Gastronomy

Gastronomy

The gastronomy of Indre-et-Loire is brimming with exceptional culinary specialties. Tours, its capital, designated an "International City of Gastronomy," promises delightful surprises you won't want to miss. It's time to awaken your taste buds by discovering our selection!

The savory part:

Rillettes from Tours PGI

Warning, for vegetarians, this is a very charcuterie-heavy section! And we start with rillettes from Tours.

So famous that they now have a PGI (Protected Geographical Indication), rillettes from Tours are THE culinary specialty of Tours. Rillettes are made from pork: it is meat cooked and browned in fat, then shredded. It's possible to try rillettes without pork (they also make them with duck). Rillettes from Tours are a big hit as an appetizer, served on small slices of bread.

The rillons of Touraine

A little more charcuterie! Rillons are small pieces of pork, seasoned and preserved in their own fat. Touraine rillons can be enjoyed cold or warm. They are found in salads, but also in the Touraine tart (which we'll tell you about later).

Andouillette with Vouvray

Andouillette is the kind of dish you either love… or hate. Andouillette from Tours is a specialty made with salted, peppered, and spiced pork offal. We won't go into too much detail about the preparation, but you should know that in Tours, the andouillette is cooked in a court-bouillon with Vouvray wine – this allows the andouillette to absorb the wine's aromas. The andouillette with Vouvray from Tours is recognized by the Friendly Association of Lovers of Authentic Andouillettes (the AAAAA, and yes, it is a real association).

The hen

The géline is a small black hen. The géline from Touraine is also called "black lady" and is the star poultry of all the culinary specialties of Tours. Its flesh is very delicate!

The beuchelle à la tourangelle

The Tours region still has one or two savory culinary specialties to discover. For example, there's beuchelle à la tourangelle: another offal dish, featuring sweetbreads and kidneys served in a rich mushroom sauce. If you're looking to try a local savory specialty, this should definitely be on your list!

Touraine salad

Much like the Landes salad, the Touraine salad is a very, very hearty salad. It contains potatoes, Tours rillettes, rillons (pork belly confit)... and, of course, green beans and tomatoes... to truly deserve its title of "salad"!

The Touraine tart

As we mentioned earlier, there are several regions in France where traditional tarts and pies are made with farm products. This is why you'll find potato tarts, poultry tarts, egg tarts, and so on in certain areas. The Tourangelle tart falls into this category. It has a slight resemblance to quiche Lorraine, but the result is quite different! It's made with shortcrust pastry, rillettes, rillons (pork belly confit), and then a mixture of eggs and milk. Sometimes, it even includes local cheeses. Enjoy a slice with a green salad dressed with a tangy vinaigrette, and you'll have the energy to explore every nook and cranny of Tours!

Cheeses:

Sainte-Maure de Touraine

Tours is a city where you'll find several Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) cheeses. In particular, Sainte-Maure: THE quintessential goat cheese of the Touraine region! This log-shaped goat cheese (with its famous straw inside) has a delicate grey color and a fragrant, creamy or dry texture, depending on its age.

And if you love goat cheese, you've come to the right place! There are other famous goat cheeses that are among Tours' culinary specialties. If you've never tried them, take advantage of your stay in Tours to sample Crottin de Chavignol, Pouligny-Saint-Pierre, Valençay, and Selles-sur-Cher.

Sweets:

Tours nougat

Contrary to what its name suggests, nougat from Tours isn't a confection, but a cake! And what a cake it is… it's a tart base, topped with apricot marmalade, then finished with a macaron-like shell. The result? A typical Tours dessert, both crisp, crunchy, and fragrant…

Rabelais' fouace

Rabelais' fouace is a small, oven-baked brioche. It hasn't always had this flavor of spices and honey. It's a very old brioche (already mentioned in Rabelais's works!) that was prepared and eaten by the working classes. The recipe has evolved over the centuries! The fouace has become sweeter, with the addition of eggs, spices, nuts… You won't be able to resist its taste of bergamot and saffron – and sometimes cinnamon, depending on the bakery in Tours where you taste this little brioche!

The Touraine fouée

The fouée tourangelle is a small, puffy, crumbless bread. It's split open to be filled, for example with Sainte-Maure cheese… or rillettes from Tours, of course! A culinary specialty of Tours filled with another culinary specialty of Tours = a culinary specialty squared.

The crushed pear

The "tapped pear" is a specialty of the village of Rivarennes: the pears are peeled and dehydrated, then flattened with a "platissoire". The pear can be eaten as is, like a dried fruit (with coffee after a delicious meal of Touraine culinary specialties, for example). Or, you can enjoy it rehydrated in wine! A dessert for adults…

Cormery macarons

Cormery macarons are small, round cakes made with almond flour, icing sugar, and egg whites. While the "Parisian" macaron, with its pastel colors, is perhaps the most well-known in France and exported worldwide, many regions have their own variations. Each one more delicious than the last!

The winemaker's tart

As you might have guessed, there's going to be a grape involved in this sweet culinary specialty… and yes, indeed! The winemaker's tart is a delicious sweet tart dessert filled with apples candied in Touraine wine.

La Tropézienne, or Galette Bourgueilloise

Do you love brioche? Here's a specialty from Tours that you'll adore. La Tropézienne, or galette Bourgueuilloise, is a melt-in-your-mouth brioche filled with vanilla cream and decorated with pearl sugar. The contrast of the cream and the airy brioche… mmm!

The Saint-Martin Paving Stone

This delicious dessert was created by the bakers of Tours. It consists of a hazelnut biscuit base topped with raspberry caramel, whose tangy note balances the sweetness. Crispy, melt-in-your-mouth, and indulgent… a perfect treat if you stop for a break during your visit to Tours.

The Muscadines of Touraine

Originally, it was called "Muscadin" because this confectionery had a shape somewhat reminiscent of a nutmeg. But now it's most often found with a feminine name! This specialty from Tours is a chocolate morsel rolled in icing sugar. Inside, you'll discover a kirsch-soaked cherry coated in chestnut cream. A delightful interplay of textures and flavors to explore! It's also a candy that travels well, perfect if you'd like to bring back a culinary specialty from the Touraine region.

The prune of Tours

Plums were plentiful in the orchards of the Loire Valley, and prunes became a regional specialty. But the First World War marked the beginning of a drastic decline in production… Tours didn't abandon prunes altogether: in fact, the city made them a culinary specialty. In Tours, prunes are eaten stuffed with apricot marmalade. Try them with a cup of tea or coffee!

Barley sugar from Tours

If you're looking for a culinary specialty from Tours to bring back on the train, this is THE perfect gift. Very pretty little boxes, colorful, with different fruit flavors: Barley sugar from Tours is always prepared with natural flavors - apple, orange, cherry or lemon.

Why are barley sugars found in Tours? Initially, they were considered medicinal! But confectioners took up the mantle from the apothecaries, and since the late 19th century, Tours has been renowned for its flat, ball-shaped sugar candy. Only one confectionery still makes it; it's a local specialty.

The gastronomy of Indre-et-Loire offers you unmissable culinary specialties during your visit to Touraine!

The delicious and iconic Sainte-Maure de Touraine goat cheese is undoubtedly a specialty not to be missed. To accompany your aperitif, rillettes and the famous Touraine rillons are also sure bets that will delight your taste buds!

For those with a sweet tooth, discover "La Balzacienne," an original tart in homage to Balzac, made with dried fruit, cheese, and citrus. Don't forget to indulge in some nougat from Tours to round off your tasting in style!