But as a strawberry, how do you avoid betraying your country when one of her majestys (Louis XIV that is, not the Queen of England) spies, a certain Frzier, asks you to follow him to the other side of the world? Amde Franois Frzier was sent by Louis XIV on a reconnaissance mission along the west coast of South America to find out about Spanish colonial activity there. A bit of a botanist himself, on arriving in Chile in 1712 he came Un peu botaniste, dbarqu au Chili en 1712, il y dcouvrit un fruit across a considerably larger version of the strawberry already known ressemblant, mais en beaucoup plus gros, la fraise connue alors at that time in France; the small fruit we now refer to as wild strawen France, celle petit fruit dite aujourdhui des bois. Il en ramena berries. He brought back a few examples and in 1714 entrusted quelques plants et en 1714 les confia Jussieu pour them to Jussieu for him to introduce into the Jardin quils entrent au Jardin du Roi, lactuel Jardin des du Roi, now known as the Jardin des Plantes. It was Plantes. Cest partir de ces plants, hybrids avec les from these plants, crossed with indigenous varievarits indignes et une autre gros fruits originaire ties and another big fruit originating from Virginia dAmrique du Nord (de Virginie), acclimate en in North America and introduced in England not Angleterre peu de temps auparavant, que sont nes long beforehand, that the strawberries we know les fraises que lon connat aujourdhui. Laventurire today were born. The adventuress has given rise to a eu une descendance prolifique: on ne compte pas a prolific lineage: there are now no fewer than 600 moins de six cents varits de fraises Des plus fades varieties of strawberry.from the most tasteless aux plus parfumes to the most fragrant En fait, la fraise nest pas un fruit! Les fruits sont les The strawberry is not actually a fruit though! The aknes, ces petits grains qui en parsment la surface. fruits are the achenes, those little seeds that cover its Amde Franois Frzier Elle, elle nest que le rceptacle charnu de la fleur. La surface. The strawberry is merely the flowers fleshy fraise aime le soleil, qui lui apporte saveur sucre et parfum, mais pas receptacle. The strawberry likes the sun, which gives it its fragrance la scheresse: elle se plat dans les rgions sous influences maritimes. and sweet taste, but not dryness: it thrives in regions influenced by En France, cela a fait la fortune de Plougastel o elle a t cultive a maritime climate. In France, it has been the making of Plougastel, ds le XVIIIe sicle, ou de Wpion en Belgique. En France encore, where it has been grown since the 18th century, and in Belgium in le Sud-Ouest lui convient bien, alliant chaleur et climat ocanique. the town of Wpion. Back in France, the south-west, with its warmth and oceanic climate, is also ideal. La fraise est fragile et voyage mal. La recherche agronomique a beau- The strawberry is fragile and does not travel well. Agronomic coup travaill cette question. Longtemps, cela a donn des fraises research has studied this problem in great depth. For a long while, rsistantes mais sans got, dont celles dEspagne restent souvent this gave rise to hardy, but tasteless strawberries, of which Spanish lexemple, malheureusement, puis les fraises goteuses sont revenues : ones are unfortunately the lasting example, before the return of the la gariguette, imagine par lINRA aux portes dAvignon, la mara more succulent varieties: the gariguette, created by the INRA near des bois cre en Sologne par Marionnet, frre du clbre vigneron, Avignon, the mara des bois created in Sologne by Marionnet, brother et bien dautres comme lelsanta, la ciflorette, la darselect, la charlotte. of the famous wine-grower, and many others such as the elsanta, cifloToutes des varits gros fruit, mais les fraises des bois sont rette, darselect and charlotte. All the aforementioned are large fruit toujours cultives aussi. Leur parfum concentr est recherch pour varieties, but wild strawberries are still also grown. Their concentraaromatiser sorbets et entremets. ted aroma is sought after for flavouring sorbets and desserts.

Histoire

C a r l A x e l Ma g n us Li n dm a n - B il de r u r N or de n s F lo ra - il l us t ra tio n 1. c op B i bl io t hq ue c ent ra l e d u M N H N - Pa ri s 1 0

P h ot os D.R.

Interview

Approches claires

Enlightened approaches
Quatre ptissiers voquent la fraise et les armes qui lui vont bien. Four ptissiers reflect on the strawberry and flavours to accompany it.

