or orange roe are eaten. The roe is not always present dependant on the time of year. Although scallops are often sold removed or shucked from their shells, freshness can easily be verified. They should be firm, moist without cracks of fissures and have a sweet pleasant aroma. The meat should be slightly off white. Brilliant white scallops have probably been stored in water, to increase their weight and cost, and should be avoided.
Hand-dived scallops are larger, and more expensive, but taste the same as the smaller dredged variety.


STORING:


Scallops are highly perishable and should be used as soon as possible after purchase and certainly within two days. They can be stored in the bottom of the fridge but as they exude a certain amount of water they need to be kept in a suitable container.
They freeze well.


PREPARING:

How to open and clean a scallop
1. To open a scallop, Hold the curved side up and hinge away from you
2. Insert an oyster knife between the two shells and rock the knife from side to side to break the muscle that forms the hinge. You can tell the scallop is alive for as you cut the hinge the two half’s of the shell try to close and this is an indication of freshness. Scallops should always be bought live.
3. Insert the knife or a spoon between the top and bottom shells from the right side, just in front of the hinge, and cut the muscle away from the inside of the top shell (the curved one) this release the top shell.
4. Open the scallop and discard the top shell.
5. Then scrape off and discard all of the innards except the sweet, white muscle.
6. Do this by gently scraping off the dark innards, starting from the hinge side of the muscle and scraping over the muscle towards the front. You can always pull any bits free with your fingers
7. Properly done, this will peel the innards from the muscle, leaving it attached to the bottom shell.

Cleaning Scallops Part 1



Cleaning Scallops Part 2




COOKING:


Scallops have a delicate sweet flavour which can easily be overpowered by strong spices and seasoning. As with much seafood the simplest methods of cooking are often the best and scallops are no exception.
A favourite method of cooking and one, which only takes a few minutes, is to heat a dry pan until hot, then add some oil,
• Warm the serving plates.
• Open and clean the scallops.
• Carefully dry each with a cloth, so that when they go into the pan the oil will not cool resulting in the scallops boiling in their own juice rather than searing and sealing in their liquid
• Add the scallops and cook for about a minute on one side, without shaking the pan.
• Turn the scallops over and cook for a further ten seconds.
• When cooked place the scallops on the warmed serving plate.
• Add a good sized lump of butter to the pan and when melted and begun to foam and a splash of Noilly-PratTM, give the pan a quick shake and pour the butter over the scallops.
• Grind on some black pepper and a sprinkle of fine Guérande sea salt.
• Serve with a green salad, and fresh bread.
• Sublime with a fruity Muscadet, but not one that is too dry.


Searing scallop video.





OTHER


What are Coquilles St Jacques?



They are bi-valve molluscs, related to the oyster, although scallops have a larger adductor muscle, which is the edible part of the shellfish.
They have the distinction in being the only bi-valve molluscs, which are capable of self-propelled independent movement; which they achieve by rapidly opening and closing their shell thus expelling water at force, and enabling the scallop to move; a natural form of jet propulsion. Scallops use this method to migrate around the seabed their position depending on the season, the tides and the climatic conditions.
Scallops are hermaphroditic, which means they can change sex and it is their sex, which determines if the shell will contain the additional delicacy of the roe or not. A red roe indicates a female scallop; white for male, and it is usually only the bright red or orange roe of the female scallop, which is eaten.
The flesh of a scallop is firm with a delicate sweet flavour. The row has a much softer texture and is less popular owing to its softness.
The Swedish name for a scallop translates as The Pilgrim Mussel and in Dutch Jakobsschelp, which means ‘James shell.’ The French means Shell of St James.


Swimming scallop video.




Fishing for Scallops.


