Catching a Rainbow

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.

Regardless of which recipe was used, all reference to kings, kingdoms and crowns were dropped during the French revolution (1789 - 1799.) when the festival of the kings fell as the executioner’s blade.
The original celebration may have been usurped, but not so the cake. Renamed the ‘Gâteau de l’Êgalité or the equality cake, for obvious reasons, the French drew lots to decide which citizen would present the galettes to the assembled masses and the tradition of dividing and sharing the pastry continued.

The cake, in France has two forms: a pastry and a bun and neither can be called a true cake.
In the north of the country, including Brittany, the Galettes des Rois is more evident. The Galette is based on one of the most famous French Pastries coming from a commune in the Loiret département of France. To all intents and purposes the Galettes de Rois is a Pithiviers made in a slightly different shape. Some recipes however, do call for the addition of cinnamon, cloves or other eastern spices, which make it dissimilar to the traditional pastry, which contain just frangipane or almond paste (not to be confused with marzipan).
The addition of spices reaches back to the nativity and is a reminder of the wise men and their gift of spice and is a strong bond with Epiphany.



In the south, notably in the region of Provence and further west along the Mediterranean coast towards Spain, the preferred recipe uses brioche.
Brioche is a butter enriched yeast dough which for the gateaux is made into a ring and decorated and adorned with candied fruit, glazed with syrup and sometimes flavoured with orange oil. The fruit, brightly coloured, emulate the jewels of a crown and the gateaux is glazed and baked until it glistens, resembling gold.
Neither version can be called a true cake, regardless of where they come from, nor are they the only Kings Cake that exist.



In the Catalan region of Spain, an autonomous region historically associated with France, there are neither the Gateaux des Rois or the Galette des Rois. In Catalonia the Tortell de Reis is King.

The Tortell is a ring or crown shaped enriched sweet bread, similar to the French brioche, which are often stuffed with marzipan and topped with glazed fruit.

The Spanish influence transcends the Atlantic Ocean into Mexico, where the Rosca de Reyes is made to celebrate the magi. This version calls for sweetened bread, decorated with pieces of candied fruit such as orange and lime, which are again representations of the jewels in a crown. The Mexican version is often filled with nuts, dried figs, and cherries, not necessarily an almond paste as in Europe.

In Germany and Switzerland the Dreikönigskuchen or the three kings cake is eaten for breakfast on the day of epiphany and is another derivative of the rich brioche based bun from the south of France.

The Kings Cake, in a similar guise, is also found a few miles north of Mexico, in the southern states of America. Here, vast numbers are eaten, forming a focal point of the celebration of Mardi gras.
In early Catholicism, Epiphany was considered to be the first day of lent and the eating of the Kings cake was also an excuse for using up food not suitable to be consumed during the fasting period: such as almonds, eggs, sugar and butter.
Mardi gras, a French word, literally meaning fat Tuesday, is the same celebration as the British Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Day, which heralds the opening of the Lenten period.
The word shrove, not common in American English, is the past tense of the old English word to shrive, and describes the period of confession early Anglo-Saxon Christians were expected to perform prior to Lent.
It is not clear whether the American version of the cake is an adaptation of the Mexican and Spanish Rosca and Tortel’s or if the gateaux arrived with the Acadian settlers forced to head south through America, into Louisiana, following the Great Expulsion.

The Acadians were French immigrants who originally settled in the northeastern region of North America, until they were forced from their homes, by the British during the great Expulsion of 1755. This expulsion, also known as the Great Upheaval, was the forced removal of the French speaking population of Nova Scotia between 1755-1763.
The migrants moved south and settled in and around Louisiana where they became know as the Cajuns and it was possibly these people who introduced the southern French Kings Cake into the present day United States of America.
The American version of the Kings Cake, which is similar in style to the one eaten in Spain, pre-dates modern day puff pastry. This further suggests that the southern French brioche based recipe is older than the more recognisable puff pastry based Galettes des Rois eaten further north. It is a simple fact that the French had fully established their colonies in America by the time Antonin Carême worked his magic and the lighter version of the cake, so enjoyed in Brittany, did not make its was across the Atlantic to the Americas.

To be continued ©MalcolmHamilton 2007

Part I












In the murk of a late autumn night, wine makers through out a small wine-producing region of France throw open their cellar doors and bid goodbye to one of Frances most talked about products…the Beaujolais Nouveau.

The transports are loaded, the routes well planned and the culmination of a few short weeks of frenetic work is about to draw to a close.
Awaited by many, adored by some and abhorred by others, the release of the Beaujolais Nouveau, whether you love it or hate it, is in itself a spectacle, an event and an experience.





