Honey of Provence

In Provence there are 350 beekeepers with several thousand hives between them. They produce 2000 tons a year - 10% of the total honey production of France.

The honeys of Provence are particularly appreciated for their aromatic nature - and the honey made from Lavender flowers is a local delicacy.

Fragrant, smooth and slightly acidic - a favourite of epicures because of the unique flavour . The colour varies from golden yellow to pearly white.

Other local honeys :

Heather Honey is distinguished by its red tint and its licorice smell.

The aroma of Rosemary Honey is evocative of the " Garrigue " - that is, the landscape of small windswept slopes and plateaus inhabited by scrub-brush and Provençal herb outcroppings. The smell of garrigue is also often attributed to southern Rhône Valley wines. This term suggests more than the smell of herbes de Provence, it evokes an earthy/herbal concoction of varying degrees of intensity and is appreciated (in both wine and honey) for a subtle smell and a delicate flavour .

Honeys made with mixed flowers of Provence has an aromatic , vegetable , floral or fruity savour . You really have tp try a few at least.

Sweet Chestnut Honey has a strong personality which makes it very easily recognizable . The comour ranges from clear brown to very dark. The smell is strong and penetrating and it has a slightly bitter flavour.

Bee keepers can often be seen with a display hive - Queen Bee included - and love to explain their craft - visit their stall fror a free tasting before buying a jar of honey - also, they often have a good range of honey-based products.

Chestnut Recipes

Roasted Chestnut and Lentil Soup
200 g dry lentils
2 cups of roasted, peeled chestnuts
1 medium onion
1 celery stalk
Butter or oil
Bay leaf, Thyme, Stock,
Salt & Pepper to taste
Honey

• Chop the onion and celery and cook in butter or oil until soft.
• Add 6-8 cups of stock, bay leaf and 1 tsp of thyme.
• Boil, add the lentils, simmer for about 20 – 30 minutes (until the lentils are soft).
• Add the chestnuts.
• Cook for another 15-20 minutes.
• Remove bay leaf.
• Place soup in blender – blend until smooth.
• Taste – then season with salt and pepper as needed.
• Just before serving add a tablespoon of honey to enhance the sweetness of the chestnuts.
• Serve with crusty bread.

Lovely! Any more great chestnut recipes out there? Please use the 'Add Comment' tag below to share ..............

Fête de Chataigne - Chestnut Festival

The sweet chestnut tree is prevalent in the wooded slopes near some of our villages. These trees can live for several centuries and reach 35 metres high . A spiky, prickly husk protects the actual fruit - the chestnut - which is rich in starch and is a highly valued crop.
The sweet chestnut tree spreads rapidly in the Var. It thrives on the acid soil of the Massif des Maures , where there are 2500 hectares of chestnut groves spread across the municipalities of Collobrières , La Garde Freinet ,Gonfaron , Les Mayons and Pignans .
Since the beginning of the 20th century , serious diseases led to the disappearance of large areas of chestnut groves , but the introduction of new varieties and the modernisation of production soon replanished the number of chestnut trees in the region.

The sweet chestnut is primarily sold to be eaten whole - usually roasted . It is also made into jam, cream, flour for making cakes or bread and glazed or candied chestnuts - "marrons glacés".

The sweet chestnut is rich in carbohydrates , it is good for blood circulation and is considered as a tonic for the nervous system .

Chestnut Festivals - the "fêtes des chataignes" - are celebrated in villages throughout the region between October 15 and November 15 each year. At these huge street fairs you can learn more about the sweet chestnut than you would think possible - as well as buy steaming paper bags full of freshly roasted chestnuts and other chestnut products. The atmosphere is one of celebration, very lively and typically Provençale. Lots of stall, music, food , coffee and pastis.

The most famous Fêtes de Chataigne" is that of Collobrières , it takes place on the last three weekends of October .

