Products from Normandy
Le Cidre (Cider)
Cider is an alcoholic beverage made from the fermented juice of apples. The making of cider is known since the Antiquity. French cidre is produced predominantly in Normandy and Brittany where the climate is good for apple trees. It varies in strength from below 3% alcohol (cidre doux) to considerably more (cidre brut). Higher quality cider is sold in champagne-style bottles (cidre bouché). A kir normand is a cocktail apéritif made with cider and cassis.
Le Poiré Domfrontais
The Domfrontais, in the Orne (Basse-Normandie), is famous for its pear cider (poiré). It is an alcoholic beverage made of fermented pear juice. It is similar to cider, in that it is made using a similar process and often has a similar alcoholic content, up to 8.5% alcohol by volume. Pear tree is the oldest tree species in Normandy.
Le Pommeau de Normandie
Pommeau is an alcoholic drink made in northern France by mixing apple juice with apple brandy. The proportions are chosen to ensure that the resulting mixture has 17% alcohol by volume.
It is consumed as an aperitif, or as an accompaniment to melon or blue cheese. It is also popular with a variety of desserts, including any chocolate or apple-based dishes.
Le Calvados
Calvados is an apple brandy from the region of Basse-Normandie. The first known Normand distillation was carried out by "Lord" de Gouberville in 1554. The area called "Calvados" was created after the French Revolution, but "Eau de vie de cidre" was already called "calvados" in common usage. In the 19th century output increased with industrial distillation and the working class fashion for "Café-calva". The appellation contrôlée regulations officially gave calvados a protected name in 1942.
Calvados is distilled from specially grown and selected apples, of which there are over 200 named varieties. It is not uncommon for a Calvados producer to use over 100 specific varieties of apple to produce their Calvados. The apples used are either sweet (such as the Rouge Duret variety), tart (such as the Rambault variety), or bitter (such as the Mettais, Saint Martin, Frequin, and Binet Rouge varieties), with the latter category of apple being inedible.
The age on the bottle refers to the youngest constituent of the blend. A blend is often composed of old and young calvados. Producers can also use the terms below to refer to the age.
- "Fine", "Trois étoiles ***", "Trois pommes"—at least two years old.
- "Vieux"—"Réserve"—at least three years old.
- "V.O." "VO", "Vieille Réserve", "V.S.O.P." "VSOP"—at least four years old.
- "Extra", "X.O." "XO", "Napoléon", "Hors d'Age" "Age Inconnu"—at least six years old. Often sold much older.
High quality calvados usually has parts which are much older than that mentioned. Calvados can be made from a single (generally, exceptionally good) year. When this happens, the label often carries that year.
Le Beurre d'Isigny (Butter From Isigny)
The art of making butter came to France, in particular in Normandy, from Denmark. The industrialization of milk processing began at the start of the 19th century: many factories were built in Isigny, especially by the Dupont d'Isigny family, which then diversified and created the famous Isigny caramels. Normandy is the heart of the French butter industry with Isigny as its main village.
Le Camembert de Normandie
Camembert is a soft, creamy French cheese. It was first made in the late 18th century in Normandy by Marie Harel, a farmer from Normandy, thanks to advice from a priest who came from the Brie area. It is made from unpasteurized cows' milk, and is ripened by the moulds Penicillium candidum and Penicillium camemberti for at least three weeks. It is produced in small rounds, about 350 grams (around 12 oz) in weight, which are then typically wrapped in paper and packaged in thin wooden boxes invented in 1890 by an engineer, M. Ridel. These boxes were used to carry the cheese and helped to send it for longer distances, in particular to America where it became very popular.
The variety named "Camembert de Normandie" was granted a protected designation of origin in 1992 after the original AOC in 1983.