5 a day they say…

Ok, but when tomatoes have no taste, when peaches are unripe and when strawberries are time bombs, what should we eat ?
Well, choose the breton strawberries… the one produced at Plougastel, called gariguettes. They are slim, very long and really tasty…



Plougastel has a long reputation as a land of strawberries. Again, it is due to a mild climate ... as often for the cultivation of vegetables in Britanny. Sea regulates the temperature (it is never really hot and it does not freeze). The season lasts from April to November.

The strawberry fields are located in the countryside of Plougastel Daoulas. During the last century, strawberries were protected by small stone walls. Today the plants are hidden in tunnels or in greenhouses.

Let’s go back to the 19th century. Strawberries are grown, replacing the cultivation of flax which was then the wealth of Brittany. Flax was used to make canvas (called daoulas) that were exported around the world. But the international competition (American and British) is too strong, breton producers have to evolve. They began to grow strawberries on the peninsula to replace the flax.

At that time, 25% of the French production was breton. And soon they tried to exporte their fruits to... England. Or Paris when the railway connects Brest to the French capital in 1865.

Since then, the strawberry culture oscillates between periods of plenty and bad times....Competition is fierce on the large international market of strawberries.

Have you ever eaten a gariguette. It is not the cheapest one but it is full of smells and extremely tasty. They are picked by hand, when they are ripe enough and delicately layed down on trays. No need to add sugar, as it is harvested at maturity.

And then if you are interested in sustainable development, they don’t come from far, far away…

If you buy organic strawberries, have you noticed the one with strange shapes: these are flowers that have not been properly gathered… they grow "distorted" ...



Want to know more about the history of the strawberries… In Europe and in our countries, the wild strawberry has been around forever (at least during the Roman times). Amédée François Frezier (Frezier in French even if it is not spelled the same, means strawberry plant), a French explorer, brought back from South America a variety of strawberries that are the ancestors of those of Plougastel.

Visit a strawberry farm at Plougastel. You'll learn much more!

Then, what do you think ? Are the strawberry a Breton tradition? A gastronomic heritage? A speciality of Brittany? Please vote !



Read it in French : Les fraises de Plougastel : tourisme ou patrimoine gastronomique

It's summer ... the best season to enjoy veggies and fruits ... because they're plenty...because the fruits are sweet and juicy... And because you can prepare nice cold salad with so many different kinds of products.... because it's the best diet... to loose weight (Vegetables and fruits are low in calories) or to feel fit and healthy... Natural vitamins for a beautiful complexion and a nice skin. The best time to eat fresh food.

You can still eat Beets, Carrots, Celery, Potatoes and Onions as they can be preserved all year long but try to enjoy some other ones...
As the weather is nice and warm, enjoy eating cold... outside...

You can also enjoy collecting what you would like to eat by going to farms where you can pick what you want to eat and savour... In Brittany, it's possible, in many places...

You can also when walking around, collect blackberries, sloes and other nuts and chestnuts ....

Remember that exotic fruits do not grow all year long....

Here is your monthly calendar... July, August and September. For free and full of nice local recipes...

Blue links are connected to vegetables and fruits produced in the region... and the culinary specialties...

Vegetables

Asparagus, Artichokes, Batavia, Broccoli, Corn, Cucumbers, Eggplant, Fennel, Garlic, Green beans, Lettuce, Peas, Peppers, Radishes, Rockets, Salad, Spinach, Tomatoes, Zucchini

Fruits

Apricots, Blackberries, Blueberries, Cherries, Currants, Melons, Nectarines, Peaches, Plums, Raspberries, Rhubarb, Strawberries
Exotics Bananas

Vegetables

Artichokes, Broccoli, Corn, Cucumber, Eggplant, Fennel, Green beans, Lettuce, Peas, Peppers, Rockets, Squash, Spinach, Tomatoes, Turnips, Zucchini

Fruits

Apricot, Blackberries, Blueberries, Currant, Gooseberries, Grapes, Figs, Melons, Mirabelle, Nectarines, Peaches, Pears, Plums, Raspberries, Strawberries, Sloes

Vegetables

Artichokes, Cabbage, Corn, Cucumbers, Eggplant, Fennel, Green beans, Lettuce, Mushrooms, Peppers, Pumpkins, Spinach, Radish, Salads, Tomatoes, Truffles, Zucchini

Fruits

Apples, Blackberries, Blueberries, Currants, Figs, Grapes, Melons, Mirabelle, Nectarines, Peaches, Pears, Plums, Quinces, Raspberries, Sloes, Strawberries
Chestnuts, Hazelnuts, Walnuts
Exotics Bananas, Pineapples

Spring time... Nature is waking up.... And you too.
There are so many reasons to enjoy fruits and vegetables in spring...Good vitamins and diversity of taste are back... Nicer and longer days too. Prepare your skin (fresh veggies and fruits are the best diet to have a wonderful complexion) and your body for the sunny days... and loose quietly the overweight of the wintertime.

