June 3, 2015, Isney-sur-Mer and the Cider Route

June 3, 2015 to Isney sur Mer and the Route de Cidre

We got a late start around 9:30 and decided to go to Grandcamp-Maisy to the daily fish market to buy fish for dinner which is about 12 miles down the coast past Pointe de Hoc, where American Rangers scaled the cliffs early on D Day to destroy the Germans’ big guns before D Day.

There is history everywhere here. 

After buying two plaice and having them cleaned by the fishmonger, we walked to the tourist information office to find out about special celebrations for D Day.  We also asked about oysters and were directed to a place on the bay near Grand-camp, where the oysters are cultivated and packed.  The lady at tourist information said we were probably late because they harvest at low tide.  

We then drove further down the coast to the next town, Isney,  and went to the Carrafour store in the centre before going to the oyster place and bought bacon, cocktail sauce, celeriac root salad and a few other items.

We drove out to where the oysters are harvested anyway and found oysters and operations at several facilities.  We stopped at one and walked in and found that they were bringing in more oysters.  We got a small explanation regarding sizes and prices.  Since the smaller oysters were more expensive we bought four kilos of No.4 oyster, which are quite large, for 20 €.

When we got home we discovered we had bought 28 large oysters for $22.00. 

After buying the oysters it was almost noon, so we decided to go home and have fresh oysters for lunch with celeriac (celery root) salad.  I shucked 12 oysters and we ate a wonderful lunch.

Then at 1:00 we drove to the cidre route on the other side of Caen.  We went to at least six places and bought something at each place, so we have lots of cider and pommeaux now.

There are basically four traditional beverages made from apples; Apple juice, pommeaux, cider, and calvados.  There are at least 15 to 20 special types of apples used, mostly tart, so they are not eating apples.  They are not picked until they are mature, which is determined by shaking the trees.  If they fall, they are mature.  They are washed and then presses in pneumatic presses to squeeze the juice out.  For cider the juice is then left on the must to ferment.  The skins of apples have natural yeasts that ferment the apples. To get effervescence into the cider it is bottled before it is fully fermented and the cider builds up pressure and bubbles in the bottle.  For calvados, the apple juice is allowed to fully ferment (to reach its maximum alcohol level,which results in it being very dry.  It is the distilled into apple brandy and then aged in oak barrels for at least two years and up to 40 years.

Pommeaux is made with 1 part calvados  to two parts Apple juice, producing a very sweet aperitif with a slightly tart aftertaste in the better versions.

At the last location, DuPont, which is one of the five esprit producers Billy told us about, we bought small bottles of 40 year old calvados.  

We then drove home to make dinner.  Suzette made oyster stew with boiled new potatoes we had bought at the market in Bagnoles,  fried bacon we had bought at the Carrafour in Isney,  parsley, a dozen oysters, milk, white wine, and leeks.  After we ate a lovely bowl of soup, I sautéed the two plaice in olive oil, butter, shallots and fried sliced potatoes. When the fish was almost finished, Suzette blanched the spinach we had bought at Bagnoles and we laid the filets of one of the fish on beds of spinach and ate them.  We filleted the other fish  and added them to the PPI oyster stew for a fish soup for another meal.

Bon Appetit