Scallops are traditionally caught by dragging the seabed with a specially designed metal drag net, or dredger. There is however, a market for dived scallops, which are hand selected and usually larger than the fished varieties.
There are two main areas of scallop fishing in Northern France, The bay of the Seine, in Normandy, and the Bay of St-Brieuc in Brittany. In Britain the Irish Sea and the west coast of Scotland are the main areas of scallop farming and more recently large reserves have been found around the Isle of Mann.
In France, which has a far larger scallop rearing industry the rights to the fishing grounds are fiercely protected and fishing for scallops is restricted by a great many statutes. The size and number of dredgers permitted per boat is also controlled. They must not be wider than two metres and have a metal net of interlocking rings fitted whose diameter must be greater than ten centimetres, thus allowing smaller specimens to fall through the net and be returned to the sea bed unharmed. Large boats can drag up to thirty dredgers at a time, but in the Bay of St Brieuc the maximum number permitted is two per boat.
The time permitted for fishing is also strictly controlled and any breach of the regulations results in the fisherman’s licence being revoked and hence his livelihood. The boats are limited to no more than 13metres in length with engines no bigger than 250 hp. They are only allowed to fish twice a week and for no more than 45 minutes at each session. They are only allowed to catch 250 Kg of scallops per fisherman on board regardless of how long it takes to catch them.
The opening of scallops on board is forbidden as is the taking of undersized specimens and the scallops must be no smaller than 102mm in diameter. The open season for scallops is between October and May; the exact date varies from year to year. Diving for scallops is permitted all year round in the waters surrounding Jersey.





References and Acknowledgements.
http://www.sud-goelo.info/
http://www.ouest-france.fr/dossiershtm/coquille/30.htm
http://www.ifremer.fr/envlit/pdf/actualitespdf/20041207Coquille_Saint_Jacques_Bretagne.pdf
http://www.eurofish.dk/indexSub.php?id=3255
http://www.red2000.com/spain/santiago/
http://www.noillyprat.com/default.aspx
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/SI/si2004/20040012.htm
Fete de coquilles st jaques 2006, Cotes de Goelo

Both the mandarin and the clementine have the same nutritional value, indeed they are as similar as two drops of water and have become a mainstay of winter citrus fruits. They are often confused as being the same and often one is sold as the other, which can be confusing, especially when other varieties such as the tangerine and the satsuma are also considered.




• The mandarin orange
The Mandarin orange (Citrus reticulata) or simply mandarin, comes from a small citrus tree which has fruit resembling an orange.
Citrus fruits in general, as with so many other fruits, are native to China, spreading throughout Southeast Asia and ultimately the globe since they were first cultivated 4,000 years ago. The name mandarin refers to the bureaucrats and priests of imperial China who wore bright orange robes and who were often the only class of people permitted to eat the fruit.
Although cultivated for over 3,000 years in China, mandarin oranges did not reach Europe in large quantities until the late 18th century. Specimen trees were imported into England from China in 1805 and by the mid-1800s, the mandarin orange was found throughout the Mediterranean. Later the name tangerine was reserved for a specific reddish orange cultivar of the mandarin found in Algeria, but imported into Europe via Tangiers. (The tangerine is a cultivar of the mandarin and not a distinct subclass).
The tree is more drought tolerant than the fruit but both are easily damaged by the cold. There are many types of mandarin, many bred by cross pollination with another citrus fruit. Most citrus fruit trees are usually self-fertile which results in fruit with seeds although some are parthenocarpic which requires no cross pollination, the fruit developing without seeds as is the case with the increasingly popular clementine.





• Clementine
Said to have been found in Misserghin, Algeria by a Father Clement (Vincent Rodier, 1829-1904) over 100 years ago, the clementine arises from a natural crossing of the common mandarin and a sweet orange. Originally thought of as being a cross with the bitter Seville orange, this was proved not to be the case in 2002 by scientists at the French National Institute for Agricultural Research INRA.
Father Clement was working as the head gardener of an orphanage in Algeria when he found a different variety of fruit in a plantation of mandarins. The trees fruited much earlier than the original Chinese varieties and the fruit tasted much sweeter.
According to Louis Charles Trabut (1853-1929) a botanist working in Algeria, this highly important North African variety originated as an accidental hybrid of the Mediterranean mandarin and a willow-leafed ornamental variety. Following his recommendation the tree and the subsequent fruit were named by the Horticultural Society of Algiers as clementine.
Both Webber (1943, p. 558) and Tanaka (1954) two eminent botanists working in the field expressed doubt concerning the validity of this conclusion and more recently, a distinguished French authority in North Africa, has refuted it with convincing evidence. The current thought is that the clementine is of Oriental origin, probably Chinese, and that it is indistinguishable from and probably identical to the Canton mandarin described by Trabut in 1926, who also remarked on the similarities between the two.
The fruit are small, very sweet, and are usually seedless, unless they have been cross pollinated with another type of citrus fruit. The fact that clementine’s are seedless has led to their popularity in certain parts of the world, including the UK and the USA. However, the eating of seedless fruit in regions surrounding the Mediterranean has in the past been frowned upon as it was anecdotally believed to be a cause of impotence, and not in keeping with a Mediterranean lifestyle!




