Food Finds in Europe

My favorite part of going to Europe is wandering around food markets, trying everything I possibly can and talking to as many food vendors as possible. I love learning about the food. Each trip is different and I always learn something new. And of course, it is a must to bring back cool new foods I’ve discovered, or in some cases foods that can’t be found here (e.g., young, raw-milk cheeses) or are much more expensive here (e.g., saffron). So, I decided I would share what I brought home this trip.

Paris is without question one of the great food cities in the world. There are so many amazing foods to try that one can feel overwhelmed, which is why I always go with a list of places I would like to visit and foods I would like to eat. This trip was no different. I ate at my favorite restaurant, drank lots of wine, tried all kinds of holiday treats, and visited the famous kitchen store E. Dehillerin, where I bought a beautiful, copper sauce pot. 

All of the food stuffs I came home with were bought at Paris’ famous, luxury, grocery store: La Grande Épicerie de Paris (38 rue de Sèvres). I love this place because they sell products from well-known Parisian food shops including: Fauchon, Maille, Maison de la Truffe, and Hediard, saving you the trouble of running around the city. They also have an amazing prepared foods section that is a must stop for at least one lunch when in Paris.    

So what did I buy? I love Maille mustard; I think it is the best Dijon style mustard out there so I’m always eager to bring home a new mustard. This time I bought one of their new recipes, tarragon mustard. I love it; it will go great in vinaigrettes. I also love Maille’s selection of vinegars, last time I was in Paris I bought their fig vinegar, this time I opted for the tomato vinegar. I also picked up a spiced mango chutney from Fauchon (that I’m going to use to make mango chicken curry salad), and butter cream with black truffles from the Maison de la Truffe. One of my favorite purchases is a raspberry jam from La Trinquelinette, made with organic fruit and unrefined cane sugar. Both the French and the English prefer jams with a higher fruit content and lower sugar content than we are used to here in the States. This jam has 55% fruit and you don’t even think to miss the sugar, the flavor is so intense you want to eat spoonfuls of it over vanilla ice cream.

My favorite purchase will probably surprise people because it isn’t special really, except that you can’t find it here. It is Mayonnaise de Dijon, a mayonnaise found throughout cafes and bistros in Paris. The hint of Dijon is subtle and makes the mayonnaise the perfect replacement for ketchup on fries. I tried making it myself at home but it is not as simple as mixing Hellman's and Dijon mustard, the mayonnaise is different too. And of course I couldn’t resist picking up a bag of fleur de sel caramels.

When people think of major food cities London probably doesn’t come to mind, but perhaps it should. Food & Wine magazine just placed London 4^th on a list of the “World’s Best Food Cities.” I would have to agree, despite England’s culinary reputation the food in London is excellent and incredibly diverse. Unlike Paris, where the food is undeniably French, the food in London comes from every corner of the globe; the Indian food is probably the best outside of India - some say better.

My best food find in London this trip was the Borough Market. The Borough Market is London’s oldest food market and has food vendors from throughout the U.K. and Europe. In addition to food vendors the market has numerous small restaurants and stands selling amazing, hot, prepared food. We saw more than one business man standing on the corner eating lunch from these stands.We tried, a traditional English meat pie from one stand, fish and chips (the best I've had in London) from another, and a Scotch beef baguette with creamy horseradish from a third. Easily our best meal in London, and we ate it all standing up.

My primary purpose for visiting the market was to visit Neal’s Yard Dairy (below), probably England’s most famous cheese shop. At Neal’s Yard Dairy I bought two cheeses to bring home, Stichelton (which you can find in the U.S.) from the Collingthwaite Farm in Nottinghamshire and Golden Gross, which you cannot find in the U.S. because the U.S. government doesn’t allow the import, except for personal use, of raw-milk cheeses younger than 60 days. Golden Cross is a raw-milk (i.e., unpasteurized) goat’s milk cheese from the Greenacres Farm in Sussex and is the best goat cheese I have ever tasted; I wish I had bought more. 

At the market I also visited Trethowan’s Dairy stand and picked up a large chunk of Gorwydd Caerphilly the award winning Welsh cheese from the Gorwydd Farm. My other market finds included bitter orange marmalade from Portugal, fig and raisin bars from Croatia, and saffron from Iran (which was incredibly cheap compared to its cost here). 

As in Paris, my favorite food find in London is not special at all, in fact it is a common British condiment, simply called Brown Sauce. Similar to ketchup but less sweet and with a stronger vinegar taste. I hate to say this but it reminds me of McDonald’s sweet and sour sauce, but better, much better. I came to prefer Wilkin & Sons Brown Sauce and was sure to bring some home.   

Tomorrow night, when I make dinner for some friends, I will be using some of the treats I brought home; I cannot wait to report on how things go!