Thank you so much for this video David. I am always wondering about shopping in France and in Italy. I love your reuse of your paper bags. Is there a local t of use of plastic in stores in France? I doubt stores here in the US, outside Philadelphia here, would let you bring your own paper bags in, sadly. BTW, have you ever tried Deb Perelman’s burrata with crushed dark cherries, mint leaves, olive oil, salt and pepper. Here’s the link: https://smittenkitchen.com/2025/07/burrata-with-crushed-cherries-and-pistachios/. BTW, cherries are the same price here in eastern US but oh-so-worth-it.
Great video. I see how to turn on notifications for your videos as I had on Instagram. I have a question, can you please share what French supermarket butters rated well? Thanks!
About a dozen years ago i had a wonderful recipe from Epicurious I used to make a cardamom bundt pound cake that was utterly perfect. Just a subtle hint of something that made it very special. And that was with half dead powdered cardamon! Can no longer find my treasured recipe but imagine it would be even better with fresher, more high quality cardamon. It is a spice that can be good in alot of things.
It's too bad that they let Epicurious go. At first it was the well-tested recipes from Gourmet and the old Bon Appétit, but then they let people post recipes on the website and then, a whole bunch of recipes showed up out of nowhere. (One of my recipes was on there that I contributed to Bon App, and only half of the recipe was published...)
The NYT did a story and recipe about the cardamom buns at a bakery in NYC and said they had to replace the blades on their spice grinder every week because they were grinding so much cardamom.
Two questions, please and thanks. who makes the bulk butter that you buy by the slab? Is there a way to know if the rotisserie chicken that is so readily available in grocery stores is humanely raised? Merci!
I don't know who make the butter they sell at Miyam as it's cut into slabs and put out for sale that way. Unless a chicken says "fermier" on it, in France, it's generally battery-raised chicken. Éleves en plein air signifying that the chickens are free-range as does the designation "Label rouge" on the package.
What fun! I'm amazed you have melons already. I think of them as needing a lot of summer heat to ripen. Maybe the farmers use hoop houses or similar.
I'm in San Jose, so I can go down to Andy's Orchard in Morgan Hill to buy his fabulous fruits! In theory nectarines are just fuzz-less peaches, but apparently the gene that causes the smooth skin has other effects. There's a cool article about it on Serious Eats.
It's been really hot in France - our first heatwave was back in May, which was pretty wild. There was another one last month...and we're about to have another one as well, so things are ripening faster.
The plum = Reine Claude. Who knows the derivation, but she’s the queen of plums. My raised-in-Paris son has been searching unsuccessfully for them since we returned to the US 40 years ago. I guess it’s his fruity madeleine.
I've seen them at some greenmarkets in the U.S. but I think our fondness for tangy, tart plums in the U.S. - like Santa Rosa or Elephant Heart plums - pushes sweeter plums out of the spotlight.
I love these shopping videos; they get me ready for Paris! I love cardamom buns too, so much so that I have learned how to bake them. I make them smaller and roll them like cinnamon buns. I keep lots in the freezer for last minute treats!
Thank you so much for this video David. I am always wondering about shopping in France and in Italy. I love your reuse of your paper bags. Is there a local t of use of plastic in stores in France? I doubt stores here in the US, outside Philadelphia here, would let you bring your own paper bags in, sadly. BTW, have you ever tried Deb Perelman’s burrata with crushed dark cherries, mint leaves, olive oil, salt and pepper. Here’s the link: https://smittenkitchen.com/2025/07/burrata-with-crushed-cherries-and-pistachios/. BTW, cherries are the same price here in eastern US but oh-so-worth-it.
Pam from the SF Peninsula xx
Great video. I see how to turn on notifications for your videos as I had on Instagram. I have a question, can you please share what French supermarket butters rated well? Thanks!
That was fun! Thank you, David! (I envy your tomatoes!)
Thank you David! Just so lovely to hear all about your shopping.
About a dozen years ago i had a wonderful recipe from Epicurious I used to make a cardamom bundt pound cake that was utterly perfect. Just a subtle hint of something that made it very special. And that was with half dead powdered cardamon! Can no longer find my treasured recipe but imagine it would be even better with fresher, more high quality cardamon. It is a spice that can be good in alot of things.
It's too bad that they let Epicurious go. At first it was the well-tested recipes from Gourmet and the old Bon Appétit, but then they let people post recipes on the website and then, a whole bunch of recipes showed up out of nowhere. (One of my recipes was on there that I contributed to Bon App, and only half of the recipe was published...)
The NYT did a story and recipe about the cardamom buns at a bakery in NYC and said they had to replace the blades on their spice grinder every week because they were grinding so much cardamom.
Thats funny…the cardamom grinding! Its fun to chew on the larger bits you can find in some cardamon bins.
Thanks for another wonderful video!
Two questions, please and thanks. who makes the bulk butter that you buy by the slab? Is there a way to know if the rotisserie chicken that is so readily available in grocery stores is humanely raised? Merci!
I don't know who make the butter they sell at Miyam as it's cut into slabs and put out for sale that way. Unless a chicken says "fermier" on it, in France, it's generally battery-raised chicken. Éleves en plein air signifying that the chickens are free-range as does the designation "Label rouge" on the package.
Thanks so much!
I am fortunate to be in San Francisco where Mary's organic rotisserie chicken is available at grocery stores like Luke's Local.
All the best to you and Romain as you approach the next "canicule"!
My absolute favorite is watching you in the kitchen narrating your program! I could watch for hours!
Ellen
Oakland, CA
What fun! I'm amazed you have melons already. I think of them as needing a lot of summer heat to ripen. Maybe the farmers use hoop houses or similar.
I'm in San Jose, so I can go down to Andy's Orchard in Morgan Hill to buy his fabulous fruits! In theory nectarines are just fuzz-less peaches, but apparently the gene that causes the smooth skin has other effects. There's a cool article about it on Serious Eats.
https://www.seriouseats.com/peaches-vs-nectarines-8687615
It's been really hot in France - our first heatwave was back in May, which was pretty wild. There was another one last month...and we're about to have another one as well, so things are ripening faster.
The plum = Reine Claude. Who knows the derivation, but she’s the queen of plums. My raised-in-Paris son has been searching unsuccessfully for them since we returned to the US 40 years ago. I guess it’s his fruity madeleine.
I've seen them at some greenmarkets in the U.S. but I think our fondness for tangy, tart plums in the U.S. - like Santa Rosa or Elephant Heart plums - pushes sweeter plums out of the spotlight.
Reine Claude plum, no idea who that queen was and how a plum was named for her.
So glad to see you doing videos again! Please do more if your schedule allows, we all love them! And just FYI, this format on Substack is better IMO
I was very surprised to see this video. It was great. I have missed these. Look forward to hearing about your trip.
Cherries left Marin Civic Center farmers market 2 weeks ago. Our tomatoes don’t have enough flavor yet. 😎
I love these shopping videos; they get me ready for Paris! I love cardamom buns too, so much so that I have learned how to bake them. I make them smaller and roll them like cinnamon buns. I keep lots in the freezer for last minute treats!
Thank you!
David, You are a treasure. The next best thing to being in Paris. I have all your books, new and old versions. Carol-Ann, Texas