Hop shoots. The male flower shoots are boiled, tossed in butter or sometimes cooked in cream.
Big-scale atherine. A type of atherine similar to the sand smelt. A marine fish, usually deep-fried, it is a small, silvery fish similar to the argentine. When tiny it is treated in the same way as whitebait. This fish grows up to 12 cm.
A disc of semihard cheese made with raw whole cow’s milk made by the sisters of the Cistercian Abbaye de la Joie Nôtre-Dame in Brittany where it has been made since 1953. The sisters are also known for their cakes and biscuits. It has a brine washed rind. This cheese is eaten all year round. It contains 50% fat (dry). The curds are uncooked and pressed. It is similar to Port-du-Salut. It may be found in the following dimensions: (20 cm diameter (8") x 5 cm (2") with a weight of 1.4 kg (3lb). Affinage is usually 5 weeks.
Swiss chard. A vegetable with large, dark leaves and fleshy ribs, mainly of a creamy white but sometimes a vibrant red. Leaves are cooked in the same way as spinach. The ribs are peeled and cut into manageable chunks and boiled or added to soups or stews. They are tender when young, stringy when old. The ribs are known as cardes de blette, côtes de blette.
Curds in Anjou, Charentes and Poitou. Fresh, soft white curd cheese of cows, goat’s or sheep’s milk, mild and creamy, often in a rush basket, made on farms and in houses. Known as Pigouille when moulded or jonchée when moulded in a rush basket. Traditionally, curdling is initiated by the addition of a cardoon flower.
