Emily In France Exclusive 🇫🇷 5 (More) Things You Should Buy at the French Grocery Store

From the desk of an expat.

In perusing my Substack dashboard, I realized that my list of the top things I’d recommend you buy in a French supermarket is one of my most popular posts… ever! So in an effort to bring you the content you crave… I decided to offer you five more.

I swear I’m not lying when I say that most of my day-to-day shopping in Paris takes place, not at the supermarket, but at my local covered market (where I host my most popular cheese tasting experience) or on my local high street. This is less because I think I’m living in some fantasy world and more because shopping this way makes more sense when your fridge is the size of a carry-on suitcase. I can buy exactly what I need, in the quantities I need, and the proximity of such amazing purveyors means I never have far to go. This summer, I’ve made good use of the dollar bin at my greengrocer, where sad veggies go to get a new lease on life. (Usually in a pasta sauce.) And every Saturday afternoon is a party outside of my local wineseller’s – I’ve definitely noticed his absence since he took his August vacances.

That said, sometimes you just need a supermarché. Paris boasts a host of supermarket chains, ranging from the tiny Proxi (expensive but open late) to the discount Aldi (home to 30-cent bread) to Monoprix (aka French Target). And in August, when so many of the smaller purveyors are closed, a supermarket can be your best bet for anything from picnic supplies to delicious (and relatively inexpensive) souvenirs. Here are the things I always make sure I stock up on, particularly before heading back across the Atlantic.

1. AOP Protected Lentils

When most people think about AOP-protected goods in France, the first name that comes to mind is Champagne.

Champagne is a sparkling wine that must be made within a 130 square mile area of northeastern France. It must be made with the juice of just three grapes – Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier – and it must be vinified using a double fermentation known as the Champagne Method, which results in a fine, persistent bubble structure. (There are loads of other rules, like when the grapes can be harvested, but that’s another story for another day.) Any sparkling wines that tick some but not all of these boxes are precluded from using the word Champagne on their label.

Champagne is not the only wine to protect its identity this way. Over 300 different French wines boast an AOP label, not to mention 46 cheeses, three butters, a heavy cream, a walnut… and a lentil.