Know your way around fish in France.
With over 3,400 kilometres of coastline in three separate water bodies it is no wonder that fish is a major part of the French diet.
Many of the species will be familiar to the British visitor or newcomer, plenty of them are caught in UK waters.
Common Fish in France and Their English Names
- Bar (Sea Bass)
- Cabillaud (Cod)
- Dorade (Sea Bream) Dorade Grise (Black Bream) Dorade Royale (Gilthead Bream)
- Maquereau (Mackerel)
- Saumon (Salmon)
- Merlu (Hake)
- Lotte (Monkfish)
- Sole (Sole)
- Truite (Trout)
- Thon (Tuna)
- Saint-Pierre (John Dory)
- Rouget (Red Mullet)
- Haddock (Smoked Haddock)
- Raie (Skate)
- Turbot (Turbot)
- Barbue (Brill)
- Merlan (Whiting)
No doubt supermarkets sell thousands of tonnes of fish every year, some of it excellent there may be better places to buy it.
Nothing can beat the straight off the boat experience in terms of freshness, especially if we are talking about small local dayboats that are only out for a few hours, in fact except for Sardines Mackerel and Herring you would do better to leave the fish for a couple of days before eating. Ensure you do not squash it in the fridge or on your way home.
Lots of ports such as Fecamp and Honfleur in Normandy and Perros Gueric in Brittany have market type stalls permanently set up so that fishermen landing can sell their catch.
Some ports have Co-operative fish markets, Fecamp has one of the best. It is so busy you take a raffle ticket and wait to be called. There are usually 4 or 5 servers a packer and a cashier. If you have bought shellfish they will cook it whilst you wait.
Other ports have huge fishmonger shops, sometimes they are at the front of the Wholesalers, this is true in Douarnenez in Brittany.
Another good choice is the fish stall on the markets and the fish vans that turn up in village squares all over France. Two tips though, if it smells of fish walk away. Fresh fish doesn’t smell. Secondly if there is a queue it is good. Watch what the locals buy and follow suit.
Here are a few useful terms
- Filleting – Filetage
- Descaling – Écaillage
- Gutting – Éviscération
- Skinning – Épluchage
- Cleaning – Nettoyage
- Trimming – Parage
- Cutting – Découpe
- Portioning – Portionnage
- Boning – Désossage
- Butterflying – Papillonnage
