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A Year in a French Market
By Ann | January 22, 2009
One of the things that I love most about living in France is shopping at the outdoor market, and I’m lucky enough to live five steps from one of the best — the thrice-weekly marché at Boulevard Raspail. On Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays local vendors set up shop and hawk their wares — everything from meat, to fish, to cheese, to fruits, to vegetables. It’s fascinating and educational to watch how the produce changes with the seasons — for example, who knew scallops abounded in the dead of winter?
With the dawning of a new year (and so much more!) I thought it would be fun to embark upon another little Cooking-the-Books project/feature. It’s called A Year in a French Market and in it I’ll document my weekly visits to the market, taking photos and keeping track of what’s on offer and how it changes with the seasons.
So, it’s January. You wouldn’t expect a lot of exciting stuff out there (except for the afore-mentioned Coquilles St-Jacques), but to my surprise I’ve developed my very own cold weather addiction: Oranges. They’re part of the crop of winter citrus that adorns the market right now, the sun birds imported from Mediterranean climes like Spain, Corsica, and southern Italy.
I know, I know — I thought I didn’t like oranges either. They’re too messy, stringy, seedy, full of pith, and often dry. I like easy-to-peel Clementines, like the ones pictured in the photo above, which hail from Corsica — but regular oranges? No thanks.
But a few weeks ago, my favorite produce stand was out of Clementines, so I threw a few oranges into my basket and thus a love affair was born.
They are bright, juicy and sweet, like a shot of sunshine, with a captivating freshness. (Also, they are seedless, so you can gobble up each segment in a greedy slurp.) They come from Sicily, and indeed their vibrant color and scent evokes a warm island like that, where, even as a steady drizzle falls in grey Paris, the sun is coaxing sweetness out of the fruit trees.
Topics: A year in a French market: Winter |
4 Responses to “A Year in a French Market”
Comments
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January 22nd, 2009 at 8:35 am
Great new feature idea! Sometimes it feels like we will be spending a year in a French market when we stand in the s-l-o-w line at the fruit and veg stand … but it’s worth the wait. I can vouch for the Sicilian oranges, which are surprisingly easy to peel!
January 22nd, 2009 at 9:42 am
I had to prevent my husband from buying some easy peel Disney oranges this morning!! Seriously, though, it’s a great feature idea. I’m always fascinated with market produce.
January 23rd, 2009 at 2:32 am
extra points for eccentric marchand stories.
January 23rd, 2009 at 10:13 am
Thanks y’all. I’ll do my best to provoke the market purveyors into their utmost eccentricity — the things I do for this blog!