Les Halles de Tours

Les Halles de Tours is the covered produce market right in the heart of the old centre of the City of Tours. It's full of food porn and top quality fresh ingredients. The thirty-eight stall holders are established butchers, bakers, greengrocers, fishmongers, cheesemongers, wine merchants and delicatescens. I must admit, I don't shop there. Everything is a couple of euros more per kilo than I'm used to in Loches. It's a very prestigeous location though, everything in Les Halles is in the best possible condition and sold to you by an experienced and knowledgeable artisan. There is clearly a loyal local (and aging) customer base, comfortably off, used to good service (yes, this is the sort of place it exists in France) and advice, and knowledgeable in their own right about French food.

Centre top, rillons (slow cooked pork belly chunks, a local delicacy), bottom right, oxtail, and behind that beef cheek, at one of the butchers. Next to the rillons is meat for pets, to the left of the oxtail is beef ribs.

In 1866 the City of Tours started work on a metal framed covered market on the site of a large and thriving existing outdoor market. Roads were altered and churches demolished to improve the site. This original building was demolished in 1976 and a new building erected by 1980. The wholesale market which had shared the space was moved to Rochepinard, a quarter in the east of the city.

Soft and stinky northern French cheeses at one of the cheesemongers.

The new building took its aesthetic from the great cruise liners, and the market traders were joined by Picard, the frozen food specialist, a newsagent, a perfumery and a couple of banks. Upstairs is a big meeting and events venue, offices and the studios of France 3 Tours television. Underneath is a large carpark with 670 places.

A fishmongers on one side, a greengrocers on the other. The smiling blond woman is the stallholder and has come out from behind the display to serve the elderly women customers. Customers do not touch the fruit before purchasing.

Les Halles is often referred to as 'le ventre de Tours' (Tours' stomach). 

Greengrocers.

Scallops.

The little 'grey' shrimp bottom left are considered a great delicacy. You eat them whole, head, shell and all. Personally I don't know what the attraction is.

Maison Clement is an épicerie fine (high end specialist grocer) and a cave à vin (wine retail cellar).

A range of salads. The 'pommes harengs' (potato and herring) and the carottes rapées (grated carrot) are very traditional.

The exterior of Les Halles de Tours.

One of the poultry and game merchants.

Hams and patés at one of the charcutiers. These are all cooked hams (aka Paris ham) and by their colour I would say that nitrite was not used, which is good to see.

A Medieval Assault

 

The more I look at this 15th century carving the more I'm convinced it depicts a sexual assault, not an amorous encounter. The woman is pushing the man's head away, and her legs are crossed. He is already bare arsed in anticipation but she is resisting. It is at the base of vault ribs in the Herault Tower in the Chateau Royal d'Amboise.

Mystery Stones

We recently had cause to visit the hospital in Poitiers, and it threw up a bit of a totally unexpected mystery.

By the main entrance to the hospital are these pieces of stone, taken from the 12th century church at Melle. They aren't 12th century originals, but 19th century replacements. Quite why they have themselves been replaced, and why they are outside the hospital, I do not know. At first I assumed that the church was on the site of the hospital and had been demolished, but the church at Melle still stands - assuming it's this one.

Rue du Senateur NIOCHE in Preuilly sur Claise

Someone posted an old postcard of rue du Sénateur NIOCHE on Facebook, and then someone else wrote a brief history of this short street. Other postcards were produced and a discussion about the man the street is named after ensued.

Old postcard of rue du Sénateur Nioche.

 

Probably most people in town could not name this street, despite it being a major thoroughfare. It's very short, running between the Abbey and the bridge. It was called rue de l'Abreuvoir in 1813 and rue du Pont (or Pont-Neuf) around 1860 after the construction of the new bridge over the Claise. At the southern end it had tall Elm trees either side. They seem to have been cut down sometime before 1950 and linden trees planted in their place.

Police stopping traffic for Gilles Bertucelli's funeral in rue du Sénateur Nioche.

Pierre Hercule Aristide Nioche was born in Loches in 1820. He became a lawyer, then was the Member of Parliament (député) for Indre et Loire from 1872 to 1876. Then he was elected as a leftist Republican senator from 1888 to 1902. He died in Preuilly in 1902 at the home of his son-in-law and mayor of Preuilly, Dr Jules Durand.

I'm standing on the other side of the road, but otherwise this is the same view as the postcard.

 The street was renamed in honor of Sénateur Nioche in 1910.

