A visit to the market

As much as I like cooking here, the supermarkets just aren't very good. The milk products- butter and greek-style yogurt- are fantastic, and we can certainly get cheap wine, but the vegetables and fish are not varied nor lovely. I've wandered a bit to see if there are smaller, independent stores that might offer at least a more appetizing selection, but no such luck.

I googled markets in Reims, and after a little searching, I found a short list with a few nearby our apartment. I had heard that markets open and become busy here, so I wanted to arrive before all the older ladies got the good stuff! Maggie kindly sacrificed a couple of hours of sleep to come with me, but with an extended Skype date with Peter, we didn't arrive until around 8:30. I must've heard wrong about the early risers, because the market was bustling just enough to make it lively, and some vendors were still setting up.

This market puts farmers' markets in the US to shame (although I still love them!). There were 4 double-sided rows of big and small stands filled with delicious things to eat, and even a small bookseller's stand. Most impressive to me were the butcher and fish stands. Maggie noticed before I did that many had whole skinned rabbits with head and eyes intact, there was also horse meat, livers of all kinds, duck... I had to write down some of the names of the fish we saw because I'd left my dictionary at the house and couldn't look them up. We adopted my mom's and my favorite style of shopping a market and walked around the whole thing before going back to make our purchases. This was also helpful in coming up with a meal plan based on what was available.

I've been seeing mirabelle (small, sweet plums) tarts all over, so I bought those to make a tart tomorrow. We also saw white raspberries, and bought them just because we've never seen them before. The salad place was my favorite. I asked for tarragon, and wasn't planning on anything else, but their greens looked so delicious that I asked for mustard greens because they're unusual in the States. The jovial gentleman helping me asked which ones, but I hadn't realized there was more than one kind, so I asked him to choose for me. He made me a lovely mix and was amused that I did all the talking, asking me to translate for Maggie, who probably understood fine. We also bought tomatoes, spinach (which does not exist except in frozen form at the supermarkets), and scallops. I'm not used to weights, so for the most part I just asked for enough for three people. The vendors seemed amused, but didn't question me and gave me perfect amounts.

I've been surprised at the amount of horse meat I've seen here. After some discussion with Peter and a thorough Wikipedia reading, it seems that it's very high in protein, tender, and slightly sweeter. Some sources compared the taste to a cross between beef and venison. Old pagan cults used to sacrifice horses to their gods and then eat the meat, so horse meat was considered taboo in many Catholicized areas because it was pagan. So why so popular in places like France and Italy? During famines, horses consumed a lot of grain needed for people, and were obviously a good source of protein, so people ignored religion for sustenance. Horse meat is also forbidden by the Jewish religion because horses aren't ruminants (multiple stomachs) and don't have cloven hooves. Interesting history lesson for me. It's something I'd try while I'm here, along with offal, but might not cook since I wouldn't do it justice I'm sure.

Off to cook!