30 Culinary specialities from Lorraine
1 Quiche Lorraine
There's nothing like a good quiche lorraine. Eggs, bacon, a little cream, a good shortcrust pastry and, above all, no cheese. The thicker the better! You'll find the recipe below. It seems that quiche is the 2nd best-selling takeaway in the world. That's not surprising, especially as you can vary the pleasures and go from quiche lorraine to salmon quiche, leek quiche... Some even make sweet clafoutis-style quiches with cherries, mirabelles...
How to make a successful quiche Lorraine?
The trick is always to add one or two extra egg yolks to make it more delicious, and don't use just milk - cream is important.
2 Mirabelle plums from Lorraine
There's nothing more delicious than this little yellow plum with red stains and, as is often a sign of freshness, a little bloom, a sort of mist. Lorraine is the world's leading producer of mirabelle plums. The season is short: from early August to late September, depending on the year. The mirabelle plum probably arrived from Provence in the luggage of King René I, who was Duke of Lorraine but also Count of Provence, and grew so well in the region that it became the region's sweet emblem. There are several types of mirabelle plum, including 2 main ones: the Nancy mirabelle plum (the largest, ideal for tarts) and the smaller Metz mirabelle plum, from which mirabelle alcohol is often made. Nothing beats a good tart! But it can also be eaten fresh, in clafouti or ice cream...
At theend of summer in Lorraine, you can't go wrong with a golden mirabelle plum. Photo chosen by Monsieur de France: Shutterstock
How to choose mirabelle plums
To be sure you're making the right choice, choose Mirabelle de Lorraine PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) or Label Rouge. Otherwise, it should be firm, have freckles and smell of Mirabelle plums.
3 Lorraine pâté
It is much less famous than its salty big sister, the quiche lorraine, but the pâté lorrain is delicious. It goes back a long way, being mentioned as early as the 13th century in the "Traité du viandier" by the famous chef Taillevent. It's a very Lorraine pleasure, a 'little pâté' that working people like to eat in the morning before or after work, that you can enjoy when you're feeling peckish, and that can make a good, uncomplicated Sunday meal when you have the family version and accompany it with a good green salad. A pâté lorrain is coarsely chopped loin and veal, marinated with shallots and a few herbs (not too many!) such as thyme or bay leaf. Everything is then marinated in white wine (preferably Toul wine, but you can also make it with a dry white from Alsace) and the meat is placed between two puff pastries. If you want to eat it hot, bake it in the oven at 160 - 180 °C for 20 minutes. Note that there is also a pâté Lorrain de Chatenois with a migaine inside.
A little pâté lorrain is a pleasure to eat on the go. Photo chosen by monsieurdefrance.com: Shutterstock.
How do you enjoy a pâté lorrain?
It can be eaten hot or cold. Warm is ideal. It goes wonderfully well with a little Vin Gris from Toul. Serve with a green salad.
4 Les madeleines
Madeleines were invented by a young girl who improvised a dessert for King Stanislas, who had arrived unannounced. Why madeleines? Because the king, having found the cake delicious, asked for the name of the dessert and the young girl replied that he hadn't seen any and that she had just made it according to her grandmother's recipe. "So we'll call it Madeleine just like you," the king is said to have replied. A good Madeleine, with a cup of coffee or hot chocolate, is a culinary feast, yet the ingredients are very simple: all you need is flour, eggs and a little orange blossom. You'll find the recipe below
Would you like to try a madeleine dipped in hot chocolate?
What madeleine de Lorraine?
There are several types of madeleine in Lorraine. The Commercy madeleine is the oldest. It was sold to travellers from Paris who stopped at Commercy station. It was sold in hat boxes. It is reputed to be plump and soft. The Liverdun madeleine is more recent, born in the 19th century, and is firmer. Finally, there's the madeleine de Nancy, which is golden and large in size. The choice is yours!
5 Lorraine wine
Lorraine is a very old wine-growing region. The monks of the many abbeys and the bishops of the three bishoprics (Metz, Toul and Verdun) helped to maintain and develop this know-how, which arrived with the conquest of Gaul by the Romans (who also left Lorraine the art of roof tiles). Lorraine's vineyards were huge for a long time before being hit hard by the phyloxera epidemic that destroyed a large proportion of French vines in 1905. Only a handful of die-hards continued to make wine, while vines were being uprooted everywhere. For several decades now, the vineyards have been coming back to life, and with them the wonders of the area around Toul, in Meurthe et Moselle and also in Moselle and Meuse. One of the best-known wines is the "vin gris de Toul", which has a pink-grey colour. Dry, this wine is ideal with seafood.
