If there is one thing we emphasize on our food tours and in our cooking classes, it is the French love of the seasons. Almost every month offers something special to anticipate, including local holidays and festivals, and with those, comes a wealth of fresh produce harvested locally. To illustrate how important seasons are in France, we often explain that the French would almost never eat a strawberry in winter! Anytime you join us on a gourmet walking tour or in our cooking classes, the Aix en Provence farmers market puts on a show of colorful fruits and vegetables. Here’s a taste of what to expect at each time of the year:
SPRING
The first fruits & vegetables of the season: tiny salads, delicious strawberries, green & white asparagus, baby artichokes and sweet peas, and fresh goats and sheeps cheeses. Easter chocolates too!
SUMMER
A rainbow of produce at the peak season: juicy red cherries, golden apricots, sweet melons, heirloom tomatoes, string beans and all the ingredients for Provencal Ratatouille.
FALL
Indian Summer specialties and the Autumn harvest: late season eggplants and zucchini, Muscat eating grapes, plums, apples, quince and giant sliced Provence sugar pumpkins.
WINTER
Cozy cooking ingredients: wild mushrooms of all shapes and sizes, white cauliflowers, chestnuts, walnuts, apples, pears, Corsican clementines, and of course melting cheeses to make Raclette!