When November rolls around, throughout the winter and up until the middle of March – that’s truffle season, when the fragrant black truffle – rabasse in the Provencal language – thrives. Truffles grow at the base of Mont Ventoux, in the Luberon and in the Papal Enclave – here in Vaucluse, the truffle is the object of something close to worship. There are truffle markets. There is the Truffle harvesting proclamation. Truffles even fill the collection basket at a very special truffle Mass in Vaucluse.
Truffle markets in the winter months draw chefs from far and wide. Although truffles are often referred to as being from Perigord, the truth is that 70% of the truffles in France come from Vaucluse. The term truffle “de Perigord” is a botanical name, and in no way a geographical description. Indeed, 70% of the black truffles sold in France come from Vaucluse markets.
The Truffle Markets in the Vaucluse region (on the morning from mid-November to mid-
March)
- Wednesday: Valréas
- Friday: Carpentras
- Saturday: Richerenches
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The dominant variety in Vaucluse is the “Aglandau” variety, also called “Verdale de Carpentras”. This variety provides a very flavourful oil, with hints of artichoke and almond (A.O.C. Huile d’olive de Haute Provence). Toward the north of Vaucluse, you find the variety called “La Tanche”, with a round, fleshy fruit which wrinkles up when ripe, and provides excellent black table olives. This variety is also protected by a guaranteed label, called an appellation d’origine contrôlée (A.O.C. olive de Nyons). This label, a guarantee of quality, covers 20 towns in Vaucluse.
Since 2006, the new AOC “olive oil from Provence” includes 115 towns in Vaucluse in the Ventoux and Luberon areas.
Always choose “extra virgin olive oil”, (huile d’olive vierge extra) with its flawless taste and acidity under 1%. Keep away from light and heat (at approximately 180oC), and use the oil within the year. That way, it remains at the peak of its flavor. The benefits of olive oil are best when used raw. However, contrary to what is often heard, olive oil is the best oil to use for deep-frying.
One olive tree can supply between 15 and 50 kilos of olives. It takes 4 to 5 kilos of olives to make 1 liter of olive oil.
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Green or purple, from Mont Ventoux or the Luberon, the iridescent tips of the asparagus start emerging from the ground with the arrival of the month of March. The ambassador of springtime, slender asparagus with their perfectly formed tips appear on the market, eagerly awaited by impatient gourmets. And as the wild asparagus starts sprouting amidst the scrubland throughout Provence, people take to the hills to gather it! Served in an omelette, in bouillabaisse of asparagus, in puff pastry and tarts, asparagus is versatile and accommodating. The simplest, however, is often the best, just steamed and served with fleur de sel and olive oil. Asparagus is the star of elegant meals, where it proudly assumes, all on its own, the role of an exquisitely simple starter dish!
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With nearly 4,000 hectares of cherry trees, and an annual harvest of approximately 15,000 to 20,000 tons, depending on the year, Vaucluse is right at the top of French production.
Nearly 45% of the cherry crop goes to the candied fruit industry. The rest is gobbled up, fresh and juicy. Cherry orchards are most often planted on slightly sloping fields, at the base of Mont Ventoux, in the Nesque river valley, the Venasque hills and in the Luberon, primarily in the Calavon river valley. Cherries are harvested from mid-May to early July.
The top of the line French cherry is indeed the “Cerise des Monts de Venasque, juicy and fleshy – the very best. 2,000 tons of Cerise des Monts de Venasque are harvested in 21 towns in the in the Comtat Venaissin-Mont Ventoux area. A road sign identifies these cherryproducing towns !
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Strawberry growing developed around Carpentras as early as the late nineteenth century, when it replaced the failing silk and madder-dye industries. The four varieties of the Carpentras brand – serving the finest tables around – are the Pajaro, Agatha, and Ciflorette (perfect in pastries) plus the Garriguette, which has the loveliest aroma of all.
