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Grand Est

Munster (not Turckheim!) - Alsace - France

There are ten départments in the Grand Est region (Ardennes, Aube, Collectivité européenne d'Alsace (Haut-Rhin et Bas Rhin), Haute-Marne, Marne, Meurthe-et-Moselle, Meuse, Moselle and Vosges). This includes the historic regions of Alsace-Lorraine and Champagne-Ardennes; Strasbourg is the capital.

The former Alsace-Lorraine, annexed by Germany in 1871 and returned to France after the First World War, is the land of hearty Franco-German fare and jovial winstubs (wine cellar taverns), quiche Lorraine and choucroute garnie with plenty of smoked meats and dishes with names that visiting French people have a hard time pronouncing such as baeckeoffe and Flammekueche.

Plums, especially quetsches and mirabelles, are widely grown; you can even find proper North American blueberries in the Vosges.

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andouillette

tripe or chitterlings sausage

baeckeoffe

Alsatian slow baked casserole

beerawecka

fruitcake

bergamote

bergamot and candy from Nancy

bibeleskaes

‘chick cheese’

bière

beer

biscuits roses de Reims

pink biscuits to go with your bubbly

bleuet (or bluet)

blueberry

boulets de Metz

chocolate covered ‘cannon balls’

brési

salt smoked beef

bretzel

pretzel

cacasse à cul nul

potatoes in roux from the Ardennes

caisses de Wassy

light almond meringues

carpe frite

fried carp

Champagne

world famous bubbly

Chaourse

a unique cow’s milk cheese

chardons lorrains

booze-filled ‘thistles’

choucroute garnie

sauerkraut with sausage and pork

croquets and rochers de Saint-Mihiel

almond biscuits and chocolate ‘rocks’

dragées

Jordan almonds

eierküeche

Alsacian pancakes

Flammekueche

Alsatian cheese, bacon and onion tart

Fleischnacka

meaty pinwheels

fumé vosgien

smoked pork

fuseau Lorrain

a soft smoked sausage

gâteau Saint-Epvre

jets de houblon

hops shoots

knack

Alsatian hot dogs

Knepples

Alsace-style ravioli

Kouglof

ring cake from Alsace

Landjäger

smoked and dried sausage

Langres

cow’s milk cheese with a dip

loriquette

ancient Gaulish pastry

madeleines

Proust’s memory inducing little cakes

Mettwurscht

German-Alsatian sausage

mirabelle

round yellow or rose-tinted plums

Munster

soft cheese from the Vosges

pain d’épices

spiced honey bread

plombières

ice cream with kirsch, and candied fruit

pâté lorrain

pâté in puff pastry

quiche Lorraine

cream, egg, bacon and cheese tart

raves salées

choucroute, Franche-Comté style

salade au lard

potato salad, Ardennes style

Saucisse de Montbéliard

essential in a choucroute garnie

saucisse de Morteau

popular smoked sausage

spaetzle

dumplings

tofailles

potato dish from the Vosges

Text © Dana Facaros

Image by Philippe SERRAND