What is La Chandeleur ?

This Friday 2nd of February in most of the French family houses Crêpes will be eaten !

So best time to republish one of my blog article about La Chandeleur ! with a new link with many addresses in Paris to eat a good crêpes

After the galette des Rois, eaten mainly in January, the gourmet tradition of the French at the beginning of February is Chandeleur.

Traditions and customs associated to “La Chandeleur” (Candelmas)

This was also a pagan and Latin tradition: the festa candelarum. Which too has become a religious celebration : it corresponds to the presentation of Christ in the Temple. La Chandeleur is celebrated on February 2, 40 days after Christmas.

But, I think that the vast majority of French pleople do not associate Candlemas with religion but essentially with a gourmet pleasure that are pancakes = Les Crêpes.

Many symbolism are attached to the Candlemas and to the pancakes which by their round shape and their color call the solar disc, evoking the return of spring after the dark and cold winter.

Old traditions and symbolism also persist in some families when making pancakes, one of which is to blow the pancakes in the right hand by holding a gold coin in the left hand (for example a louis d ‘ gold or any coins) in order to have prosperity throughout the year, it is a question of ensuring that the pancake lands correctly in the pan.

Crêpes or Galettes ?

In France, a crêperie will offer both savory pancakes that are called in Britany Galettes and sweet pancakes. The big difference is in the ingredients, the Galette is made only from buckwheat flour salt and water while the pancake is made from wheat flour, milk eggs and butter. So in Candlemas it is Crêpes and not Galettes that are made.

They will be enjoyed with the family either at tea time or for dessert at dinner. Pancakes are really very easy to make, we eat them very often in France with sugar, jam or with the famous chocolate spread. I confess that my favorite is a “Crêpe flambée au Grand Marnier.”

I am pretty sure that almost all French children have learned to make pancakes, because it is one of the most common afterschool snacks in France.

There are thousands of recipes on the net, I recommend that of David Lebovitz, a Californian chef who has become a Parisian food blogger for almost 20 years, and then that of Clothilde Dlussolier, already mentioned here whose recipe you can find in French or in English.

Where to eat the best Crêpes in Paris ?

On the occasion of this article, I will take this opportunity to reveal my favorite addresses of pancake shops in Paris.

The crêperies swarm in Paris and everywhere in France because it is one of the types of restaurants with the most lucrative Pizzerias which is the basic ingredients being really inexpensive and the childish conception and yet I very often happened to eat bad Galettes and Crêpes !!

Even if you can eat pancakes in all regions of France, the Buckwheat Galettes come from Brittany, so many of the first crêperies in Paris were held by Bretons. And in Paris, the regions tend to have a favorite neighborhood so the Bretons have mostly settled in the Montparnasse station neighborhood, not a big surprise: the trains from Brittany arriving at Gare Montparnasse. multitude of crêperies in and around Rue du Montparnasse.One of the famous one is the Crêperie Josselin 67 rue du Montparnasse Paris 15

But my favorite address is not in this district but more in the Marais it is the Breizh café, for me we eat the best pancakes and Galettes in Paris. I am not the only one to think so so I strongly advise you to book. They recently opened new addresses in Paris: Odéon / Montorgueil / Paul Bert. The parent company is in Brittany in Cancale and they also have a restaurant in Tokyo. For the little anecdote Breizh is the Breton word to designate Brittany.

Do not hesitate to leave me your comments and I am curious to have your feedback if you made your first pancakes 🙂

What is La Chandeleur ?

Traditions and customs associated to “La Chandeleur” (Candelmas)

Crêpes or Galettes ?

Where to eat the best Crêpes in Paris ?

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