Yann Brys

Paris Pour vous, quelle est la recette? Le sorbet, une des meilleures faons pour garder le parfum de fraise. Il faut que la saison soit bonne pour laisser le fruit sexprimer. Un mariage russi avec la fraise? Avec une pointe de poivre de Sichuan poche basse temprature plusieurs heures. A dguster frais avec une glace vanille. Une remarque? Ayez la patience dattendre la saison, le top dpart pour la tarte est dbut juin. La saison se termine avec la remontante dOrlans. What, for you, is the ultimate recipe? The sorbet: one of the best ways of keeping the strawberrys fragrance. It needs to be a good season for the fruit to express itself. A good accompaniment for strawberries? Poached, with a touch of Sechouan pepper, at a low temperature for several hours. Best eaten chilled with vanilla ice cream. Anything to add ? Wait for them to come into season. The green light for the tart is beginning of June. The season ends with the Orlans bearing strawberry.

Michel Bannwarth

Mulhouse

Yannick Labb

Lorient Pour vous, quelle est la recette? Tout le monde aime la tarte aux fraises, peuttre parce quelle se laisse dsirer huit mois de lanne Un mariage russi avec la fraise? En confiture la violette, en salade avec du basilic frais. Une remarque? Jaime jouer sur les textures: une pte sable aux amandes pour le croquant, une crme vanille ou pistache pour la douceur, et les fraises nature coupes en deux pour garder leur parfum et leur acidit. What, for you, is the ultimate recipe? Everybody likes strawberry tart, maybe because it can be eaten eight months of the year A good accompaniment for strawberries? Violet jam, strawberry salad with basil. Anything to add? I like experimenting with textures: a short crust pastr y with almonds for crunchiness, vanilla or pistachio cream for smoothness and plain strawberries cut in half to keep their fragrance and acidity.
Pour vous, quelle est la recette? Pour profiter de la subtilit de la fraise, le fruit cru pos sur une pte sable aux noisettes et aux pices, croustillante souhait. A dguster dans les quatre heures qui suivent la fabrication. Un mariage russi avec la fraise? Y dposer une goutte de vritable vinaigre balsamique. La dguster avec un bugey Cerdon pour son ct frais, lger et ptillant, ou un banyuls jeune. Une remarque? La tarte doit tre conserve au froid, et dguste autour de 15C. What, for you, is the ultimate recipe? To get the most out of the subtlety of the fruit, arrange it raw on a short crust pastry base with hazelnuts and spices, nice and crunchy. Best eaten within four hours of making. A good accompaniment for strawberries? Add a drop of real balsamic vinegar. Sample with a bugey Cerdon for its fresh, light and sparkling qualities, or a young banyuls. Anything to add? The tart should be kept chilled and eaten around 15C.

Dazaifu Tenmang

dazaifutenmangu.or.jp
Relais Desserts dans le sillon du luxe franais
In the wake of French-style luxury
During the 1980s and beginning of the 1990s, historical houses such as Wittamer (Brussels) and Dalloyau (Paris) led the way. According to Nadine Gavillon-Bernard, president of Dalloyau: patisserie was only really able to adapt to the Japanese market after a de-sugaring process, a measure undertaken at the time with her chef Pascal Niau. The traditional Japanese patisserie, the wagashi, is sweet, but is eaten with green Matcha tea, which provides the bitter-sweet balance. It would be a decade before operas, mont-blancs, mille-feuilles, fraisiers and fine chocolates become appreciated by the Japanese public and become bestsellers. Since the end of the 1990s, new houses have been set up: when we opened the first boutique in Japan in the New Otani hotel, the brand immediately found its place in the world of Tokyo luxury. The macaroons took off while completely revitalising the genre, says Pierre Herm, who fosters a passion for the yuzu, to such an extent that he had a tree specialist plant some for use in France. Among other Japanese ingredients I use fresh wasabi, red beans, green Matcha tea and sesame paste in my macaroon and chocolate patisseries. For in addition to the financial stakes, there is a love for this country. Kata, the preoccupation with patterns, an art form also found in floral design and calligraphy, is fundamental to fine patisserie. Sbastien Bouillet (Lyon) appreciates this rigour, which has strongly influenced his work, along with the presentation and consequently packaging aspects. Our chocolates are handmade in Belgium then sent, with the utmost care, to Japan, in keeping with the requirements of the Japanese market, says Bernard Proot from the Del Rey house in Antwerp. Indeed, most of the Relais Desserts patisserie-makers chocolate bonbons are sent from their place of manufacture: Paris, Lyon, Antwerp or New York for the Payard house. It was in Japan that I opened my first drinking chocolate concept bar. I love this country; my personal development has been enhanced by martial arts, and for my work, Japanese accuracy is invaluable says the chocolate-maker Jean-Paul Hvin. As for Franois Payard, he has just opened FC (C for chocolate bar) with the jeweller Mauboussin. For Sadaharu Aoki, the most Parisian of Japanese patisserie-makers, it was the desire to return to my roots which led him to set up in his home country after having opened his boutiques in Paris. Wittamer, Dalloyau, Herm, Aoki, Payard and Bouillet all have laboratories on site. I go there 3 to 4 times a year and each time it is a rewarding experience says Sbastien Bouillet. As for Pierre Herm, right from the outset he had no hesitation in appointing chefs trained in his Parisian workshops in order to stay faithful to his work ethic. And for Frdric Cassel, Relais Desserts president, his taste for royal cities he is based in Fontainebleau naturally led him to Kyoto, the shogun imperial capital.