Vin gris de Toul has been an A.O.C (Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée) forover 50 years / photo chosen by monsieurdefrance.com: Shutterstock.
Wines in Lorraine
Lorraine's vineyards produce a wide variety of wines. There is, of course, the famous vin gris, but also some very good reds and sparkling wines. Don't hesitate to visit the cellars if you're going to Moselle, Toulois (around Toul) and Meuse.
6 Lorraine beer
All too often we forget that Lorraine is an ancient land of beer. In fact, the patron saint of brewers is from Lorraine. Saint Arnoult, bishop of Metz, had retired. When he died in 640 AD, the Christians of Metz came to collect his body and took it in procession back to Metz for burial. On the way, with the sun shining brightly as it does in Lorraine in summer, everyone was thirsty. It was then that we noticed that the empty barrels accompanying the procession had filled up with beer.
The translation of the body of Saint Arnoult de Metz and the miracle of the beer. Illustration chosen by monsieurdefrance.com: Jean-Baptiste de Champaigne, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
It has to be said that Lorriane's soil lends itself perfectly to brewing, sincegood beer can only be made with... Good water! And water is renowned for its quality in Lorraine, where there are many springs. There were as many as 300 breweries in the 19th century, supplying the whole of France. Real fortunes were built around beer in Xertigny, for example (Le château des Brasseurs). It was a brewing company that financed the construction of the Excelsior, Nancy's most beautiful brewery opposite the station, in the Art Nouveau style. The great Louis Pasteur himself came to Tantonville to study beer yeasts. Today, there are several dozen independent brewers, each with their own style. Taste and you'll see!
You can also match the food you eat with the beer you drink. Talk to your brewer. Illustration chosen by monsieurdefrance.com: Shutterstock.
And why not?
We're all familiar with wine and food pairing menus, but we're less familiar with beer and food pairing menus. Beer goes well with many dishes. White beer goes wonderfully with fish, for example.
7 Blueberries
When July comes around, you can feel your taste buds tingle in the Vosges, where what the people of the Vosges call brimbelles and the people of France call mytilles grow. They are used to make all sorts of delicacies, from tarts to jams. It's a blue delight that stains the teeth (and the clothes of the pickers) but is a sign of a fine summer in the mountains of Lorraine. For some years now, you've also been able to enjoy blueberries. From the same family as the bilberry, larger and white inside, the bluet can be cultivated. It is ideal in many dishes, and can also be used to accompany cold meats in the same way as capers or gherkins. Just give it a try.
A good brimbelle tart, as we say in the Vosges. Photo chosen by monsieurdefrance.com: HandmadePicture via depositphotos
A recipe for raspberry tart
- 500 grams of blueberries (sorry, brimbelles!)
- 1 roll shortcrust pastry.
- 90 grams crushed biscuits or almond powder (to absorb the blueberry juice).
- 80 grams caster sugar.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (gas mark 5).
- Rinse your bilberries (sorry, brimbelles!) well and place them on absorbent paper while you do the rest.
- Butter your tart tin
- Bake your pastry in white: put some greaseproof paper on the pastry base and cover it with small pebbles or dried white beans. Bake for 10 minutes at 180°C.
- Keep the oven at 180°C - you'll be using it again soon!
- Mix the white sugar and almond powder (or dry cake powder).
- Spread 3/4 of the sugar/almond powder mixture over the base of the tart.
- Lay out your 500 grams of blueberries
- Bake for 25 minutes at 180 °C
- 5 minutes before serving, sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 sugar/almonds to crisp up the tart a little.
8 Truffles
Lorraine is also a land of black diamonds. Truffles thrive in Lorraine and there are several truffle festivals in the region, notably in Pont à Mousson at the Abbaye des Prémontrés in November, and in Essey Lès Nancy. There is a truffle and truffle-growing centre at Boncourt-sur-Meuse in the Meuse department. The main truffle is Tuber Mesentericum, or Truffe de Meuse for short. Sharp and lively in flavour, it has the advantage of cooking well (ideal for a demi-deuil poultry dish with slices of truffle tucked under the skin). They are also less expensive than many other truffles. Some Burgundy truffles are also available.
