What comes to mind when you hear the word Normandy? Do you feel the urge to bite into a freshly picked apple? We do…
The apple trees that embellish our roads, adorn our fields and gardens are the promise of delicious and beautiful harvests. The apple, the favourite fruit in most families, is enjoyed from the tree, on a picnic, during school playtime, at the gym, at the office, on the train… it is eaten in salads, as a side dish, as a dessert... but here, we also have a few secret recipes…
In Seine-Maritime, apples are eaten right from the aperitif: enjoy dry cider* made on our farms, alone or as a "kir normand"*, made with a measure of blackberry or blackcurrant liqueur. Then serve your chicken, rabbit, white or black pudding, chitterlings sausage and of course duck with big quarters of apple gently cooked in a little bit of butter. Their sweet and tender meat is a true delight. Now, it is time for a break with the traditional "trou normand", this small glass of Calvados* will whet your appetite again for dessert, with apples of course: a "douillon" (a Norman specialty consisting of an apple baked in pastry), a Norman tart, a "grillé aux pommes" (puff pastry filled with sweet apple compote), a Norman apple cake… When it is time for a snack, have a nice fresh glass of apple juice to go with the bread and the caramel and apple spread from Dieppe or the apple sweets from Rouen.
That's why we love apples, and even more - as our English neighbours say: "an apple a day keeps the doctor away"
* Please drink responsibly