The norman

Normandy is like an apple tree: its roots are firmly in the ground, and it stretches towards the sea.

Guy de Maupassant

Normandy is a famous French province called the "apple paradise" of the whole country. Since ancient times, residents of these lands have begun to plant apple orchards. And now in spring, during the flowering of the apple tree, Normandy turns into one solid magic apple orchard.

The abundance of different varieties of apples make this fruit the most important for Normans. Apples are dried, jam and compotes are made from them, and the famous Norman pies are baked and filled with them. But the most important of the apples is made mandatory drinks of Norman cuisine - apple cider and calvades drink. It seems that it was for the sake of hoppy calvades that the inhabitants of Normandy began to plant orchards with apple trees.

And Normandy is also associated with magnificent varieties of cheese that are produced in this area of ​ ​ France. Camembert, Pont-l'Évec and Livaro are the pride of Norman cuisine. If Camembert is on everyone's lips, then few know that Livaro is a very unusual and ancient cheese.

Back in the XIII century, the inhabitants of Normandy began to make this type of cheese. Livaro was called "the meat of the poor. " The Pont-l'Évec cheese was first prepared by the monks of the Norman monastery. He was given the name of an angel, apparently because of the color of this soft cow's milk cheese.

The variety and abundance of dairy products is reflected in the recipes of Norman cuisine. When preparing most dishes of Norman cuisine, homemade butter, sour cream and cream are used. Normandy is located near the Lamanche Strait, so fish and other seafood are the main dishes of Norman cuisine.

A magnificent delicacy and masterpiece of world cooking - mussels in Norman wine sauce. Restaurants chefs in Normandy always cook only fresh mussels, because after low tide, enough of these seafood can be harvested on Norman shores.

According to the recipes of Norman cuisine, you can cook not only mussels. Another couple of sea dishes of Norman cuisine for true foodies are scallops, oysters or lobsters (of your choice), which will be cooked and served under a nut sauce.

Meat dishes of Norman cuisine are also known. For example, the world famous Ruan duck. This dish disgusts animal advocates and amazes foodies with its unique taste. The fact is that a duck, for a Ruan dish, is killed in a special way (strangled). Then roast and send under a special press. Ruan duck is served under a wine sauce of duck heart, blood and liver mixed with red wine.

Another famous dish of Norman cuisine is Dieppe Pot. The finely chopped meat languishes for a long time in a pot in the oven, and then is served to the table with the obligatory crisp and fresh bread. It is not possible to pass by traditional sausages in Norman cuisine.

The Virgin is the most famous Norman sausage, which began to be produced in a mountainous area in the town of Vir back in the 18th century. The recipe for Norman sausage is based on pork or veal. The meat is washed and thoroughly cleaned of fat, then cut into thin strips and tied with twine.

The most important stage in the preparation of sausage in Virsky is brine. After the sausage is soaked in specially prepared brine, it is "dressed" in a colon shell and smoked. Moreover, they smoke in smoke necessarily from beech trees.

It is believed that it is beech wood that gives sausage its unique taste in a virky way. There are several types of Blood sausage in Norman. Black blood sausage came to Normandy from ancient Greek traditions and settled for a long time in drinking establishments and taverns in France.

The main ingredient in such sausage is pork blood and fat. White blood sausage is made from poultry and lean meat, with the addition of butter. Norman sausages are considered an incredibly delicious delicacy. They are traditionally made from tender calf meat or beef, egg yolks or fish are added. An unusual combination, isn't it?