What to eat Seine-Et-Marne? culinary specialties and gastronomy

If we're talking about Brie, we mustn't forget to mention its gustatory flagships. For starters, Brie de Meaux, made from raw, unpasteurized milk and with a PDO label, has been known since the Middle Ages and has forged a legend that's easy to relate. In the ^7th century, Saint Faron, bishop of Meaux, is said to have ordered a Brie cheese when the cows had stopped producing their precious milk. The miracle was not long in coming. Wishing to share with the poor the creamy milk usually reserved for the nobility, the saint broke the curse and the cows once again offered their milk. Later, in the ^13th century, Brie was one of the most sought-after foods at the Provins Fair. This is an understatement, since ^15th-century farm leases required landlords to provide "large-mold cheeses on Saint-Martin's Day", the day on which rent was paid. Brie de Meaux was therefore a prized product! In fact, many kings and princes, from Charlemagne to Henri IV, greatly appreciated it. In his Catalogue de la gloire du monde, Barthélemy Chasseneux, a great jurist of his time, declared the cheese that "melted almost like butter" to be the "king of cheeses" in 1529, a title confirmed at the Congress of Vienna in 1815 by Metternich, Chancellor of Austria. With the arrival of the railroads at the end of the ^19th century, Brie de Meaux was exported further afield and in greater quantities!

But the département also boasts many other delicious cheeses, each with its own unique aromas and nuances: brie de Melun, brie de Nangis, brie de Montereau, brie de Provins, brie de Favières, as well as the famous coulommiers, the exquisite fontainebleau, jean-de-brie, bayard-gourmand, grand-morin, gratte-paille, pierre-robert, mauperthuis, butte de Doue, brie-yère (eh oui!) and many other creamy pastas, not forgetting of course a rich palette of goat cheeses (bûches, pyramides, tomettes, crottins, paley, nanteau) and Briard milk jam. Coulommiers or "brie petit moule" has its origins in the Middle Ages, when it graced the tables of the lords and dignitaries of the kingdom. Over the centuries, it has delighted many a palate, including that of Raoul Ponchon (1848-1937), French writer and newspaper columnist, who wrote:

"Tel fromage que vous nommiez,

Swearing on the holy images

That of all the best cheeses

Coulommiers prevails

These cheeses arouse great enthusiasm, and are celebrated at events such as "Brie Happy" in Meaux and "La foire aux fromages" in Coulommiers, under the auspices of brotherhoods such as the Compagnons du Brie de Meaux and the Chevaliers du Brie de Melun.

The gastronomic heritage of Seine-et-Marn, whether it's dairy or wet Brie, is obviously not limited to cheese. A land of farming and mills, it has inspired a number of traditions: macaroons in Réau, craft beers in Meaux and the Gâtinais, green and blond lentils and split peas in the Briard region, fried goujon in the guinguettes, Brie and Gâtinais honeys... Among a rich array of specialties: old-fashioned grain mustard known as Meaux mustard, produced in Lagny-sur-Marne, a legacy of know-how dating back to the time of Charlemagne. As for Gâtinais poultry, this has been an annual event for almost a century in Egreville, at the Foire à la volaille, which brings together the region's true gourmets in a superb ^15th-century hall. Today, a number of producers continue to make cider from apples grown in orchards that sometimes run alongside the many rivers that cross the département. Among the fruits used is the Mauperthuis, with its flowery aromas. Elsewhere, a number of wineries (Clos de Nonville near Nemours, Domaine de Beau Tilleul on the Beautheil estate, Coteaux du Montguichet in Chelles, Domaine du Bois Brillant in Guérard) are reviving old traditions with pinot noir or chardonnay, offering a range of lovely aromas to discover. Last but not least, Crouy-sur-Ourcq is home to saffron, a gold that once came from Persia and has become a spice of choice in France. This must-have, a single gram of which requires 250 hand-harvested flowers, is now used to flavor honeys, vinegars, jams and even mustards.

It's also from a delicate flower that some of Nemours' native sweets originate: poppy sweets. Their story began in 1870, at 66, rue de Paris in Nemours, when confectioner François-Etienne Desserey created pastilles made from the papaveraceous plant, once used as a cough syrup. The translucent red rectangle has come a long way since then, and can now be found in Nemours under the name "Coquelicots de Nemours". As one delicacy leads to another, there's no question of omitting Moret-sur-Loing barley sugar, a very old sweet! Its legend began in the ^17th century, with the Benedictine Sisters of Notre-Dame-des-Anges. The confection, made at the priory from sugar and a barley decoction, went beyond its role as a simple remedy with soothing properties. However, the formula was jealously guarded and passed down to the present day. Louis XIII and Napoleon loved it, while Sarah Bernhardt never went on stage without first consuming it. When health rhymes with gluttony! Since 1972, berlingots and sticks have been made in Moret-sur-Loing in the purest tradition, following the ^17th-century recipe, with no additives, coloring or flavoring agents. A confectionery that has also been given a museum! Finally, there's the most beautiful of all, the Damask rose or Rosa gallica officinalis, brought back from the Orient in the ^13th century by Thibaud IV of Champagne. From the rose garden, the delicate rose has seduced confectioners past and present, a romance that has given rise to many pleasures, not the least of which are petal jams, candies, honey, mustard, tea, gingerbread, nougats... Let's not forget the sablé briard made in Mormant from farmhouse cider, chocolates from Chelles, Lagny, Dammarie-les-Lys, etc.., or the famous niflettes provinoises, still celebrated today.