The Black Diamond is also a Lorraine diamond. Photo chosen by monsieurdefrance.com: Depositphotos.
Tips for Meuse truffles.
The truffle is a mushroom and is very "strong" in taste and smell. So, if you put the truffle you've bought in an airtight box with eggs, the eggs will take on the taste of the truffle, and you can make a truffle omelette without putting your truffle in it. Just peel it a little at the end to add flavour. So, when you've made the omelette, put your truffle in a box of rice or pasta, to do the same thing: add flavour. This way, you can make several dishes with just one truffle (the size of a large walnut for 4 people).
9 Gingerbread
Like its Alsatian neighbour, Lorraine has a passion for gingerbread. The tradition goes back a long way. On Saint Nicolas Day, the children's day, gingerbread in the shape of Saint Nicolas (or a "bourrique") is traditionally given to well-behaved children. The pastry-makers of Lorraine, of whom there are many (you'd be amazed at the number per capita if you compared a town like Nancy with Rennes or Lyon), put their hearts into their work, starting with the 'mother' dough at the end of the summer, gradually incorporating flour and spices with honey selected from the Vosges for its quality. Far from the hard gingerbread you once tasted in French schools, try Lorraine gingerbread: it's as tasty and soft as you could wish for .
Good gingerbread is essential for celebrating Saint Nicholas in the right way (and that doesn't mean you can't enjoy it all year round!) photo chosen by monsieurdefrance.com: shutterstock
Ideas for gingerbread
Of course, it can be eaten "as is" or with a milk chocolate, but gingerbread also lends itself wonderfully to savoury dishes. By crumbling it and placing it next to the foie gras and a rocket salad, guests can add a little sweetness to the foie gras before placing it on the bread. It can also be used to make breadcrumbs for a delicious duck parmentier hash, for example.
10 Nancy macaroons
Tasty macaroons , whose texture sometimes changes with the weather, are a speciality of Nancy that has been delighting the taste buds of tourists for a very long time, since it is thought that the macaroon arrived with a visit from Queen Catherine de Médicis to her daughter, the Duchess of Lorraine, in the 16th century. As Catherine de Medici was from Florence, she was already familiar with this delicious cake made with almonds and eggs. The recipe, based on powdered almonds, eggs and flour, is said to have been passed on to Nancy where, during the French Revolution, when the convents were closed, two nuns started making these cakes to earn a living . They became known as the "macaron sisters" and passed on a recipe that has been jealously guarded ever since. Genuine Nancy macaroons can only be found in Nancy!
Nancy macaroons. Photo chosen by monsieurdefrance.com: Shutterstock
Can you keep the Macaron de Nancy?
Exactly! 15 days at least. When it's wet, take it out of the tin a few moments before eating. When it's dry, take it out an hour before eating. These tips will make it softer.
11 Le Macaron de Boulay
Boulay Moselle has been producing a very special kind of macaroon since 1858. These Boulay macaroons, made from egg white, almond powder and flour, are spoon-fed and sold in the region's famous red boxes. The patisserie that makes these absolutely unique macaroons has just been awarded the Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant (Living Heritage Company) label, a guarantee of its long-standing expertise.
11 The bergamots of Nancy
A delicious sweet from Nancy with a distinctive flavour, the origin of which is not really known because it is so old. What is certain is that the Bergamotte de Nancy is the only French PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) whose basic product does not come from the land where it is made. Let me explain: bergamot is a fruit and it doesn't grow in Lorraine. The fruit comes from Calabria in Italy (which may in fact be the origin of the sweet, since King René I was Duke of Lorraine and King of Naples and therefore of Calabria, so there was a lot of trade). It seems that it was the Court of Lorraine which, like all the courts of the time, indirectly brought this sweet into fashion. In the 18th century, to scent the breath of guests, it was customary to arrange sweetened and scented objects (with bergamot) that guests would break off to suck the pieces. By the 19th century, the reputation of the Bergamotte de Nancy had already been established, particularly by soldiers who brought them home to their families (Nancy was a frontier town with many barracks). Initially, they were sold in cartridge boxes. Nowadays, they can be bought in small bags or in the famous decorated tins. You can crunch or suck your bergamot candy, while walking or at the end of a meal.