Spring is the best excuse to go back to a nice healthy diet to be fit and nice looking for the -soon- sunny beaches... Cold is gone and it is easier to eat light....

Specially because the spring vegetables and fruits mature without being helped and that's much better for our palates, our health, our body and our wallet ...

The common Beets, Carrots, Celery, Potatoes and Onions are still around as they are the basis, edible during the whole months of the year...

We do often forget that green salads are also related to the seasons ... The lettuce starts to appear on the shelves in April ... while the winter salad (chicory for example) disappears ...

Remember that exotic fruits don't grow all year long...

The links refer to vegetables and fruits produced in Britain or to recipes ...

APRIL

Vegetables

Asparagus, Avocados, Beets, Cabbage, Carrots, Chards, Celery, Cucumber, Garlic, Green beans, Lettuce, Onions, Peas, Potatoes, Radishes, Rockets, Sorrel , Spinach, Turnips

Fruits

Kiwi, Lemons, Oranges, Rhubarb

Exotics Bananas, Pineapples

MAY

Vegetables

Asparagus, Avocados, Beets, Carrots, Celery, Cabbage, Cucumber, Eggplant, Green beans, Lettuce, Leeks, Onions, Peas, Potatoes, Radish, Spinach, Sorrels,Turnips, Watercress

Fruits

Apricots, Cherries, Currants, Kiwis, Lemon, Raspberries, Rhubarb, Strawberries

Exotics Bananas, Passion fruit, Pineapples

JUNE

Vegetables

Artichokes, Asparagus, Beets, Cabbage, Carrots, Celery, Chanterelle mushrooms, Cucumber, Eggplants, Fennel, Green beans, Leeks, Lettuce, Onions, Peas, Potatoes, Peppers, Radishes, Salads, Spinach, Tomatoes, Turnips, Zucchini

Fruits

Apricots, Currants, Cherries, Kiwi, Melons, Nectarines, Peaches, Strawberries, Raspberries
Exotics Bananas, Mangoes, Papayas

Well, this is easy when you have a life in harmony with nature, time, goodwill and principles .... Otherwise, you can also go on a healthy diet of vegetables and fruits, using canned ... or frozen products. Canned vegetables are full of vitamins and frozen fruits too as they are freshly collected and preserved in the same day.

Read this article in French : calendrier de printemps des fruits et légumes de saison

On the French side of my blog, I wrote a post about what it meant to be Breton in Brittany... But it is not really interesting for non French people...
So, I'll do it on my English side more worldwide : What does it mean to you being French? Lots of clichés, for sure... Same things about French manners ! How French man or lady act in society ?
Wide question !
Are you intested in learning more about the real way of life of a French or of a Breton... If you travel by car, you must cross Brittany, our small Britain. And you want to understand more about this wonderful place for sure...
By the way, as you probably know, Bretagne in French is either Britain or Brittany. Britain is for us the Great one (Grande Bretagne, Great Britain) and Brittany (Bretagne) is the French one. And Breton can be used for British and for Breton.
So, while travelling around, investigate the French way of life and the one of Brittany's people ! and compare ! French clichés for beginners ! !!!

About French table manners
French people like to remain at table for hours
If you don't sauce your dish with bread, you're out !
One hamburger is eaten while 9 baguette sandwich are tasted
365 cheeses on the French territory, one a day... with green salad !

The French way of life in the Breton cuisine
- Bretons feast in a creperie
- They buy only cauliflower "Prince of Brittany" (and produced in Brittany , not in Britain!)
- They enjoy oysters on the port of Cancale (and during good months ...)
- They only eat Plougastel strawberries ... (Plougastel is a city in the west of Brittany)

French feel French when
They speak loud
They criticize their administration
They strike all the time
The national sport : to steal tax

Bretons feel Breton when they ...
- dance in the Fest Noz! (fest noz is a breton word meaning night party where you dance to Breton music).
- swear that their grandmother wore a cap in the last century!
- punctuate every sentence with a Kenavo (thank you in breton language)!
- wear a sticker "A l'aise Breizh" on the car (means be confortable, man)

How French Parisians look at Bretons
- They wear wooden clogs
- They have discovered the frigde in the 2000's
- They're narrow minded,backward.... in short stubborn like a Breton
- Brittany, it is "province", there's nothing to do there...

How Breton look at Parisians
- Look how slow he is driving... Must be a Parisian on holydays...
- Look at those Parisians with their yellow raincoat and boots... Ah, Ah, Ah !
- Don't know how to eat pancakes : just two ingredients, more you won't taste the galette, ignorant !
- I do love Parisians ! No, no way, they're too arrogant and do not know anything about anything ...

See how the love story goes ! French unions are perfect !
I could go on (LOL) .... !!!! but I leave the pen! For Your opinion! About French manners, acting, speaking, eating...
And don't act wrongly now !