With the summer solstice behind us, the days are getting scorching hot in France. In the southeast region where I am, millions of sunflowers that have started blooming under the blazing sun will soon be turning hills and fields into oceans of eye-dazzling yellow.

Yellow has associations with the Tour de France, as its most-prized maillot jaune (yellow jersey) is worn by the overall leader on each stage.

The sunflowers and this famous cycling race, which is being held from July 2 to 24 this year, are signs marking the advent of summer here.

But regrettably, not knowing much about cycling, I can't concentrate on the race for very long -- even though it's said to be one of the most famous races in the world.

Usually, after five minutes of fixing my gaze on thousands of bicycle wheels that incessantly fill the TV screen, my mind wanders away from the race and veers naturally down a more preferred track: Paris-Brest, a classic of patisserie francaise, for instance.

Irrelevant? Not at all. The famous dessert was inspired by the Paris-Brest-Paris, a cycling race that was first run in summer 1891, about a decade before the first Tour de France. Eyeing the huge success of the PBP race, a clever baker who had a shop along the race route created a dessert that looks like a bicycle wheel!

Paris-Brest may be famous as a symbol of French cyclisme, but in taste -- it's filled with a whipped-cream mousseline and studded with almonds -- I have a preference for its plainer sibling, the eclair.

Since I tasted them as a child in Japan, eclairs have always been my firm patisserie favorite. I've never grown tired of the simple yet happy marriage of smooth cream and crispy, fudged choux pastry.

Also, as somebody who is clumsy and regards ostentatious French desserts like mille-feuille (mille means thousand and feuille means leaf) as more of an ordeal than a pleasure, I feel more affinity for eclairs as they are so easy to eat. The name, which is French for lightning, apparently comes from the speed with which they can be eaten.

Meanwhile, nice eclairs used to cause me one problem: Should I choose au cafe or au chocolat? My longtime problem was finally resolved the day I encountered an ideal compromise at a Parisian patisserie. Trickily named divorce (divorced), the dessert was made of a pair of choux pastries, each filled with one of the flavors.

Stories abound of French desserts. To give one final example, have you ever wondered how tarte tatin got its curious name?

I did. Actually, the name of the famous French upside-down apple pie is derived from the people who accidentally made the first example, the Tatin sisters. One evening in 1889, the sisters were managing an auberge in central France, when they were preparing an apple pie for their guests, but one of them absent-mindedly happened to drop it upside-down while taking it from the oven. As they didn't have time to prepare another, they served it with the caramelized top -- but the guests found it even more delicious than usual.

I don't know if it's an authentic episode or just an urban myth, but I can assure you that the dessert is truly delicious and can be easily found to this day. I recommend you eat it warm, accompanied by a swoosh of half-whipped fresh cream. It's divine!

To conclude this month's culinary diversion, I'd like to add that our beloved shukurimu is also derived from a French dessert -- choux a la creme literally means cabbage stuffed with cream. Why cabbage? Because the shape of the puff pastry has a certain cabbage look about it. . . .

I'd welcome any comments or opinions, in Japanese or English, about my column. You can write or fax me at The Weekly, or e-mail me at jtweekly@japantimes.co.jp

The Japan Times Weekly: July 2, 2005
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