You can make crèmes brûlées with Bergamotte de Nancy by crushing the sweets and adding them to the egg cream before blowing with a blowtorch. Photo chosen by Monsieurdefrance.com: Shutterstock.
Collectors
Confectioners have always made a point of presenting beautiful bergamot boxes and changing the models regularly. They were then used as pillboxes or button boxes. There are some collectors of Bergamottes de Nancy boxes.
12 les dragées de Verdun
Verdun has been concocting sugar coated sweets since the dawn of time, with their manufacture dating back to the Middle Ages. In the past, they were considered to be medicines that were given to soothe stomach pains. With a sweet almond inside, or chocolate, they have long accompanied religious family events in France (weddings, christenings...) and this is still often the case, even if they are now eaten for pleasure on all occasions. La Maison Braquier in Verdun also offers 'shells': invented in the 19th century (before the famous battle of Verdun), these chocolate shells explode thanks to a small primer and amaze children before their sweet tooth swallows them up.
Sugared almonds. Ideal for celebrating an event and, as the Middle Ages already claimed, they help digestion. Photo chosen by monsieurdefrance.com: Bernashafo via depositphotos
Unique sugared almonds
Les dragées de Verdun are not just sugared sweets. The almonds are chosen with the greatest care and they are made in ancient copper cauldrons. You can visit the factory in Verdun, ask at the Tourist Office.
13 Chardons lorrains / Lorraine thistle
It comes in all colours and is all spiky, which gave it its name, reminding the confectioners of Nancy of the thistle that is the emblem of their town . It consists of a chocolate shell in which is enclosed another sugar shell containing alcohol.
Lorraine thistles. Photo chosen by monsieurdefrance. com: Kostia, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Why different colours for Lorraine thistles?
The colour of the thistle indicates the alcohol it contains : yellow is mirabelle plum, green is chartreuse, pink is raspberry... For the rest, ask the confectioner.
14 Lard
Let's face it: in Lorraine, we smoke! It's an age-old tradition, not just in the Vosges but throughout Lorraine, to smoke meat after salting it to preserve it. It remains a true culinary tradition. At the top of the list is the famous lard, so common in the Vosges that Wikipedia describes it as "a condiment in the Vosges", a reminder of just how ubiquitous it is. Smoked bacon is used to make the lardons that go into quiche. There are many smoked specialities in Lorraine. Don't hesitate to discover them. There's nothing better than a pan-fried bacon frichti or a bacon omelette. You can also enjoy
"Do you prefer your father or your mother?" "I prefer bacon!" Photo chosen by monsieurdefrance.Com: VadimVasenin via depositphotos
Bacon in the Vosges
The saying says it well, revealing how bacon is part of the Vosges identity. When a child is asked "Do you like your father or your mother better?", the child replies "I like bacon better!" and is then asked "Do you like fat or lean?" and the child replies "I like rind better" .
15 Lorraine sausage
The people of Lorraine don't give this sausage, which bears the name of their region, the welcome it deserves. Slightly U-shaped, Lorraine sausage is made from pork (lean and fat) and cooked in a broth. It mixes deliciously into a potée or even sauerkraut. It's a type of Mortau sausage, without the flap. A must try.
Lorraine sausage cooking sausage
Beware: on the butcher's counter, Lorraine sausage is often offered as a "cooking sausage".
16 LE fuseau lrrain
Ideal for an aperitif, and smoked just as it should be in Lorraine, the fuseau Lorrain is a lean pork stuffing, marinated in spices and wine and then smoked. It is cut into thin slices.
How to cook fuseau Lorrain?
Normally eaten cold, it can be cut into pieces and added to an omelette, or you can make a Lorraine pizza by putting thin slices on top.
16 Redcurrant jam
This is Bar le Duc's culinary speciality: seeded redcurrant jam with goose quill. Legend has it that a Duke of Lorraine, a great fan of redcurrant jam, suffered a toothache when a seed got stuck between his teeth. To prevent this from happening again, the jam makers in Bar le Duc came up with the idea of removing the seeds before cooking the redcurrants. To avoid completely destroying the very fragile fruit, they came up with the idea of using goose feathers cut into points. It's a pure delight.
Good redcurrants ready to be seeded to make jam. Photo chosen by monsieurdefrance.Com: shutterstock.
Caviar from Lorraine
Of course, given the time spent making it by hand, Bar le Duc's goose quill seeded redcurrant jam is not cheap, so much so that it's nicknamed "Lorraine caviar". Alfred Hitchcok would have it delivered for breakfast wherever he was in the world.