• Satsuma
The satsuma mandarin originated in Japan, more than 400 years ago, where it is known as mikan. The name satsuma is credited to the wife of a United States minister to Japan, General Van Valkenberg, who sent trees home in 1878 from Satsuma, the name of a former province.
There are some 100 different varieties of satsumas in Japan but only about a dozen varieties are exported. Once readily available in the UK, the satsuma has recently become hard to find and has in many areas been replaced by the clementine or the mandarin orange.
The satsuma has a particularly delicate flesh, which cannot withstand the effects of careless handling or vigorous transportation. The uniquely loose skin of the satsuma, which made it so popular with children, as it is so easy to peel, also meant that it was easily damaged and that any such bruising and damage would not be immediately apparent upon the typical cursory visual inspection associated with assessing the quality of other fruits. In this regard, the satsuma is often categorised by citrus growers as a hit-and-miss fruit and has accounted for its rapid decline in recent years.
One of the distinguishing features of the satsuma is the distinctive thin, leathery skin which is lightly attached around the fruit, enabling it to be peeled very easily in comparison to all other citrus fruits.


OTHER STUFF:
The colour of citrus fruits only develops in climates with a cool winter. In tropical regions with no winter, citrus fruits remain green until maturity.
The first common clementine introduced into Corsica was planted in 1925 by M. Don Philippe Semidei in Figaretto, on the eastern plain of the island.
Most mandarins end up as tinned fruit as they are able to stand the processing.


References
http://www.citrusvariety.ucr.edu/citrus/clementine.html
http://www.international.inra.fr/press/a_new_clementine_for_corsica
http://asaweb.huh.harvard.edu:8080/databases/botanists?id=100126

January, a time when thoughts turn to root vegetables, hearty soups and slow cooking, when once in a while something comes along to lighten the heart.
Lambs leaf lettuce is just such a thing. At a time when nature is at its deepest slumber, this delicate vegetable steps forward as if to remind us that there will be a spring, and that the interminable cold and gloom will not last forever, in perpetuity.


HISTORY:

Salads originated in the Mediterranean basin. Evidence of such has been found in the tombs of the pharos dating from the 5th century BC.
The culture of corn salad, or lamb’s leaf lettuce first began in France, alongside the River Loire, during the Renaissance period of the 14th Century. Images of the crop appeared in a painting by Leonardo de Vinci, Léda and the Swan, which has unfortunately been lost.
The 15th Century poet Pierre de Ronsard sang of the “small salad of the fields and meadows…” where the lettuce remained, a long time wild. Two centuries later the crop made its way into cottage gardens and its domestication began.
Following the second French Empire a Parisian restaurant owner created a salad in celebration of the Italian king Victor Emanuel II, a salad of lamb’s leaf lettuce, turnip and beetroot - the colours of the Italian flag.
Primarily grown in France and the Netherlands, Lambs leaf lettuce is known by many different names. Clairette, Corn Salad and La Doucette or "the little sweet one" in French. In Germany it is known as Feldsalat (meaning field salad) and in addition mâche,rampion, Rapunzelsalat, Salade de Chanoine, Salade de Prêtre are all common names.


