What food to take and what food to buy in France?

[stephena]

We are setting off for France on Saturday first time abroad with the Caravan in tow as we only bought our first caravan last year (gulp!).

Friends of ours told us the Juice/Squash Cordials over there are very different so we should take our own as their kids wouldnt touch the French stuff, so it got me thinking what else should I take with me and more importantly is there anything I am not allowed to take with me?

Are we allowed to take meat? Yoghurts? Alcohol?

I appreciate you dont take coal up to Newcastle so you shouldnt need to take food into france but with young children I would prefer to make sure we have at least enough to satisfy there every whim for the first couple of days.

Many thanks in advance

Steve

 

[ValA.]

You can take what you want - take whatever the children must have! If they like squashes then take some - but do get them to try the French variety - my sons used to like it more, but they aren't as sweet as the British bottled squash. There are literally thousands of types of yoghurt in French supermarkets, so don't bother - except for taking enough for a day or so. Don't take alcohol - wine, beer, and spirits are all cheaper or the same price as in Britain - and there's generally more choice of wines and beers. Take staples, breakfast cereals, pasta, rice, spices, herbs, sauces, baked beans if they like them, tea and coffee, salt and vinegar, and empty the fridge and put whatever's left in your caravan fridge.
In France buy fresh fruits, salads and vegetables, fresh meat (more expensive but better quality so eat less and 'make things' rather than slap a slab of meat on the barbecue), fresh fish, and fresh bread - all yummy. You can even buy 'sliced white loaves' now in the bigger French supermarkets. Get the children to try the Steak Hache (burgers - but lean meat and very tasty). Yoghurts are good and the variety of other 'yoghurt-type' things has to be seen to be believed. Obviously French cheeses, pates, sliced meats, Jambon de Paris tastes like the ham you remember, not the wishy-washy stuff we get here, ......................... Sausages are very different, so if they are a 'must have' consider taking a pack frozen in the caravan freezer.
Supermarket cafeterias often have a really good deal on meals, for adults, and usually also do a 'Menu Enfant' - a children's menu which usually includes a starter, main course, dessert, and a drink, often with a gift. This is better quality than you get in Britain, but may be 'different' so your children may be a bit reluctant. There is often a microwave, free of charge, for warming things up - and water dispensers with carafes and glasses, often with an ice dispenser too. Coffees sometimes come from a machine, using a token but are blow-your-head-off strong usually! Even the McDonald's food in France is better than here - and you can have a beer with your meal!
We've holidayed in France with our sons since the eldest was a few months old - and he's now thirty-one! Both sons are great cooks, great enthusiasts about French food, and still do French camping holidays with their friends now!
I hope this is helpful! Enjoy your holiday - and do report back on how you went on.

 

[stephena]

Val thank you so much for your response, it's exactly what i was hoping for and has left me in no doubt what we we should be taking. I will report back on our adventure in 2 and a half week's time : )

 

[thursdays child]

Stephana, we usually take our own bacon,spreads for bread ang baked beans because the French versions are not as good as ours in our opinion.Everything else is great and especially the bread,fish,veg and salads. You will enjoy the huge variety of food in the markets and shops.Just be aware of the restricted opening hours.
Enjoy the experience.Vive le difference!!!!
Thursdays Child

 

[smiley]

I always take tea bags with me the usual things to start off with and a few tins for stand bys....Crisps and cereals are things I get lots of...

 

[otherclive]

If your like MOH she takes almost everything and then brings it back!! We have recently spent 4 weeks in France and just finished the Wensleydale cheese that was taken and then brought back. This to a country with some 630 cheeses too.!!!

 

[NickinFrance]

About the only things we bring back to France from trips to the UK are Bacon & Savoury Snacks (Pork Pies etc.)
British Branded foodstuffs can be expensive, so if you must have your Kellogg's Corn Flakes or Heinz Baked Beans, expect to pay through the nose for them.

 

[chrisbee1]

Enough bacon for a full English every morning. French bacon is the only French food not to my taste.

 

[ValA.]

A full English? We don't have that at home for breakfast, let alone in France!!!!!! Sacre Bleu! What about the lovely baguettes and croissants, Pain au Chocolat, Pain au Raisin, and all the great 'confitures' (jams and preserves) - or even the 'full continental', sometimes, with cheeses, sliced meats, fruits and yoghurts, but a cooked breakfast, no thanks.
We do have a bacon sandwich at lunchtime occasionally if we've taken a pack with us.

 

[NickinFrance]

Fried English bacon in French bread, best of both worlds

 

[RayS]

Small pots of mint sauce (ex Morrisons) to go with the Sisteron lamb

 

[chrisbee1]

Come on Val, give me a break!. On holiday is the only time I can get Mrs Chrisbee to cook me a fry-up.

 

[ValA.]

Ahh, now I understand. Perhaps if Mr Val A cooked breakfast for me, I might be more enthusiastic about a 'Full English'!!! Mind you, I do get a 'cuppa in bed!

 

[JoannaLesley]

I'm with Val (her first posting) on this. We take a few bits and pieces to get us through the first day or day - particularly as we usually cross on a Saturday afternoon and we may not find much in the way of shops until the Monday. This is often a cold chicken which we can have with salad, in sandwiches or as a fricassee - whatever. We also take tea bags and a few basics are transferred from our home fridge. Permanents in the van are a small bag of rice, pasta, flour, oil, condiments and a few tins such as tuna, soup and baked beans for emergencies.
Once Monday comes, we do a big (well, biggish!) shop and "go native" until the end of our stay.

