The Distinctive Flavors of Provence

French gastronomy in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur is very distinctive from the rest of French cuisine or French cooking. A Mediterranean influence brings recipes with hot spices and seafood. Because of the mountainous country, without the rich farmlands and herds of dairy cattle, Provencal cooking uses very little milk, and goat cheeses are predominant.

Garlic, olive oil and olives are the leitmotif, and the abundant herbes de Provence” are the spirit of Beyond’s Provencal recipes.

Herbes de Provence, famous world-wide, add flavor to the Beyond region. Rosemary (romarin), sage (sauge), origan (origan), marjoram (marjolaine) and savory (sarriette) are used alone or in different mixtures together to give Provençal cooking its unique taste and smell. A typical jar of Herbes de Provence lists “savory , rosemary (romarin), (serpolet), marjoram (marjolaine), origan (origan), (basilic), thym (thyme) in variable proportions”.

Some of these plants, such and rosemary and thyme, grow so abundantly that they are almost always present in even the most remote areas, adding fragrance to hikes thorough the hills.

A few pots growing on the kitchen window sill provide instant fresh herbs for cooking, and the plants strategically located around the outdoor barbeque provide handfuls of flavoring to be thrown directly onto the sizzling steaks and chops.

The herbs of Provence, dried and mixed together in small cloth sacks for sale in gift shops and grocery stores, are popular with tourists and visitors, allowing them to take some of the flavor of the region home with them. The small sacks add a lovely fragrance in kitchens and closets.