BUYING:

Lambs leaf lettuce looks similar to water cress, but with a milder slightly bitter nutty taste. The leaves are said to be the shape of lamb’s tongues and are found in small clumps. As with all salads it is better not to buy those that are pre-washed and pre-packed and often preserved in a protective atmosphere. Once the bag is opened they degrade very quickly and are best eaten within one or two days.
Buy in clumps, complete with the sandy roots, which are a result of the soil this vegetable prefers to grow in. The leaves are extremely fragile and will not tolerate being crushed, better to place them on the top of a shopping basket where they can be carefully looked after.

STORING:

The lettuce does not store well, better to buy often and then replenish the supply. A few days in the bottom of the fridge are all than can be expected of this hardy, yet at the same time fragile crop.

PREPARING:

It cannot be emphasised enough, when washing lambs leaf lettuce, allot of water is required, a whole sink...and that is for the first washing. Remove any roots, but pinch them off using your thumb and forefinger just below the base, so maintaining the leaves in their original small bunch, which looks more appealing on the plate.
Fill the sink and allow the lettuce to float for about thirty minutes, agitating the water every so often. The sand trapped in the roots will be released and fall to the bottom of the basin.
Drain the lettuce, empty the sink cleaning away any sand, and then repeat the process.
Gently place the salad in a salad spinner, an absolutely indispensible item for any kitchen, indeed no salad should be placed on the table until it has been spun to remove the excess water. (Click on the below link to order one)
All salads should be dressed, it is the utmost in laziness to serve a salad un-dressed as happens all too frequently in the United Kingdom.

COOKING:

Not usually done, however the leaves can be added to a stir fry at the very last minute, or cooked very quickly and used as a replacement to spinach.
As with all salads a vinaigrette dressing of your choice is preferable, but for the same reason care should be taken as when transporting, any vinaigrette should be served apart, and added to the leaves at the last moment. If poured over the salad, and left for any more than a few minutes, the fragile leaves will begin to cook in the acid thus becoming limp, unpalatable and only fit for the dustbin.
In fact, a vinaigrette dressing or other sauces made with strong acidic ingredients are not the best for Salade de mâche. Walnut oil, in which a few slices of green apple have been allowed to soak for twenty minutes, or a small piece of citrus fruit, will provide all the acidity required and provide a subtle yet well balanced dressing which will perfectly complement your salad.


OTHER STUFF:

Lambs leaf lettuce, with its delicate fruity flavour complements strong flavoured food admirably. Fruit, dried fruits and nuts, particularly walnuts, are a wonderful combination. It goes well with pâté, chicken livers and duck. Later in the meal the leaves complement certain cheeses, particularly goat’s cheese from the Loire valley, as well as blue cheeses of all varieties.

All pre-packed salad should be thoroughly washed, even if it claims to be ready-washed. A major cause of food poisoning in France and something which doctors warn against during pregnancy, is supposedly pr-washed salad goods.


Victor Emmanuel II (1820-1878) First king (1861-1878) of united Italy and last king of Piedmont-Sardinia (1849-1861).
Victor Emmanuel succeeded his father Charles Albert to the throne of Piedmont-Sardinia in 1849, following the abdication of Charles Albert after two humiliating defeats by Austria… Victor Emmanuel successfully met various crises in the early years of his reign.
In the 1850s Piedmont-Sardinia remained the only constitutional state in Italy, a haven for persecuted Italian nationalists and liberals who had been involved in the 1848-49 revolutions. By 1859, assured of military support by Napoleon III of France in the Treaty of Plombières, Piedmont-Sardinia once again went to war with Austria. As a result of this conflict, Austria ceded Lombardy. Successive upheavals in the smaller states of central Italy and Giuseppe Garibaldi's successful campaign in southern Italy against the Neapolitan Bourbons led to the creation of a united Italy…

RECIPES:

Lambs leaf salad with beetroot and pine nuts


©Copyright Malcolm Hamilton 2007-2008






References:
http://www.mache-nantaise.com/
http://www.mache-nantaise.com/
http://www.mache-nantaise.com/
Bibliography
F. Cognasso, ed. Le Lettere di Vittorio Emanuele II. (Turin, 1966).
Denis Mack Smith. Victor Emanuel, Cavour and the Risorgimento. (New York, 1971).
Denis Mack Smith. Italy and Its Monarchy. (New Haven, 1989).
H. McGaw Smyth, "The Armistice of Novara: A Legend of a Liberal King," Journal of Modern History (1935): 141-74.
F. Valsecchi, ed. Le Relazioni diplomatiche fra l'Austria e il Regno di Sardegna (1849-1860). (Rome, 1963).

