Channel Islands cuisine

Des pais au fou - Jersey bean crock, accompanied by slices of cabbage loaf

Channel Islands cuisine is the cooking styles, traditions and recipes of the Crown dependencies of the Channel Islands, namely the Bailiwicks of Guernsey and of Jersey.

Among the islands' specialities are locally-caught seafood, rich Channel Island milk, Guernsey Bean Jar, and Jersey cabbage loaf.

Shared

Locally-caught seafood has traditionally been important to the cuisines of both Guernsey and Jersey: mussels (called moules locally), scallops, oysters, lobster and crabs — especially spider crabs which are considered a particular delicacy. Ormers are conserved and fishing is restricted; they were made into Ormer casserole.[1][2] A speciality is conger eel soup.[3]

Channel Island milk being very rich with a higher fat and protein content than milk from Holstein Friesian cattle, cream and butter have played a large part in insular cooking.[4]

The "gastronomic hotspot"[5] islands of Guernsey, Jersey, and Sark have 16 restaurants listed in the Good Food Guide.[5] Jersey's Bohemia restaurant has a Michelin star and five AA Rosettes.[5]

Guernsey

Dishes traditional in Guernsey cuisine are the Guernsey gâche, a rich fruit bread,[1] gâche mêlaïe, a dense apple cake,[1] and Guernsey Bean Jar, a type of cassoulet of pork and beans.[1]

Jersey

Bean crock (les pais au fou) can best be described as a sort of Norman cassoulet. It is a slow-cooked pork and bean stew, most authentically containing a pig's trotter, water and onions.[6]

Cabbage loaf is the traditional Jersey bread baked between two cabbage leaves, while Jersey wonders are a kind of doughnut, not filled with jam.[1]

Jersey Royal potatoes are the local variety of new potato, and the island is famous for its early crop of small, tasty[citation needed] potatoes from the south-facing côtils (steeply-sloping fields).[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "10 Most Popular Traditional Foods in the Channel Islands". TasteAtlas. 13 January 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
  2. ^ "Jersey food culture". Jersey.com. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
  3. ^ "Conger soup". BBC. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
  4. ^ "Market Prospects for Channel Island milk". Milk Development Council. 18 January 2010. Archived from the original on 14 March 2012. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
  5. ^ a b c Smithers, Rebecca (10 September 2019). "Channel Islands crowned gastronomic 'hotspot'". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
  6. ^ "Bean Crock (Un Poit et des Pais au Fou)". BBC. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Channel_Islands_cuisine&oldid=1212258599"