It used to be that travel for me was all about trying new food. Or not entirely about that, but it was a big part of it. Whether exploring supermarkets or trying dishes I’d heard of, eating out, it was all part of the experience.
Heading to a country which is famed for its bread, its cheese…is great. Until you have intolerances for gluten and dairy in the family. At which point pretty much every snack van and standard ‘must try’ food is off-limits.
But we did have some nice jam. So that was good.
Sometimes the found item is the unexpectedly good thing when you are not expecting much. Don’t get me wrong, going to France, we weren’t worrying about food being disappointing. It’s just that it’s difficult when not everyone can have the specials.
But back to the jam. It was a mainstay for all of us, actually. Lots of activities, lots of travel and jumping between metros and RERs and lots of people. So when you get in at the end of a long day, kick off your shoes and breathe, a good snack is worth its weight.
Cherries. A good balance of set to jelly element, as well as the skin to add some bulk, some mouth feel. It worked on toast, on rice cake, stirred into yoghurt, all the important stuff.
Jam is a bit of a mainstay in any case. Good jam, on holiday, is both sustaining and also a treat. It lifts up the everyday element of the ingredient, makes it special.
We did find some almost-specials, it turned out. Some gluten-free versions of pain de campagne (country bread), even gluten-free madeleines. But the jam might be the more likely contender for my Proustian moment.
Some day I may publish some ersatz memoir ‘Jams I have known’, tracking my appreciation of jams sampled in different places. Gooseberry is Poland. Rhubarb is Scottish Borders/Northumbria. And now, cherry is for France.