Loire is a department in Rhône-Alpes though, other than by the French, Loire will normally indicate an area surrounding the river Loir and stretching from Brittany to Burgundy.
Lumpfish. Lumpsucker. A marine fish with a green or grey humped back and knobbly skin. It grows to about 60 cm (2 ft) and is found in the North Atlantic and Baltic. The male is oily but can be poached and the female is caught for its roe.
A pork sausage from Chablis and the Vallée de l'Arve made with rinds of the beast, cut in bands, which are added to sausage meat with seasoning and caraway seeds. They should be eaten within two or three days as they are fresh sausages, and are generally cooked in water and served with salad and potatoes.
Knobs of monkfish (US: angler fish). Small tail pieces of monkfish tail. Generally cheaper, but not such good flavour.
Eel pout. A relative of the cod but with the appearance of an eel, in which manner it is cooked. It is a freshwater fish with a yellowish, elongated cylindrical body, speckled with brown and covered in slime. The burbot can grow to 1 meter (3 ft) in length. In France it is particularly abundant in the lakes of Savoy. Once caught it is skinned and then prepared in the same way as a lamprey or an eel. Its oily and almost boneless flesh is very popular. However, in France, it is primarily eaten for its enormous liver which is made into pâté or it is fried in the same way as calf’s liver.
