French Alps and food shopping

[Wellthatsit]

Does anyone live in the French Alps who could help me with a few questions about food shopping. I will be yhe cook on a week-long course this summer, and am planning meals. I know there aren't huge supermarkets available, but will have access to medium sized ones: I think Aldi and Carrefour. Would be interested to know if the following are readily available: ready made puff pastry, buttermilk, fresh coriander, parsley, tahini, fennel, orzo, blue cheese? Hope someone can enlighten me. Thanks.

Tahina is difficult to find outside of arab grocers or hypermarches in France generally- we live outside Paris and take it down to Alps when we go as I have never seen in the small local supermarkets there.

Buttermilk and orzo I have never seen but I have never looked for them either. Everything else should be fine.

From your list I would say you were unlikely to get fresh coriander, so perhaps take dried or seeds with you. Also unlikely to find tahini.
On the other hand, there will be plenty of blue cheese!!

I don't live there, but DC do & I spend a lot of time there.

Don't think I've ever seen buttermilk or orzo but everything else on your list is easily available, between Lidl, Carrefour & a health food shop in their nearest (small) town. Fresh coriander is even available in their local village shop!

If you want to PM me I'll tell you the name of the town - just in case it's the same one!

Buttermilk is lait ribot and sometimes available in fresh milk section (at least it is where I live).

Thanks everyone. That's really helpful. The shopping is done in Thones, although the course is up on thr mountains with kljust a Spar for top ups (plus a trip to market in Grand Bornand one day)

Just thought of another couple of things - quinoa and tofu (can you tell there's a veggie slant!). Available? And what was the verdict on puff pastry?

Yes, Pâte Feuilletée is widely available, if you can't find quinoa, cous-cous is sure to be available which you could perhaps uses as a substitute.

Thanks

I am going to send you a PM.

I buy buttermilk in the Arab section of Auchan. Also yes quinoa is widely available too.

Well I have learnt a new word today. Orzo is 'risoni' and where I shop (long way from the Alps) I get it in the hypermarket but it may be available in a smaller store in the Alps because you'll be closer to Italy.

I wouldn't worry about the buttermilk as you can always make your own.

To 250ml of full fat milk add 1 tablespoon (15ml) of lemon juice or white wine vinegar, stir and leave to stand for a few minutes.
Or
Use plain yoghurt, 200mls with 50mls of milk stirred in, or with Greek style yoghurt use 50:50 with milk.

If you can go a little further... Satoriz and BioCoop in Annecy would be good places to go for quinoa, tahini, fresh herbs, tofu and fennel. Though honestly, I rarely get everything I need in one shop every trip!

Do you mean orzo as in pot barley or orzo as the pasta shape for soup? If pot barley isn't it orge in French? I remember buying it from Mammouth in a rural town in Burgundy in the 80s, so surely it must be available now? I used to buy barley flakes as well and they were much easier to find in France than the uk at the time. It'll probably be with the cereals or in the "things for soup" section alongside dried pulses.

If pasta then risoni is another name.

HTH