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Vaucluse is the number two grower of early, fresh garlic in France, with 69 hectares of garlic fields. Dry garlic is grown on another 23 hectares of fields. Garlic growers are concentrated in 14 towns between Orange and Avignon, and the town of Piolenc is the garlic capital. Two types of garlic are grown – the white, autumn garlic (Messidrome) and the purple, autumn garlic whose skin varies from red to copper tints. Here the varieties are Primor, Sprint and Germidour.
Garlic can be harvested by machine or by hand, and at different times:
- green, from mid April to late May, depending on the varieties
- half-dry, from late May to mid-June, depending on the varieties
- dry, for long-keeping, from mid-June to mid-July
To dry the garlic, the bulbs are left a few days in the field, with the tall stalks pulled over the bulbs of garlic to protect them from the sun. The garlic is then gathered into bunches, and stored in dry, airy rooms.
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The Petit Epeautre from Haute Vaucluse is also known as the “wheat of the Gauls”, or “engrain”. It is a rustic, hardy plant which grows best on poor soils, akin to those lavender likes. In Vaucluse, Petit Epeautre is grown between the Luberon and the Sault highlands. Fields of spelt stretch side by side with fields of lavender blue. The specifications for the spelt crop are quite strict, for spelt benefits from a “Protected Geographic Identification” which guarantees its origins and qualities.
Petit Epeautre from Haute Provence has extremely high nutritional value, much better than other grains. Long abandoned as a crop, this little spelt has come back into the spotlight, and is sought after by chefs and fine diners alike.
More information at www.petitepeautre.com
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Mother Nature has always been generous with the splendors she creates, and as far as the tomato goes, she is downright munificent. At the markets in Vaucluse, tomatoes come in many forms, from the tiny, sweet cherry tomato, to the round, perfectly formed irreproachable tomato, to the ribbed, fleshy, somewhat flat, mythical “Marmande”… not to mention the firm, pear-shaped Roma, and the tomatoes in bunches, rustic and very fragrant. Vaucluse leads the way among tomato producers, whether it be eating tomatoes or canning tomatoes.
The main production zones are the Comtat Venaissin, and the Durance Valley.
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Fragrant and fulfilling, the apricot symbolizes sunshine. In Vaucluse, one of the main apricot varieties grown is the “Orangé de Provence”. The fruit is average in size, oblong in shape, with fine, firm, very juicy flesh. It ripens in July, and the skin is a reddish-orange.
Apricot color is appealing, but does not indicate that it is ripe. To judge ripeness, it is better to look at the softness of the flesh or the strength of the scent, rather than the color. Unripe apricots do not continue to ripen once picked. Choose apricots that are ripe and sweet.
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Today, there are no less than 700 varieties, including the purple fig from Caromb, the “Solliès” which accounts for 80 % of the market. Under a purplish-red skin, there is deep red flesh. Some fig trees bear fruit twice in the year, with harvests in early July (fairly big figflowers), and autumn figs in August and September. Dried figs, which are brown and soft, begin their season in July, and dry and lighten in color toward December. They are part of the 13 desserts for Christmas in Provence.
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There are many chapters to the story of the melon from Cavaillon, and nearly as many varieties! The most popular however, the one which has contributed to the glory of Cavaillon today, is the Cantaloup or Charentais variety, which has been grown since 1925.
The Cantaloup or Charentais variety can have smooth skin or “embroidered” skin, and can be grown in greenhouses or open fields. It is the only French melon whose growing period stretched from May to September. The melons are harvested by hand, gently and delicately. Growers and packer-shippers have worked together in recent years to obtain the “Protected Geographic Indication” label for the “Melon de Cavaillon”. Melon from Cavaillon is enjoyed as a starter, dessert or sherbet, with prosciutto or lovely Muscat de Beaumes de Venise wine. Melon is most often served raw, but can also be candied and is widely used by the candied fruit makers in the Apt area, particularly to make the calisson candy, a specialty of Aix en Provence.
