Each season has its own little pleasures. Spring is dressed in red to attract sweet tooths: rhubarb, strawberry, redcurrant, cherry, Alsace is full of fresh fruits named Desire.
Spring smoothies
They come back in the summer, for breakfast or as a snack during the day. Simple and quick to make, smoothies offer an excellent energy intake and allow for delicious combinations.
You can choose a banana base with strawberries and mint, or a rhubarb stem.
For a vegan recipe, replace cow’s milk with almond milk for a delicious cherry smoothie. And 600 g of raspberries go well with 4 plain yoghurts, 1 lime juice and 14 mint leaves.
It’s up to you to imagine your own refreshing recipes!
The Strawberry
May – June
In Alsace, the strawberry is marketed throughout the territory thanks to the fifty or so local producers, and it can be harvested by oneself in the free pickings. Low in calories, it is one of the richest fruits in vitamin C and takes over from winter citrus. Whether sweet or savory, it can be eaten without moderation!
Among the early varieties, we find Clery, Darselect, Joly and Magnum, and on the side of the late varieties, we like Candiss of very good taste and Malwina, the very last.
The cherry
May – June – July
The cherries are harvested about 40 days after flowering, between May and July depending on the variety. The earliest ones appear around May 15. The village of Westhoffen celebrates its harvest every year in June.
The best specimens of this emblematic fruit of the region can be found in the valleys and the Vosges foothills, as well as in the plain of the Grand Ried. There are about ten local varieties, of which the most famous are: the black guigne of Osenbach, the black of Westhoffen and the morello cherry of Ostheim.
The guignes are used to make the famous “cherry soup” and accompany game dishes. The other varieties indulge in delicious desserts, clafoutis, jams, brandies, syrups and liqueurs.
Rhubarb
April – May – June
Rhubarb is one of the many Alsatian specialties. We love it in jam or meringue pie, in juice and even in wine. However, rhubarb is a vegetable! When it is marbled with red, it gains in maturity, fragrance, juice and acidity. The riper the rhubarb, the more acidic it is. Exit the desserts, this spring, we try it lightly caramelized with a poultry in cider, in salted pie with cabecou, on a fish fillet in foil, or in the juice of a roast.
Do you know rhubarb wine?
The very famous “Crillon des Vosges” is a rhubarb wine, ideal as an aperitif, with foie gras or strong cheeses, as well as with desserts. In Xertigny in the Vosges, the Moine family has transformed this poor man’s “wine” into a high-end beverage now served on starred tables.
The currant
June – July – August
This fruit is full of vitality and announces the end of spring. Alsace loves redcurrants, raw or in a tart, red or white. However, the production of currants in Alsace remains rare.
Not far away, in Bar-le-Duc (55), the redcurrant jam is a local specialty, whose oldest mention in Meuse, goes back to the 14th century.
The making of this jam is meticulous and unique in the world: each seed is deseeded with a quill pen! The Dutriez House is today the only family business that perpetuates this know-how.
Buying local is part of the stability and sustainability of the region. The small producers of Alsace thank you!
