Craftsmanship
During your visits, don't hesitate to stop off at a local market or artisanal boutique to discover the secrets behind the production of hand-painted terracotta santons, sachets, dried lavender cattails or even the essential oil produced by steam distillation of the flowering tops, whose many healing and soothing virtues are well known. To hang in your entrance, the ceramic cicada is a must.
The sweets
Papaline, one of France's national chocolate specialties, hides beneath its thistle-like pink color a luscious heart of oregano, a blend of some sixty plants, some of them picked in the foothills of Mont Ventoux after distillation or maceration and the addition of honey. Its origins date back to 1835. This sweet is handcrafted and distributed only in the Vaucluse region.
Black or white nougat from Sault (softer), with delicious roasted almonds.
Berlingot de Carpentras, an iridescent candy, multicolored and always ribbed with fine white stripes, is one of the oldest French candies. The invention of the berlingot can be traced back to several sources: in 1840, François Pascal Long, a confectioner from Carpentras, came up with the idea of using the excess syrup from candied fruit, a speciality of the Comtat Venaissin region. After a second cooking, he added mint to this already colorful and fragrant syrup, and obtained a long translucent ribbon to which he added a white paste of sugar. A few strokes of the scissors as they left the cauldron gave the candy its lovely rounded pyramid shape.
Fruits confits d'Apt: a confectionery that owes its development to the Avignon papacy in the 14th century. Candied fruits range from cherries, melons, apricots, figs, pears, plums and clementines to angelica, orange and lemon peel, citron and pineapple.
Wines
IGP Vaucluse" wines are a guarantee of quality! You can buy them from one of the cellars lining the roadside or directly from the estate.
Oils, spices, condiments
Olive oil, with its intense taste, worked like wine with its blends and testers. Tapenade: a fine purée of black olives, anchovies, capers and garlic, all blended with olive oil and usually served on toast. It's like the caviar of Provence, available in both black and green
Aromatic herbs, perfumed herbs. Thyme, rosemary, savory, sage, chives, bay leaves... In the Middle Ages, these herbs were used to mask the taste of spoiled meat, and today they are used to enhance our dishes.
Garlic is one of the mainstays of Provencal cuisine. We nibble it candied as an aperitif. Aïoli is still a favorite at large, popular tables.
