Bonjour Dear French Market Friends,
In France we are well into autumn, in the vineyards the grapes have been harvested and are fermenting in the wine cellars. The leaves have turned golden, and the vines are now being trimmed to prepare them for the winter weather. This year’s harvest is anticipated to produce between 44 and 47 million hectolitres of wine, that’s an awful lot of wine… France is hoping to retake their place from Italy, as the top producing wine region in the world.
The first of the wines to be produced from the annual harvest is from the Beaujolais region, it is traditionally released on the 3rd Thursday in November. The release of this young fresh wine, made from the Gamay grapes that grow in Beaujolais, is known as Beaujolais Nouveau Day and is celebrated throughout France and many other countries with parties and sampling of the latest vintage. There are races held to get the first bottles to market, originally across the Channel, then much further afield. Even down to this beautiful but distant part of the world. The French South African Chamber of Commerce organises two parties, one in JNB tonight, one in Cape Town on this Friday 17 November. Tickets for the Cape Town event that will be held at the French School are available on quicket.
Whilst we do not have stock of this year’s Nouveau Beaujolais in the shop we do stock a lovely Beaujolais wine 2020 vintage from the Domaine des 
Nugues which is located in the northern area of Beaujolais. This 45 hectare family vineyard is owned by the Gellin family, the vines have been growing here for at least 40 years. All the grapes are harvested by hand to select the healthiest grapes and the whole grape bunches are vinified to get the best flavour. The wine has a deep purple colour and aromas of raspberry jam.
One of the recommended cheeses to pair with a Beaujolais wine is the Comte from the Jura. This cheese is made with the rich milk produced by the Montbelliard cows that graze on the high pastures in the Jura. We stock Comte that has been aged for 16 months. This cheese has a dense texture and the crystals are starting to form in the cheese giving it a slight crunch. The flavour fills your mouth.
We also have stock of other Alpine cheeses; the Tomme de Savoie which has been aged for 6 months has a medium taste and firm texture. The flavour is more subtle than the Comte and is often served at breakfast time. The Beaufort d’Ete which has been aged for about 10 months, comes from the Franche Comte and has a rich, dense texture. The Swiss Gruyere has been aged for over 15 months and has a unique deep flavour. Each one of these raw milk cheeses is special in its own right and can be enjoyed on their own, or you could make a platter with a slice of each one and compare their unique flavours.
Back in stock this week in our charcuterie range is the smooth and creamy duck liver parfait. We 
have new jars of French terrines including a traditional Pork terrine, Confit de foie is a smooth pate made with pork liver, the terrine Forestiere is a pork pate made with forest mushrooms, the terrine Canard is a coarse textured terrine made with duck meat, plus some locally made grattons de porc (pork scratchings) made from crisp fried pork crackling. They make a tasty snack to serve with drinks.
After a long absence we have received a new stock of hazelnut oil. This healthy oil is rich in Vitamin A and C. Hazelnut oil adds a deep nutty flavour to salad dressings and various baking recipes but is not recommended for frying. We have new stock of french style mayonnaise and Aioli garlic mayonnaise.
In our fresh produce range, we have some delicious strawberries that taste and smell like real strawberries because they have been grown naturally and not stored in chilled storerooms. The nectarines, peaches and apricots also taste and smell so good. We are continuing to receive super jumbo sized free range farm eggs from a farm outside of Worcester and lots of fresh porcinis. The fresh black autumn truffle and white truffle from Italy are available every week on a preorder basis.
In addition to our beautiful patisseries, this week we received some honey madeleines, Palmiers (little pigs ear) Tuiles and Almond meringues.
This week’s recipe comes from Alsace using the local cheese Munster which we stock. Munster is one of those pungent, orange rind cheeses. It originated in Alsace where it was created by monks in the 
Abbey of Munster in the 17th century. The cheese is created in the morning with the fresh milk to which is added some of the milk from the previous evening. The curds are placed in a mould, then turned and salted for several days. The cheese is then matured for 3 weeks during which time it is washed with a herb solution by hand twice a day. This gives the cheese an orange rind and a strong pungent aroma.
After some very hot days in the city this week, my car was registering 38C degrees at one point, hopefully we will have some slightly cooler weather at the weekend. Enjoy some good meals with your friends and family.
Regards
Suzanne and The French Market Team