Honey and jam producers New Aquitaine

In collaboration with Patrick Fouquet, master jam maker world champion 2018, Janick Paytra launches in his turn in the making of artisanal jams. He participates for the first time in 2019 in the Confituriades and obtains the gold medal of the Order of Master Jammakers. Janick prepares his jams in his workshop/shop and sources as much as possible in short circuit: mirabelle plums from his village, strawberries from Dordogne, apricots from Roussillon, kiwis from Lot-et-Garonne... A nice souvenir to bring back from Saint-Emilion, to change the wine!

Professional beekeepers with recognized expertise, Jean-Claude and Corine Salles perpetuate a traditional art by transhumantly moving their hives from the Basque mountains to the hillsides of Béarn, harvesting true "crus de la nature", representing floral diversity. At their honey house, they extract, select and refine honeys for bouquets ranging from the sweetest - acacia-horsetail flowers - to the most distinctive, chestnut, and also make heather honey gingerbread and artisanal jams according to the traditional recipes of Amatxi (Basque for grandmother).

Bertrand Héraudeau has been running this family business for a short time. Trained as a pastry chef, he never ceases to put his qualities forward to the point of obtaining, in 2018, the title of best jam maker in France. Rétais and tourists are not mistaken, they are many to make a stop in this shop located two steps from the bell tower. Each product is carefully made, without chemicals or preservatives. The quality is such that each year several are awarded.

There is a small shop on the edge of the village, on the road to the church of "La Combe". Maurice and Francine Guionie sell the fruit of their production there. Their Limousin cow breeding farm is just below. They reserve to their visitors an adorable welcome. In addition to fruit and vegetable jams, their great speciality is dandelion! Their star products are the fermented drink and the aperitif with dandelion flowers, following a family and ancestral recipe kept secret. All the products are made by hand on the farm and have not undergone any chemical treatment. Their shortbread, crunchy and nut tarts will accompany your coffee deliciously. In summer, you will find them on the farmers' markets of the department's countries.

Why not taste the honey of the Landes forest? With its idyllic location, the honey house is in the middle of a pine forest surrounded by heather. The apiaries are spread out between the forest of the Haute-Lande and the mountains of the Pyrenees, on a naturally abundant and preserved vegetation. The bees first gather in the acacia woods in the Gironde, then disperse to harvest a wonderful bourdaine honey in the humid areas of the Landes forest, while others gather chestnut or lime flowers in the Pyrenees.

We're still licking our lips just thinking about it. Apricot saffron? Apple-grape jelly? Wild strawberry mara des bois? Cherry ginger? Melon with crushed Poitou ? You are in the workshop of the 2016 French champion of Confituriades, Orianne Lauer. In her copper cauldrons, using traditional and manual methods, she simmers sugar and fruit to obtain delicacies that are each more delicious than the last. In front of your eyes, she concocts recipes using fruit selected mainly from regional producers.

Maison Francis Miot has excelled in high-end jams for 30 years (best jam maker in France and three-time world jam champion, ranked hors concours), as well as in chocolates and confectionery. In this store, as in others, originality and quality are the order of the day. The chocolates are essentially of São Tomé e Príncipe origin, where they have a solidarity trade plantation. And the award-winning cane sugar, plum and 3 red fruit jams. There's also a savoury range with tapenades, compote and chutneys.

Located in Nousty, in the Béarn region of France, Maison Cassandrine has been perpetuating an age-old tradition since 1980: the traditional manufacture of jams. This artisanal jam maker distinguishes itself by creating top-of-the-range gourmet jams. This Maison Cassandrine offers a wide range of sweet treats, from traditional flavors to original creations, all made with the utmost respect for fruit and quality raw materials. Using traditional manufacturing methods, the fruit is preserved with sugar in small cauldrons, to create artisanal jams with the authentic taste of yesteryear.