Quince Paste

Recently I had a conversation with a Dutch friend about quinces. He wanted to know if quinces were used much in French cooking, because he loves them and in the Netherlands they are a forgotten fruit. He buys them in the Turkish grocers, or picks them up for free from someone who has some trees and can't sell the fruit. Finally he planted a tree of his own and this year got enough fruit to make a couple of pies. He says he particularly likes the combination of chicken and quince, but I'm not familiar with that dish. We also discussed that in many places there is a tradition of quinces being put on top of wardrobes to make bedrooms smell nice.

Quinces on a roadside tree in September.

Quince trees thrive in the Touraine. We don't have one in the orchard, but our neighbour does, and as quince trees produce large quantities of fruit, we benefit from periodic gifts of quinces. They are an old fashioned sort of fruit and our elderly neighbour is delighted that I like them and, perhaps more importantly, know how to cook them.

Molten lava countered with a mesh lid.

Being large, they are the last of the fruit to ripen and are ready in late September - October. I poach a few, but most of them go to make jelly and I run the pulp that remains after straining for jelly through a food mill to remove skin and seeds. It sits in the freezer until I get it out to make quince paste.

The stiff dark paste just out of the oven.

Quince paste seems to have originated in Turkey and from there made its way to Spain and Portugal. In English language cookbooks it is often called membrillo, which is the Spanish word for quince. Quince paste in Spanish is called dulce de membrillo. The French for quince is coing, so quince paste is pâte de coing. In England it is commonly referred to as quince cheese, and this is how I first encountered it, at the farmers market I shopped at regularly in the late 1990s-early 2000s. It is used both in a sweet and a savoury context, as a counter to strongly flavoured cheeses or game and as a petit four or friandise with coffee. In France it is regarded as a seasonal treat, made in the autumn and served over the Christmas - New Year period.

Starting to cut the block of paste into rods.

To make it you combine an equal quantity of quince pulp and sugar in a large boiler. Heat it slowly to dissolve the sugar and then simmer for about 1.5 hours, on the lowest possible heat. It burns easily, so check it regularly and scrape the bottom of the pan. Slowly the colour will darken from orangey pink to brownish orange as it cooks. It is like working with molten lava, both in its appearance and its capacity to burn the unwary cook. You can't cook it with the lid on because you need to drive a fair bit of water off. To protect against burns and splashes I use a mesh lid on the pan, which allows steam, but nothing else out.

All wrapped up and ready to store in the fridge.

Once it has got thick and dark and you are having difficulty preventing it from burning even on the lowest heat, transfer it to a baking tray lined with baking paper. Put it in the oven at 50°C for another 1.5 hours to dry out some more. Then leave it in the fridge overnight to cool completely and set. The next day tip it out on to a board dredged in icing or vanilla sugar. Ideally, cut the paste into thick rods with a wire, but a long knife will do. Dredge or roll these rods in sugar, wrap in waxed paper and refridgerate. To serve, unwrap and cut into cubes. Roll the cubes in vanilla, golden castor or raw sugar.

Coffee and quince friandises.

You can also bottle (can) it by putting it in sterilised jars instead of in the oven. Close the jars and process in a water bath in the normal way. This will give you a paste for spreading on bread like a jam, which is very popular in Spain topped with Manchego cheese.

A box of quinces from our orchard neighbour.

 
And for those of you interested in maintaining a certain sort of daily regularity, quince paste works as well as the traditional prune.

Musee de la Prehistoire du Grand-Pressigny

 

View over the courtyard from the new wing.

The Musée de la Préhistoire du Grand-Pressigny opened a hundred years ago. The first curator was Jacques-Marie Rougé. He was first and foremost a folklorist, born in the Touraine and lived all his life here. Writing several works on the history and legends of the Touraine, he became interested in the history of working flint in the area. He started to put together a collection, which became the basis of the original displays in the museum, and was the curator for 33 years.

Inside the new wing.

On Saturday 22 October the museum is putting on guided tours to introduce people to the museum and tell them about its history.

The newest wing of the museum.

Walking From Lesigny

On Monday 3 October we walked 5 km with friends, from Lésigny, up the hill and through the fields to the hamlet of Le Coudray, then on to the forest and across the Magny stream to a chateau then up back into Lésigny.

It was a foggy day.

Crossing the Magny on the newly rebuilt footbridge.

This Buff-tailed Bumble Bee Bombus terrestris (Fr. Bourdon terrestre) was cold and not happy about being photographed. She is signaling to me with her middle leg to back off.

