les produits laitiers

Normandy is a region known for its dairy production. In fact, when I was headed to the train station, one of the neighbors said, “You're going to go visit the cows, eh?” “Yes, and eat cheese!” I replied, grinning ear-to-ear like we Americans do. And boy, did I see cows. Right outside my bedroom window!

During my stay, I had hoped to visit a dairy farm, but it was too early in the summer season for tours. Not to be discouraged, my hostess and I forged on, and instead toured a well-known caramel factory in Isigny-sur-Mer. Each of France's regions has specialties according to the resources close at hand. Lots of green fields means lots of cows, which leads to countless liters of milk.  Besides the obvious, the milk is used for making butter, salty butter (nothing like our “salted butter” in the States!), cream and cheese. And the Caramels d'Isigny are another tasty byproduct of all that dairy. I was impressed that despite the fact that they produce a large variety of flavors and products, the factory is rather small (they get their milk and butter from another factory in Isigny) and employs 19 people. They're caught between being artisans and the industrial world, combining main d'oeuvre with machines. I hope they follow tradition and continue to do most of the work manually. Our guide was also an excellent sales person, and told us many things we could make with the caramel powder and the caramel chips. Like replacing the sugar in an apple tart recipe with the powdered caramel. Or using the chips in cookies. Or putting some in yogurt (which, chez moi, is home-made). And don't even get me started on the caramel sauce! I need a new crêpe maker so I can share what I bought with my students.

P.S. Thinking about all of the yogurt, pots de crème, cheese and milk consumed in France has got me wondering if anyone really suffers from osteoporosis here!