Inflation invites itself to the holiday table.
Champagne, poultry, salmon… Certain popular products during the end-of-year celebrations are subject to considerable increases.
According to a study by NielsenIQ, published on November 25, 44% of French people plan to reduce their Christmas expenses due to inflation.
A behavior that has certainly not escaped Natacha Mouton, creator of recipes on La Petite Cuisine de Nat: “My readers are looking for new alternatives.
To discover
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On my blog, some recipes no longer work despite their success in previous years, simply because they are made from noble products”.
But there is no reason to be discouraged: "We innovate, we organize ourselves, we rehabilitate forgotten products... We can treat ourselves and even cause surprise by changing from the eternal poultry".
Tips and tricks for an equally festive Christmas.
Read the file Special holiday meals: our recipe ideas for a perfect New Year's Eve
Anticipate your shopping
To smooth the costs of inflation, shopping in advance is essential: “You can find promotions, especially among meat or fish.
Just freeze them."
Other categories of products, non-perishable goods such as preserves, dry goods and wines, also turn out to be cheaper outside the holiday season.
Despite the absence of a festive packaging, their quality is not less.
Don't buy everything in one place
In supermarkets, on the internet, or in a delicatessen?
"It all depends on the product in question, the budget and the habits of each, explains Natacha Mouton, I prefer direct sales to small producers".
Indeed, if in the collective unconscious we imagine higher prices, getting supplies at the source can turn out to be cheaper.
To do this, we favor the market, associations for the maintenance of peasant agriculture, or even producers' shops.
Just compare the prices!
Read alsoHow to choose the right fruit and vegetable vendor at the market
Optimize your foie gras with gourmet recipes
It is an unbeatable Christmas table.
However, this year foie gras could do more harm to our wallets than usual.
According to the firm NielsenIQ, there is a price increase of nearly 15% for this typical product of the Southwest.
The consequences of the avian flu epidemic which ravaged farms, but also of inflation.
But according to Natacha Mouton: “We can absolutely buy less, and use differently!
Why buy a whole terrine when you can optimize one or two slices bought from the caterer?
All you have to do is incorporate foie gras into the heart of gourmet and equally festive recipes: “You can make chestnut or pumpkin veloutés and enhance them with diced foie gras”.
On his blog, the
expert shows creativity by combining crispy gingerbread, pear and a quenelle of foie gras in a verrine, or even by transforming the foie gras into a panna cotta.
Recipes that require less in quantity, but certainly not in quality.
Read alsoAll our best foie gras recipes for Christmas
Poultry: favor the cuts
A regular at Christmas tables, poultry is the product that has experienced the highest inflation over one year according to NielsenIQ, reaching 29.34%.
For Natacha Mouton, there is no need to give up on it: “We are not obliged to offer ourselves whole poultry.
Buying individual pieces, like supremes, is simpler, cheaper, easier to cook, and everyone likes it.”
On his blog, we discover his recipe for chicken supreme with morels, his puff pastries with trumpets of death and chicken, or his chicken hams and his fine stuffing.
“In addition, it avoids waste,” concludes the specialist.
Read alsoTraditional or original, our best turkey recipe ideas for Christmas
Optimize your smoked salmon with festive recipes
“I'm not going to recommend smoked trout, it's practically the same price as smoked salmon,” says Natacha Mouton straight away.
To compensate for the increase in the price of this seafood product, like foie gras, Natacha Mouton recommends not to give it up but to optimize its use: "We include salmon in certain recipes, such as small flans that only require one slice of salmon to make three.
You can also make salmon rillettes with mascarpone, fresh herbs, shallots.
The taste is there and it's just as festive.
Among the many recipes of La Petite Cuisine de Nat, we discover aperitif puff pastries with salmon, sandwich bread maki with salmon, or verrines filled with Japanese salmon.
This year,
the recipe creator puts the shrimp at the center of her plate: “We can do a lot of things!
Shrimp mousse in verrines, bites à la reine with Champagne sauce, avocado mousse with shrimp… It's delicious!”.
Read alsoChic and easy, our smoked salmon recipes for the New Year
Champagne: equally qualitative alternatives
A festive drink par excellence, champagne is not immune to inflation with an increase of 6.93% according to the firm NielsenIQ.
For Natacha Mouton, there is no doubt that the alternatives to champagne are just as qualitative: “Between a bad champagne and a good sparkling wine, I prefer to drink a good sparkling wine”.
According to the specialist, the champagne appellation overshadows very qualitative sparkling wines: “You can decide on a prosecco, a Clairette de Die, a crémant, whether from Alsace, Burgundy or Jura. … There are a lot of choices!”.
Oysters: selecting the right appellations
Oysters are not immune to inflation.
Following the increase in the price of the wood of the keepnets and a very average harvest due to the strong heat of this summer, the oyster farmers are forced to increase the price of their product.
At the beginning of November, Laurent Ciron, president of the quality group of Marennes-Oléron IGP oysters, declared on BFM an increase of around 15% for the end of year celebrations.
For Natacha Mouton, care must be taken to select the appropriate oyster designations according to their use: “There are costs that can be avoided.
For example, we are not going to use a high quality oyster for cooking, we are going to favor oysters from Bouzigues, raised in the Thau basin in the Hérault”.
Choices that make a big difference.
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Read alsoSize, variety, origin… How to choose your oysters for the holidays?
