Croissant in French means crescent (and as a noun can be used to describe a new moon) but not all croissants are crescent-shaped.
Until yesterday I thought the shape was determined at the whim of the baker. Of course it isn’t, food is taken seriously in France and a straight croissant must be made with 100% butter. The traditional crescent- shaped ones can be made with other fats, like margarine or lard. Just to keep you on your toes it’s tongue-twister time; a crescent croissant may be made with 100% butter. The ones in the picture were sold as ordinaire and au beurre; they both seemed to taste the same and nothing like the ersatz supermarket ones in the UK. I got greasy fingers which may be a hallmark of the genuine article.
Another piece of croissant trivia; I had an idea that the shape was a reference to the crusades and the crescent moon symbol of Islam. While this may be right, a more popular explanation is that it dates back to the Middle Ages when the Ottomans were at war with Austria. Austrian bakers made croissants so that their customers could symbolically eat their Turkish invaders. I’m not comfortable with this as it seems an irreligious reference to Holy Communion.
The Gers takes its name from the river of the same name; about a hundred miles long, it rises in the Pyrenees and flows into the Garonne near Agen. On the way it passes Auch, formerly capital of Gascony and now capital of the Gers. The cathedral, consecrated in 1548, dominates the town.
Tonno e fagioli for lunch …
