Top 10 Culinary Specialties in Besançon

In this beautiful town located in eastern France, you'll find plenty of local specialties that will delight and tantalize your taste buds. Besançon is a town much appreciated by tourists, it's a welcoming region where it's good to live...and to eat! Among the local specialties you can find there, the most common is certainly cheese. Indeed, the city is renowned for housing a very wide variety of local cheeses, each with a unique taste.

If you're still wondering what the culinary specialties of Besançon are, what kind of meat they eat, the most popular type of drink, the most delicious dessert? Then you're in the right place, Ryo tells you everything!

What to eat in Besançon?

1. La Griotte Bisontine

We're not going to start with a main dish right away. First, we had to introduce you to the famous griotte bisontine, a succulent sweet delight. Easy to make, these are small cherries that have been carefully covered with dark chocolate: the juicy and sweet side of the fruit pairs perfectly with the savory chocolate, it's a very famous dessert in Besançon. These small confections are a treasure for the region, a must-try!

2. Cancoillotte

Previously, we told you about the local cheeses of the city. Cancoillotte is a processed cheese made from pasteurized cow's milk. It's obtained by mixing a little water, milk, and butter. With its sticky texture, it's a perfect spread in the morning when you're looking for something to put on your toast. With its fine taste, it's considered a lean cheese, with about 5% fat content. We can tell you that you can have one or two more spoonfuls!

3. Coq Au Vin Jaune Et Aux Morilles

Here's an exquisite white meat dish that will make you want to taste it once you arrive in Besançon. In a large pot, let the poultry marinate for some time soaked in wine. Then, carefully remove the lid. There, the enticing aroma of tender meat ready to be tasted will escape. Generally, the city's inhabitants accompany this dish with a little rice, which goes very well with the wine-based sauce!

4. Comté

Another star cheese! Comté made from raw cow's milk with pressed cooked paste from the Jura region has quickly become a must-have in Besançon. So much so that you'll find it absolutely everywhere in the city! With its small holes in the paste that are nothing but the result of particularly careful aging, this cheese is one of the creamiest to taste. One bite and you'll be transported to seventh heaven! Aromatic and slightly spicy, this flavorful delicacy is a gem!

5. Croûte Aux Morilles

Do you know morels? These are small ascomycete mushrooms very present in Besançon. Particularly good, they are regularly cooked as accompaniment in various dishes. With their fine aromatic side, they impregnate the dishes before conquering your stomach. The croûte aux morilles is therefore a heavy cream sauce based on morels that is carefully placed on a crispy bread crust. With a glass of yellow wine, it's a dish that's unanimous among Besançon residents, and certainly among you, dear visitors!

6. Truite Au Bleu

You're certainly wondering why they gave this "particular" name to this dish? Well, it's actually quite simple: during cooking, the trout scales, when mixed with the added vinegar, take on slightly bluish reflections, hence the name "truite au bleu". Cooked in a court-bouillon with a little wine, this dish can be enjoyed with rice as well as with some vegetables, like potatoes. It's the kind of meal we like to eat hot in the evening, after spending the day visiting Besançon.

7. Vin Jaune

Know that yellow wine is considered the king of nectars in Besançon. This drink with delicate notes of almonds, nuts, as well as toasted bread, is the most consumed in the entire region. Made from savagnin grape variety, it's the kind of nectar that pairs perfectly with everything you're likely to eat: salty, sweet, spicy, cold, or hot! Moreover, many like to add a few generous spoonfuls to their dishes because this refined delicacy is so renowned and appreciated.

8. Jambon Fumé de Montagne

What we call "Jambon de Morteau" from Franche-Comté is one of the main meats eaten in Besançon. Its beautiful pink color is enough to make us want it, and it's made from the best parts of the pig, such as the shoulder and the breast. Cooked and smoked, it's one of the most tender meats that can exist on this earth...And it's found in Besançon! In a dish consisting of rice, mashed potatoes, vegetables, or even on a slice of bread, smoked ham is absolutely exquisite.

9. Tarte Aux Myrtilles

Yes, we're sure you've tasted a blueberry tart at least once in your life. But have you ever taken a bite of the mythical tart from Besançon, the one you remember all your life? This pastry topped with blueberries is simply a delight. With its thin, slightly crispy crust and its sweet fruits on top, the blueberry tart from Besançon has a secret, which we have no idea about. The taste is different from other tarts, we couldn't explain it to you, but one thing is sure, it deserves its place in our ranking of the best culinary specialties to try!

10. Gougères

This Burgundian specialty is very appreciated in Besançon. It's cooked with choux pastry and cheese. Less substantial than a main dish, it's generally served as an appetizer that you'll have the opportunity to eat. There's a certain mystery that hovers over Gougères, we don't really know what period they were invented. So much so that their origin could go back very far in the past! All the more reason that when you taste them, take your time and appreciate this gourmet moment.