Thursday 21 March 2013

Removals to France - European Removals - A Guide to Regional Food in France

At Hamiltons Removals we specialise in high quality domestic and commercial removals to France. We are proud of our reputation and dedicated to providing the very best in customer service. All of our removals are carried out to your exact requirements and our range of services include full or part load removals, storage, packing and unpacking and even the cleaning of the property you have vacated.

If you are moving to France, one of the things you will doubtless already be aware of, alongside their great weather and high standard of living, is their wonderful cuisine. France is famous for its food and wine, and whilst that, in itself, might not be reason enough to seek  removals to France, it will go a long way to making the experience more palatable.

French cuisine varies greatly from region to region, so depending on where you are moving house, or relocating offices to, your removals to France  could see you enjoying mussels cooked in white wine, rabbit in a mushroom sauce or even foie gras and truffles. Here for your delight and delectation, is our pick of some of the most well-known local specialities.

Removals to France - click here to find out more about our removals to France service.

Removals to France - A Gourmet’s Guide to Some of the Regional Dishes

Alsace - Alsatian food tends to be rather rich and quite heavy. A typical meal here is a thick and tasty stew called Baeckeoffe.  Made from pork, lamb or beef and vegetables, the meat  is marinated in wine for two days, then layered top and bottom with potato, before being baked.

Aquitaine - Famed for its foie gras, truffles and ham, Aquitaine is a foodies’ delight. Foie gras is served as starter, or side dish, and can be eaten on its own, or more commonly with cold French toast. The pate has a delicate, buttery taste and is sometimes served  with fig, plum, or raspberry marmalade.

Auvergne - Auvergne has five  different cheeses which qualify for the AOC marque. Among these are Cantal, Saint-Nectaire, the Blue d'Auvergne and Fourme d'Ambert. These cheesy delights are often served up with Auvergne's famous dry sausage, farmhouse bread or   aligot, a tasty potato dish.

Bourgogne - No trip to Burgundy would be complete without a taste of the local classics: boeuf bourguignon,  escargots à la bourgogne and coq au vin. And where better to try these than in Burgundy, where there are no less than 29 Michelin starred restaurants with three achieving the coveted 3 star rating.

Bretagne -  Seafood is the order of the day in Brittany and the oysters found here are wonderful. Whether you opt for rock oysters (huitres creuses) or flat oysters (huitres plates) they are usually served with bread and butter, a squeeze of lemon and a red wine vinaigrette.

Centre - Upside down apple pie or tarte tatin is a classic dessert and one favoured by those in central France. Served for lunch, or dinner, the apples are caramelized in butter and sugar before baking. Originally made with reine des reinettes or calville apples, this delicious sweet should be enjoyed with a small calvados.

Champagne-Ardenne - Hearty foods are back on the menu here, such as tripe, sausage and stew. The stews, known as potees are similar to a cassoulet in that they contain a variety of local meats including: rabbit, venison or wild boar, vegetables and beans. You may even find roasted thrush served up as a rich paté.

Corse - Much of the meat produced on Corsica is free range and is therefore, very tasty. The island also produces its own honey, and cheeses made from sheep or goats milk. Corsica is famed for its chestnut products and fresh fruits including apples, clementines, peaches, melon and tomatoes.

Franche-Comte - Try making fondue in Franche-Comte - it’s traditional here! To do this, pour melted  comté (a regional cheese) into a pot of warm, garlic-infused white wine. The pot is then put on low heat on a small stove which is placed in the centre of the table. Diners dip crusty bread from long-handled forks into the alcoholic cheese mix.

Ile-de-France - The Ile-de-France area, which incorporates Paris, brings us such delights as the Paris or Portobello mushroom, the Faro apple with its acidic crunch, the Montmorency cherry and the Groslay pear.  The beef, veal, pork and lamb from the area are exceptional as is the Boudin noir de Paris, Paris ham and Houdan chicken pâté.

Languedoc-Roussillon - Local produce includes such things as olive oil and tomato sauce. These are wonderful accompaniments to their favoured dishes of grilled snails, confit de canard and bourride, a fish stew with olive oil and herb butter.

