Shopping At The Ambert Market

Thursday mornings is always market day in Ambert, a beautiful little town in the Auvergne.  During our stay here, my husband and I try to do our shopping there as much as we can since it is one of our favorite things to do while here.
Vendors erect their stands along narrow winding streets, displaying wooden crates filled with the most beautiful fruit, vegetables, cheese, meat and fish.  It is a veritable feast for the eyes and one better not come hungry, otherwise one may be tempted to buy way more than one intended.
The quality of the produce in France continues to astound me.  Everything from the apricots to the melons to the tomatoes and the salad bursts with flavor. The prices are downright reasonable compared to what we pay back in Brooklyn. For example,  an entire wooden box of  16 perfect, juicy, sun ripened peaches was 4 Euros, which is roughly 5 dollars.  Two kilos of nectarines were 3 Euros (less than 4 dollars).
And a fresh  goat cheese made on a small local farm was 1.50 Euros.  Back in Brooklyn, it would be labeled 'asrtisanal' and would cost $6.00
Many of the products offered are organic and don't cost nearly as much as we pay back home.
Ambert's is just one of the food markets in the area. Every day of the week one could visit others in small towns all around the Auvergne and throughout France.
Perhaps the French are more demanding customers, but the choice of produce at the markets and even in the supermarkets is really quite wonderful.
Below are some photos I took at Leclerc, a large supermarket in the area. Just look at the selection of beans and different types of tomatoes.   And look at how large the yogurt selection is. And don't get me started on the cheese.  And its all reasonably priced.  I will miss all this bounty when I get back to Brooklyn.

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Market Day In Ambert, Auvergne

As you may have gathered, food becomes very important during our stays in the Auvergne.  Perhaps it is the fact that our house is deep in the countryside and that we have to drive a bit to get to the nearest store, or because, as you can see, the selection is so overwhelming.  Just take a look at the cheese.  can you blame us for planning our menu first thing after we get up in the morning?
Shopping at the weekly market in Ambert, a pretty little town about half an hour away from our village, is always a pleasure.  It's every Thursday morning, come rain or shine.
What can I say?  The French know how to live....

On market days, (and on most other days as well), we build a wood fire at night and feast.

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