The top 5 local products that you really must try!
At the crossroads of the cuisines of the Gascon and Languedoc plains, Tarn cooking presents a typically Occitan gastronomy that gourmets love. From fragrant wine to fine spices and the fruit of the bees' labour, the culinary specialities of the Tarn will surprise your palate and enrich your pantry!
Mulard duck, foie-gras star
Fattened for its liver, it is a favourite for gourmets at the new year festivities. Renowned for its breeding and production of Mulard duck, the Tarn region takes pride in one of its tastiest fois gras from Gaillac: try it, and you're sure to want more. And if you want to impress your guests, prepare it "mi-cuit" with Tarn black garlic, accompanied by a glass of sweet white Gaillac wine. And voilà, it's ready to be devoured!
Saffron, the red gold that can be grown!
Created using traditional methods in the Tarn, the spice that is legendary for being the most laborious to produce, subtly enhances the dishes of the Tarn region to the great delight of the taste buds. In the Middle Ages in France, it was in the heart of Occitania that saffron was extracted by hand from the flower of the crocus sativus. Today, this pure, high-quality product is used to flavour simple, festive recipes, while at the same time giving them a golden hue, as in the case of saffron tripe, a medieval recipe that satisfies even the most discerning gourmets!
Lo Cantèl Bread – 100% Tarn
Different to other breads and harder to find, you have to come to the Tarn to taste Lo Cantèl. This bread was created by farmers, millers and artisan bakers from the Tarn, guided by their love of their region and the sharing of their craft. Made from a mixture of wheat varieties with no additives, this 100% Tarn traditional French bread is crunchy in the mouth at first and then soft inside when you reach its pleasant melt-in-the-mouth cream-coloured crumb.
A large number of Tarn beekeepers produce excellent honey to accompany your breakfast, your main courses and desserts. Éric Viguier, one of the Tarn's organic beekeepers, spoke to us about his honey production:
“Ever since I was a child, I have been called Riko in Spanish, which means delicious, and this is what gave me the idea to call my honey Rikomiel. Today, we have about one hundred beehives in production. The honey-making cycle changes according to the season, we begin by making a springtime honey, which we harvest in late April when the spring blossoms are out. Next, we harvest the acacia in the Médoc, which is our main honey. Later, we move the bees here to the Tarn valley to make chestnut honey.” His Rikomiel jars with creative labels feature the work of local artists to "bring art and culture to the breakfast table", he adds.
Wine, Gaillac's treasure
Whether they are reds with fruity and spicy accents, rosés or whites with honeyed notes, once wine lovers take a sip there's nothing more to prove. Gaillac wines have an exceptionally rich range that Sévérin Blanc, winemaker at the Domaine Vergnades, has managed to exploit. “I am the 6th generation of winemakers. We have various Gaillac grape varieties, braucol in red, duras, typical of the appellation, len-de-l’el in white, and more recently prunelard and mauzac. Not to forget the classic grape varieties such as syrah, merlot and cabernet. We produce wines with high environmental value using traditional, sustainable and organic farming methods. With the Tarn department, we won a silver medal at the Salon de L’Agriculture as well as at the Gaillac wine competition.”
Interview with Séverin, a passionate young winegrower
