Bretagne

Brittany

Appears in
Hows and Whys of French Cooking
Hows and Whys of French Cooking

By Alma Lach

Published 1974

  • About
A peninsula that stretches farther out into the Atlantic than any other part of France, Brittany is surrounded on three sides by salt water. Even in its central region of gentle hills and swift streams, one is never far from the sea and its influences.

The Bretons, like their Celtic cousins of Great Britain, are seafarers. Like the Portuguese, they still sail to the Banks of Newfoundland to fish for cod. Along their own shores they cultivate oysters of several varieties and trap lobsters, both the homard and the langouste. From the rivers of Brittany come trout, shad, salmon, pike, and eels.