FRENCH VILLAGE LIFE
Is Aligot The French Answer To Corn Dogs, Funnel Cakes & Caramel Corn?
Why not? The gooey mix of potatoes and cheese is pretty hard to resist
Huge vats of the potato cheese mixture known as aligot are almost as ubiquitous at French summer festivals, carnivals and concerts as corn dogs at state fairs throughout the United States. And if the cheesy deliciousness isn’t enough to draw crowds, there’s also the performance
Pureed potatoes and tomme fraîche, unripened Cantal cheese, from the Aveyron region are beaten with paddles until they form long stretchy ribbons. As crowds gather to watch the paddles held aloft, the challenge is on — how high you can go without the ribbon breaking? I was sure I’d find info about aligot stretching contests somewhere in France, but no. I guess the French take their food too seriously for that sort of thing.
I love aligot in the same way I love a gooey baked mac and cheese dish. Don’t even think about the calories. Just eat it quickly, piping hot. Once it cools even slightly, it congeals into something akin to putty and loses much of its taste.