The Confiserie Azurienne on bvd Koenig, Collobrières (9am–noon & 2–6pm) is an efficient and modern manufacturer of all things chestnut: ice cream, jam, nougat, purée and marrons glacés. Next door is the Museum of the Marron Glacé with an exhibition of the production processes of marron glacés (candied chestnuts) over the centuries.

Harvey was very anxious about travelling ....

Well, we went away for a week and it's taken me almost another week to get back into a routine - hence the gaps in what is supposed to be a daily blog! We - myself, my daughter and 3 dogs, Dilys, Hettie and Harvey stayed near Chateauvert which is about an hour by road inland from my usual haunts. It is a quiet and sheltered spot. At night there is no light pollution - it is years since I've been in real, natural darkness and I loved it. My daughter slept for most of the first two days - after a long, hard summer season as a holiday village receptionist followed by the end of season parties and piss-ups, she was in need of a little R and R. We festered in front of DVDs and ate rather a lot.

The 3 dogs revelled in the freedom of a huge garden, full of long grass, daisies and wonderful scents. After our small appartment they must have thought that they'd died and gone to doggie heaven.

It is the hunting season and so all 3 dogs were kitted out with bright orange collars and bells. We thought that they'd object - but they were so taken with their new environment that they barely seemed to notice their new collars. One good result was that Dilys, the 13 year-old cairn, short-sighted, loss of peripheral vision and also a little deaf, suddenly seemed to regain her confidence - then we realised that she was always aware of where the other dogs were because of their bells. No longer did we see her start when Hettie or Harvey came round from behind where she was sitting in the sun or sniffing in something unmentionable.

We explored some of the surrounding area - starting with Brignoles, where there were shops! Enough said. Once we had spent our holiday limit we put up picnics and simply drove around. Our favourite place was the waterfall at Seillans. It is a 15 - 20 minute walk from the car park to the cascade itself - but well worth it. We also discovered a concrete canoe in the museum of Brignoles (apparently it did float...)and a beautiful river walk on the road between Chateauvert and Correns.

But now I must get back to work on my website, which has just achieved a Page Rank of 2 - and hopefully start earning some rent money from it.

Promenez-vous - Take a walk - RAMATUELLE

Durée de la promenade - 30 min. Départ de l'Office de Tourisme sur la Place de l'Ormeau. Planté sous Henri IV pour marquer la pacification de la province et la conversion de roi, l'arbre figure sur le blason de la ville et fut remplacé en1983 par un olivier. Sur cette place se trouve l'église Notre Dame. En sortant de l'église, passer sous le porche et entrer dans le vieux village. Les rues y sont étroites et coudées, enserrées dans l'enceinte des anciens remparts. Certaines maisons ont conservé des encadrements de portes et de fenêtres d'époque. On arrive place Gabriel Péri, auparavant "place du Château", demeure seigneuriale remaniée au XVIIIe siècle par les eigneurs d'Audibert. En decendant la rue Victor Léon, on passe devant la porte Sarrasine. Remonter la rue puis descendre l'avenue Clemenceau, jusqu'au Mémorial, monument national inauguré en 1959. Rejoindre ensuite la chapelle Sainte-Anne construite au XVIe siècle et le cimetière où repose l'acteur Gérard Philipe. Sa tombe ombragée par un laurier et recouverte de lierre est l'une des plus sobres du lieu.

Length of walk - 30 minutes. Depart from the Tourist Office, place de l'Ormeau. Planted during the reign of Henry IV, the tree also figures on the village's coat of arms. It was replaced by an olive tree in 1983. You will also see Notre Dame church on the square. When you leave the church, pass under the porch and enter the old village, with its narrow streets cramped between the abcient ramparts. The original door and window frames can still be seen on some houses. You will then arrive at Place Gabriel Péri, formerly caleed "Castle Square" - a stately home rebuilt in the 18th century by the Lords of Audibert. As you go down Rue Victor Léon, you will pass in front of an original Saracen doorway. Head back up the street, then go down Avenue Clémenceau to the Landings Memorial which was inaugurated in 1959. Next, go on to St Anne's Chapel, built in the 16th century and to the cemetery, where the actor Gérard Philipe lies. Shaded by a laurel tree and covered in ivy, his is one of the cemetery's more modest tombs.