Jo

 

[MartinLeFour]

Will someone bring me some bacon, it's the only thing we miss living here.
What makes me laugh is the little English section they have in some supermarkets and they way the English get excited when they see it, makes me laugh how stereotyped we are aswell, baked beans, HP, frey bentos pies, porridge and dairy milk chocolate.
We've found a big shop that sells Asda, Tesco and Sainsbury's food.

 

[MikeJE]

One favourite we found in France, and not so easy to come by in England, was Ginger Marmalade. But it was in the spices section ! And it got the French equivalent of "yeurrgh" at the check out.

 

[JohnGriffiths]

The thing that strikes me in France is how restricted they are to all things French. Don't get me wrong, they have some very good food but do not recognise any other cuisines but French and a bit of italian so if you like a curry or chilli or cajun or mexican, take the spices, paste or sauce with you. (We brits should be proud of our willingness to try other cuisines.) Their sliced bread is awful, sweet and loaded with preservatives, some have a shelf life of months.
Despite having hundreds of cheeses they do not sell (IMHO and experience) a good strong melting cheese like cheddar so if you like cheese on toast, take some with you. And as others have said, bacon and pork sausages. Occasionally you can find something called poitrine (fine tranche) that is a bit like proper bacon. How can any nation proud of its food have missed the bacon sandwich!
But again, please don't think I'm anti french food, I love it, I just wish they reciprocated.

 

[MagsAlan]

We were staying on a site near a small village called Chef Bouttone in Poitou Charente and it was either there in the little intermarche or at the larger but by no means mega supermarket in nearby Melle where we spotted Cathedral City cheddar on the cheese counter.....there is hope yet

 

[ValA.]

The thing that strikes me in France is how restricted they are to all things French. Don't get me wrong, they have some very good food but do not recognise any other cuisines but French and a bit of italian so if you like a curry or chilli or cajun or mexican, take the spices, paste or sauce with you. (We brits should be proud of our willingness to try other cuisines.) Their sliced bread is awful, sweet and loaded with preservatives, some have a shelf life of months.
Despite having hundreds of cheeses they do not sell (IMHO and experience) a good strong melting cheese like cheddar so if you like cheese on toast, take some with you. And as others have said, bacon and pork sausages. Occasionally you can find something called poitrine (fine tranche) that is a bit like proper bacon. How can any nation proud of its food have missed the bacon sandwich!
But again, please don't think I'm anti french food, I love it, I just wish they reciprocated.

Many of the larger French supermarkets now have a 'World Food' section where you can certainly find Old El Paso sauces, tortilla, nachos, etc., as well as curry sauces and chinese sauces. It's becoming more common these days, and even in the little supermarket we used they had one or two 'World' offerings!

 

[chrisbee1]

Their sliced bread is awful, sweet and loaded with preservatives, some have a shelf life of months.

The bakers in the little French village I was in a couple of weeks ago would slice any of their delicious loaves for you. Much nicer than supermarket sliced bread

 

[MartinLeFour]

They even sell bread with the crusts cut off, great for kids but i'm 40, the bread is poor but you get used to it, it's always small aswell, not like a nice warburtons toastie.
Unfortunately the French aren't into anything spicey, hence why it's difficult to find stuff but as mentioned above a lot of places do now sell curry sauces and chinese sauces so maybe they are getting a little bit adventurous but our neighbours are very traditional and stick with French food.
Closest thing you'll get to a sausage is a Tolouse sausage, very nice, strongest cheese they do is emmental, stinks the house out when you open it but tastes no-where near like it smells.

 

[Gafferbill]

Steve ……. your children may surprise you!

Back in the early 1980’s when my son was 7years old and we were on holiday in France, my wife bought what she thought was a tin of stewing steak in a French supermarket.
On opening the tin we could not recognise the contents, so we examined the French labelling more closely to discover it contained about six whole pigs tongues.
No way were we adults or my daughter going to eat these….
................my son scoffed the whole tin as if it was the best thing he had ever tasted!!

I still shudder at the thought to this day

 

[loadsadogs]

"six whole pigs tongues.
No way were we adults or my daughter going to eat these….
................my son scoffed the whole tin as if it was the best thing he had ever tasted!!

I still shudder at the thought to this day"

Gafferbill, what goes around, comes around. If your son is out there reading this forum, EXPECT SOME REVENGE

Richly deserved too!

 

[loadsadogs]

Has anyone mentioned milk? We assumed there would be a whole aisle of milk in various forms, as in our supermarkets, but not so at the places we went. Lots of longlife, but only a tiny section in the chiller for fresh everyday milk.

 

[JohnGriffiths]

Yes you're right, I forgot the milk. For a country who supposedly like fresh foods, why do they only have long life milk? Mind you, its not bad for longlife, just not as good as the real thing. ANd chickens aren't a patch on British chickens, they're stringy,, small and vastly overpriced.,You would think with all those EU subsidies they could make 'em a bit cheaper.
And yes to those who mention the world food section. But this is only in the largest supermarkets in areas where there are plenty of tourists.
But to balance things out, they do make nice cakes..