The misnamed Jerusalem artichoke has no real link with Jerusalem at all and only a distant link to the more familiar Artichoke, both coming from the same family of plants the family Asteraceae or Compositae.
It is a relative of sunflower native to eastern North America, from the state of Maine to North Dakota, and south into some of Florida and Texas
It has a distinctive nutty flavor which has been suggested to be similar to that of glove artichoke hearts- being used in many recipes to replace or compliment potatoes. The plant which if left unattended can become an invasive weed is a wonderful source of an inexpensive but delicious food.

HISTORY.

Jerusalem artichokes were found being cultivated in North America and are said to have been introduced into Europe by the French explorer Samuel de Champlain. Although de Champlain described the vegetable tuber as tasting of artichokes there real taste is similar to that of Chinese water chestnuts. Certainly not native to Jerusalem, the route of the name is thought to derive from the Italian for Sunflower, girasole to which the Jerusalem artichoke is related. Indeed the plant resembles a many stemmed sunflower complete with numerous small sunflower type blooms.
In France the Jerusalem artichoke was synonymous with rationing during the World War II when they were grown as a food staple all over the country.

BUYING.

Roots should firm, dense and free from spongy soft areas. Their shape, not dissimilar to ginger can be very nobly and one should try to buy the largest tubers available.

STORING.

Jerusalem artichokes will keep for several weeks in the salad chiller of the fridge but are better stored in a cool dry area such as a garden shed or garage covered with sand, much the same way as carrots are often stored.

PREPARING.

As potatoes.

COOKING.

A perfumed vegetable without being too scented which can be used to make a different recipe wherever potatoes are called for. Often thought of as peasant food and not fit to grace the tables of high society, the Jerusalem artichoke marries perfectly with the woody aromas of wild mushrooms and dried fruit and nuts. The flavour utterly sublime with lobster and crab can also be used with other seafood such as scallops.
They can be cooked as potatoes – baked roasted, sauté, boiled or steamed, and as with potatoes Jerusalem Artichokes will discolour when exposed to the air. Once peeled and cut maintain their colour by storing in acidulated water, using either a little vinegar or preferably lemon juice.


OTHER STUFF.
Because of the peculiarities in the digestion of Inulin, the form of carbohydrate found in Jerusalem Artichokes, they do have the side effect of causing flatulence.



RECIPES.

Cream of Jerusalem artichoke soup

Seared scallops with bacon, Jerusalem artichoke puree and crushed peas

Chicken and Jerusalem artichoke pie

Jerusalem artichoke and sage gratin

©Copyright Malcolm Hamilton 2007-2008

In France the sixth of January is known as the Day of the Kings, and in common with many other countries of the world it is the day when figurines of the three kings are traditionally added to the Christmas nativity scene; thus extending the festival beyond the customary twelve days celebrated in Great Britain.

The French have a rich and varied culinary history and French chefs have for centuries adapted their skills and recipes to commemorate famous historical events.
Whether it is a pastry commemorating the Paris-Brest-Paris bicycle race, or a chicken stew with eggs and crayfish to celebrate Napoleons crushing victory at the Battle of Marengo (14 June 1800), or even the much-maligned Peach Melba, invented to commemorate the visit of a famous opera singer to England.

In the case of Epiphany they created a cake… the Kings Cake, made in celebration of the three wise men and their visit to Bethlehem 2007 years ago. The moniker kings did not appear until the third century AD and was an elevation of the term, wise men, or magi.




