From wine to spicy aromas and Cordes crisps, the culinary specialties of Tarn will continue to surprise your palates and enrich your pantries!
A nugget to nibble on
The crunch of Cordes
Egg whites, flour, sugar and a little almond: mix, put in the oven and that's it! The recipe for Cordes croquants is simple, and here our pastry chefs know how to make it sublime.
History has it that this specialty dates back to the 17the century, when, not knowing what to do with the almonds harvested in too great a quantity, a town innkeeper came up with the idea of this biscuit.
Today, it is enjoyed all over the Tarn and beyond, but it is at the bend in the Cordais alleys that it is best appreciated, a well-deserved reward after the climb to the heart of the city. The only drawback? You don't have to be hungry to eat it... So we wouldn't stop!
SOFT
A whole cheese
Aren't they so cute, these little goats that graze in the four corners of Occitan Tuscany and in the plains of Ségala? When we come across them while hiking, we stop to watch them for a few minutes before getting back on the path. Later, when we go to the market, we meet their breeders who let us taste a delicious cheese, the fruit of their passionate work!
In Penne, it is at the Pic Cheese Factory that it is shaped! When they came to settle in the Tarn from Paris at the end of the 70s, Jef and Claude had only one watchword: happy goats for a quality cheese. Today, their sons share and perpetuate it. The milk at the origin of the famous Rouelles and their other delicacies comes from local farms in the Tarn or neighboring Tarn-et-Garonne, where the goats enjoy the sun for a large part of the year. So, happy?
Intoxicating
Wine, the treasure of Gaillac
Whether they are reds with a dominant fruity flavour and spicy accents, rosés or whites with honeyed notes, they have nothing more to prove to oenophiles seduced from the first sip. Gaillac wines have an exceptionally rich palette that Sévérin Blanc, winemaker of Vergnades Estate, has been able to exploit. “I am the 6th generation of winegrowers. 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 forgetting the traditional grape varieties such as Syrah, Merlot and Cabernet. We produce wines with High Environmental Value. With the Tarn department, we have already won a silver medal at the Salon de l'Agriculture as well as at the Gaillac Wine Competition.”
Fondant
Mulard duck, star of foie gras
Fattened for its liver, it remains the guilty pleasure of the most gourmands at the end of year celebrations. Renowned for its breeding and production of mulard duck, the Tarn produces one of the most delicious foie gras in Gaillac: try it, you will only want one thing… to come back. And if you want to impress your guests, cook it half-cooked with black garlic from the Tarn and accompany it with a glass of sweet white wine from Gaillac, move on to tasting and that's it!
Surprising
Saffron, the red gold
Created by hand in the Tarn, the one we call the noble spice, because it is the most laborious to produce in the world, subtly enhances Tarn dishes for the greatest pleasure 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 sativusToday, this pure, quality product flavors simple, festive recipes while giving them its golden color, like tripe with saffron, a medieval recipe that satisfies the most gourmet!
Cute
Lo Cantèl 100% Tarn bread
Unlike other ordinary breads and more difficult to find, you have to go here, in the Tarn, to taste it. Lo Cantèl. This bread was created by farmers, millers and artisan bakers from Tarn, guided by the love of their country and the sharing of their craft. Without additives, made from mixtures of wheat varieties, this 100% Tarn traditional French bread is first crispy in the mouth then soft inside when you get to its pleasantly melting cream-colored crumb.
The honey we cherish
A large number ofTarn beekeepers produce excellent honeys to accompany your breakfasts, your dishes and your desserts. Éric Viguier, organic beekeeper in Tarn, tells us about his honey production:
“Since I was little, they have called me Riko, in Spanish it means delicious”, that’s what gave me the idea to call my honeys Rikomiel. Today, there are about a hundred beehives in production. The honey production cycle changes with the seasons. We start by making spring honey that we harvest at the end of April, where all the spring flora is. Then, we harvest Acacia in the Médoc, our essential honey. Afterwards, we transhume the bees here in the Tarn valley to make chestnut honey. His Rikomiel pots with creative labels feature the works of local artists to “Bring art and culture to the breakfast table.” he adds.
Where to find our local products?
What better way to get delicious local produce than to buy it from the people who grew or made it?
From Cordes sur Ciel to Gaillac, many producers open the doors of their estate on certain days of the week or are present at our many markets! The ideal way to chat with them and learn all about the best way to taste their products.
Another possibility: the producers' shops that dot our territory and where you can find vegetables, fruits, honey, wine, charcuterie, biscuits and many other delicacies!
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