One
fruit that’s always in season is pineapple, and the spiky beauties really
help to brighten up winter, especially when you’ve had your fill of
apples and pears. I like eating fresh pineapple after a meal because not
only is it refreshing, but it has a pleasant acidity that tends to make
me feel good about eating it. Although not local (we wish! because that
would mean a tropical beach nearby…), pineapples are always available at
the markets in Paris. You can get regular pineapples, sometimes called
“Red Spanish” or “Cayenne” pineapples in the world of pineapples
(although I think that second variety might give spice-averse locals
pause), and there are also slender, smaller Victoria
pineapples, that are much sweeter, although yield less edible flesh. (In
the United States, there are Tahitian
pineapples, which have similar characteristics.
I
was reading Baking Chez Moi,
Dorie Greenspan’s comprehensive, and deliciously readable book, about
French home baking, and she notes that Parisians don’t bake the way
Americans do. Americans bake to relax or as a hobby – in France, it’s
something you do because, well…you need a dessert. They don’t make a big
fuss about it or are all that concerned about appearances. I think people
know they can’t compete with the professional pastry shop on the corner,
so they’re just content to make what they feel will be fine for their
guests. And in my experience, French people are always appreciative of
homemade desserts, since so many people do go to the corner pâtisserie.
 No
one expects to go to a dinner party and find a spectacular cake for
dessert, unless it was picked up at the local pastry shop. And there’s
certainly no shame in that. People often ask me about how Parisians make
macarons or baguettes or croissants, and I answer that no one makes those
in Paris since you can buy them, good-quality ones, almost anywhere. Like
charcuterie, they leave it up to the experts. French home bakers also
tend to rely on reliable, tried-and-true desserts, always having a few in
their repertoire, often passed down from their mothers – or in the case
of chocolate mousse, the most famous recipe in France is on the back of
the Nestlé chocolate baking bar package, sold in le supermarché.
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