Outdoor food markets in Paris are symbolic of what makes France unique. You are assailed by a kaleidoscope of colors and smells. Each stall, and there are hundreds of them in large markets, most of them operated by a small farmer. The food is displayed with evident pride. It's as if there were a hundred little Balduccis. Every fruit or vegetable is polished and placed on the table with care. The meats/poultry/game is all freshly killed and displayed 'au naturel'.
There are markets in every neighborhood, some specializing in certain things, like the 'bio-market' open on different days and times, but NEVER on Monday.
Christina is drawn to these markets the way some women are drawn to clothing or jewelry stores. (Addendum from CDF--he can consider himself lucky!). Our agreement is she is to pick one market to go to each week, making dinner that night from what she found. Despite that we seem to "discover" several other markets during the week. The fall is one of the most interesting times to go to the market because it is hunting season. There is deer, partridge, pheasant, duck, hare, rabbit, quail plus a few we couldn't identify. We've tried it all (mostly at restaurants). It's been wonderful. I've never been a fan of game but this is different. Maybe it's the freshness. You can see from the way they are displayed that they are freshly killed and never been frozen. That brings me to another point..
I've learned that it is possible to get too close to the food you are going to eat. Much of the meat and game are displayed 'au naturel'. I'm not sure I needed to see the suckling pigs hanging up next to the rotisserie on which they were being cooked--they are just too cute! You can buy some food cooked because not many Parisian kitchens can handle a whole piglet. We also visited the 'tripiere" who specializes in organ meat. Having recently eaten 'tete de veau, I don't really want to see the display before it entered the pot! Picture this--it's off the bone, but wrapped in what looks like the cheek! I don't think I will be having that again. I also didn't enjoy seeing all the brains displayed in little muffin cups! The French also eat horse meat. Chris wanted to know where it came from - do you think they raise horses for meat or is the meat from old nags? Neither option was enticing.
There is a rigid market etiquette that one learns quickly if you want to be served! There are rules about touching and selecting produce, which side of the stall to form a line,(Chris has been frequently chastised for breaking the line) and how to pay (the French prefer money to be placed on the counter rather than in someone's hand. We have noted that some stands always have a line and others that look just as good have none. We haven't figured out whether this is because of price or quality but Chris generally goes to the one that has a line - Paul does the opposite! Marketing seems to be a family affair - lots of husbands and baby carriages. Parisians consider the market important enough to be a factor in picking an apartment.
France has more small farmers (and the biggest agricultural subsidies) of any country in Europe or the US. What we are now discovering as the delights of small artisinal farms is the norm here. As a result, the diversity and quality of food is outstanding. They are not really into what we call "organic", although there is a small "bio" movement which is similar and very highly regulated. We have noticed the beginnings of small organic food sections in super markets. The emphasis everywhere is on "artisinal' and fresh - which makes much more sense to me.
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