17 Lorraine potée
Every region has its own potée, so you can imagine that a region as gourmet as Lorraine couldn't be left out. Pôtée Lorraine is made with 1 kg of semi-salted pork, 2 Lorraine sausages (or Morteau sausages), 250 grams of smoked bacon, 250 grams of white beans, 1 curly green cabbage, 6 medium-sized potatoes, 4 carrots, 4 turnips, 2 leeks, 1 white onion, 1 bouquet garni, 1 clove, salt and pepper.
A tip for potée lorraine
The paddle needs to be well desalted and is cooked for 1 hour 30 minutes. It's even better cooked a second time to finish off the leftovers.
18 Rum Baba
It was Stanislas himself, Duke of Lorraine and King of Poland, who invented the baba by moistening his brioche with Tokay wine to make it softer and easier to eat when his teeth were starting to fail (he was old and very greedy, and his teeth went quickly). The recipe has since evolved. You can find it below.
Rum really?
The tradition is to serve the dessert with the bottle of rum next to it. Everyone then serves themselves as they wish. It was in Paris, to make the dessert less expensive, that the idea of replacing wine with cheaper rum came about.
19 Val d'Ajol andouille sausage
It's the queen of the andouilles! And by far! IGP (Protected Geographical Indication) andouille (and gandoyau) is made from lean pork, pork stomach, a little spice and garlic, all marinated in white wine and then smoked. It is cooked in court bouillon and is delicious served with a warm potato salad with vinaigrette. Only 4 butchers have the official right to make it. It is easily recognised by its red and green ring.
A class act
Since 1965, the Confrérie des tastes andouilles et gandoyaux has been celebrating andouille from the Val d'Ajol. During the annual chapter, it honours enthusiasts, often well-known personalities. In February, the Val d'Ajol andouille fair is held in Val d'Ajol, attracting thousands of gourmets.
20 Puff pastry
Legend has it that it was Claude Gelée, known as "le Lorrain" (1600-1682), born in Chamagne in the Vosges, who invented puff pastry. It has to be said that he knew how to make a lot of sweet things. Trained in pastry-making by his uncle. As an orphan whose father was a pastry chef, he decided to follow a troupe of acrobats bound for Rome. In the Eternal City, he was taken on as an apprentice and pastry chef, mixing colours for great painters. One of them, Agostino Tassi, noticed his marvellous drawing and introduced him to painting. At the age of 30, Claude Gelée, nicknamed "Le Lorrain" by the Romans, was the most famous landscape painter of his time. His paintings, which can be found in a handful of museums around the world, are among the most expensive in the world.
Puff pastry is an essential ingredient in many dishes. Photo chosen by monsieurdefrance.com: Digifuture via depositphotos
Make your own puff pastry?
It can be done! But it takes a lot of elbow grease because you have to 'turn' the dough several times, incorporating butter each time. The best, of course! Puff pastry is essential for bouchées à la reine, galette des rois and many other dishes.
21 The Visitandines
A typical Nancy dessert. It's a recipe that was made by the Visitation nuns and has been passed on to bakers and pastry chefs. They are shaped like a large cap and made from simple, good ingredients: sugar, egg whites, almond powder... They're delicious as a snack or with a cup of coffee.
And the financier
Inspired by the recipe of the visitandines of Nancy,a Parisian pastry chef, whose shop was located near the Paris stock exchange, had the idea of creating the financier: a cake in the shape of an ingot, light and quick to eat for busy businessmen.
22 Lorraine pie
Pies are a great Lorraine speciality. A delicious frog pie is made near Vittel and, of course, the famous tourte lorraine. It's made with veal, which can be marinated, and a migaine made from eggs and cream. It's delicious with a good green salad!
Tourte is the old-fashioned way of stewing, and it's delicious. Photo chosen by monsieurdefrance.com: studioM via depositphotos
Don't forget
Always cut a hole in the top of the pie to allow the steam to escape. And halfway through cooking, add some migaine.
24 The Duchesses of Lorraine
Nancy is back with this creation by the famous confectioner Jean Lalonde, who came up with the idea for this delight in 1930 after noticing that chocolate melted in summer. He invented a way of preserving it and preventing it from melting. Inside a duchesse de Lorraine is a creamy praline, surrounded by a royal icing, otherwise a kind of fine sweet meringue made from egg whites and sugar. It crunches and melts in your mouth. What a delight!
