Calvados

France has given the world plenty of fine dining and acclaimed masterpieces of world cooking. World-famous French cheeses and excellent wine, onion soup, Foix Gras, chicken julien or fresh croissants. All these dishes and products have long been associated with France.

The famous strong drink Calvados is considered the same French symbol as the Roquefort cheese, Napoleon cognac or the famous Marseillaise. The first to produce brandy from apples or pears began in the Lower Normandy region. Historians found the first mention of Calvados in Gilles de Guberville's "Diary. "

Misier de Huberville came from a noble family that owned lands in Normandy. The author of The Diary or the family book described quite accurately and in detail not only family traditions and foundations, but also the process of distilling cider in the manufacture of calvados. Calvados drink with centuries-old traditions, which regulate not only the production process of the drink, but its strength, taste, aroma, as well as those who can produce the drink.

Therefore, Calvados refers to rather expensive and noble drinks, the quality of which is regulated by a special document "Appellation d'Origine Controller. " The French drank calvados at all times, national traditions, holidays and festivals are associated with this drink. The great novelist E. M. Hermark devoted a single page to Calvados in his immortal work "Arc de Triomphe. "

It is Calvados that is used in tradition under the name le trow Normand or "Norman Hole. " When the French are at the table for a long time, there is a special "calvados minute, " when everyone interrupts the meal at once and drinks a little alcohol. It is believed that calvados is able to arouse appetite. Moreover, Sorbe ice cream is necessarily added to the glass with calvados.

Remarkably, in modern France, the Grand Ordre du Trou Normand or the Order of the Norman Hole exists and successfully functions, which includes admirers, connoisseurs, amateurs and manufacturers of calvados. The technology of distilling apple cider and producing calvados has not changed for centuries. In Norman gardens, special varieties of apples are grown, which are used exclusively for the production of calvados.

Most calvados producers in France come from families that have been producing calvados for many centuries with special secret recipes. It is believed that the most important component that gives the unique taste and distinctive aroma of calvados is small apples, which contain a lot of tannin substance.

First, cider is made from apples, which is infused for five weeks and acquires a strength of 4-6%, and then using double distillation, it is obtained from calvados cider, the strength of which is already 40%. Calvados need to last long enough in special oak barrels for the drink to acquire its rich gold color and deep aroma. Connoisseurs recommend drinking calvados as an aperitif, since the drink arouses appetite. Calvados is also perfectly combined with dessert dishes.