Limousin - The Limousin region produces an excellent range of foods including beef, pork, lamb and fish. There are a wide variety of fresh vegetables and mushrooms available here, as well as chestnuts, walnuts and fruit. Pudding lovers are urged to try treipaïs, made with chocolate and chestnuts on a biscuit base.

Lorraine - This region is famous for its quiche Lorraine which is essentially a savoury cake. Made with pieces of bacon, it’s not everyone's cup of tea largely because it has been imitated so often, and so appallingly! But a taste of the real thing, made in the right area, with the right ingredients, is sure to change your mind.

Midi-Pyrenees - The cuisine on offer here blends French and Spanish tastes perfectly. Here you'll find liver pâtés and confits of duck or goose, cassoulet, beef fillet, poached chicken, braised goose and Toulouse sausages served with a spicy pepper and tomato sauce. For dessert, choose Lectoure melon as this will clean the palate nicely.

Nord-Pas-de-Calais -  Turkeys and chickens rule the roost here, but the area is also noted for its seafood and escargots. Try some bread and cheese to start, perhaps vieux lille with its distinctive aroma and taste. Follow with potjevleisch, or “potch” which consists of chicken, rabbit and veal meat covered in a rich jelly and served with chips.

Normandie  - A traditional dish served up in Normandy is le brasillé, a puff pastry made with salted butter. Others include  la falue which is Normandy's brioche and la tergoule which is rice pudding flavoured with cinnamon. Top this off with calvados and any one of the 12 local cheeses.

Pays de la Loire - Coq au vin, rillettes and pithivier are popular here. Rillettes is a meat dish similar to pâté. The meat is cubed or chopped, then salted and cooked in fat until tender enough to be shredded. Pithivier is the sweet or savoury equivalent to a Cornish pasty

Picardie - Typical foods of Picardy would include Beauvaisis lamb,  colvert duck pie and  Somme River eel, accompanied by seasonal, fresh market garden vegetables like endives, artichokes, cabbages and onions. Beaten cake, a rich brioche-like cake presented in the form of a cylinder, is yummy as are macaroons with creme anglaise.

Poitou-Charentes - A true foodies’ paradise! Oysters, mussels, langoustines, crayfish, crab, sea bass, skate, sardines and eel are all caught locally. Meat eaters will love Limousin steaks or black chicken, especially when served with lightly salted and buttered Ile de Ré potatoes and the cheese lovers among you will be literally spoiled for choice.

Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur  - Ratatouille is the traditional local dish consisting of aubergine, tomato, courgette and sweet peppers cooked in a large pot with herbs, garlic and olive oil and left to simmer. Served over rice or potatoes, or with crusty French bread and a glass of red wine, it’s a real tasty treat.

Rhone-Alpes - Fondue, raclette and tartiflette are among the savoury delights here, but this is also the home of Montélimar nougat. You'll find nougats of all sorts here, some hard and crunchy, others soft and sticky; some containing nuts, others berries, some wrapped in chocolate, others in rice paper. Montélimar is to nougat what toblerone is to Swiss chocolate.

Hamiltons Removals have been providing flexible, low cost removals to France for 20 years. Our skilled operatives know the removals business inside out and our highly trained office staff are happy to help with any enquiry.

Removals to France -  click here for full information on our removals to France service or click here for a free European removals quote.

Thursday 7 March 2013

Removals to France: The History of French Cheese and a Spotlight on the Regional Specialities

If you require removals to France, you will already know that the country is famous for its cheese and there are well over 400 different types of cheeses in France. Just like with French wines, the taste of cheese varies from region to region and just as there are professional wine tasters and sommeliers, there are also professional cheese tasters in France.

From soft cheeses, to goats’ cheese, sheep’s cheese, blue cheese and hard cheese, there are all sorts of cheeses in France. And, if you like cheese, once you have organised your removals to France, you will have the opportunity to regularly visit local markets to stock up on the region’s specialities.

In the meantime, to ensure you receive excellent customer service for removals to France, Hamiltons offer high quality removals at very competitive prices. We are specialists in removals to France and, whether you require household or office moves, we will ensure that everything runs smoothly so you and your family can look forward to enjoying your new life abroad.