Originally a race to see who could open the first bottle in Paris, there is now a certain prestige to be the first establishment in the world to open and serve a first bottle of the new vintage; and chic hotels and restaurants vie with each other to be the first.
It is all rather perplexing, as I am sure there are numerous people… most probably the entire adult population of the Beaujolais region, who will almost certainly taste the new wine long before the restaurant goers of London, San Francisco or even Paris.

In bars and bistros alike the phrase “Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrive, " can equally be seen festooned between oaken rafters, chalked on to strategically placed boards or slates or, impersonally stuck to a lampost as a piece of cold sticky backed plastic advertising the New Wine.













The name Beaujolais Nouveau is not strictly the correct terminology; it being adopted in the 1980’s as one of the most successful marketing ploys for French wine.
Wines released between the harvest of one year and those of the subsequent, are generally called ‘Nouveau,’ however, in the case of the famous Beaujolais, it is released from the Autumn of one year to the spring of the next and under French and European law should be called… Beaujolais Primeur.


Some have called it the most frivolous and animated ritual in the wine world but it is hugely important to the region of Beaujolais, able to make or break a vineyard depending on the quality of its first Beaujolais.
Over 65 million bottles are produced, accounting for nearly half the regions total wine output and produces the first real income of the wine makers year.






Beaujolais is not only a wine producing area of France, but it is also an ancient province, which was broken up into smaller areas when the French département system came into being in 1790.






Located roughly between the towns of Lyon to the south and Mâcon to the north, Beaujolais straddles the two départements of the Rhône and the Saône-et-Loire. To the east is the Saône River, born at Vioménil in the Vosges, merging with the Rhône at Lyon and wending its way south to the sea. To the west are the low mountains of Beaujolais, which form the North Eastern edge of the Massif Central.






The phenomenon of Beaujolais Nouveau is a recent one, only coming into existence in the 1950’s; it did not really catch on until 1980’s; and in some ways coincided with the birth of Cuisine Nouvelle as a light fresh and new approach to wine.


However, the making and drinking of new wine is anything but new. Hundreds of years before Christ, a new wine was being given to slaves as a cheap form of payment. ‘Serva potio’ or the ‘slaves drink,’ was made from the skins of already pressed grapes. After the initial pressing the skins were re-mixed with water, re-pressed and the resulting liquor given to those in forced servitude.


St Martin, the Patron Saint of wine makers and viticulture died on the 11th November 400AD (the exact year is not known), and traditionally young wine was served at the celebratory feast.
Originally a pagan festival of ‘fertility and light,’ the early church were quick to associate the day with a Christian saint; thus the masses kept their holiday and were able to celebrate something more acceptable to the church.
There is no credible connection between St Martin of Tours, and the spread of viticulture through the Touraine region of France during th 4th Century AD; and was certainly not mentioned by the early writers of the Hagiographa, the biography of the saints. However, this did not prevent the makers of Beaujolais Nouveau choosing this imaginative date for the launch of the very first Beaujolais Nouveau.





Part Two

St Martins Day, the 11th November, later coincided with the signing of the Armistice - which drew the First World War to a close. As a mark of respect to the fallen the date for the launch of the new Beaujolais was moved to the 15th of November. Finally the third Thursday in November was chosen as the preferred date; some say to fashion a long weekend of celebration; so enjoyed by the French.

In the late Middle-Ages, wine was neither made nor stored in the fashion it is today. Good wine making requires clean, sterile conditions and these were lacking in the cellars of the early part of the 14th Century. Right up until the early 18th Century wine was still being sold in open containers and being drunk very young thus avoiding the problem of oxidation, whereby wine turns to vinegar, which often occurred during storage. As such there was a general predominance for drinking young wines as the older ones were generally ruined by oxidation.

Beaujolais Nouveau first came into existence on the 11th March 1951, but it would be another thirty years before the phenomenon really caught on.
Before that date the sale and supply of wine was in accordance with a meticulous calendar, which only allowed so much wine from any given vintage from any of the wine producing regions to come onto the market at one time. Thus preserving a constant supply of wine for the Army, and ensuring that good prices were maintained.

In 1951 a decree was passed preventing the sale of the 51 harvest before the 15th December that year. In the October of that same year the wine makers of Beaujolais worked together and requested that they be allowed to sell their wines, including Nouveau, straight away. They argued the special case for Beaujolais, a wine best drunk young, and Beaujolais Nouveau was certainly an early wine…their request was granted.
For the next fifteen years the release date for the new wine was not fixed, but changed from year to year. On the 15th November 1967 the release date was set for midnight of the 15th and this stood until 1985 when the date was changed to the third Thursday of November. During the intervening period there was one exception in 1977 when the vines ripened late, and as a consequence the wine was not released until the 25th that year.