Nancy, sweet city
The Nancy conurbation is home to many famous confectioners and chocolate makers. Nancy Tourisme has set up a "Nancy Passion Sucrée" label to help you discover these confectioners' houses and treat yourself to duchesses of Lorraine, bergamottes, thistles and even... Sophie the Giraffe or chocolate golf balls.
25 Honey
Lorraine is honey country. There are many beekeepers, both in the Vosges and on the plains. There are all sorts of honeys: all-flower, accacia, and even fir honey in the Vosges. Excellent for the throat!
Honey is everywhere in this beautiful region, full of flowers and trees that give the bees plenty to do. Photo chosen by monsieurdefrance.com: fotovincek via depositphotos
Too good for your health
Honey is ideal for sportspeople. If you're a cyclist, for example, don't hesitate to put a little liquid honey in a mini flask, it will give you the sugar you need to keep going and it will last longer. If it's solid, keep it above 30 degrees (on the heater, for example) and it will become liquid again.
26 Les vaûtes
Vaûtes are Lorraine's pancakes, which is hardly surprising given that they are thick and generous like all the dishes here. They are often made in winter. Eggs, milk, flour and presto!
Salty vaûtes?
In some parts of Lorraine, grated potatoes are known as vaûtes. Not to be confused!
27 Salade Vosgienne
Typical of the Vosges, it's a salad, that's true, because there's salad in it, but it's so delicious! To the salad (more like oak leaf or rocket) you add croutons, eggs, tomatoes, pan-fried bacon, a little white onion, a little vinaigrette and a dollop of crème fraîche. It's so good!
La chaude meurotte
Hot meurotte can be added to a Vosges salad. This is a vinaigrette that mixes a little crème fraîche, oil, wine vinegar and crumbled eye yolk. It can be served warm.
28 Cheeses from Lorraine
Goat cheeses are plentiful because goats are plentiful, whether in the Vosges or the Meuse. In spring, you'll be delighted to find them on the markets of Lorraine. They are often flavoured. Lorraine is also home to crème d'albert, concocted in the Vosges with Munster cheese cooked in Gewurtztraminer, the sweet wine of Alsace. A delight with hot potatoes. We also love chique, a thick fromage blanc into which you can add fresh herbs or shallots. The famous Brie de Meaux is made in Lorraine, in the Meuse region. It is sometimes truffled (cut crosswise, with bits of truffle added for flavour). There are also some very good tommes, notably with wild garlic, found in the forests of Lorraine.
Lorraine's cheeses are well worth a trip for gourmets. Photo chosen by monsieurdefrance.com: NewAfrica via depositphotos.
The king of cheeses from the Vosges mountains: Munster Géromé.
This cow's milk cheese is the emblem of cheeses in the Vosges mountains. Long called Munster on the Alsatian side and Géromé on the Lorraine side of the mountain, it is now referred to as Munster in both places as long as the recipe is the same and it complies with the specifications (Appellation d'Origine Protégée and Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée). The recipe dates back to the 9th century. Best matured (trust the cheese-maker), it is served with a small white wine. It can also be served in a raclette with other cheeses or in a tartiflette instead of Reblochon.
29 Sweets from the Vosges
The people of Lorraine are as sweet-mouthed as they are savoury. Vosges sweets have been made in the mountains for a very long time. They were originally made from glucose syrup flavoured with fir bud essential oil (they are excellent for the throat). There are many different flavours, including poppy and violet. They can be sucked for pleasure or for the throat. Not to be confused with a famous brand of sweets named after the Vosges but invented in Belgium and manufactured in Spain.
Confectionery has nothing to hide
You can see many confectioners at work. Some sites have become veritable tourist attractions , attracting tens of thousands of visitors every year.
30 the quetsches
Mirabelle plums are famous the world over, but Lorraine is also home to quetsches. They arrive a little after their golden sister and can be enjoyed in tarts or jams in autumn.
Quetsches just ripe! photo chosen by monsieurdefrance.com: belchonock via depositphotos
The Duchess's jams
During the Renaissance, a Duchess of Lorraine didn't let anyone else make her plum jam. She loved them (and she was right, they are delicious). Plums are plentiful in Lorraine and a conservatory in the Meuse protects the different species.
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