If you are interested in finding more about French cheeses, here’s our guide to the history of cheese in France and some regional specialities.

Removals to France – click here to find out more about our removals to France service.

History of Cheese in France

It would be almost impossible to put a date on when cheese was first invented but its origins are thought to date as far back to 8000 BC, or even earlier. There are a few ancient records of early cheese production, including pictures of milk being stored in skin bags on ancient Egyptian wall paintings.

Although it is difficult to pinpoint exactly how cheese production came about, it is thought cheese was invented quite by accident in Asia. It is believed that cheese was first made when the nomadic tribes were transporting milk in animal skins and the fermentation, together with the constant movement from travelling, churned the milk and turned it into cheese.

Word spread about this new type of food and to date there are several hundred different types of cheese produced all over the world including Scandinavia, Greece, Switzerland, Ireland, England, Holland, Germany, Italy, Poland, Russia, the US, Egypt, Brazil, Argentina and Tibet.

France, however, is one of the biggest cheese producers in the world, producing some 1,900 metric tonnes of it a year. It is also the top cheese exporter in the world and plenty of cheese is consumed at home too in France; around 57.5 pounds of cheese is eaten per head of population.

Cheese was first thought to have been introduced into France by the Romans, who perfected the art of cheese making. It was first produced in the south and west of the country and soft cheeses were initially preferred over hard cheese.

Now there are different cheeses produced all over the country and different regions have their own specialities. It will be impossible to state all of these here, so we will look at just some of these below.

So if you require removals to France, read on to find out more about the regional specialities that you can try out once your move is complete and you have settled into your brand new home.

French Cheese: Some Popular Regional Specialities

Camembert de Normandie – This is a top selling French cheese from the Normandy region which has been awarded the Appellation d’origine Contrôlée (AOC), which is the highest classification for French cheese. It is a soft cheese first made in 1791 by a farmer’s wife on advice from a priest from Brie.

Brie de Meaux – This soft cheese comes from the town of Meaux in the Brie region in Ile de France, which is in the area of Paris. Brie de Meaux is made from raw cows’ milk and in the early 1800’s was proclaimed the ‘King of Cheeses’. The ageing process takes between six to eight weeks.

Roquefort – This is a hard cheese from the Midi-Pyrénées area of France, which is the largest region of France and borders Spain.  It is a sheep’s milk blue cheese and is globally one of the best known blue cheeses. There is a romantic legend that surrounds it, and it is said that a youth who was eating the cheese abandoned his meal when he caught sight of a beautiful girl. A few months later he returned and saw mould had formed on the cheese, creating what is now known as Roquefort.

Comté – Comté is a cheese that hails from the Franche-Comté region in eastern France. It also has also been awarded the AOC and, out of all of the AOC cheeses, this has the highest production rate, with 400,000 tonnes made every year. It is a hard cheese made from unpasteurised cow’s milk. 

Reblochon – This is a popular cheese made in the Alpine region of Haute-Savoie. Its name comes from a word that means milking a cow. It is a soft cheese with a nutty taste and more than 17 million kilograms of it is produced a year.

Munster – This is a soft cheese made from unpasteurised cow’s milk and is produced in the Vosges department in the Lorraine region. Its name is thought to have come from the Latin word ‘Monastery’.

Époisses de Bourgogne – This is a strong-smelling soft cheese made from unpasteurised cow’s milk. It had many famous fans including Napoleon and, along with brie, it has also been named as the ‘King of Cheeses’. It is produced in the Côte d’Or department of France and has its origins in the 16th century.

About Hamiltons

Hamiltons specialise in removals to France and we offer a variety of services for our customers including packing, storage, removal of specialist items and also cleaning of the property you have vacated.

Removals to France – click here for full information on our removals to France service or click here for a free European removals quote.

Monday 4 March 2013

Removals to France: Best French Inventions

When you think of France and what it is famous for, cheese, wine and culinary expertise all come to mind - all things you can look forward to once you have arranged your removals to France. However, there is more to France than its regional specialities and even some of the simple things that we take for granted, and use every day, were invented by the French. Although it will be impossible to list all the top French inventions, here are what we feel are the pick of the best.

