Touraine, a terroir to savour
Touraine gastronomic specialities
Take advantage of your stay at a campsite near Tours to discover the region’s gastronomic specialties. From AOC goat’s cheeses such as the famous Sainte-Maure-de-Touraine, to melt-in-your-mouth rillons and rillettes, uniquely tasty poires tapées and wood-fired fouaces: every local product is an invitation to indulge. Between farmers’ markets, typical restaurants and wine cellars, let yourself be guided by the authentic flavors of a generous terroir, in the heart of the Loire Valley.
Pears tapées
This recipe was revived in the 1990s in the village of Rivarennes. Traditionally made, they are the result of a long process of dehydration: the pears are peeled, placed on racks, tail down, and then placed for several days in wood-fired ovens.
Once dry, they are then flattened using a special instrument, the “platissoire”, and placed in a heating chamber before being packaged. Initially, this was a method of preparation – the pears were “tapped” with a mallet – to reduce the risk of scurvy during ocean voyages! Today, they are eaten rehydrated: soaked in Loire wine, brandy or cooked in a sugar and cinnamon syrup…
Simply delicious!
For more information on Poire tapée: www.poirestapees.com,
Goat’s cheese
AOCSainte Maure de Touraine
This raw-milk cheese is served on its own or incorporated into more complete recipes (salads, pies, sauces, etc.).
With a truncated cone shape and a rye sprig printed with the producer’s name and address running through its center, Sainte-Maure can be eaten fresh or more refined, depending on individual taste.
For more information, visit the maure de touraine website: www.stemauredetouraine.fr
Rillons, Rillettes, Andouillettes
“Rillons and rillettes from Tours were the mainstay of our mid-day meal”.
As far back as the 19th century, Honoré de Balzac praised Touraine charcuterie and its specialties.
He even described Rillons as “fried pork leftovers, resembling a cooked truffle”!
Once simmered over an open fire, these succulent cubes of pork can accompany an aperitif, but served as a salad, they’re ideal as an appetizer and a seasonal addition to Touraine tables.
Finer cuts of pork, crushed with a fork, are reserved for the famous Rillettes de Tours.
They have the reputation of being less fatty than those from neighboring regions.
And while rillons and rillettes can be eaten on their own, they are sometimes combined in the composition of local specialties such as fouaces, tarte tourangelle aux rillons, and so on.
Fouaces and Fouées
Fouaces are another authentic Touraine tradition.
Their origins date back to the Middle Ages, when these tasty rolls were baked by the fireplace, hence the name!
For the record, these were used to check that the oven was at the right temperature, and were at the origin of Rabelais’ famous “Guerres Picrocholines”, between Grandgousier, the father of Gargantua, and Picrochole, the king of the village of Lerné. Now baked in the oven, these galettes are served still warm in wicker baskets and accompany green salads, goat’s cheese or rillettes.
Stuffed, they can also be a real meal, as in the fouaces restaurants that abound in Chinon, Rabelais’ historic stronghold.
Fruit and vegetables, from producer to plate
Market stalls in Touraine offer a wide variety of market garden produce: artichokes, white-stemmed asparagus (our department is France’s second largest producer), celery, lettuces, cauliflower, beans, peas and more.
Fruit production is also very important: pears, apples, walnuts, plums and other fruits adorn the orchards of our countryside.
And let’s not forget mushrooms, grown in cellars dug into the tufa rock, and the autumn pleasures of grapes and ceps.
Touraine, land of vineyards
Touraine boasts more than a dozen AOC wines, including reds (chinon, bourgueil, saint-nicolas-de-bourgueil, touraine…) and whites (vouvray, montlouis-sur-loire, touraine sauvignon…).
Sparkling or still, dry, semi-dry or sweet, tannic or fruitier, Touraine wines offer a wide variety of pleasures.
There are two wine routes, vineyard walks and of course many producers open the doors of their cellars for a visit or a tasting…
A not-to-be-missed event: vineyards, wines and hiking in September!
For more information on Loire Valley wines : www.vinsvaldeloire.fr, www.vignesvinsrandos.fr
Many other products are made in Touraine: beer from Brasserie de L’Aurore, terrines from Ferme de la Roche Martel, honey and other by-products, jams, jellies, fruit juices, Hallard confectionery, Racan sweets and Sonzay artisanal ice creams!
