Welcome back to another Cooking with CUSO Mag in which we learn about the world of credit unions and food—direct correlations need not apply.

Before we get to the recipe, a favorite snack in my household, let’s take a look at the wider world of financial cooperatives and learn how a financial cooperative has turned into one of the largest financial institutions in the world.

How a French financial cooperative became a global juggernaut 

As we have learned from our History of Credit Unions series, early financial cooperatives in Europe were formed out of a need to serve those without access to affordable credit. Hermann Schulze-Delitzsch formed his Vorschussvereine in urban areas to serve traders and artisans in the 1850s, a model which was moved into rural areas by Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen.

French farmers in the 1880s were seeing similar issues accessing credit. Banks were largely located in urban centers, and the seasonal and unpredictable income of farmers made for a lending challenge. Lenders were wary of the risk, and farmers of the loans.

Alfred Bouvet, a local business owner, and Louis Milcent, a landowner and former legal assistant, saw the need for farmers to improve their working conditions through access to credit.

Inspired by other like models across Europe, they arranged the formation of the “Caisse de credit mutuel agricole de l’arrondissement de Poligny” (quite a mouthful) in 1885. Built on the same 1 member 1 vote as our credit unions, this mutualist institution provided local farmers with loans up to 600 francs, the price of two draught oxen, which could be used to finance farming equipment.

Thanks to the success of this mutualist model, the government would pass a law in 1894 allowing more local mutualist banks to be created. They were so successful that access to capital for farmers started to dry up, resulting in advancements from the Banque de France.

This would in turn lead to a law in 1899 allowing the formation of regional banks. These regional banks organized the local mutual banks and distributed government funds as needed. At the top, a committee was formed within the Ministry of Agriculture with members of parliament and representatives of the regional banks.

In this way there was a bottom up representation model. Farmers were owners of their local institutions with elected directors that represented their interests at the regional level, who in turn became members of the distribution committee at the national level.

This model worked, but for some years more loans would be restrictive to who, how much, and how long the term. In 1906, Crédit Agricole would be allowed to grant long-term loans to farming cooperatives, who in turn were owned and served local farmers. Over the years, loan options continued to open up for Crédit Agricole members.

In 1920, Crédit Agricole would change from a department of the Ministry of Agriculture to its own Office National du Crédit Agricole, with more autonomy. The scope of the nationwide institution would expand to offer membership to the entire agricultural sector, not just farmers’ union members. In 1926 it would be renamed Caisse National de Crédit Agricole.

The next 40 years would see Crédit Agricole become an important part of post-Depression and post-war reconstruction efforts. It weathered the fallout of the Depression to help borrowers avoid bankruptcy. It issued 5-year notes during WWII to help finance reconstruction loans. In 1947, regional banks would form the Fédération Nationale du Crédit Agricole to obtain a bigger voice on the national level policy making. In 1959, Crédit Agricole expanded beyond the agricultural sector, elevating its standing in France. And by 1963, Crédit Agricole no longer depended on government subsidies, becoming fully self-financing.

From here, Crédit Agricole would begin to diversify and expand its offerings, reaching internationally and into new sectors, such as insurance, agri-food, etc. And in 1988, the Privatisation Act allowed regional banks to acquire Crédit Agricole, making it completely independent from the state. Since then it has expanded by acquiring investment banking companies and consumer credit organizations.

Today, Crédit Agricole is the largest cooperative financial institution, and one of the ten largest financial institutions in the world, exceeding $3 trillion in total assets. For comparison, of American institutions, only Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase are bigger. From its humble origins of helping local farmers afford needed farming equipment to its status today as a global leader, Crédit Agricole has stayed true to its cooperative and mutualist roots.

If the choux fits

Before we get to today’s recipe, let’s start with a little preface to how they entered my life, and why they should be a part of yours.

Our story begins with Christmas in the Camargo household. Many years back, Costco had a deal on an entire leg of Jamón Ibérico (might have been Serrano), which my dad and brother decided we had to have. We had grown tired of traditional Christmas ham, so instead we chose to do a Spanish Christmas with the leg of cured ham as the centerpiece, accompanied by paella and traditional Spanish Christmas foods.

This would turn into a tradition of choosing a new country every year and featuring their Christmas and/or iconic foods. Over the years, we have honored Japan, Italy, England, Morocco, Thailand, and others in this way.

Fast forward to 2020, the world is shut down and travel is discouraged. I found myself at home alone for Christmas, but still wanting to continue the tradition. And so I chose France.

Maybe it’s the lighting, or maybe they’re a bit dark, but they were still delicious!

For my menu: coq au vin for the main course (another excellent French dish), palmiers for dessert, and for my amuse-bouche, gougères.

Gougère (pronounced goo-zhair) is a savory baked treat made from choux dough mixed with cheese. But to Americanize the description: gougères are essentially light and fluffy cheese puffs!

The beauty of a gougère is in its variability. The important thing is that it’s that choux dough and cheese, but the cheese used and flavors added are up to you. Traditionally, they will be made with Gruyère, Emmentaler or Comté cheese. But that doesn’t mean you can’t try making them with something else.

In my case, and for the recipe below, I chose Gruyère cheese with some fresh thyme. The results were delightful. Cheesy but fluffy and light, they are an excellent addition to any appetizer spread, with the added benefit of seeming fancy while also being relatively easy to make.

Even better, make a large batch of them and toss some in the freezer ready made. Then you can warm them back up in the oven for an even quicker snack.

Time: 60 min (20-25 min baking)  

Makes 40-50 gougères

Ingredients

• 4 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• Kosher salt
• 1 cup plus 3 tbsp grated Gruyère
• 1/2 cup grated Asiago (or Fontina/Parmigiano-Reggiano)
• 3 tsp fresh thyme
• 5 large eggs

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Prepare the choux dough. Bring butter and 1 cup water to a boil in a heavy saucepan. Remove from heat, then add the flour and pinch of Kosher salt. Using a wooden spoon, stir to blend. Return to heat and continue to stir vigorously over medium-low heat until the mixture forms a ball, roughly 2-3 minutes. You are looking for a cohesive dough ball and a thin starchy film on the sides/bottom of the pan.
3. Add the cheese. Move the dough to a stand mixer with a paddle attachment—alternatively, you can do this in a large bowl by hand, but expect a good workout! Add 1 cup of the Gruyère, the Asiago, and 2 tsp of the thyme. Beat on low speed to blend.
4. Add the eggs. Add 4 eggs, one at a time, allowing each egg to fully incorporate before adding the next.
5. Pipe the mixture. Your mixture should be pretty gooey at this point. Spoon it into a pastry bag with a 1/2″ tip—you can also use a Ziploc bag and snip off 1/2″ from a corner. Pipe the dough onto your baking sheets, approximately 1″ rounds spaced 1″ apart. Whisk the remaining egg with 1 tbsp of water or milk, then brush the egg wash over the gougères, patting down the tops slightly to form rounds. Sprinkle with the remaining Gruyère and thyme leaves.
6. Bake at 400 degrees for approximately 20-25 minutes until puffy, golden brown. Allow to cool slightly and enjoy! To reheat frozen baked gougères, reheat in oven 10-15 minutes for approximately 10-15 minutes.