The classic strawberry tart (mara or gariguette) calls for either a verbena infusion for the more savoury palate or a highly fragrant raspberry liqueur from the Domaine de Ladoucette in Pouilly-surLoire for a richer combination. A simple dish of hulled strawberries served with sugar and a dash of lemon can be sampled with tea, preferably slightly astringent Japanese green tea such as Sencha, or possibly a more floral tea such as wulong Tie Guan Yin for its contrast. If the strawberries and sugar are sprinkled with mint leaves, try a glass of fresh mint-flavoured milk or milk with fresh mint leaves such as the nana variety.
Charlotte aux biscuits roses de Reims, mousse lgre la fraise parseme de pistaches concasses.
Si lon prpare les fraises en gratin ou en soupe dans une infusion de When preparing strawberries as a gratin or soup in a citronella infucitronnelle ( servir juste tide), la boisson idale pour laccompagner sion (served just warm), the ideal beverage to accompany it is verbena est la verveine et mme la verveine menthe quand la citronnelle est or even mint verbena if the citronella is garnished with mint leaves. agrmente de feuille de menthe. Another good combination: strawberry sorbet with hibiscus iced tea Autre mariage plaisant: le sorbet aux fraises avec un th glac (made from leaves from tea fermented in China), renowned for being l'hibiscus (base de feuilles dun th ferment de Chine) rput pour a thirst-quencher. The hibiscus is a red tropical flower that produces tre dsaltrant; lhibiscus est une fleur tropicale rouge qui donne a pink liqueur and whose floral and tangy fragrance is similar to the une liqueur rose et un parfum proche du carcad gyptien, la fois Egyptian carcade. floral et acidul. If sticking with the fraisier or strawberry millefeuille, it is best to samAvec le fraisier ou le millefeuille aux fraises, on peut oser des boissons ple with stronger beverages whose alcohol strengthens the scent of plus fortes, lalcool pouvant renforcer les fragrances de la pulpe de the strawberry pulp. Choose between a heavily iced vodka or a sake fraise. Au choix, une vodka bien frappe, ou un sak servi frais ou served chilled or at room temperature such as the Sato no homare temprature ambiante comme celui appel Sato no homare Junmai Daiginjo available at the Workshop dIss in Paris, whose Junmai Daiginjo disponible au Workshop dIss Paris, dune mellowness is almost velvety. Another treat : combine a strawberry douceur veloute. Autre plaisir, associer un blanc-manger la fraise blancmange with a Billecart-Salmon ros brut champagne or a avec un champagne ros brut Billecart-Salmon ou un ros de saigne Duval Leroy ros de saigne with its strong soft fruit scents. This adds Duval Leroy aux parfums vifs de fruits rouges. Subtile alternative: fruitiness and fragrance to the champagne without spoiling it. Even garder le jus de 500 g de fraises presses, y ajouter un jus de citron et better : reserve the juice of 500 g of pressed strawberries, add lemon une cuillere de sucre blanc, et couvrir le tout dun verre de ros ou juice and a spoonful of white sugar and pour a glass of ros or ros de saigne over the mixture. ros de saigne.