If you are a lover of gastronomy, the Ain is a destination not to be missed. The cuisine of the Ain is rich and varied, authentic and generous, with quality products from the land, mountains, lakes and ponds. Here are some of the typical culinary treasures of the Ain that you should try during your camping holiday.
Bresse chicken
Region of the Ain is particularly famous for its Bresse chicken, a world-renowned free-range, grain-fed poultry. This meat is prized by top chefs and food lovers for its delicacy, delicate taste and melt-in-the-mouth texture. Bresse poultry is often served with morels, a rare and tasty mushroom that grows in the forests of the Ain, or with truffles from the Bugey region. Chefs and restaurateurs work with passion to highlight these gastronomic treasures and offer tasty and creative dishes that delight the taste buds of gourmets.
Gex Haut-Jura blue cheese
Blue de Gex is another speciality of the Ain to be enjoyed without moderation. This blue-veined cow's milk cheese is made in the Jura mountains. This cheese has a moderate taste, slightly fruity and vanilla, and is appreciated for its supple, soft and slightly crumbly texture. It is best served with bread and a glass of red wine.
Fish in lakes and ponds
Pond fish, such as carp, pike, pike-perch or crayfish, are also key products of the Ain's gastronomy. These fish from the Dombes lend themselves to all sorts of culinary variations. The restaurant owners of the Ain propose fish-based dishes on their menus, cooked with aromatic herbs, seasonal vegetables and tasty sauces, in rillette, soup, smoked or soufflé. Not forgetting the legendary fish quenelles from the lake of Nantua !
The wines of the Ain
The Ain is also a region of vineyards, where quality wines are produced, notably Bugey AOC, Cerdon and Château-Gaillard. Renowned for their finesse, freshness and elegance, these wines are produced from emblematic grape varieties such as chardonnay, gamay, pinot noir and altesse. Around your campsite in the Ain, there is a network of about sixty winegrowers, with the "Vignobles & Découvertes" label, who offer you visits to cellars, wineries and estates, as well as tasting Bugey wines.
Traditional desserts
The Ain is also famous for its desserts such as the sugar cake, a speciality of the medieval city of Pérouges. There is also the "tarte aux pralines", a speciality from Lyon revisited in the Ain, where the pralines are combined with a shortcrust pastry and a melting cream. Gourmets will gladly be tempted by bugnes, a sweet doughnut that can be eaten at any time of the day, a galette or a brioche Bressane, or a delicious crêpe vonnassienne flambéed with rum.
Bon appétit!
photo@ Nicoleon, CC BY-SA 4.0, wikimedia