The Gateaux des Rois or the Galettes des Rois, depending on whether you live in the north or the south of the country, fill the shelves and window displays of both Boulangeries and Pâtisseries all over France from just after New Year, right through to Easter. But, the most important day is the sixth of January, Epiphany.











The date for the festival was set Pope Julius II (December 5th, 1443 – February 21st, 1513), the one time bishop of Carpentras, a town situated north east of Avignon on the edge of the Rhone Valley, in south-east France.

In England, Epiphany begins the day after Twelfth Night, which traditionally brings the Christmas period to an end. In France however, Christmas officially ends on February the second with yet another celebration, the feast of Candlemas.
Thus the serving of Galettes des Rois is still thought of as a Christmas time celebration, which has been practiced for years.


It is not clear when the Galettes des Rois were first invented, let alone whether that invention was French or not. Certainly eating special cakes in celebration of the Epiphany is not just a French tradition, as the same exists in North America, Spain, Mexico and other European countries.

In France, during the reign of Louis XIV (September 5th, 1638 – September 1st, 1715) the ‘celebration of the festival of the kings’ was banned.
The church believing that the festival had its roots in early paganism and was contrary to biblical teaching, thus the interdict. The Catholic Church also believed that the day of celebration was merely an excuse for overindulgence and unwanted immoral behaviour and was not something good God-fearing people should entertain.
The French people ever inventive at getting round rules and regulations they do not agree with, re-introduced the day as ‘La fête du bon voisinage,’ or ‘good neighbours day’ and presumably the cake was reintroduced at the same time, but with possibly a different name.

Cakes have been used in the celebration of the Epiphany since the Middle Ages and as with other regions of the world the cake in France varies from one region to another.
Of the two versions in existence in France today, the southern Brioche based bun is probably the elder of the two.



The current version of the Galette, which is indistinguishable from Gateaux Pithiviers, in all but name, was probably not in existence before the 17th Century.



Yeast based buns have been used in pagan festivals since the times of the pharaohs and were being baked in ancient Greece as long ago as 1500BC. Bouns or buns were used in pagan worship in celebration of Cecrops the First, the founder of Athens, which was long before the modern version of puff pastry was perfected by Marie Antoine (Antonin) Carême (June 8, 1784–January 12, 1833).



Carême, often called the chef of kings and the king of chefs, perfected modern day puff pastry from which the northern Galettes des Rois and Pithiviers are made. However, Carême did not invent puff pastry. The delicate leaves of this wonderful creation have graced recipes both sweet and savoury since the 18th century, but the original recipe probably a variation of Baklava, was introduced into France during the Islamic occupation of the country in the 8th Century.

Jerusalem artichoke

The misnamed Jerusalem artichoke has no real link with Jerusalem at all and only a distant link to the more familiar Artichoke, both coming from the same family of plants the family Asteraceae or Compositae.
It is a relative of sunflower native to eastern North America, from the state of Maine to North Dakota, and south into some of Florida and Texas
It has a distinctive nutty flavor which has been suggested to be similar to that of glove artichoke hearts- being used in many recipes to replace or compliment potatoes. The plant which if left unattended can become an invasive weed is a wonderful source of an inexpensive but delicious food.

HISTORY.

Jerusalem artichokes were found being cultivated in North America and are said to have been introduced into Europe by the French explorer Samuel de Champlain. Although de Champlain described the vegetable tuber as tasting of artichokes there real taste is similar to that of Chinese water chestnuts. Certainly not native to Jerusalem, the route of the name is thought to derive from the Italian for Sunflower, girasole to which the Jerusalem artichoke is related. Indeed the plant resembles a many stemmed sunflower complete with numerous small sunflower type blooms.
In France the Jerusalem artichoke was synonymous with rationing during the World War II when they were grown as a food staple all over the country.

BUYING.

Roots should firm, dense and free from spongy soft areas. Their shape, not dissimilar to ginger can be very nobly and one should try to buy the largest tubers available.

STORING.

Jerusalem artichokes will keep for several weeks in the salad chiller of the fridge but are better stored in a cool dry area such as a garden shed or garage covered with sand, much the same way as carrots are often stored.

