What to eat and drink in Brittany

Breton cuisine is one of the great pleasures on a trip to Brittany, the equal of nature, medieval towns and history.

Unlike its twin Norman cuisine, more elaborate and rich in butter, Breton gastronomy is simple and homemade, a cuisine paysanne, with significant differences depending on the inland regions. In any case, it is dominated by the presence of fish in all its forms and variations, especially fruits de mer, or seafood.

Fish

For those who love fish , Brittany is the ideal place. Fishing enlivens the life of the towns and villages where themed festivals and fairs take place and where you can watch the criées, or colourful and crowded fish auctions.

We recommend you try the plateaux des fruits de mer, a platter that brings together all the main seafood and crustaceans for a truly spectacular lunch.

• Huîtres: fresh oysters, enjoyed right on the harbour or in restaurants, are a constant in Brittany even if Cancale is the home.
• Coquilles de Saint-Jacques: scallops are another typical dish, especially worth tasting in Saint-Brieuc.
• Other seafood includes oursins (sea urchins), crabs from Saint-Malo and lobsters from Camaret.
• Cotriade: the tasty fish and shellfish soup.
• Bar de ligne au sel de Guérande: sea bass caught by line and baked in a salt crust.
• Homard à l’armoricaine: lobster cooked over a flame with brandy and then simmered with tomatoes, herbs and garlic.
• In addition to all this you can enjoy sardines (sardines), tuna (thon), mackerel (maquereau), gilthead bream (daurade), monkfish (grenouille de mer), turbot (turbot) and herring (hareng).

Meat

Meat dishes are less common but you can enjoy them especially in the inland areas of the beautiful Breton countryside.

• Andouille: this is the smoked pork tripe sausage, ideal to eat cold perhaps on a canapé with salted butter for breakfast: it is a real home-made delicacy! Also try the one with lard, which is lighter and has a piece of lard in the centre.
• Andouillette: tripe sausage.
• Boudin: black pudding.
• Agneau de pré-salé: the tastiest meat you have ever tasted, made from lamb raised in the bay of Mont-Saint-Michel with a savoury aroma.
• Kig ha farz: a rich stew of beef, pork and vegetables served with buckwheat dumplings.
• Rillette: meat cooked in lard, minced and preserved in earthenware jars.

Crépes and galettes

Although they are a very simple and seemingly trivial dish, crépes and galettes are one of the emblems of the region.

Crépes are made with wheat flour and usually have a sweet filling, spread with jam, filled with fruit or accompanied by ice cream and chocolate sauce. The most delicious version is crépes dentelles, rolled, sprinkled with sugar and baked until crispy.

Galettes, on the other hand, are made with buckwheat and filled with savoury ingredients such as ham, eggs and cheese (galette complète).

Typical fruit and vegetables

Like many regions deeply attached to the land and traditions, Brittany has implemented a programme to defend and safeguard local vegetables that have become real gems to try and enjoy.

• White bean from Paimpol.
• Roscoff onion.
• Lentin de Saint-Pol, a delicious mushroom.
• Early potatoes from the island of Bazt.
• Strawberries from Plougastel.
• Melon from Rennes.
• Rendon chestnut.

Sweets and desserts

Breton pastries are also worth sampling, especially on those cold, windy, rainy days when it’s nice to hole up in a tea room.

• Kouign amann: butter cake made with yeast dough, butter and sugar. We recommend it reheated or freshly made when the butter melts to the delight of the palate!
• Far breton: a compact, golden flan with the aroma of vanilla and plums.
• Galettes de Pont-Aven: shortbread biscuits.
• Niniches de Quiberon: brown sugar lollipops.
• Salidou or caramels au burre salé: salted butter caramel cream.
• Crequelin de Plumaudan: bread-shaped sweets with bits of sugar inside.

What to drink in Brittany

Unlike Normandy where wine is an important component of the table, drinking traditions in Brittany have a much sweeter and more varied orientation.

Cider

As a great producer of apples, Brittany is home to cider, a very popular drink, effervescent and with a low alcohol content. Each area has its own variety and production technique. Cider is ideal to accompany meat and fish and is produced in 4 main types:

• Sec: aged at least one year.
• Pur jus: without added water.
• Mousseux: naturally effervescent.
• Bouché: bottle-fermented.

Beer

By rediscovering its Celtic origins, Brittany has also rediscovered beer and now has fifteen or so excellent craft breweries. Some beers to try:

• Coreff of Morlaix: amber-coloured with a strong hop aroma.
• Telenn Du: from fermented buckwheat flour.
• CervoiseLancelot: with a rich honey flavour.
• Blanche Hermine: white from flour and barley malt.

Mead

Chouchen was in the time of the Druids the drink of the gods, a sweet, highly alcoholic beverage made from diluted fermented honey, the origins of which go right back to Celtic and Druidic culture.

There are also drier versions ideal for accompanying desserts. It is also excellent to emphasise the strong flavours of cheeses, especially herb-based, very tasty ones, or with lard.