We are invited to a soirée and one of the guests is a "traiteur" whose specialty is pastries.
It doesn't get better than this.
She has plans to open her own shop...but until then, we of course ask, "Where is your favorite boulangerie?"
She mentions the one on Saint Jean Place and their best is an apple tarte. "If you don't get there in the morning, they will sell out."
We make it by noon the next day, and what we assume is the apple tarte, we feel fortunate that three are left. It is indeed flaky and flavorful.
But the more important question we ask of Bettie is, "Why can't we get baguettes or pastries in America as delicious as in France?
"The butter," she answers in a matter of factness that could only come from a patisserie specialist.
While in school, she tested French butter against other national butters, and the French butter was far superior in taste, texture, and butter fat!
It's why the authentic French croissant and its family of pastries are so delicious and found only in places that import French butter.
Now the bad news. Seventy-five per cent of boulangeries in France have closed within the past decade. The reason? France's culture, its movement towards big wal-mart type stores on the edge of town, are changing the demand, the lifestyle of centuries of French life.
We tested the (walmart)/E Le Clerc baguette. The official baguette recipe of France does not contain butter or oil, but the store bought, commercially produced baguette, was a grave offense.
As we talked about this phenomenon with the pastry chef and the other Frenchmen and women, the lamentation was mutual. The baguettes at the supermarche are cheaper and more convenient. Most boulangeries must be walked to, and there is rarely front door parking, so convenience is also a factor.
A considerable amount of time was spent on the lamentations of the French boulangerie, but then the subject changed to France's socialist medical system and after Marie shared the dismal experience of her friend's mother dying before she could receive medical treatment and Hugue's retelling of his son lying for six hours on the emergency room floor before he was treated, it was suggested that we return to the discussion of the French baguette.
Much more palatable.
It doesn't get better than this.
She has plans to open her own shop...but until then, we of course ask, "Where is your favorite boulangerie?"
She mentions the one on Saint Jean Place and their best is an apple tarte. "If you don't get there in the morning, they will sell out."
We make it by noon the next day, and what we assume is the apple tarte, we feel fortunate that three are left. It is indeed flaky and flavorful.
But the more important question we ask of Bettie is, "Why can't we get baguettes or pastries in America as delicious as in France?
"The butter," she answers in a matter of factness that could only come from a patisserie specialist.
While in school, she tested French butter against other national butters, and the French butter was far superior in taste, texture, and butter fat!
It's why the authentic French croissant and its family of pastries are so delicious and found only in places that import French butter.
Now the bad news. Seventy-five per cent of boulangeries in France have closed within the past decade. The reason? France's culture, its movement towards big wal-mart type stores on the edge of town, are changing the demand, the lifestyle of centuries of French life.
We tested the (walmart)/E Le Clerc baguette. The official baguette recipe of France does not contain butter or oil, but the store bought, commercially produced baguette, was a grave offense.
As we talked about this phenomenon with the pastry chef and the other Frenchmen and women, the lamentation was mutual. The baguettes at the supermarche are cheaper and more convenient. Most boulangeries must be walked to, and there is rarely front door parking, so convenience is also a factor.
A considerable amount of time was spent on the lamentations of the French boulangerie, but then the subject changed to France's socialist medical system and after Marie shared the dismal experience of her friend's mother dying before she could receive medical treatment and Hugue's retelling of his son lying for six hours on the emergency room floor before he was treated, it was suggested that we return to the discussion of the French baguette.
Much more palatable.
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