To select a good melon, first trust your nose. A ripe melon should exude a light fragrance. Then, it should be heavy. If it slightly cracked at the stem end, this is a good sign of ripeness. If the remaining stem is ready to break off easily, this also indicates ripeness. More information at www.melondecavaillon.com
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The appellation “Herbes de Provence” has unfortunately often been overused, and the blends and origins of the herbs themselves could be highly varied. Now, there is a “Label Rouge”, in existence since late 2003, which governs the label “Herbes de Provence” and guarantees top quality in the blend, without necessarily guaranteeing origin. The Label Rouge blend consists of 19% thyme, 26% rosemary, 26% sarriette, 26% oregano and 3% basil.
The choice of plants, strict production methods and the drying process ensure top quality.Saffron comes from drying the 3 red stigmas of the Sativus crocus. It takes approximately 180,000 to 200,000 flowers to obtain 1 kilo of dry saffron. Since saffron loses 4/5ths of its weight, it actually takes 5 kilos of fresh stigmas to obtain 1 kilo of dry saffron.
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The precious potato has fed humanity for ages, saving vast numbers of people from famine in the past. Today, the humble potato is often overlooked. Not in Pertuis ! Where the brotherhood of the Pertuis potato recalls the potato’s glorious past and produces a very Provencal potato. Several different varieties are grown in the alluvial soil of the Durance river valley. Current production reaches 80,000 tons.
The gourmand “potato road” around Pertuis takes you through the production area for the Pertuis potato – around Aix en Provence, the Luberon and the Durance river valley. Many restaurants, from small village cafés to many-starred restaurants, feature innovative, creative dishes working with the Pertuis potato. There is even a savoury cake called the “pomme de terre”, now the specialty of the pastry shops in Pertuis !
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Lavender is great fragrance – and great taste. Lavender can be used as lavender honey, steeped lavender and lavender syrup, with meats, fish and desserts. Chefs in Vaucluse use lavender sparingly, much like one would use vanilla or saffron. Lavender is ideal for perking up a dish, and is a culinary ingredient in gastronomic preparations. Discover lavender in recipes from the cooks in Vaucluse.
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Though of course you know that the vineyards in Vaucluse are famous for the wines they produce, did you also know that table grapes too are justly famous in their own right. Today, Vaucluse produces more than 50 % of the entire French production of table grapes, and is the number one French grower, with over 35,000 tons grown in Vaucluse.
Among the many varieties, the most prestigious table grape produced in Vaucluse is the outstanding “Muscat du Ventoux”, with its delicate, captivating flavour.
The rigourous work done by the grape growers was rewarded in 1997 with the bestowing of the AOC Muscat du Ventoux label, a distinction further reinforced by the European Union in 1999, when they awarded an AOP (Protected Origins Appellation) label. Production of the AOC Muscat du Ventoux is concentrated on the slopes of Mont Ventoux and the Calavon river valley. Forty-eight towns are part of the appellation’s geographical zone, which covers 660 hectares, where two hundred and fifty growers cultivate their crops.
The Muscat du Ventoux AOC label is solely awarded to the grape variety known as the Muscat of Hambourg.
It ripens from late August to early October. The bunches are cut with a scissors and are gently packed in crates right there in the fields, to conserve the bloom which covers the grape and gives it a matte appearance – a sure sign of quality.
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Candied fruit making is an art which requires special skills, patience and care. The fruits are selected from among the most flawless the orchard has to offer. First they are blanched, then they are plunged into a sulfur bath and in boiling sugar. At this step, they undergo 7 successive steps in boiling syrup, to gradually replace the fruit’s water with sugar. Apricots, figs, greengage plums, tangerines, melons, bigarreaux cherries, pears… These delightful sweets were distinguished by the National Board of Culinary Arts, under the label “Fruits confits d’Apt”, and earned Apt the title of one of the 100 Remarkable Good Taste Sites in France.
