Cuisine of Gascony facts for kids
The cuisine of Gascony is a very important part of French cuisine. It's special because it uses local foods and has a long history of cooking with fat, especially goose and duck fat. This is different from southern France, where they often fry with oil, or Normandy, where they simmer food with butter. People from Gascony often live a long time, even though their food is rich. This is sometimes called the French paradox.
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What Makes Gascony Food Special?
Gascony food uses many special ingredients from its region. These include duck fat and duck foie gras, which is a rich duck liver. They also use salted ham and a mild chilli pepper from Gascony.
Common things used to flavor food are:
- Bezolles mustard
- Garlic
- Persillade (a mix of parsley and garlic)
- Onions
The cèpe mushroom is often eaten. Another mushroom, Tricholoma equestre, used to be eaten but is now considered unsafe.
Some game birds eaten are larks and wood pigeons. The ortolan bird used to be eaten a lot, but it has been a protected animal since 1999.
If you are near the coast, you might find seafood like:
- Oysters
- Peppery furrowshells (a type of clam)
- Baby eels
- Lampreys (a type of fish)
- Shad (another type of fish)
Drinks and Snacks
People in Gascony often drink red wines that can be strong, like Bordeaux wine or Madiran wine. These wines go well with the local food. Sweet wines like Sauternes and Jurançon are good with desserts or foie gras.
Côtes de Gascogne wine and Armagnac (a type of brandy) are used in cooking. They also flavor a special tart called tourtière.
When families gather in the countryside, they might grill chestnuts and have a glass of vin bourru. This is a sweet wine that is still fermenting. They also enjoy roste, which is grilled bread rubbed with garlic or dipped in tjonque. Tjonque is a sauce made from the juices left over after cooking duck.
Popular Dishes
Here are some common dishes you might find in Gascony:
Soups
- Garbure: A thick, hearty vegetable and meat soup.
Starters (Entrées)
- Foie gras: Served either preserved or fried fresh.
- Landaise salad: A salad with duck breast and gizzards.
- Smoked duck breast.
- Bayonne ham: A famous cured ham.
- Crépinettes of Bordeaux: Small, flat sausages wrapped in a special membrane.
- Baby eels.
- Sanquette: A fried dish made from lamb blood, garlic, sweet onions, parsley, and bacon.
Main Courses
- Chalosse beef: Beef from a specific region.
- Duck confit: Duck meat preserved and cooked in its own fat.
- Duck breast.
- Pigeon stew.
- Stew made from Gascon pig.
- Omelette with sweet Gascon chillies.
- Omelette with cep mushrooms.
- Lampreys "à la Bordelaise": Lampreys cooked in a dark sauce, often made with their own blood.
- "Tricandilles": Boiled pork tripe (stomach lining) that is then grilled.
- "Millas": A tart made from corn flour, served with savory foods.
Cheese
- "Amou": A sheep's cheese made in the Amou area.
Desserts
- "Pastis landais": A cake flavored with orange blossom, vanilla, and rum.
- Canelés: Small, soft pastries with a dark, thick crust.
- Tourtière: A tart filled with apples or prunes.
- Croustade: A pastry decorated with puff pastry.
- "Cruchades": Fried corn cakes.
- "Millas": The same corn flour tart, but served with sweet toppings.
See also
In Spanish: Gastronomía de Gascuña para niños
