Mon Dieu! More accolades for the humble French baguette!
In 2022, the baguette was granted world heritage status, making it onto UNESCO’s “intangible cultural heritage” list, despite rising costs, closures of small regional bakeries, and other indignities suffered by the noble French loaf.1
This year, the baguette joins the ranks of other French icons (Edith Piaf, the Eiffel Tower, Tour de France, par example) and is honoured with its own postage stamp!
A cut above other stamps
But this stamp is a cut above all the others. It’s a scratch-and-sniff!
The ink used to print the stamp contains thousands of microcapsules of “bakery fragrances,” which, when rubbed or scratched, emit the smells of a bakery.
A bit kitschy, perhaps, but it makes a bit of a splash, don’t you think? A bit of fun amidst the tedious world of philately 2
One of first scratch-and-sniff stamps was issued by the U.S. Postal Service in 2018. It featured “popsicles,” the frozen sweet treats of summer. The stamps depicted a variety of shapes and scents to convey the broad range of flavours and styles available on the market.
“The jewel of our culture”
The baguette stamp is being issued as Paris prepares to host millions of visitors for the Summer Olympics and Paralympics. France’s postal service, La Poste, unveiled it May 16, the feast day of Saint Honoré, the French patron saint of bakers.
“The baguette, the bread of our daily lives, the symbol of our gastronomy, the jewel of our culture,” La Poste proclaimed.
President Emmanuel Macron described the loaf as “250 grams of magic and perfection … the spirit of French know-how.” If you’ve ever savoured a properly made baguette — not just in Paris, but anywhere in the country — you’ll agree with Macron. The baguette transcends politics!
The baguette is one of the most talked-about breads in the world and certainly the most popular in its native France. According to La Poste, six billion baguettes are made every year in the country.
Big baguette!
Last month, bakers in Suresnes, a Paris suburb, baked a 461-foot baguette, breaking a Guinness world record previously held by Italian bakers. Quel scandale!
The most prestigious competition in Paris is the annual Grand Prix de la Baguette. Hundreds of baguettes compete to be called the city’s best. The jury comprises professionals, a deputy mayor of Paris, five journalists, and six members of the public, who are said to be randomly selected.
This year, Xavier Netry beat 172 other bakers to take home the top prize, which comes with €4,000 (CDN $6,000), the opportunity to supply the French presidential palace for a year, and bragging rights—as well as extra-long lines of customers—for perpetuity.
Last year’s winner was Tharshan Selvarajah, a Sri Lankan immigrant who has lived in France for 17 years. While not yet a French citizen, he surpassed many other bakers to the summit of French gustatory acclaim.
What about the croissant?
Many people swoon over croissants, another baked good associated with France. When will the croissant receive its due, they ask?
But the crispy, buttery roll traces its origin to Austria in the 13th century. It was originally called the kipferl, the German word for crescent. The French innovation was to use laminated dough, like puff pastry, instead of the original brioche-style dough, which is enriched with butter and eggs and behaves more like bread.
Croissants are just too delectable to be passed over, though. Maybe someday, it will squeeze in beside the baguette on the throne of French pastry royalty.
A bread-fail last week produced great-tasting Sesame-Miso Frisbees or Umami Chapeaus! What to do with the remnants? Hard-bread, rusks, croutons, or what have you. And the Ravens get their fair share, too … O come to me Huginn and Munnin! Fill your beaks and carry my greetings and blessings to Odin! [ See link in my LinkTree in HappyMonk Profile ]
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#showusyourfuckedloaves, #sesamemiso, #sesamemiso, #sesamemisobread, #hardtack, #hardbread, #croutons, #huginnandmunnin, #odin, #penderisland, #southpenderisland, #happymonkbaking, #southerngulfislands|
Jul 21
![A bread-fail last week produced great-tasting Sesame-Miso Frisbees or Umami Chapeaus! What to do with the remnants? Hard-bread, rusks, croutons, or what have you. And the Ravens get their fair share, too … O come to me Huginn and Munnin! Fill your beaks and carry my greetings and blessings to Odin! [ See link in my LinkTree in HappyMonk Profile ]
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#showusyourfuckedloaves, #sesamemiso, #sesamemiso, #sesamemisobread, #hardtack, #hardbread, #croutons, #huginnandmunnin, #odin, #penderisland, #southpenderisland, #happymonkbaking, #southerngulfislands|](https://i0.wp.com/happymonkbaking.com/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed-pro/img/placeholder.png?w=980&ssl=1)
Resurrected a couple of Salish Sourdough loaves forgotten inside Mildrith, the wood-fired oven. They emerged charred and hell-fired, sadly, so I took a knife to them and made them almost new again!
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#woodfired #woodfiredoven #coboven #Mildrith #Mildriththeoven #woodfiredovenbread #sourdough #sourdoughbread #penderisland #southpenderislands #happymonkbaking #burntbread #showusyourfuckedloaves
Jun 9
Just rockin’ the Olive Sourdough at 4:30 a.m. in the morning. Into Mildrith’s fire they go!
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#woodfired #woodfiredoven #woodfiredovenbread #bread #realbread #naturallyleavened #baker #bakery #bakerslife #bbga #artisanbread #breadhead #breadmaking #breadmaking🍞 #sourdough #sourdoughbread #coboven #earthoven #earthenoven #olives #olivebread #olivesourdoughbread #penderisland #southpenderisland #happymonkbaking #happymonkbakery #happymonkbakingcompany #southerngulfislands #southerngulfislandsbakers #southerngulfislandsbakeries #penderisland
Nov 13
I LIKE TO WORK FAST!
Apr 11
Philately is the study of postage stamps and postal history. See the Wikipedia entry on the subject.↩