If you are moving to France, you will want to arrange for a removals company that you can rely on for providing high quality and stress free removals. Hamiltons is just such a company,  specialising in removals to France and we have moved customers to all parts of the country in the 20 years since we have been established. We provide full or part load removals to France and we can also arrange the removals of pets and specialist items such as machinery and farm equipment.

In the meantime, if you would like to brush up on your general knowledge before the day of your removals to France, read on to find some top things invented by our friends across The Channel.

Removals to France –  click here to find out more about our removals to France service.

Important French Inventions

Modern Pencil – The pencil as we know it today was invented by Frenchmen Nicolas Jacques Conté who, in the late 18th century, developed the process to make the modern pencil – something you will most likely be using to make lists with before your removals to France! Although graphite was already used for writing, Conté kiln fired a mixture of graphite and clay which he enclosed in wooden casing and – voila – the modern pencil was born!

Pencil Sharpener - The most important tool to accompany the modern pencil is the pencil sharpener and sharpeners of the type in use today were also invented by a Frenchman, Therry des Estwaux, in 1847.

Bicycle – Bicycles are on many children’s Christmas lists – and adults too. But it came about in 1864 thanks to two Frenchmen, Pierre Lallement and Pierre Michaux.  There are now twice as many bicycles in the world as there are cars. The bicycle, or pushbike, has also done wonders worldwide as studies in some parts of Africa has shown the bicycle has increased the income for some of the poorest families by as much as a third.

Hairdryer – The hairdryer is a female essential and this was invented by hair stylist and salon owner Alexandre Godefroy in the late 19th century. However, it was a hooded version of the hairdryer and the first modern handheld one wasn’t created until 1920.

Little Black Dress (or LBD) - Just as hairdryers have become a modern day essential, so has the little black dress and nearly every woman has at least one in their wardrobe. This versatile clothing item was the brainchild of Coco Chanel in the 1920’s and the first picture was published in Vogue in 1926, correctly predicting that it would become a ‘uniform for women of all tastes’.

Calculator - Nearly every home and business in the UK has one of these and, if you don’t have the portable type, you may at least use the calculator option on your computer or mobile phone. The mechanical calculator, or adding machine, was first invented by Blaise Pascal in 1642 and these were large devices which took a long time to create so he only made 20 of them.

Taxi – If we go out for the evening and plan to have a few glasses of wine, many of us reach for the phone and order a taxi. But few people know it was a French invention.  It was invented by Nicholas Sauvage in 1640, although there may have been earlier examples of the taxi.

Diesel Engine – Refrigerator engineer Rudolf Diesel, who was born in Paris, invented the first engine that proved fuel did not have to be ignited with a spark. He made the first successfully operating diesel engine in 1897.

Photography – The world’s first photo was created by Nicéphore Niépce in the early 1900’s in the family home in Saint-Loup-de-Varennes. One of his earliest surviving images is taken with a camera obscura in 1826 and is called ‘a view from the window at Le Gras’. The grainy photograph captures two people going about their daily activity.

Braille – The embossed type that enables blind and partially sighted people to read was invented in the 1800’s by Louis Braille, who lost his sight at the age of three years as a result of an accident. He was keen to read and invented a system to make it possible; and now there is Braille for almost every language worldwide.

Blood transfusion – Blood transfusions have saved millions of lives all over the world. The very first blood transfusion was performed in the late 17th century by Jean-Baptiste Denys when he transfused sheep blood into a teenage patient who survived.

About Hamiltons

Hamiltons offers weekly removals to France and, for the ultimate in convenience, we also provide a special service where you can set the collection and delivery dates for your move.
Removals to France – click here for full information on our removals to France service or click here for a free European removals quote.

Friday 1 March 2013

Removals to France: Top Destinations for British Expats

If you are arranging removals to France, you will have a whole host of reasons for wanting to move there – and these differ dramatically from one person to another. However, one of the motivations for moving to France, rather than elsewhere in Europe, is because it is just across The Channel so it is easy to return to see friends and family.

Hamiltons Removals offer high quality full or part load removals to France and we can also arrange specialist transportation for pets, horses, vehicles and even machinery or other similar equipment. Whatever your request, our dedication to customer service means we provide removals to France tailored to suit your requirements.