Critics of this wine say that it is purely a marketing ploy, designed to sell wine early in the life of a vintage, thus subsidising older wines, which will have less of a return until they have aged and come onto the market. This is not altogether true as Beaujolais’ in general are wines best drunk young and it is only in exceptional years, for the big wine names, that Beaujolais will be kept for perhaps ten years.

Not only is Beaujolais Nouveau marketed differently it is also made differently from other wines, thus producing a light refreshing drink, which would be better suited to drinking in the height of summer than at Christmas. Some say that Beaujolais Nouveau is as close to a white wine… as a red can get, which makes it a very popular drink in the United States where little red wine is drunk.
In common with all wines from the region, Beaujolais Nouveau is made from the Gamay noir à Jus Blanc grape, or more often just know as, Gamay. The grapes are hand picked and as with the grapes of the Champagne region this process is mandatory. In addition Beaujolais Nouveau cannot be made with grapes from any of the ten Crus or big wine names those being: Morgon, Moulin-à-Vent, Brouilly, Côte de Brouilly, Saint-Amour, Chiroubles, Chénas, Fleurie, Juliénas, and, Régnié. but only from the two appellations of Beaujolais and Beaujolais-Villages.

The wine is made by a process known as Carbonic Maceration, where the grapes are not crushed prior to fermentation but rather the juice is allowed to ferment within the grape producing a fresh fruity quality to the wine without extracting the bitter tannins which are released when the skins are crushed.
All Nouveau are made to be drunk early and usually by the following spring. In exceptional years, such as 2000 they can last longer and be drinkable up until the following harvest, but that is rare.

As with other young Beaujolais Nouveau is best served cool but not iced as has become the fashion. 13°C (55°F), is advised for Beaujolais Nouveau whereas other older wines from the region are best drunk at 17°C (60-65°F).

“Le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrivé!”

Although the Americans, not particularly fond of the French but, passionate about Beaujolais Primeur, have changed to slogan to…

"It's Beaujolais Nouveau Time!"


References:
http://www.slate.com/?id=2074387
http://www.beaujolais.com/pages/vinsDuB/12apels/EN/bnouv_histoire.asp
http://www.beaujolais.net/frameSet.asp?page=http%3A//www.beaujolais.net/pages/actus/sommaire/pageActuEN.asp%3Fart%3D1009
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaujolais_nouveau
http://www.louisjadot.com/index_uk.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_of_Tours
http://www.wineintro.com/types/beaujolaisnouveau.html
http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=81
http://www.winepros.org/wine101/grape_profiles/gamay.htm

The Paris Brest is not so much a race as a cycling endurance competition held every four years in France. It follows a course from the country’s capitol to the town of Brest, in western Brittany, covering a considerable distance of approximately 1200Km or 746 miles.

The first race took place in 1891 following the success of the first ever bike race between Paris and Bordeaux earlier the same year.
Pierre Giffard, a writer for the paper ‘Le Petit Journal,’ was the race organiser. French moral was in a malaise towards the end of the 18th Century and Giffard thought that a race using the new fangled bicycle was just the thing to improve the nations flagging morale.
The race was made possible by the invention in 1885 of the diamond safety frame, the basic bicycle we know today and the new pneumatic tyres helped it on its way.

Cycling was a new sport and in 1891 there were only a few thousand adherents. Giffard recognised how important the machine and the new racing phenomenon were to become and organised the race to be a showpiece to the bikes versatility, power and range. It was not going to be a race… but a testing.

The event was intended to be one of endurance from Paris to Brest and a return to Paris, a man, his machine…and nothing else.
Medical opinion was against ‘such folly’ and condemned the race as ‘Lunacy.’ Despite the medical prophesy of certain death to any foolhardy enough to compete entrants began to come forward; so many that the entrance rules were changed and competitors were charged a five franc entrance fee.

By the time the first race was set to start three hundred competitors including seven women had come forward, although the women were later barred from the race by a change in the rules.
A further rule change enforced the riders to only have access to one bicycle and that same bike should be used through out the race. To ensure that there was no cheating an impressive sealing ceremony was organised outside the offices of Le Petit Journal whereby each bike had a specially designed seal firmly affixed to its frame.

As the sun came up on Sunday the sixth of September 1891 the riders set off from in front of Le petit Journal and headed towards Brest.
It soon became clear that the race was going to be a two-man affair and was between Charles Terront and

Jacques Jiel-Laval, two very different riders.
Terront was argumentative, hot bloodied and known to be impetuous, whereas Jiel Laval had a calculating mind and stuck rigidly to his cycling routine, never varying.
Their characters were not the only things that set them apart; they also opted for different tyres.
To years earlier in 1889 two French brothers André and Edouard Michelin had introduced their revolutionary clincher tyres and rims, which were not only safer, they gave a softer ride and meant that bikes could be ridden faster. A fierce debate roared at the time over which type of tyre was better. Connoisseurs, including Jiel-Laval opted for the older solid rubber variety, whereas Terront received backing from the newly formed Michelin company only one type of tyre would have a chance of existing after the race was over.