PREPARING.

As potatoes.

COOKING.
A perfumed vegetable without being too scented which can be used to make a different recipe wherever potatoes are called for. Often thought of as peasant food and not fit to grace the tables of high society, the Jerusalem artichoke marries perfectly with the woody aromas of wild mushrooms and dried fruit and nuts. The flavour utterly sublime with lobster and crab can also be used with other seafood such as scallops.
They can be cooked as potatoes – baked roasted, sauté, boiled or steamed, and as with potatoes Jerusalem Artichokes will discolour when exposed to the air. Once peeled and cut maintain their colour by storing in acidulated water, using either a little vinegar or preferably lemon juice.


OTHER STUFF.

Because of the peculiarities in the digestion of Inulin, the form of carbohydrate found in Jerusalem Artichokes, they do have the side effect of causing flatulence.

RECIPES.

Cream of Jerusalem artichoke soup

Seared scallops with bacon, Jerusalem artichoke puree and crushed peas

Chicken and Jerusalem artichoke pie

Jerusalem artichoke and sage gratin

The morel is an edible cup fungi to the experts and one of the most prized edible wild mushrooms to those of us who cook.

Give me my scallop-shell of quiet,
My staff of faith to walk upon,
My scrip of joy, immortal diet,
My bottle of salvation,
My gown of glory, hope's true gage,
And thus I'll make my pilgrimage.
The Passionate Man's Pilgrimage
By Sir Walter Raleigh

The Coco de Paimpol is a semi-dry white bean grown in the Tregor-Goëlo area of the Cotes d’Armor region of Brittany in North West France.
The name Paimpol comes from the port of the same name where it is believed the beans were first imported from South America in the 1920’s. (3° 02' 43" W 48° 46' 43" N)
The beans are now a staple of the Breton diet and their harvest between July and October is eagerly awaited. The Coco is a fragile crop, which has to be harvested by hand and cannot be undertaken when it is raining as the excess water causes the pods to rot.
The Coco Pluckers, as they are called, descend on this region for the harvest and can be seen ‘plucking’ the crop, seated, in small groups, very often under the shade of a parasol. The same families return year after year to bring in the harvest, selecting the best pods and renew acquaintances with old friends. A good plucker can pick anything up to 150Kg of beans a day. To celebrate the new harvest a large fete is organised in August every year with competitions to find the best plucker of the year.
The mature Coco bean is often overlooked by the British visitor as the pod has an unappetising dried up appearance and the yellow skin marbled with red and violet can give the impression that the bean is rotten. In fact in any lot of Coco-beans one will always find slightly better looking pale green examples, which are in fact under ripe and will not have the wonderful chestnut flavour that develops in mature examples.
They are easy to cook, once de-shelled; requiring much less time than other dried varieties of bean and require no pre-soaking. About 35 minutes in boiling salted water is usually enough, any longer and the beans begin to lose their form and become ‘mushy’. They are great in soups and casseroles where they keep their form over prolonged cooking periods
The beans are rich in fibre and Vitamins B5 and B1. They are a good source of Iron and essential oils.

The Coco de Paimpol was the first vegetable in France to receive the much acclaimed
Appellations d'origine contrôlée. The origins of AOC date back to the 15th century but the Law for the Protection of the Place of Origin the first modern law was passed in 1919.This law was to specify the region and commune that any given product must be manufactured in. Its remit was later broadened to also including setting down how certain products could be produced. In 1935, the Institut National des Appellations d'Origine (INAO), a branch of the French Ministry of Agriculture, was created to manage the administration of the process for wines.
In 1990, the scope of work of the INAO was extended beyond wines to cover other agricultural products, including the famous Coco de Paimpol.

References and acknowledgemets.
Institut National des Appellations d'Origine http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appellation_d%27Origine_Contr%C3%B4l%C3%A9e


The Coco de Paimpol
http://www.prince-de-bretagne.com/presse/dossiers-presse/pdf/dossier-presse-coco-paimpol-07-2005.pdf

More information (French)
http://carnetsdebord.over-blog.net/article-3467148.html