How can you imagine a brioche, a biscotte, a toast without a layer of homemade jam? We all dream of it, and Eva, with "La Petite Cueillette", has done it! Modern, singular jams with exquisite tastes and original, seasonal combinations, without colorants or additives, the store offers blends of the most common fruits to the most daring. Banana-cocoa, raspberry-tonka-lime, kiwi-orange-ginger... The fruit is magnified and reasonably selected according to the season, and picked when ripe. All day long, the intoxicating aromas waft into the street around the store, along with the tantalizing smell of jams simmering.

In the store of the Harizkazuia Farm, you can buy the products of the house, all kinds of honeys of course: chestnut honey, acacia honey, honey with 2 flowers, borage honey, Erika heather honey, Espelette pepper honey, honey and salt, cinnamon honey, pollen, propolis, with recipes, but also candles, sweets, soaps, etc. And it is important to know that all the products come from local, wild and spontaneous flowerings, thus respecting the conditions necessary to the respect of the specifications of the organic beekeeping.

Jam lovers, here is a place not to be missed during your visit to the island of Ré. The green frontage hardly leaves any doubt, the jars highlight all the local produce of Ré. When you enter, you will enjoy a warm welcome and be seduced by the atmosphere of the place. The jams are just like this store, resolutely delicious, and to be convinced, you just have to taste... nearly 70 flavors! You may be a little lost but each jar promises many moments of pleasure like the three citrus fruits or the strawberry.

These are pretty little red and perfumed pearls, which are not used to make necklaces, but succulent jams, cooked in a traditional way in a copper cauldron. In her biodynamic and organic farm, Céline Leyssenne-Lespagnol produces strawberries, raspberries, redcurrants, blackcurrants, blackberries, which she then transforms on the spot into nectars, coulis and above all into numerous varieties of extra jams. It is also possible to taste these fruits just picked, and to participate in the picking. Member of the Bienvenue à la ferme network.

Thierry Fedon is a passionate person. He makes his own swarms and breeds his queens. Chestnut, acacia, borage, dandelion and heather honeys, the beekeeper's jars are instantly recognisable as the labels are the work of enameller Michèle Gilbert, one creation per season. The alliance of two arts to offer flavour and beauty to this precious nectar. A poetic and artistic approach that is also a beautiful gift. You can find these products at the farm or at various festive markets.

The story of " Confitures de Haute Soule " begins in Biarritz at the pastry shop of the Docks. Gilles and Sophie have the idea to transform the fruits intended for the pastry shop into jam. Immediate success. When they moved to Haute Soule, they developed their know-how in the traditional way of making jam. 30 different fruit flavors are declined in jams. Fruits of the orchard and the forest and the inevitable strawberries, black cherries, apricots, figs...

Just a stone's throw from the cathedral, this boutique-museum is the brainchild of Jacques Salles, a passionate beekeeper since 1988. Loreztia means "sweet flowers" in Basque. A place of exchange, where you can discover a free ethnographic space on the theme of "man and the bee in the Basque country, over the centuries", taste the company's products, and buy those you like at "direct from the workshop" prices. From flower to fruit, the cultivation and exploitation of honey is a whole art of living at the service of sweet gastronomy.

Jean Jacques Pilet is a Gascon child. He produces his own honey: the sweet acacia, the classic thousand flowers, the creamy chestnut, and the most original: sunflower, borage and heather. His apiary is located on the road to Monflanquin. He has more than 200 hives and intends to develop further. You can find him on the local markets. Jean-Jacques Pilet offers you his own production, as well as that of other beekeepers: lavender, eucalyptus, rapeseed..., as well as products of the hive: wax, candies, royal jelly, pollen, propolis, soaps..

Le Rucher de la Tour is a local producer located in Salles, Lot-et-Garonne. They offer a variety of honey and jam products. You can buy their products directly on site every day from 9am to 6pm.

Régis and Laëtitia Amail produce 6 different basic honeys. From the lightest to the most pronounced, all these honeys are of excellent quality and the choice depends solely on your taste. Flagship product: the sunflower honey harvested in the Poitou-Charentes region is, like the sunflower fields, bright yellow and discreet in aroma. Other products: the confits which are honeys developed with lemon, hazelnuts, raspberry... A delight.