Lablab growing up a gate post, with a Citroen Dyane parked in the yard.

La Bourrache

La Bourrache is a new boutique in Preuilly, run by makers Natacha and Grégory. She sews items made from textiles that have had a previous life as something else. He brews beer. Both activities take place on the site of the former domestic garage that they have taken over, and they live in the house on the other side of a courtyard. The boutique is in rue des douves, behind the post office. 

La Bourrache is open every Thursday from 10am to 1pm then 5pm to 7pm, and every Saturday from 10am to 1pm.

The beer and the brewer.

Some of Natacha's wares.

Natacha is ready to welcome you with a smile.

Walking From Ronde du Chene

Ronde du Chene is a hunting lodge in the middle of the Forest of La Guerche. I joined French friends for a 9 kilometre walk there on Thursday 6 October. We walked through mixed deciduous forests, down narrow paths cut into the limestone, up past my favourite section of the forest which sadly is being logged and all the beautiful old beech trees have been selectively felled, then on to the lovely little hamlet of Bas Montant and back up the hill and through the pine forest.

Warted Amanita Amanita strobiliformis (Fr. Amanite solitaire), a generally rare mushroom, was abundant along the sunken limestone paths. Note the characteristic Amanita spp volva on the left, a sort of 'eggshell' that the mushroom pops out of.

Beech logs.

Sloes on Blackthorn Prunus spinosa (Fr. Prunellier sauvage).

Our group meet another group of walkers doing the circuit in the opposite direction. They came from Vouneuil sur Vienne.

Blue electric fence strands have gone up everywhere in the Forest of La Guerche since I was last there.

Jean-Jacques is not smoking a cigar, he's eating a whole dried banana.

Some sort of sycamore, growing an a garden wall in the hamlet of Bas Montant.

Possibly Great Wood Mushroom Agaricus langei (Fr. Agaric rougissante).

Manmade wallow for wild boar. I assume to encourage them away from the nearby étang (dam) which had very low water.

A bracket fungus and some false chanterelles Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca (Fr. fausse chanterelle).

Orange Oak Bolete Leccinum aurantiacum (Fr. Bolet orangé).

How to Cook Wild Foraged Porcini Mushrooms

 

Edible Ceps and Orange Oak Boletes prepared for cooking.

Ceps (also known as porcini in Italian and cèpes in French) start popping up in the forests in October. Many locals collect their own, and those with a license to do so collect them commercially, so you can buy them in the market during the season. Bay-brown Bolete retails for about €600 per kilo. Depending on the weather, some years they are abundant, some years they are scarce.

Maggot damage in an Edible Cep. I chucked this mushroom.

There are three main species that you will find in the Touraine Val de Loire, closely related, that are the most prized -- Edible Cep Boletus edulis (Fr. Cèp de Bordeaux); Bay-brown Bolete Xerocomus badius (Fr. Bolet bai); and Dark Bolete Boletus aereus (Fr. Tête de negre). There are other related species, also edible, but generally referred to as boletes, such as Orange Oak Bolete Leccinum auranticum (Fr. Bolet orangé), abundant and well worth eating, but usually just used to bulk out the better species.

Maggot damage in an Edible Cep. If it is only in the 'sponge' that's fine, as you will be removing it anyway.

 
To prepare them to eat, brush the caps off, remove the stems and discard (or use in a dish where they will be pureed with other things), check for slugs. Remove the spongey pores and tubes under the cap by pushing at it gently with your thumb. This sponge is full of water and not very nice to eat.

If the maggot damage comes all the way out at the top, discard the mushroom.

Slice the mushrooms and discard any bits that have maggots. Spread out in a single layer on a tea towel or paper towel and leave overnight. This dries them out a bit and means they don't produce too much water when cooked. At this point they can be bagged and frozen, dried on low heat in the oven or in a dehydrator, or cooked immediately.

A nice haul of ceps and boletes from the forest.

To cook fresh or from frozen, melt a knob of butter and a dash of olive oil in a frying pan on medium high heat. Add the mushrooms to the pan, along with a pinch of salt, some ground pepper and crushed garlic. Fry for 3-4 minutes, tossing or stirring frequently. Tip off any liquid the mushrooms have released. You can add some cream and chopped parsley at this point, and serve with grilled steak.

Left Edible Cep Boletus edulis (Fr. Cepe de Bordeaux), right Orange Oak Bolete Leccinum aurantiacum (Fr. Bolet orangé).