Mushrooms in the Markets in the Loire Valley

Good markets in the Loire Valley have mushrooms for sale. They fall into two categories -- cultivated (truffles, buttons and chestnuts in various sizes, several species of oysters, shiitake and wood blewits) or wild foraged (ceps and boletes, chanterelles and girolles, morels, trompettes de la morte and hedgehog). Expect to pay between €800 and €1200/kg for truffles (a ping pong ball sized truffle costs about €30), €10 - €15/kg for cave grown and €25 - €30/kg for wild foraged. Supermarket button mushrooms (champignons de Paris) are about €2.50/kg.

Black Truffles at the specialist market that is held once a month over winter.

If you would like to see the markets where they are sold, visit an underground mushroom farm or meet expert mushroom foragers let us know when you book your tour with us.

Wild foraged Chanterelles at a greengrocers in rue Daguerre, Paris.

A truffle orchard.

To enquire about our private guided tours of chateaux, wineries, markets and more email us or use our contact form. More tour ideas can be found on the Loire Valley Time Travel website.

The reality of market shopping in the autumn in the Loire Valley :-).

Mushrooms being cultivated in a troglodyte cave.

Shiitakes growing in a troglodyte cave.

Chestnut mushrooms (champignons rose in French).

A selection of ceps and boletes gathered by us in our local forest.

Susan's friend Dominique teaching members of the public how not to die by accidentally picking and eating a Deathcap.

Hendrick the mushroom man with his cave grown mushrooms at the market in Loches. Sadly, he  retired in January, but this was where we usually bought our mushrooms.

Homemade mushroom ragout with polenta, made using a mixture of mushrooms bought at the market -- button, blewits, oysters, shiitake, porcini, girolles.

Homemade sautéed cave grown button mushrooms, onions and lardons.

Homemade cultivated White Ferula Mushrooms (a highly sought after and rarely grown type of oyster mushroom) in cream and garlic sauce.

A wild foraged Bay Bolete (closely related to ceps/porcini) prepared for cooking at home.

Yellow Oyster Mushrooms being cultivated in a troglodyte cave.

 

Why are There so Many Poplar Plantations in the Loire Valley?

 

As you travel around the Loire Valley you will most probably notice a lot of poplar plantations -- regimented lines of trees on the low lying ground near the many rivers in the area. I've frequently been asked what these trees are used for. People often know that poplars were used for making matches, but who uses matches these days! The answer is much more interesting and unique to France.

 

The wood is used to make crates for taking fruit to market, and especially for making the little round boxes that cheese like camembert comes in. There are lots of other uses too, and if you'd like to find out more, let us know when you book your tour with us.

 

 

Vintage fruit boxes, lovingly preserved by our local organic orchard.

 To enquire about our private guided tours of chateaux, wineries, markets and more email us or use our contact form. More tour ideas can be found on the Loire Valley Time Travel website.

How Tapestries Tell History in the Loire Valley

You would think that the story this tapestry coat of arms tells is all about the family who used this striking emblem. And indeed it does tell us something about them, but we have been unable to find out their name. What this tapestry patch tells us is something much broader about how the economy and society functioned in the 16th century in France. From it we can tell a lot about the history of this tapestry, without needing to know the name of the aristocrat whose symbol was lions and a golden palm tree. Intrigued? Then book a tour with us and all will be revealed.

To enquire about our private guided tours of chateaux, wineries, markets and more email us or use our contact form. More tour ideas can be found on the Loire Valley Time Travel website.

Tapestry Tricks in the Loire Valley

Can you tell what is wrong with these tapestries? Or at least, one of them.

If you would like to find out more about the history and modern conservation of tapestries, then book a tour with us. We can include tapestries in a more general tour of the chateaux (Chenonceau, Cheverny and Langeais have especially good tapestries) or you can choose a more indepth niche tour that just concentrates on tapestries. Either way you would learn what the problem with the tapestry on the left is, and what was being done about it.

To enquire about our private guided tours of chateaux, wineries, markets and more email us or use our contact form. More tour ideas can be found on the Loire Valley Time Travel website.

What Stained Glass Can Tell You at Chenonceau

The stained glass in the chapel at the Chateau of Chenonceau may be 20th century, but that doesn't mean it isn't interesting. In fact, the story of why it is there and what happened to the original glass tells you a lot about the history of the building and modern heritage conservation.

To enquire about our private guided tours of chateaux, wineries, markets and more email us or use our contact form. More tour ideas can be found on the Loire Valley Time Travel website.

Angles sur l'Anglin, One of the Most Beautiful Villages in France

Small but beautiful villages are a special category in France. They have banded together to have their own co-operative marketing and website and are officially designated as les plus beaux villages de France (the most beautiful villages in France). They are all quite tiny as one of the requirements is to have a population of less than 200 people. All of them are well worth visiting, full of stunning views and thousands of photo opportunities.

Angles sur l'Anglin isn't strictly in the Loire Valley so you may wonder why I am featuring it on the blog. The reason is that it is a popular day trip if you are based in the Touraine Loire Valley and want to pop over into the neighbouring Poitou province. The Anglin River winds through the town and is much loved for canoeing. The ruined castle was built by the English to defend their territory in medieval times. The town is home to many artists working in ceramics, paint, textiles and glass. If you would like to visit we will do our best to include it on your itinerary.

Looking down on the river in Angles sur l'Anglin.

To enquire about our private guided tours of chateaux, wineries, markets and more email us or use our contact form. More tour ideas can be found on the Loire Valley Time Travel website.

Not a Chateau, But Just as Interesting

The grand building in the photograph is not a chateau. It's the service building for a famous chateau -- so you can imagine what the chateau itself looks like! Anyway, in this building all sorts of fascinating displays await the discerning and clever visitor -- who heads for this building in peak times when the the chateau itself is heaving and not a nice visitor experience. Because this building isn't a chateau it gets far fewer visitors. And if your background is medical or military, you are in for a treat and we will make sure you see it.

To enquire about our private guided tours of chateaux, wineries, markets and more email us or use our contact form. More tour ideas can be found on the Loire Valley Time Travel website.