In the town of Brive, three hours drive to the east of Bordeaux, Corrèzian
merchants and customers exchange pleasantries, local products and French
francs at the market, "Les Halles George Brassens." On cart, table, or from
the side of specially built display trucks, the merchants create attractive
presentations of their cheeses, meats, flowers, live chickens, pigeons,
vegetables, foie gras, and more.
"Au marché de Brive-La-Gaillarde," sang George Brassens, friend and
colleague of the internationally famous Jacques Brel. In honor of Brassens,
in honor of his recognition of Brive, the townspeople named the covered open
air market, Les Halles, after him. Perhaps the trucks in the parking lot
were different in his age, twenty years ago, but the regional products have
changed little.
I walk past cages of pigeons and fowl to where flower vendors are already
selling "muguet." Delicate lily of the valley, tiny bell shaped white flowers
protected by long, inward curling green leaves is traditionally given to
française by francais, on the first of May. Giving of the flower on
other days is giving a wish for "bonheur," happiness, good fortune. This
season, the mild temperatures of spring have brought the muguet to an early
bloom.
On the fringes of the market, trucks display a variety of local meats and
cheeses. Corrèze is a department in the larger region of Limousin.
The Limousine cow, is known world wide for it's good size, good stock and
good meat. The Limousine was introduced into the United States to improve
the quality and robustness of American cattle. The Limousine, normally preferred
by the French people, is an essential alternative to Britian's mad cow.
The Cabecou cheese, une specialité de la region, is a little round
flat goat cheese. On a table near this truck, but obviously of another vendor
is what remains of a wheel of cantal. The vendor recommends a variety of
cantal called salers. Made on the farm, in the department of Cantal near
Corrèze, salers is made from cow's milk, like ordinary cantal, but
salers is unique to the spring and summer when the cows eat the new green
grass in the fields, thus giving the cheese a sweeter taste. In the cold
months, when there is no green grass, the cows eat "le foin," hay, and thus
called, simply, cantal.
With a quick twist of the wrist between knife, cheese and thumb, the vendor
slices off a piece of the dark burnt yellow, straw colored (jaune paille),
cheese and offers it to taste, to help in the decision making process, to
tempt. With interest obviously showing on my face, the vendor positions a
fine piano wire with handles next to the cheese and awaits cutting instructions.
When we agree, "la marchande" slices a chunk from the foot and a half high
and is equally grand in diameter wheel of salers.
Winston Churchill said to General de Gaulle, former president of the French
Republic, "how can you run a country where there are over 300 different types
of cheese?"
Back in the area behind the cages of chickens, I squeezed past an old wooden
table covered with leeks, around a display of foie gras -- the whole, fatty
liver -- and noticed another old wooden table with, relative to the opulence
found everywhere in the market, a veritable paucity of little black balls.
Amongst these lonely and mysterious nuggests, a cardboard sign, loosely placed
is hand scribbled with the number "240". "Ce sont des truffe?" "Mais, bien
sûr!" The black gold of France, the truffle.
The American Heritage Dictonary defines the truffle as "Any of various fleshy,
ascomycetous, edible fungi, chiefly of the genus Tuber, that grow underground
on or near the roots of trees and are valued as a delicacy."
These little edible fungi things before me were found at the root of a certain
tree, with the help of a certain truffle sniffing pig in the forests of south
Corrèze. I had heard of the truffle, knew of its repute as a delicacy,
but had never tasted one. I thought that 240 francs for a kilo seemed like
a lot of money. That makes for about $20 for a pound. Ha, ha, silly me. 240
is the price for 100 grams ! Try $200 a pound. I guess that's
a good price. In Paris, they are much more expensive.
For $40 I buy, invest in, one truffle and later share it with friends in
Paris. In celebration of the truffle, it is presented "à la
croque-au-sel:" on a good baguette spread with Normandy butter: thin slices
of raw truffle are placed and topped "du gros sel," with 'big chunks' of
salt. The widow Cliquot (Veuve Cliquot Champagne) joins us for the
dégustation. At Easter dinner, bits of truffle are mixed with a lettuce
vinaigrette, bed to an already sumptuous appetizer of braised coquilles Saint-
Jacques (scallops).
The sale of regional products is not the only thing that takes place at the
Brive market. Weeks before, walls enclosed the area and within, and I
joined the Brive rugby team and their directors, in party, feast, celebration
of their victory of the European title, Le Cup d'Europe. I stood next to
Les Halles George Brassens and watched the fireworks, that lit the waters
of the river Corrèze.