Cavalaire - History - Histoire

The name Cavalaire comes from the Greek colony "Heraclea Cacabaria" which founded a settlement in the bay. It evokes memories of Carthage and Hercules. The story of this young town (which has just celebrated its 70th birthday) of 5300 inhabitants began in 800 B.C. when the Ligurians occupied the fortress of Montjean. The Count of Provence, Guillaume I, built a watchtower on Cap Cavalaire, which was subsequently fortified by the Counts of Grimaud. the fortifications were destroyed in 1646.

In the 18th century, Cavalaire was a small fishing village, attached to the neighbouring village of Gassin until 1929. On August 15, 1944, the Allied Forces chose the site for the landings of the American army's 3rd infantry division. Cavalaire's main activity is now tourism and the town possesses a 1200 berth marina, famous throughout the Mediterranean. The remains of the Ligurian fortress, inhabited from 6 to 4 B.C., can still be admired on the heights overlooking Cavalaire Bay.

Le nom de Cavalaire provient d'une colonie grecque "Heraclea Cacabaria" qui avait pris position dans le baie. Il évoque le souvenir de Carthage et rapelle le culte d'Hercule. L'histoire de cette jeune commune (elle vient de fêter ses 70 ans) de 5300 habitants commence 800 ans avant notre ère avec les Ligures, installés dans leur oppidum (forteresse) du Montjean. Le compte de Provence, Guillaume Ier, construisit sur le Cap Cavalaire une tour de vigie à laquelle les comtes de Grimaud ajoutèrent des fortifications, détruites en 1646.

Au XVIIIe siècle, Cavalaire devint un petit hameau de pêcheurs qui, jusqu'en 1929, dépendait du village de Gassin. Le 15 août 1944, les alliés choisirent ce site pour le débarquement de la 3e division d'infanterie américaine. Depuis, l'activité principale de la commune est le tourisme avec un port moderne de 1200 places, renommé dans toute la Méditerranée. A noter également les vestiges de l'oppidum Ligure, habité du VIe siècle au IVe siècle av. J.C., sur les hauteurs du Montjean dominant la baie de Cavalaire.

La Récolte 2006 - the 2006 Harvest

La récolte 2006 sera inférieure à celle de l’an dernier en raison de la sécheresse. Moins de sorties de raisin donc, mais des grappes très saines d’où une bonne qualité d’ensemble. Selon les prévisions, la production totale devrait avoisiner les 7000 à 8000 hectolitres contre 10000 en 2005.


Le cave tropézienne rassemble 174 coopérateurs pour 200 hectares. Les surfaces vont du petit jardin de vignes au domaine de 25 ha. Les bennes des coopérateurs ont afflué au quai de réception de la cave tropézienne tout au long de la semaine dernière. Avec le traditionnel cycle : conquêt peseur, pressoir pneumatique en inox de 80 hectolitres, cuves de décantation de 250 hectolitres et enfin cuve de fermentation.

The harvest of 2006 will be lower than last year’s because of the drought. Less grapes have been produced but are very healthy with a good overall quality. The forecast is for a total production in the region of 7000 to 8000 hectoliters compared with 10000 in 2005.

The wine cooperative of St Tropez gathers crops from 174 producers with a total of 200 hectares ranging in size from small garden vineyards to fields of 25 ha. The grapes poured into the reception area throughout last week and went through the traditional cycle: weighing, pressing in the pneumatic stainless steel pneumatic press (capacity 80 hectoliters), settling in the decantation tanks (cap: 250 hectoliters) and finally ending up in the vats for the fermentation process to begin.