FORT KENT, Maine — For many years, ployes have been stacked on tables in Maine households for people to enjoy as a substitute to bread. They can be used to dip in soups, as dessert, you name it.
The French-Acadians ate ployes, and when they arrived in northern Maine in the late 1700s after being expelled by the British, they brought the food along.
Like many families in Aroostook County, the Bouchards started out planting potatoes and later realized they should shift gears and plant buckwheat to make and package a ploye mix. Nowadays, Joe Bouchard plants fields full of buckwheat every year. After eight months, he harvests it and keeps it in safe containers at the mill to make the ploye mix to sell in Maine and other states.
"We take care of it all summer long. We harvest it in August whenever it's mature," Bouchard said. "I started a new process of harvesting it with a windrower called the swather. It has definitely helped me out in the yield and the quality of the buckwheat."
The Bouchards' determination has been instrumental in keeping their small business alive. Joe Bouchard is the sixth generation of the family. He now owns and runs Bouchard Family Farm, including the mill where the ploye mix is developed. Ployes are made mainly from buckwheat, which is known for having lots of nutrients. It's also gluten free. Another interesting fact is that buckwheat is not a grain but rather an herb or fruit related to the wild rhubarb.
Bouchard said nothing at his farm goes to waste. Even the buckwheat hulls are used as bedding for the livestock. He also explained that buckwheat is grown without chemicals, thanks to it being a very resilient plant.
Besides buckwheat, the ploye mix also includes wheat or whole wheat flour, baking powder, and salt. Every bag is folded with love and by hand.
"I started out with one bowl and counting however many strokes to mix it to make the right recipe, and then we had trial recipes for probably two months," Bouchard explained. "A little bit more salt, a little bit more this, a little more that."
Janice Bouchard is Joe's wife. She explained that poyes can now be eaten as crepes, pancakes, a substitute for bread, waffles, and even as a base for a lobster roll. But Janice said the traditional way is to eat them with butter.
"You can put fruit fillings, meat fillings, ice cream, pretty much anything can go on a ploye," Janice said. "If you ask any true French Acadian, it's just butter. You eat it as a bread."
Below is a recipe from the Bouchards:
"There is no flipping," Janice added. "When it goes from the wet look to the dry look, that's when you know they are done. It takes about a minute to a minute and a half."
"Ployes was an uncharted territory. Now we have to advertise. We have to show Boston, New York, Connecticut, Vermont," Joe said.
This year, the annual Ploye Festival in Fort Kent is happening from June 22 to June 25.
Click here to learn more about the Ploye Festival.