Corrèze Gastronomy

The local products of Corrèze are generous. They are extracted from the omnipresent nature in this part of Limousin, where market gardeners and producers work the land and raise animals to produce delicacies to be enjoyed in the restaurants of Corrèze, or at home after stocking up on food in the markets from Correze. Here is a non-exhaustive list of the specialties of Corrèze, to discover urgently during your holidays in this beautiful department.

Products from nature

Mushrooms: Boletus, Chanterelle, Morel, Truffle

Corrèze is a land of mushrooms! Its deciduous forests are full of them in the right season. It's a pleasure to pick them up with the family, but be careful to respect private property. If you are not accustomed to the art of picking mushrooms, then go to the markets of Corrèze or to the shops of producers in Corrèze, to find delicious mushrooms from our regions to accompany a pan-fried, an omelette or just like that, naturally! In Corrèze, we find, as in other bordering departments, ceps, chanterelles and morels. There are also truffles. The season for the Tuber Melanosporum, the famous black truffle from Périgord (which is a neighboring department) is roughly from mid-December to the end of February, hold on tight, it's short but intense!

Chestnuts from Corrèze

Chestnuts (or chestnuts, their breeding name which does not differentiate them from “horse chestnuts” but they are nevertheless two different fruits) are typical Limousin products. Brought by the Romans to this part of France, along with the vines. If it was the basic food of our ancestors in the countryside (largely as much appreciated and important as wheat or bread), it has now fallen into disuse. Rediscover the pleasure of consuming good chestnuts, during autumn and spring. It is a tasty product, not always easy to prepare it is true because of its multiple obstacles (the bug, the shell and the small thin brown skin complicated to remove…), all the more reason to take them natural in jars, from small local producers. Chestnut is a health asset, it is good, low in calories and invigorating.

PDO apples

In Corrèze there are admirable old and more classic varieties of apples. For crunching, making cooking recipes, pure juice or cider, the Limousin apple is perfect. You will find direct sales at the farm when it is the season, but also on the markets, and even the supermarkets because the production of apples is so important and bulky, that it is readily found in supermarkets. It was former President Jacques Chirac who extolled the merits of Corréziennes apples: "Eat Apples", he said! It has had an AOP since 2009 and even an Apple Brotherhood.

Strawberries and raspberries

Corrèze is a sunny region, which also produces small fruits. 300 tons of strawberries are produced on average each year. You will find them more in the south and contrary to popular belief, the strawberry season is quite wide and begins with the Gariguette in April/May, to continue with the ascending varieties until September. The raspberry is also queen in Corrèze with around 450 tonnes per year. Large caliber, clear and shiny color, the raspberry is tasty and tangy just right.

Blueberries from Corrèze

The blueberry is the spearhead of fruit production in Monédières. The Corrèze and Monédières blueberry is known as the white wolf. It is accommodated and worked with all the sauces: in sauce precisely, perfect with game, in jams/jellies, in juice, perfect for making pies, to put in a yogurt or a muesli. Fresh or dried, the blueberry is a good health product. A great experience is to go and pick your own blueberries at farms that offer this rural and original service, children like it a lot. Several varieties of blueberries are grown in Corrèze (up to 12). There is the wild blueberry and the bush blueberry (cultivated) which is easy to pick up. It is a summer fruit, which is picked (sometimes depending on the season) from early June to mid-September. Blueberries are mainly found in Monédières, but also further north.

Walnuts in Corrèze

Nuts are grown in the region and have even been eaten for about 15,000 years. In Corrèze, we take advantage of the AOP Walnuts of Périgord, which overflows a little on the south of the department. In Saillac you will even discover the Walnut Museum. Yum yum the products processed from the night, such as the aperitifs to be found at the Denoix distillery in Brive! You can even take the Route de la Noix circuit, which starts in Périgord and continues in Corrèze. To follow in the footsteps of the legend of a squirrel who carried his nut on this path. Restaurant, museums, markets, everything about nuts! The nut is eaten dried all year round, but fresh during its autumn harvest period, it is a treat that must be allowed. It is a wonder for health, full of polyunsaturated fatty acids including omega-3!

Livestock products from Corrèze

Freshwater fish (zander, pike, trout)

In Corrèze, fish have no shortage of places to thrive. Fishing is even a flourishing and particularly satisfying activity in the department. Farmed or wild fish can be found on market stalls, in producers' shops and in fish farms. Obviously, these are river fish, ask specialists how to properly cook pike-perch and pike and even catfish which are really delicious. Trout is a fatty fish that is particularly appreciated and delicate in the mouth.

Limousin meat (beef)

Do you like red meat? So don't deprive yourself of the pleasure of eating an exceptional piece of Limousin beef. Red label, it is a meat of incomparable butchery quality and taste. Melting, finely marbled, it is juicy. You will find Limousin beef for direct sale at very competitive prices, at butchers, in supermarkets...

The suckling calf under the mother

In the Pays d'Objat but also throughout the Corrèze, suckling veal raised under the mother is a speciality. Corrèze is one of the first producing departments in France, of this meat with a very clear and incredibly tender pink flesh. Fans will not be mistaken. More than 1000 breeders work in the department for this production. Do not miss the presentation of the animals during the fairs and competitions in Brives, Objat and sometimes Saint-Céré.

The Black Ass Pig

It is a rustic animal, a traditional breed of our regions, endangered. The black bottom pig (or black bottom pig from Limousin) is a very pure breed, slow growing and which can develop an impressive fat mass. Fondant and marbled meat on the menu for gourmets. They are raised for a minimum of 14 months, fed with love and good products to reach at least 140 kilos… The meat is then transformed into pâté, Coppa, sausage, terrine… To be found on the markets and at the producers mainly.

Geese and Ducks

Of course, in Corrèze there is also a tradition of raising farmyard animals and more particularly geese and ducks. As a southwestern country, poultry is particularly well represented and delicious. It is a jewel of Corrèze gastronomy. Duck and goose are eaten whole (especially duck, in breast, in aiguillettes, in sleeves, gizzards), but also in foie-gras, in terrine, rillettes, pâté, in crickets... We also make delicious recipes for preserves and artisanal jars such as stuffed neck, enchaud, the famous confit.

The difference between goose and duck? Goose is finer in taste, it often holds up better when cooked (especially foie-gras), it is more expensive. Duck (which is easier to raise) is more rustic, strong in taste but tends to crumble a little in the pan.

Naturally processed products, in an artisanal way

Jams and honeys

In Corrèze, you can also taste sweet delights! Like the jams that are made from the generous berries, or the jellies with apple and quince. The honeys of Corrèze are tasty, there are many forests, so you will come across all types of honey, from Monédières to Millevaches via the sunny Brivoise region.

Preserves, oils and other condiments and homemade preparations: pasta, special breads

Various home- made preserves made from vegetables, legumes, pork or duck specialities… Foie gras, pâtés, rillettes, preserves and jars are ideal for eating well without preservatives, provided you take them home-made. Pasta, condiments, special breads, you will find a whole range of products transformed by artisans of taste in the markets of Corrèze and in the shops of producers.

Corrèze cheeses: La Feuille du Limousin, cow or goat milk cheese

Corrèze is not specifically a country of cheeses, but you will still find some specialties, mainly goat and cow . We will find them plain or flavored with flowers or nuts, sometimes truffles. The Leaf of Limousin is melting and fresh, to discover!