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The bees move with the changing flowers of the seasons, and each area contributes shades of taste. While the cicadas sing away, the bees are working. In March- April, honey comes from rosemary and thyme. In May, you find “all-flower” honey. In July and August beekeepers are busy harvesting the subtly flavored lavender honey, with its unequaled taste.
Lavender honey is truly one of the best symbols of Provence. After the transhumance, you find acacia flower honey, oak honey, or mountain honey.
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The Berlingot is a tiny sweet in the shape of a cube, or dice. Its name is said to come from the game of jacks, or “osselets” which was called berlingaù in Provençal. A lovely legend attributes the origins of this candy to the pastry maker for Pope Clement V (Bertrand de Got). At any rate, a more recent origin is also known, that of a pastry chef/candy maker born in Carpentras in the 1800’s. He thought up the idea of using the left-over syrup from his candied fruits to make a candy. In 1962, there were 5 companies making the Berlingot in Carpentras. Today, there remains only one.
The Berlingot is actually a caramel, in that it is cooked sugar. It is a hard, translucent candy that is colored and striped with white. Berlingots are entirely made by hand. The syrup is blended with the sugar and is heated to 1500C. The resulting paste is poured onto an oiled marble slab, flavored and colored. The roll of candy paste is then folded with a thin ribbon of white sugar.
The paste is hung from a hook and pulled, stretched and re-folded so that the white sugar ribbon runs all through it. It is then rolled into strips, and cut into its traditional shape with the “Berlingotière”, a machine which was invented in the late 19th century to imitate the cut made with scissors.
Five varieties of truffle are essentially produced and sold in France. They include the following types:
Tuber melanosporum Vittadini 
Black truffle said about the périgord or about the Tricastin
This variety is harvested from mid-November to Mid-March; its peridium (outer layer) is composed of small wart-like bumps in a polygon form, and it is a dark brown, and black at maturity.
The truffle is normally round, and slightly bumpy. The flesh is noir/violet at maturity, with fine veins that are well marked and divided. White when cut open, the flesh turns red on contact with air.
To the nose the perfume is of a dry mushroom, humus, and wet forests. In the mouth the truffle is crunchy and soft simultaneously; at first spicy with a slight taste of black radish, then a hint of hazelnut, with a finish of wooded forest floor, sometimes earth when tasting the skin.
Tuber brumale Vittadini 
This truffle is harvested between November and March. The outer skin, dark brown with black patches is fragile, and comes off easily. In a rounded bumpy form, the flesh is grayish black, translucid with large white veins that are widely spaced.
To the nose, the perfume is sometimes agreeable, but often strong and musky. On the palate there is a slight bitterness and taste of humus soil.
Tuber uncinatum Chatin 
Truffle said about Bourgogne
Black with flesh at maturity that is dark brown; there are numerous white veins. To the nose a smell of mushroom, and on the palate the taste is variable; well mature the bitter taste is replaced with a pleasant hazelnut taste.
Tuber aestivum Vittadini 
Truffle of Saint Jean, summer white Truffle.
This is the most common truffle but little sought out; it is harvest from May to September. The truffle is generally large in either a rounded or bumpy shape. The skin is blackish/brown.
The flesh becomes beige at maturity and it has numerous white veins.
Tuber mesentericum 
This truffle is either round or irregular in shape, with a very dark outer skin, with wart-like bumps of 3-5 mm in size on the top. This truffle always has a small channel on the bottom.
Normally small in size, but it can reach the size of an egg, with grey, then dark chocolate brown flesh at maturity. It possesses white veins that form a labyrinth pattern.
Always agreeable to the nose, often strong in odor, with an after thought of phenol or tar, which disappears shortly after harvesting. Although bitter in taste, this truffle is well married with certain dishes.
Harvesting takes place from September to January, and its production zone is the same as that of the melanosporum and the brumale.
These five varieties of truffles all have different tasting and cooking qualities, which then translate into different prices.
