TABLE OF CONTENTS
Best French Vegetable Types
Piment d'Espelette is a fiery red, hand-picked chili pepper with a strong smell reminiscent of fruit and smoke, produced in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques region in France. It was originally used in the south-west of France for curing dried ham.
Their taste is spicy and piquant, but not too hot on the palate. It can be sold in a few ways - as fresh, whole peppers strung in pairs of twos, threes, or fours on a string, or ground into orangey-red chili powder after the peppers have ripened enough.
Oignon de Roscoff is an onion of the Allium cepa family, with a round, elongated to flattened shape produced in the Finistére region in France. The onion is full of flavor, slightly sweet and has a melt-in-the-mouth quality.
The aromas are fruity, and the texture is juicy and crunchy while it is raw, and once it is cooked the texture becomes tender and the taste even sweeter. These onions are well known for their long shelf life and the high vitamin C content, and are so popular that they even have their own museum in Roscoff.
French Fingerling is a potato variety that was developed in France in the 1950s as a cross between Vale and Rosa potatoes. The potatoes are small to medium in size and cylindrical in shape. The skin is smooth and thin with a few eyes and brown spots.
The flesh is dense, firm, and waxy, and it stays that way once it's been cooked. The flavors are robust – buttery, nutty, and earthy. It's recommended to roast, steam, or bake French Fingerlings. Mash them or add them to salads or casseroles for the best effect.
Mâche nantaise is a small type of lettuce of the olitoria variety with long leaves that are shaped like spoons springing from the root. Lamb's lettuce, as it's called in English, can not be sold directly from the ground, but must be processed to become a finished and washed product ready for consumption.
It is grown in the French regions of Loire-Atlantique, Vendée and Maine-et-Loire, where the maritime climate enables the lettuce's quality, along with the specific spoil and traditional methods of production in beds. Its taste is distinctively tangy, and is used raw in salads and also steamed and served in vegetable dishes.
Pomme de terre de Noirmoutier are French potatoes originating from the Vendée department's municipalities of Noirmoutier en l’Ile, l’Epine, La Guérinière and Barbâtre. The potatoes have yellow flesh and thin skin that's easily detached before cooking.
They are produced from varieties and hybrids of Solanum tuberosum L. The harvest period lasts up to 31 August after a period of outdoor cultivation for a maximum of 130 days. Today, there is an annual celebration of these potatoes, which starts from the end of April to the beginning of May and it attracts several thousand people each year.
Cayenne pepper is a hot pepper that's named after its supposed place of origin, the Cayenne region of French Guiana. Nowadays, these peppers are grown in Mexico, the United States, India, and East Africa. They usually come in the dried and ground version, and the powder is often used in soups, sauces, on pizzas, or over meat and seafood.
Cayennes range from 30,000 to 50,000 Scoville Heat Units, similar to serrano pepper. The majority of hot sauces rely on cayenne for the kick, especially if the sauce contains vinegar. Interestingly, these peppers have been used as medicine for centuries as they have a number of beneficial effects on the cardiovascular system.
Oignon doux des Cévennes is a unique sweet onion grown in the Gard region in France, with its rugged terrain, light soils not susceptible to parasites, and a Mediterranean climate with dry summers and heavy rainfall. The onions are pearly white to almost copper in color with an elongated bulb and delicate, translucent skin.
On the inside, there is a firm, juicy, crunchy flesh with balanced flavors. The flavors are sweet and mild with hints of honey when the onion is consumed raw. It is just as good for cooking, making a great onion tart or a savory, thick onion soup with bread, pepper, olive oil and Gruyére cheese.
Artichaut du Roussillon are artichokes produced in the Pyrénées Orientales region in France since the 16th century. The artichokes are thought to be a part of Roussillon's cultural heritage and since they are produced on a large scale, they form the landscape through the seasons, with their green-purple tops pointed to the sky in springtime.
They have a mild taste and a tender, not too fibrous texture. They can be eaten raw and because of their well-closed bracts, they have a good keeping quality. One of the first artichokes in spring, these vegetables are exclusively harvested by hand.
Poireaux de Créances are leeks from the Allium porum variety produced in the Manche region since the 13th century. The white parts of the leeks are very long (at least 20 cm) and tender and get their specific characteristics and refined taste due to the sandy soil on which they grow (with the addition of local seaweed).
The leeks are rich in vitamins, minerals and fibre content, and their taste is slightly sweet, with walnut and hazelnut notes. They go well in quiches, cooked in stews or eaten with fresh scallops as an appetizer. When eaten raw, they can replace onions or garlic in salads.
Ail blanc de Lomagne is a white bulb grown in the clay and limestone soils of the French Gers and Tarn et Garonne regions since the 13th century. Lomagne garlic is amazingly fragrant, it has an intense flavor and quite a specific shape and appearance: all of the 8-12 cloves are evenly sized and creamy beige with occasional violet streaks.
When marketed, Lomagne white garlic must be dried and shaped in the traditional way - plaited into braids or packed in nets. Because of its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory qualities, Ail Blanc de Lomagne is eaten raw or used for adding flavor to various dishes such as the famous Tourin, a type of French garlic soup.
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