Brittany and specially the North coast is known for its high concentration in algae. They are famous abroad, above all in Japan, big algae consumers.




Roscoff, a small city on the littoral is pretty well endowed : 800 species out of 1500 compiled in Brittany in 2000. Probably others must have been discovered.

The location of Roscoff explains why it has such a wide variety of algaes : the Gulf Stream allows a water temperature that doesn’t change a lot. The Stream gives a good waterquality.

Now, look at the shore and at the algae lying on the sand. You’ll see 3 colors : green, red and brown.



Each color is on a specific place on the shore. The brown ones are under the sea, then you have the red ones and the green algae are the closest to the earth.

Here in Brittany we have had lots of problems with the green ones. Thanks or because of fertilizers and nitrates from our pigs breeding, they were too many. It used to be a real annoyance. It's getting better but before on some beaches you could not walk or swim because they were doing a really too thick cover on the littoral.

For a really long time, seaweeds were used as fertilizers by farmers.



If Japanese eat them for a long, long time, we are just starting to be interested in them.
We do use it as gelling agents : when you buy an applepie in a shop and you are amazed by the nice shaped apple segments, well don’t think too much : the compote has been mixed with algae to make those nice perfect pieces of fruits.

Algae are also used as dietary supplements. They are full of vitamins, minerals, calcium, proteins… Sprinkle them on your salad.

In thalassotherapy centers they are used to help your body to recover… Your wrinkles will dicrease, your orange peel disappear, your hair will be beautiful … Used in cosmetics, we make lots of products with algae extracts : from anti-aging creams to oil to fight cellulite, skin care products or algae shampoo… They are everywhere. And to use them, you need to mix them as algae can’t be dissolved in water !!!

Read it in French : Algues en Bretagne : de l'engrais de nos grands pères aux complémetns alimentaires et produits cosmétiques

Christmas in France is like a gastronomy fair. During a week or so, you’re eating from one place to another. And everyone is trying to do his best. The most typical is turkey with chestnuts and as a dessert we call it la buche (it is an icecream looking like a log)... May be you’re doing the same across the Channel…
Anyway, for some years, another poultry is savoured during those times of plenty : the capon. And when you know that France is the first producer of poultry in Europe and that Brittany produces 40% of the French production... Here I am !!! In Janzé, a small town 20 km south from Rennes where the production of the poultry (poulet de janzé) is famous for his quality ...



What is a capon ?
It is a chicken that eats corn (75%) and enjoys walking on 2 square meters land.
Its also a cock



whose reproductive organs and comb have been removed when it was 6 weeks old. It grows outside



for 6 months (3 months only for the chicken) and spends the last 3 weeks of his life locked eating unskimmed milk. When it is ready to be eaten, it weights 4 to 4,5 kgs (2 kg for an adult chicken).

A traditional caponization ?
Roman learned caponization from other countries and used it in Rom to stop the cockcrow. In Brittany, capons were breeded during the XIXth century but it stopped at the beginning of the XXth century because of the high mortality rate of the castrated cocks. The production began again in 1988.
The raising of capons begin in July to be ready for Christmas time. The castration is a delicate operation and does not always succeed. If the capon begins to crow, forget the unskimmed milk... Because of castration, the cock doesn’t have male hormones and and its metabolism changes. Its flesh is tender.



The poulet de Janzé is a grouping of breeders from the region of Janzé. They breed a high quality poultry (Label Rouge). It follows several standards of quality : they have to eat 75% of corn, they have to be raised outside, they have to live x days and have to be killed in good conditions (no stress !!!)…

If you want to go to the capron fair



– the fair exists since 2002- it always takes place in Janzé, the week end before Chrismas. You have a market of several poultry and you can meet chefs that are giving their recipes…

Caprons are sold from the 15th of December to the 15th of January…

Cock-a-doodle-do

Read it in French : le chapon de Janzé à la foire du dernier week end avant Noel : entre terroir et tradition