Magazine

The Royal tree

The most common Olive (Olea europea) is a hardy tree, cultivated since antiquity for its hard wood and versatile fruit. Although it adapts well to different kinds of soil, our ancestors planted them on dry, stony hillsides and terraces, often in groups of fives, but it is common practice nowadays to plant them like a fruit orchard in long, regular lines, or even isolated in the middle of a lawn. What the olive hates most is to have its roots in stagnant water, so as long as the ground is well drained any scheme is possible.

Pink Oysters

As one of the major players in the Mediterranean shellfish business, Médithau has always based its reputation on quality oysters and mussels fished from the Bassin de Thau. That is until now. For the past few years, the company has put into place a particularly innovative and bold production procedure which has resulted in the cultivation of an oyster unlike any other: the pink oyster.

Delicious Provence

There are plenty of delicious sweet treats to be found in Provence. The manifold patisseries and confiseries are like jewels in the high street, their windows piled high with tempting sugary creations. Aside from the pain au chocolat and brioche that you might expect to find, there are luxuries such as candied fruit, marshmallows in pastel colours, macaroons in every colour and flavour, meringues, luxury chocolates. Many of these eyecatching products are traditionally crafted by skilled artisans, and many have stories attached to them.

L’asperge

For the past seventy years the south of France has cultivated asparagus and it now comes first in European production. Ten varieties of asparagus are produced in the south. Production has diminished in the last few years due to the high cost of employment in France. Competition from China, and even Peru is more and more in evidence. However, where ""Asperge d’Oc, Sauvageonne"" is found on the label, consumers can rest assured that the product has been freshly picked the day before and hasn’t travelled the long distances which, apart from anything else, are so expensive in energy.

A fishy tale

Karen wrote recently “Do you have a list of the fish for sale in the markets here with the English name alongside? I have most of them, but some of the more obscure do elude me. And this is not the first time we have been asked, so Le SUN has put together a comprehensive list, along with a tempting recipe, both of which we hope you will enjoy.

Cooking the French way : Galette des Rois

Ingredients for 6/8

2 rolls of puff pastry
100g of white sugar
150g almond powder
75g softened butter
1 egg + 1 egg yolk
1 pinch of salt

What’ll yours be... Organic, biodynamic or natural?

There’s no shortage of choice of wines in Southern France. Just as you manage to learn the names of the many grape varieties, you suddenly discover wines promoting themselves as organic or biodynamic, or the new buzz word 'natural'. But what does it all mean?

What is a Chasseur Immobilier and why you would need one?

In 2016 I spent about 600 hours getting a Bachelors degree in French Real Estate. The material was dense (law, regulations, construction techniques etc), and all in French. I’m very proud to say I earned the degree with honors — a lot of champagne was consumed celebrating that success, I can assure you!

Hurrah for apéros

One of the many things I love about France is the ritual of apéros. Meeting for drinks clearly occurs the world over but I think that there’s something special about a French apéro invite and its clearly deﬁned expectations. It ﬁts neatly before lunch or dinner deﬁning a reasonable time limit that only the insensitive or, dare I say, non-French would misconstrue or overstay.

Parlez-vous français ? Some tips on learning French

Whenever I train people who have just arrived in France my ﬁrst question is always, "Do you speak French?" because knowing the language, even if not ﬂuently, is really the key to feeling comfortable in France. When you know the language you can ﬁnd out about where you are by reading local newspapers and other information. You can ask for things… and understand the answers! More importantly, language is a way to see with the eyes of others. When we start to understand the language, we start to understand the ways of thinking. In the words of Federico Fellini "Language is a different vision of life".