In Paris, ethnic shops spread cultural spice
As the French presidential campaign gathers pace, immigrants are under increasing pressure to "integrate" into France, and to "assimilate" its cultural norms. As of New Year's Day 2012, new regulations require candidates for citizenship to pledge allegiance to French values, to pass an exam on French culture, and to prove that their language skills are infallible.
However, one crucial facet of the immigrant's cultural identity boldly resists assimilation: the home-cooked meal. In ethnic enclaves throughout Paris, enterprising foreigners bring the flavours of their homelands into French kitchens by importing and purveying a plethora of exotic ingredients.
We took a walk through Paris to discover the most enticing international épiceries.
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At-home sushi
shopping list:
- sushi rice
- rice vinegar
- seaweed
- soya sauce
- wasabi
- pickled ginger
Certain types of German beer are too alcoholic to legally be considered 'beer' in France. Explore the world of German imports with shop-owner Phillipe Même by watching this audio slideshow.
Indian okra is considered superior to its French equivalent by many of the store's loyal customers. Watch this audio slideshow and Q & A with Sharma, the manager.
Near the Gare du Nord in the tenth arrondissement, dozens of shops with signs marked "Cash & Carry" offer a dizzying array of aromatic spices, oddly elongated vegetables, and 20 -kilogram sacks of long-grain basmati rice. Peppered among boutiques selling brightly coloured saris, these supermarkets import groceries from India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh that are bought by immigrants and natives alike.
"Thirty to 40 percent of our customers come from France," estimates Sharma, the manager of South Asian supermarket V.T Cash & Carry (11-15 rue Cail). Meanwhile, a spectrum of patrons peruse the Aladdinesque aisles, filling their baskets with staples like green ladyfinger okra, which is imported by air freight from the Indian city of Mumbai on a weekly basis, along with 25 other varieities of vegetabeles.
Around the corner at the smaller Shaae Cash & Carry, Page Virginie, a French teacher who lives in the neighbourhood, is buying curry leaves and spices. "I am bringing them to my brother-in-law, who lives in the country," she explains, adding that while he loves cooking Indian food, the ingredients are hard to come by outside of Paris. Directly across the Faubourg Saint-Denis, Pakistani chef Mouhmmad Saghar, clad in a crisp white jacket, picks up the makings of chicken biryani for his restaurant .
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The 10ème arrondissement's town council
Helga Germann
We walk southward to the rue Bouchardon, where we find the Marché de la Porte Saint-Martin, in the back corner of which stands Der Tante Emma-Laden, the only store in France that dedicates itself to importing ingredients like bratwurst and stollen from Europe's economic powerhouse.
A Frenchman called Philippe Même opened the épicerie after his former wife, a German woman, introduced him to the delights of her countrys gastronomy on a holiday, and he returned to France to find that the sweets for which he had developed a taste were nowhere to be found. He took it upon himself to resolve this pickle, much to the delight of customers like Helga Germann, a German expat who has been living in France for 55 years.
This is her first time at the grocery store, recommended to her by a friend, and she joyfully glides past the shelves in her long fur coat, picking out items" that you cant find elsewhere," like herrings and German sausage.
Across town, homesick natives of Japan and Korea have a refuge in Hi-Mart (71bis rue Saint-Charles, 15ème), an orderly shop filled with more types of noodle than you can shake a chopstick at. Seonpil Kim, who left Seoul for France eight years ago, says that while it is impossible to import everything because the products are simply too numerous, the shop stocks most of the items that an immigrant (70% of the clientele, says Kim) or curious Parisian (approximately 30%) might desire, including Korean rice wine, soju, and jars of a sticky yellow substance used to make ginger tea that, says Kim, "is especially good in summertime."
While the debate over immigrant assimilation continues to ensnare French politics, the culinarily curious can rest assured: a vibrant array of ethnic grocery stores in Paris keep cultural particularities alive and sizzling in pots and pans throughout the country.
