Why Milk in France is a Completely Different Animal from Milk in the U.S.

Aug 26, 2009 by Anna Migeon

THE FORMER MIGEON COWS produce milk in the Franche-Comte region of France for “Comte” variety of cheese.–photo by Anna Migeon

A nice big glass of cold milk—that’s something that’s pretty foreign to the French.

The typical French person of any age wouldn’t think of drinking a glass of milk with a meal. Even children hardly drink milk plain once they leave babyhood. Even coffee is generally taken black, maybe with sugar. At any age one might have café au lait or hot chocolate for breakfast or gouter, but that’s about it….

Do- It-Yourself Sublime Crème Fraîche

Apr 2, 2009 by Anna Migeon

Crème fraîche is a perfect example of French ingenuity with dairy products.  A cultured cream, it’s thicker, heavier, smoother and sweeter than sour cream, with a lovely, velvety texture. It’s delicious on plain fruit, especially bananas, mangoes or berries, or other desserts (I think of crêpes or pie), as well as in soups, stews or sauces, which it thickens without curdling as sour cream tends to do.  

We have no parallel product here in the U.S., though you can find crème fraîche in some grocery stores. It’s quite expensive. I make my own for much less. It’s something so simple, yet extremely satisfying to make yourself.  Very young children could make it, except it requires a lot of patience. My son used to make it to…