If one takes a quality scale of 100 for the Tuber melanosporum, then the Tuber mesenterique would be in 15, 20 for the Tuber aestivum, 50 for the tuber uncinatum and 60 for the tuber brumale.
Welcome to the saga series!
If you want to learn about French cheeses, breads, Olive oil and everything culinary France has to offer, this saga blog is for you! To be introduced to the French culture, Stay tuned!
The Eight Cheese Families
In France, cheese is traditionally grouped into eight categories, known as les huit familles de fromage.
Fresh Cheeses (Fromages Frais)
These cheeses are white and contain a lot of water. They are made from cow’s milk, goat’s milk, or sheep’s milk and are not aged. Rather than adding rennet, which is used to create some cheeses, the curd is formed by adding lactic starter to the milk.
These are not the types of French cheese you would see offered on a cheese platter at a meal. Rather they are eaten separately, sometimes in the same manner as a yogurt, and sometimes used in recipes.
Some popular varieties of French fresh cheeses are: Petit Suisse and Brousse.
Soft Cheeses with Natural Rind (Les Fromages à Pâte Molle et à Croûte Fleurie)
These are soft cow’s milk cheeses, which you will recognize by their white, almost floury surface.
They are aged about a month. These include a lot of well known types of French cheese that you may have tried, and which are often served in France after the main course.
Some popular varieties are: Brie, Camembert and Chaource.
Soft Cheeses with Washed Rind (Les Fromages à Pâte molle et à Croûte Lavée)
Once again these are cheeses made from cow’s milk, but this time the rind is washed during the aging process, which prevents the formation of surface molds. This washing produces a supple and colorful rind. These types of cheese also find their way on to French cheese platters.
A few of the better known varieties are: Munster, Pont-l’Évêque, Roblochon, Epoisses.
Pressed Cheeses (Fromages à Pâte Pressée)
These types of French cheese are submitted to pressure during the processing, which drains the cheese of some of its moisture. After applying pressure, the cheeses are than placed in carefully controlled conditions and aged for several months.
During the aging, they are washed, brushed and turned so that the rind forms in a uniform fashion. You will find a large variety of pressed cheeses in the French supermarket.
Two very popular varieties are: Cantal and Ossau-Iraty.
Pressed and Cooked Cheeses (Fromages à Pâte Pressée et Cuite)
Before being pressed, the curd is heated for an hour to make these types of French cheese. They are formed in large cylinders and are ripened for a long time. They are commonly manufactured in the mountainous regions of France. These are cheeses that are often used to cook with, especially to top hot dishes with.
Popular varieties are: Emmental and Gruyère.
Goat Cheese (Fromages de Chèvre)
Although you could fit the various goat cheeses into the other categories, there are so many of them that the French have given them their own family. There are officially over a hundred varieties of goat cheese in France.
Sometimes the goat’s milk is mixed with cow’s milk to create a mi-chevre. Pur chèvre contains only goat’s milk. Goat’s milk cheese is fun – it comes in a wide variety of shapes and sizes and sometimes special little boxes.
Three popular ones are: Crottin de Chavignol, Pouligny-Saint-Pierre and Selles-sur-Cher.
Blue Cheeses (Fromages à Pâte Persillées)
These types of French cheese are easily recognized by the channels of blue or greenish-blue that run throughout them. They are mostly made from cow’s milk with the notable exception of roquefort, which is made from sheep’s milk.
Blue cheeses are ripened a long time and have a strong flavor and smell. They make a great cheese to offer as part of a cheese platter after the main course. Some of the well known varieties are: Bleu de Bresse and Roquefort.
Processed cheeses (Fromages à Pâte Fondue)
These types of French cheese are made from other cheeses blended together. They are usually sold in small portions and can be flavored with various things, such as garlic, pepper, and herbs. They are meant to be spread, and you might even catch a Frenchman eating this cheese as an appetizer! Boursin is one well known example.
* Cut up the cockerel and put the pieces in a large casserole.
