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... and as for "seasonal", it has gone out of the window almost everywhere in "the West"... we are all in the hands of the "food operators" now.

There are lots of Greeks in Paris, Yaz, so halloumi should not be a problem! Have you tried Mavrommatis, the Greek restaurant "par excellence"? They also sell Greek products and take away food I believe, and if not, they will be able to tell you where to get your halloumi. Here's the site
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I miss cheap herbs and spices, thankfully there are cheaper places in paris to buy things like cardomun(sp!) but as soon as you leave paris things tend to get a bit difficult! Even in Paris I am yet to find hallumi cheese! French products are good, there is no doubt however its the small things (like clotted cream). And if the French are so 'seasonal' why is it that there are always aubergines in the local monoprix????

tea and wholemeal/multigrain bread from the UK (it would not be the case now since I make my own bread). Maybe also baking powder. Where in France do you live? In Paris who have all the spices you can think of, and cheaper than in London, although in other areas it might not be the case.
I am not British, and do not like cheddar. Even in London I only eat Italian or French cheeses.
Now the list of things I miss from France and Italy would be a bit long to publish.... You do get most of them here, but they cost a fortune. Fruit and vegetables are particularly bad in London, where I live.

Hi Lesley! I do not live in France any more but when I did I used to bring tea and wholemeal/multigrain bread from the UK (it would not be the case now since I make my own bread). Maybe also baking powder. Where in France do you live? In Paris who have all the spices you can think of, and cheaper than in London, although in other areas it might not be the case.
I am not British, and do not like cheddar. Even in London I only eat Italian or French cheeses.
Now the list of things I miss from France and Italy would be a bit long to publish.... You do get most of them here, but they cost a fortune. Fruit and vegetables are particularly bad in London, where I live.

frexy I have the cream maker and it is good (good old ebay)
Cecilia what do you miss?? everytime I go to France I have to take loads of bread, jellies, daddies sauce, good cheddar and various spices for my neighbours (all french!!) the only thing that I would miss I think is cheddar although all the supermarkets do wykes farm

I think the Bridelice Semi epaisse has 18% fat content and is probably thickened with some type of starch or gelatine. It should be stated in the label.
You can make creme brulee with the "creme entiere" I mentioned, which at 35% (if I am hot wrong, this is tne highest fat content you find for dairy cream in France) is equivalent to the British "whipping cream". Double cream is more than 40% (48 or 46 I think).

I have just found this product called Bridelight semi epaisse - this has a blue top there are green and red as well - have made creme brulee with it and it is setting so might be the best we can get for double cream. This I think is a low fat one so will investigate more.

In all honesty, I did not miss double cream so much when living in France.... to make "Chantilly" for cakes, etc., you can use the 35% long life and for other things I mention above I used "creme fraiche".... What do you need the DC for Yaz?
I miss more things from the continent here in the UK!

Over the last couple of years there has been many a debate on site about no double cream sur le continent.

The best advice was to find an old fashioned Bells cream maker and make your own from unsalted butter and milk.

Thanks for your help! Think I'll start up some kind of export buisness!! No wonder french women are so thin!!

Hi yaz - I live 70Km from Toulouse and I have the same problem and have tried the whippig variety but nothing compares with double cream. Find it very strange that there is nothing at all like it when you think of how many hundreds of different cheeses there are. I am sure they could spare a bit to make some cream - scones and creme fraiche just isn`t the same.

Hi yaz! There is no such thing as double cream in France. If you need it for cooking, adding to a soup or spooning over a dessert you can use "creme fraiche epaisse" which is what is called simply "crème frâiche" in the UK. You cannot whip it or add sugar. You can get "crème entière" (35% fat) in little long life cartons, usually packed three together. Hope this helps.