The eventual winner was Terront, finishing the race in Seventy-one hours and twenty- two minutes. The only stimulant he received was strong coffee in an attempt to keep himself awake. En-route Terront crashed as well as breaking a crank. His endurance showed through, finishing the stage one-legged and still managing to keep ahead of his competitors. From that point on solid rubber tyres began their decline into the history books.
Jiel-Laval came in second, eight hours after Terront.

Terront was not the only person celebrating. Giffard proud at his success filled page after page of newsprint with story’s concerning the race, Terront, as well as himself. Of the events he wrote:
"For the first time we saw a new mode of travel, a new road to adventure, a new vista of pleasure. These cyclists averaged 80 miles a day for 10 days, yet they arrived fresh and healthy. Even a skillful and gallant horseman could not do better. Aren't we on the threshold of a new and wonderful world?"
Although the Paris-Brest-Paris or PBP as it is known begun in 1891 as a race it is still the oldest cycling event still held every four years but is now looked on as a test of endurance and is thought of as being non-competitive. There is a great emphasis on self-sufficiency as long as the individual finishes within the ninety-hour time limit. Riders are permitted to stop en-route, eat even sleep if they chose but the clock is continuously running. Many chose either not to sleep or just catch a few minutes by the side of the road when exhaustion overcomes them.
Although initially the race was looked on as being a showcase for the new types of bicycle and the professional rider, today the greater emphasis is on the ordinary rider who can enter as long as they have passed one of the qualifying heats held earlier in the year.
The next Paris-Brest-retour will be in August 2007.

The Paris Brest is not just the name of a race, but also the pastry made to celebrate the very first race. It is a sweetened cream filled choux pastry covered in toasted almonds, which is very light and extremely easy to make.

The Paris-Brest

Choux Pastry
2 oz / 50g Unsalted butter
2 ½ oz / 65g Plain flour
Pinch of salt
2 eggs, beaten.
¼ pint / 150ml water.


1. Put the water and the butter in a saucepan and bring to a rolling boil.
2. Sift the flour twice onto a sheet of baking paper add a good pinch of salt.
3. Take the pan of the heat and empty the flour into the pan all in one go.
4. Return the pan to a gentle heat and mix thoroughly untoil the dough forms a smooth ball and comes away from the sides of the pan. Allow to cool for a few minutes.
5. Gradually add a little of the beaten egg and beat continuously to incorporate. Keep adding the egg and beating until a soft smooth dough is formed. The pastry, as it is called, should just drop of a wooden spoon when held aloft.



DIRECTIONS FOR THE PARIS-BREST:

1. Preheat oven to 2200C/4250F°.
2. Spoon the Choux Pastry into a piping bag fitted with a large plain nozzle.
3. Pipe a ring 1 ½ inches wide and 8” in diameter on a sheet of greaseproof baking parchment and sprinkle with flaked almonds.
4. Bake for 7 to 10 minutes then reduce the oven to 1900C / 3750F and cook for a further twenty minutes until the top is golden brown.
5. Remove from the oven, allow to cool for a few minutes before splitting the choux ring in half horizontally. Do not separate the halves but allow them to cool one on the other.
6. Mix together ½ pint of double cream, one egg white and 20z of icing sugar until firm.
7. Separate the two halves and spoon in the cream; replacing the top half before dusting with further icing sugar and serving.
















Sources and acknowledgements
A brief overview: Sleepless en Paris ...et Normandie ...et Bretagne (1999) by Eric Fergusson
http://www.randonneurs.bc.ca/pbp/articles/1999_sleeple...

An informative history: A Short History of Paris-Brest-Paris (1999) by Bill Bryant.
http://www.rusa.org/pbphistory.html
A short history of PBP
From an article on the internet by Gary Smith http://www.ahands.org/cycling/pbp2003/history.html

ANDRE MICHELIN 1853-1931 EDOUARD MICHELIN 1859-1940
http://www.michelin.co.uk/uk/front/affich.jsp?codeRubrique=20060606121922

Recipe for Paris Brest as sited in The Cookery Year, WH Smith 1996 edition, page 295

The most comprehensive information site about PBP and its history is found on the BC Randonneurs website:
http://www.randonneurs.bc.ca/pbp/main.html.
McCray, Phil. 1989. "PBP — 1891 to 1991" Journal of the International Randonneurs
Fergusson, Eric. Paris Brest Paris. http://www.randonneurs.bc.ca/pbp/main.html
Bill Bryant, A SHORT HISTORY OF PARIS-BREST-PARIS, Randonneurs USA, http://www.rusa.org/pbphistory.html
Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris-Brest-Paris