Ever heard of Ployes?
Didn’t think so. What, pray tell, are they? Ployes (rhymes with “boys”) are French Acadian buckwheat pancakes. I came across them while home in Western Massachusetts for fall foliage in October. We made the obligatory stop at Atkins Farms in Amherst, which is one of the best country markets around. Atkins is known for its apple orchard and they even have their own buttermilk pancake mix which I often buy, but this time a newcomer caught my eye:
Ployes Mix from Bouchard Family Farm
This caught my attention for a couple of reasons. I love trying out new foods whenever I can. If there’s something I haven’t seen before on a shelf alongside my favorites, you can almost guarantee that I will pick the thing I haven’t yet tried. But in this case I was also curious because the bag said ployes is a French Acadian dish. Not many people seem to know that Western Massachusetts has a strong French Canadian flavor. Everybody thinks Massachusetts is Irish or Boston Brahmin but there are also a lot of people of French descent around (I should know! I grew up with them) and they brought their food with them. I’m not French Canadian (French Huguenot here) but I’m interested in all francophone cultures so this bag made it into my basket in two seconds flat.
I saved the ployes for a special occasion. It came this past weekend when my friend Christy came to visit me here in New York. The scene was set: lazy Saturday morning, ambling slowly into the kitchen for some coffee with nowhere to be and nothing special on our agenda. The prep was surprisingly low maintenance — didn’t even require eggs, just water — and the only thing that it took me a minute to get the hang of was when to flip the little cuties. They exhibited about the same signs as regular pancakes, forming small air bubble holes and curling slightly upward from the pan when they were ready to be flipped. Soon I was able to churn them out like a pro as seen here at the height of the ployes-making operations:
Action shot! I had three ployes going at once
Although now I’m finding out from the Bouchard web site that French Acadians often eat ployes rolled, my first instinct was to go simple and enjoy them with a pat of butter and some local Western Massachusetts maple syrup as seen here. Worked for me! One note: I found that the darker grade of maple syrup, grade B, paired better with the buckwheat flavor than did the lighter grade A syrup I also had on hand. Your mileage may vary.
Little dab'll do ya: butter and maple syrup
As we were enjoying our ployes, Christy and I both noticed their light sweetness. They didn’t bog us down like regular pancakes and we were actually able to go have a normal meal later in the day, which is not often the case for me after having, say, rich buttermilk pancakes for a late breakfast. I’m not even sure I remember how many ployes I made. There’s still plenty of mix left over for the next go-round, which will probably be during the holidays when my unsuspecting father comes to visit and gets the full treatment.
Bouchard and others sell mix online and there are recipes available as well if you want to try your hand at making ployes. They’re a versatile, low-maintenance option for a lazy Saturday or Sunday morning when you want a treat. Check them out!
- Rosie
