À l’Ailleule is a French expression meaning prepared in the manner of your ancestors (more literally, of your great-grandmother.) In terms of meaning “old-fashioned cooking”, it is perhaps somewhere between à l’ancienne and à la bonne femme. À l’ancienne is far more commonly heard and seen these days than à l’ailleule. Language Notes Ailleul is…
Gascony Food
Agen Prunes
Agen Prunes are prunes made in Agen, France, on the edge of what used to be the old Gascony area of France. They are dark purple with a hint of blue in them. They are the dried version of plums called “Ente” plums grown in the Lot-et-Garonne region. The Ente plum is a hybrid of…
Arenac Potatoes
Arenac are light-skinned, round potatoes that were promoted for table use and potato chips. They are not grown anymore commercially. History Notes Arenac Potatoes were developed in a joint effort by Iowa State University, Michigan State University, and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Released before 1962. Language Notes Named after Arenac, a county…
Armagnac
Armagnac is a brandy made in the Gascony region of far southwestern France, with production centring about the town of Armagnac. It is useful to compare Armagnac to Cognac, if only to highlight the differences. Some feel that Armagnac is gutsier and more robust than Cognac. Cognac is distilled from brandy, which has already been…
Bayonne Ham
Bayonne Ham is made in the Basque area of France. It is sweet tasting, air-dried, boneless ham that doesn’t need cooking. You use it as you would prosciutto, though it is sliced a bit more thickly. Only one breed of pig is used, a Basque breed called “Pie Noir” (“black food”) that is mottled black…
Gascony Cooking
Gascony is a region in far southwestern France. Its south side borders Spain; its west side is on the Atlantic coast. [1] It used to be more or less a defined political region, but since the French revolution the area has been parcelled out amongst different political “départements.” Still, it exists in terms of French…
Goose Fat
Goose Fat, or as some cooks say, “that old white magic”, is a cooking fat rendered from the flesh of geese. Many people swear by the taste for cooking things in. There are two types of goose fat: brown and blonde. Brown fat is the fat that you get while roasting a goose; it renders…
Tarbais Beans
Tarbais Beans grow on a pole-type bean plant. Some Tarbais Beans are harvested young to be sold as a fresh green beans; some are let fully ripen for harvesting as a dried bean. The dried beans are large white beans that look a bit like shorter, flattened white kidney beans. Tarbais Beans have a mild…