Normandy Tartine

Tartine Normandie with Red Cabbage, Apple, and Calvados

The Tartine Normandie by Rue Traversette is a vegetarian spread made from red cabbage, leek, and apple, seasoned with apple cider vinegar and Calvados. Juicy and crunchy at the same time, with the tart apple brandy as an aftertaste. The northernmost spread in the range.

Tartine Normandie by Rue Traversette is a spread that brings the north of France to a spoonful. Red cabbage, leek, onion, apple, carrot, and turnip come together; lemon and apple cider vinegar provide acidity, while honey provides roundedness. A splash of Calvados turns it into the kind of mixture you would associate with Normandy after the very first bite.

Crunchy, tart, with apple brandy

The Tartine Normandie shimmers violet in the 110g jar; it is significantly chunkier than its southern siblings and smells of pickled cabbage and apple.

The red cabbage remains firm to the bite—that is the surprise of this spread, as it is not cooked into a mush. Tart, fruity, crunchy—this is how the acidity of the cabbage meets the sweetness of the apple, while the leek mediates mildly in between. Finally, the Calvados arrives, warm and a little sharp, settling over everything like a full stop.

The turnip brings earthiness, the carrot sweetness, and the apple cider vinegar keeps the mixture fresh. A spread that is more reminiscent of a fine slaw than a cream.

On burgers, steak, and fried potatoes

Among our vegetable spreads and creams, the Tartine Normandie is the heartiest and the only one that you can easily imagine alongside a piece of meat.

On a burger, it replaces coleslaw and sauce in one go; with grilled steak, it is the fresh answer to the fat; and on a hot dog, it becomes a better version of what usually comes out of a tube. It goes just as well with fried potatoes and pickled vegetables.

It tastes especially good on a thick slice of rustic bread with salted butter; nothing more is needed on a cold evening. It contains honey, so it is vegetarian.

Stirred into a lukewarm lentil salad, a spoonful adds both acidity and color. And for those who like cheese, serve it alongside a ripe Camembert, as the apple in the jar and the rind on the plate come from the same corner of France anyway.

The North from a southern kitchen

Normandy lies in the northwest of France, with the chalk cliffs of Étretat, the promenade of Deauville, and the mussels in the harbor of Honfleur. Calvados, that apple brandy from the region, is its liquid emblem and the decisive ingredient here.

Nevertheless, the tartine is cooked deep in the south, in Saint-André-de-Sangonis in the Hérault. That is where Stéphane Strobl’s cannery has been located since 2015, where about ten people slice by hand, cook in kettles, and pasteurize gently.

There are no preservatives, colorings, or artificial flavors. Stéphane started in 2005 on the Rue de la Traversette in Saint-Pons-de-Mauchiens, which still gives the brand its name today. In June 2026, the Hérault Chamber of Trades and Crafts recognized him as an "Entrepreneur Responsable."

Warm Calvados, cold acidity

At room temperature, the Calvados comes to the fore; when cold, the spread remains fresher and more acidic—both have their appeal. Keep refrigerated after opening and consume within a few days. A glass of cider on the side is the obvious choice. You can find the other regions in the Rue Traversette range.