Rillettes, a centuries-old gastronomic speciality.
Rillettes, a centuries-old gastronomic speciality.
Indispensable when it comes to spending a convivial moment with friends over an aperitif or a warm meal, rillettes have been a staple on rural tables since the Middle Ages.
Appeared in the 15th century in Touraine, rillettes are characterized by their traditional preparation, their golden color and their shredded texture with pieces of pork.
Quickly, the reputation of Touraine rillettes spread, in particular thanks to the writers who praised them in their works.
François Rabelais thus evokes “brown pig jam” in his Tiers Livre (1546).
An expression taken up, three centuries later, by Honoré de Balzac in Le Lys dans la vallée (1836), a novel in which he recounts his life in Touraine, at the Château de Saché.
If Touraine, today incorporated into the department of Indre-et-Loire, can claim the paternity of real rillettes, it is the city of Le Mans that will make the product gain fame.
And the reason for this popularity is simple: as early as 1900, a couple of craftsmen-butchers from Sarthe, Albert and Blanche Lhuissier, had the good idea to take advantage of the establishment of a railway line between Le Mans and Paris. to set up a small stand of Le Mans rillette sandwiches on the station platform.
A snack on the go, which allows railway workers to discover this tasty preparation and bring it back to Paris.
You now know how to accompany an aperitif or a meal: with delicious rillettes!
