Chinon
Gastronomy
GASTRONOMY
IN THE CHINONNAIS
Chinon, like most of Touraine, is renowned for its gastronomy. Apart from the
obvious example of its wines there are freshwater fish, including pike,
lamprey eels and migrating sea fish such as grey mullet and shad caught in
the waters of both the Loire and Vienne. Pig-derived specialties such as
rillettes (a rough and fatty potted pork, although examples can be
found using goose, duck or even rabbit) and rillons,
chunks of pork belly cooked in lard, are standard Tourangelle
cuisine.
Goat’s
milk cheese is also very traditional in the
region and comes in a wide variety of forms; from mild and
young to strong and mature. From within the demarcated area for wine,
there is also one appellation contôlée cheese: Sainte-Maure
de Touraine. Its manufacture dates back to the 8th Century
during a period when the region was under attack from the Moors who had
migrated here from southern Spain. After the
Saracens were repelled at Poitiers, they left behind a culture of goat
farming and the production of cheese from their milk.
Sainte-Maure
de Touraine has enjoyed its own AC for since 1990 and it is produced all
year round. It is soft
and log-shaped with a fine coating of oak charcoal. Both its area and
manufacture are strictly controlled. Milk
heated to 18-20c is allowed to coagulate for 24 hours before being cast in
15cm log-shaped molds and drained. At this point, a long rye straw
inserted through the centre; its purpose is to hold the fragile cheese
together and to help ventilate the interior. It is then covered in ash and
allowed to age for a legal minimum of 10 days (although is usually more
like 2-4 weeks). After its affinage,
the cheese weights around 250 grams and has a light blue-grey appearance,
a nutty aroma with a fine texture and a faint sourness on the palate. The
finished log is then usually engraved with the producer’s name.
Another
local specialty is the fouace, a type of medieval sandwich made from a
rustic flat loaf (which resembles pita bread) filled with an assortment of
meat, fish, goat’s milk cheese or vegetables. It was immortalized by François Rabelais in
Gargantua where, in one
adventure, a fight breaks out between the shepherds and fouace-makers of
Lerné (the village close to La Devinière where Rabelais was brought up).
In the same work, he describes how fouaces are made using water, egg
yolks, saffron and spices: "...fouaces faites è beau eau, beaux moyeux d'oeufs,
beau saffran et belles épices..." The
local tradition continues today, with the inhabitants of Lerné claiming
its invention.
RETAIL
OPPORTUNITIES:
Fromagerie – Le
Vazereau
83 Route du Côteau
LA ROCHE-CLERMAULT
T: + 33 2 47 93 18 89
F: + 33 2 47 93 91 46
fromagerie@levazereau.fr
www.levazereau.fr
The élevage and production of the local
Sainte-Maure de Touraine goat’s milk cheese was created in 1959 by
Maurice and Hélène Vazereau and is perpetuated by François Laurent who
continues the family tradition.
CHINON
T: + 33 2 47 93 17 65
Sylvie and Laurent Cherbonnier run the best
boulangerie in town, baking a selection of rustic and organic loaves.
CHINON
T: + 33 2 47 93 39 17
Boulangerie-Pâtisserie – La Tour de l’Horloge
Place Mirebeau
CHINON
T: + 33 2 47 93 17 07
La Tour de l’Horloge is a stockist for La
Parisse, a baguette imported from the ovens of one of most respected boulangeries
in Paris every morning.
CHINON
T: + 33 2 47 93 07 15
Patrice Hayrole is a renowned pâtissier in the
region.
Fromagerie – Ferme de la Boutinière
4 Route du Coudray
SEUILLY
T: + 33 2 47 95 90 18
This farm produces local goat’s milk cheese in
various styles: Crottins, Chabis, Pyramides and Bûchettes. Open from
09h30 – 13h30, 18h00 – 20h00 except Sunday afternoon.
12 bis, Rue du Grenier à Sel
CHINON
T: + 33 6 87 79 17 12
autastevin@wanadoo.fr