French Culture & Savoir‐Faire

In France, organic agriculture confirmed its strength in 2018, particularly in production. This included both an increase in the lands devoted to organic agriculture and the consumption of organic products, but also job creation: the industry had its best growth in six years and doubled the production from five years ago. Five thousand additional farms […]

The artichoke is an old crop in the Roussillon area of southern France, where it has been cultivated since at least the 17th century. In around 1830, the production of this crop booms. Starting in the beginning of the 20th century, it is shipped all across France and to Germany and England thanks to the […]

Thousands of Americans in the Washington, D.C., area were able to participate in an annual celebration of French agriculture at the EU Open House. Every year in the middle of May, the embassies of the member states of the European Union open their doors to the public to celebrate. France and Germany always hold their […]

Picodon cheese is a goat’s milk cheese coming from the Ardèche and Drome area, in the Rhône valley region, and has benefitted from Protected Designation of Origin status since 1983. Picodon, whose name comes from the local Occitan language and means “spicy,” is a creamy, full flavored cheese that has been described as slightly sour, […]

Provence thyme is one of the newest French agricultural products benefitting from protected designation of origin status, having been granted EU-wide protection by the European Commission in October 2018. A perennial, Provence thyme is grown either in fields or collected from the wild. Provence thyme is easy to distinguish from other varieties of the thyme […]

The Coco de Paimpol is a variety of bean, presented in pods, that has benefits from protected designation or origin status since 1998, but has been grown in Brittany since at least the 1920s. Grown around the town of Paimpol, in northwestern part of the Côtes d’Armor department on the coast of northern Brittany (northwestern […]

The first wood to obtain protected designation of origin status, Chartreuse Wood is a sign of quality and authenticity. Renowned for its resistance and solidness for several centuries, this construction wood, produced from pine and spruce trees, is also part of an initiative of preserving the territory and environment through a well thought-out forest management […]

From the 1880s, the market value of land did not stop dropping. During this period, the average price to purchase a hectare of land dropped by a third. The regions the most impacted were Languedoc and the Mediterranean, as well as Aube and Champagne, while Brittany did alright. Taken together, this represented a complete rout […]

The cider of Brittany is a drink that is truly emblematic of this coastal region of northwest France. It is made from a selective choice of cider apples and presents fine bubbles and a light foam. The apples come from varieties that range from bitter, bittersweet, tart, or sweet and must be produced in the […]

In the confines of Champagne and Burgundy regions, Chaource, a cheese benefitting from protected designation of origin status, has cross the centuries thanks to a tradition firmly anchored in its terroir. It is presented today in its finest trappings: a white and fluffy crust that melts easily and aromas of cream and mushroom with a […]