Archive for the ‘beverage’ Category

An African Fair in Paris – Part III – Food and Beverage

Tuesday, June 7th, 2016
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Chez Maman Alice

Chez Maman Alice – The Dining Area
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

I arrived at the exhibition hall around 3:00 p.m. on Friday, May 27 and decided that I should get lunch before walking around to look at the exhibits. I saw that the food stand called Chez Maman Alice had a nice area for sit-down dining, so I decided to try the food there.

One of the women invited me to take a table, so I entered the dining area and made myself comfortable. I ordered two beef kabobs, three beef samosas, a serving of rice, and a green salad. I also ordered a Heineken beer, which was served in a 67cl size can. It was a delicious meal, and the price came to only 11€.

Maman Alice and Her Staff

Maman Alice and Her Staff
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

I took a photo of Maman Alice and her staff. From left to right are Marie, Adele, Maman Alice, Frida, Maroua, and Youdi. All but Maroua hail from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Maroua is Moroccan.

With a full belly, I was ready to explore the exhibition.

D'Jackson Suriam and Christophe Luijer

D’Jackson Suriam and Christophe Luijer — So’Kanaa
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

Sokanaa machine

Christophe Luijer’s Cane-juice Extraction Machine
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

I came upon D’Jackson Suriam from Martinique and Christophe Luijer from Holland, where they were selling fresh-pressed juice from the sugar cane. Christophe told me that he invented the machine that crushes a stick of sugar cane to extract its sweet juice. I tried a cup and found it to be wonderfully refreshing. Christophe calls his company So’Kanna.

D'Jackson Suriam with Océana Magazine

D’Jackson Suriam with Océana Magazine
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

D’Jackson is Christope’s partner at So’Kanna. He is also editor and director of a new international culture and lifestyle magazine called Océana.

Next…vendors and exhibitors at the fair.

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Neige – An Apple Ice Wine from Quebec

Wednesday, January 29th, 2014
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Neige

Neige
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

In December, we were invited to attend a tasting of what I thought was going to be apple cider at Philovino, a wine shop operated by Bruno Quenioux. I blogged about tasting cider at Mr. Quenioux’s shop back in July of last year. This time, we were in for a big surprise because the “cider” that we came to taste was in reality an apple wine, or more specifically, an apple ice wine.

The concept of producing wine from frozen apples is confusing to the uninitiated. How, you might ask, does one get wine from this?

There are two ways* and both methods are used by La Face Cachée de la Pomme, the company that produces the wine that we tasted that evening.

Method 1 – Cryoconcentration
In autumn, very ripe apples are picked and kept in cool storage until winter. At the end of December, apples are then pressed and the freshly-extracted juice is placed outside in the extreme cold temperatures of January. Slowly, the water crystallizes and separates from the sugar. After a few days of intense cold, the concentrated apple nectar (called “must”) is drawn off and placed in stainless steel tanks where it ferments for a period of approximately eight months at low temperatures before being bottled.

Method 2 – Cryoextraction
In this method, apple ice wine is produced from varieties of apples that do not fall from the trees in autumn; they are picked in December and January when the temperatures are near –15°C. These apples have been dehydrated by the sun and literally cooked by the cold and the wind. Sugars have been concentrated through natural cryoextraction. The frozen apples are then pressed to extract the nectar. The must is then placed in stainless steel tanks where it ferments for a period of approximately eight months at low temperatures before being bottled.

More than 6kg of apples are required to produce 1L of apple ice wine.

We tasted this limpid, light-amber wine and were astounded by its intense apple aroma and rich apple-and-butterscotch flavor. In the mouth, it is soft, smooth, and very sweet, but not cloying. It makes a great after-dinner drink and can be served as an accompaniment with certain sharp cheeses, such as aged cheddar and blue-veined cheeses.

In searching the Internet to learn more about the apple ice wines that are produced by La Face Cachée, I was surprised to learn that the role that Mr. Quenioux played in their development has been overlooked. Quenioux was impressed by this wine when, as manager of the wine shop at Lafayette Gourmet (of the Galeries Lafayette department store in Paris), he tasted it for the first time. Sometime later, François Pouliot, founder of La Face Cachée, contacted Quenioux for advice on how to improve the quality of what was already a good product. Quenioux suggested using a different variety of apple and provided guidance on the process of fermentation. Now, five years later, Quenioux says that Neige tastes even better than when he first enthused about it.

Bruno Qenioux and François Pouliot

Bruno Qenioux and François Pouliot in front of Philovino
Photograph courtesy of Philovino

Neige is sold in Bruno Quenioux’s wine shop:
Boutique Philovino
33, rue Claude Bernard
75005 PARIS
Open from Tuesday to Saturday
10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

*Information about the production of apple ice wine was gleaned from La Face Cachée Web site.

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Cider by Cyril Zangs

Wednesday, July 10th, 2013
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Cider 2011 by Cyril Zangs

Cider 2011 by Cyril Zangs
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

About two weeks ago I received an invitation to a cider tasting from Bruno Quenioux (whom I’ve written about before). I hurried over to his wine shop and met Cyril Zangs, a producer of hard cider in Normandy. I say “hard” cider, because it has an alcoholic content of 5.5%. In the United States, the beverage called cider is usually no more than apple juice. Cyril’s cider undergoes primary fermentation in vats, and then secondary fermentation in bottles.

I tasted his Cider 2011, but couldn’t immediately identify the principal flavor. Cyril called it “smoky,” and said that the flavor is due to bitter apple that he includes in the batch. (The flavors of the apples that he harvests can be classified as sweet, bitter-sweet, bitter, tart, and sour.)

I purchased a bottle and took it home for a more focused taste test. After chilling the bottle in the refrigerator, Monique and I sat down to taste the cider and to determine what that “smoky” flavor actually was. We finally decided that the flavor is more accurately described as “leathery.” (Monique used the term “horse-y.”) The cider has a strong “welcome to the farm” flavor that is far different from the flavor of the sweet, industrially-produced apple juice that most people buy at the supermarket.

I would purchase this cider again because it has unmistakable character. I think that it might go well with certain strong cheeses.

Cyril Zangs’ cider is sold in Bruno Quenioux’s wine shop:
Boutique Philovino
33, rue Claude Bernard 75005 PARIS
Open from Tuesday to Saturday
10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

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