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The culinary secrets of Gallo lands.
Explore the magnificent country of Fougères and discover a centuries-old culinary tradition: pommé. Also known as 'black butter' in the Channel Islands, pommé is an apple-based preparation that embodies both the history and friendliness of this region.
Pommé, a delicious autumn preparation, can be confusing in Brittany. In Cancale, it comes in the form of an apple turnover, while elsewhere it can be transformed into a large square cake. However, in the region of Bazouges-la-Pérouse, near Mont Saint-Michel, “le pommé” is an apple jam prepared in large copper basins and “ramagoué” in the open air for hours.
The recipe
1
CUT
To prepare this delicacy, start by cutting about 3 kg of apples of different varieties into quarters. Place them in a large pot with 500 ml of unfiltered apple juice or water. Cover the pot, bring the apples to the boil, and let them simmer for 30 to 40 minutes, until they turn into a compote. This compote may have a slight pinkish tint, given by the skin of the apples.
2
MEASURE AND COOK
Once you have obtained this compote, measure it, for each 200 ml of compote, add 50 g of sugar (for 1 liter of compote, add 250 g of sugar). Also add half a stick of cinnamon.
Cooking the apple is the most important phase. Cook the compote over low heat for 3 to 4 hours, stirring occasionally. At the start of cooking, stir every 5 to 10 minutes, but towards the end, stir more frequently to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
3
Test
When your apple starts to thicken, put a small spoonful in a cold saucer. If there is still a ring of liquid around the apple, continue cooking. You often have to test the apple several times before it is ready...that is, when there is no more liquid around the apple. The original recipe took more than 24 hours of cooking, depending on individual tastes, 3 to 4 hours of cooking is sometimes not enough.
The history of the apple
The history and traditional recipe of pommé goes back several generations. Until the Second World War, peasant families prepared this delicacy from apple harvests. Pommé was an everyday food, often spread on bread, and it was nicknamed 'poor man's butter.' In Ille-et-Vilaine, pommé was particularly popular until the 1930s.
The tradition of pommé is anchored in community life. The inhabitants gathered to prepare the apple, thus creating long autumn evenings filled with conviviality. Children, women, elders, and even men returning from the fields participated in the preparation. Cooking the apple was a shared moment, where we sang, played music, and created unforgettable memories.
Today, this culinary tradition continues, and pommé is a local specialty that you can taste during your visit to Fougères and its surroundings. Discover the authenticity of this culinary preparation, steeped in the history and culture of the region, and savor the unique taste of pommé, a taste treasure of Brittany. And discover with numerous recipes, cocktail, gourmet desserts et very greedy.
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