We receive regular requests for removals to France and most people who relocate here agree that it is a beautiful place to live with an incredibly diverse landscape: from the dramatic scenery of the French Alps to the glamorous Riviera. If you are considering removals to France, here we shall look at some of the most popular places for British expats to settle in France and why.

Removals to France – click here to find out more about our removals to France service.

Where British Expats Like to Settle in France

Recent statistics have shown that there are more than 135,000 British expats currently living in France and a third of these are pensioners. Big towns and cities are the most obvious places for British people to move to, but there are also Brits living in some of the more isolated and remote areas of France. Here we shall take a look at some of the most popular destinations for removals to France.

Three Most Popular City Destinations:

Paris

Paris is the top destination for British expats. It is thought that some 15 per cent of British people who buy property in France buy in Paris and more than 8,000 Brits have taken up permanent residence in the capital.

So what is the appeal of Paris? Apart from being a fantastic tourist destination and home to some of the Europe’s most visited attractions (The Eiffel Tower and The Louvre for instance) it is also where many people settle as part of a job move and it can be a great spot for a second home.

Be warned however; as with many European capital cities property prices in Paris are high and can be as much as £7,500 or more per square metre for property in the 1st arrondissement and around £5,000 a square metre if you are looking to buy in the 10th arrondissement.

Lyon

Lyon is within easy reach of Paris and Marseille – in fact it is between the two – so it is a popular place for British expats to settle. Paris is just a one hour and 55 minute train ride on the TGV and Marseille is one hour and 40 minutes.

Lyon is seen as the culinary capital of France and is the second most innovative city in the country, which are a few reasons why the city is so appealing. Some of the main industries here are banking, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, video games and it is also a prime choice for international businesses in France.

Property prices in Lyon are on average a third less than prices in the capital, which is another reason why it is such an appealing destination.

Strasbourg

Strasbourg is perhaps best known as the seat of the European Parliament. It is a beautiful place to live and work and is the capital of the Alsace region, on the border with Germany.

If you are moving here, settling in Strasbourg is less difficult than in other areas as you will find various monthly events organised for the English speaking community and this gives you the opportunity to meet with other expats. 

Prices for rental accommodation is about £380 for a one bedroom apartment in the city centre and about £320 for the same outside the city centre.

Popular Regions for British People to Settle in France


Midi Pyrénées

Just over 13,000 Brits have settled permanently in the Midi Pyrénées area of France. It is a mainly rural area in south of France and is the largest region in the country ­- larger than Switzerland. 

It covers as many as eight departments including Tarn, Tarn-et-Garonne, Lot and Haute-Garonne and Hautes-Pyrénées. However, a third of the population in the Mid-Pyrénées live in the metropolitan area of Toulouse, which is the capital of the region.

The average house price in this part of France is about £150,000, although property prices can start from just over £100,000 for an apartment in the cheapest department in the region, Ariège.

Aquitaine

This is another region bordering Spain, in South West France. It comprises five departments including Lot-et-Garonne and Dordogne. The region’s capital is Bordeaux, an area known for its fine wines and you will find many vineyards in this area where you can sample the local produce.

If you like fine food you will find plenty of this in the Aquitaine region as foie gras and truffles are among the specialities. And, with an average of 2,200 hours of sunshine a year, it’s easy to see why many Brits choose to settle here. The average property price in this area is about £170,000.

Poitou-Charentes

Poitou-Charentes is above Aquitaine in West France and nearly 13,000 British expats live here. It has 450km of coastline and is the sunniest region in France. Most of the region is rural and even the old city of Poitiers, which is the capital of the region, has a population of just 100,000. You can expect to pay an average of £200,000 for property in Poitou-Charentes.

Brittany

Brittany is situated in North West France and its capital is Rennes. It has long been a holiday destination, not only among the Brits, but the French too, and there are a number of French people with second homes here.

If you require removals to France to settle in Brittany, property prices can start from as little as £40,000 if you want to renovate an old building away from the coast.

Removals to France – click here for full information on our removals to France service or click here for a free European removals quote.