Wednesday, September 13, 2006

A taste of Mirabelle syrup

The lovely Julie gave me a pretty bottle of Mirabelle sirop when we saw one another in France. The Mirabelle, which I had never heard of, is a small round plum that ranges in color from golden yellow to red.
This was a thoughtful gesture on Julie's part, b/c , as she explained, the Mirabelle is grown in the Lorraine region where she now lives, and she wanted me to have something representative of her area. Having grown up playing in fruit orchards, I am always happy to learn about new fruits that I've never tasted and so, to me, are exotic. Mirabelles are also grown in Great Britain. I don't know if you can get them in the U.S. -- certainly I can't!
Returning home, I read about it in my handy, "Food Lover's Companion," which describes it as sweet but not acidic, and notes that it is delicious in tarts and preserves. When Terry took me to the market in Aix, she pointed out the Mirabelles to me so that I could see them first-hand (I didn't realize it was a plum, I'd thought it was a small sweet orange). Today I tried the syrup for the first time, poured over ice & mixed with sparkling mineral water.
It is intense but not cloyingly sweet, and the fragrance is very pleasant, almost dreamy b/c it reminds me of something nice, but I can't quite put my finger on what it is. As I sipped, I thought, well, it's such a pretty bottle & it also contains something special and substantial. Truly, just like Julie, beautiful inside and out. Cheers!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a lovely thing to receive! I like mirabelles too. The very name is special sounding.

julie said...

Oh, Lisa, I'm truly touched about what you said.
I'm so happy you enjoy it, I'm sure it's pretty good over some pancakes or in trifles for example. Or...in cocktails?