Goodies Aixoise

     So here we are in Aix-en-Provence, Bouches-du-Rhône, one of the most popular tourist destinations in France. People come here for the ample sunlight, proximity to the beach and, in part, for the food, so I thought it right to look at some of the local delicacies.


 
     First stop is the Sunday market next to the Palais de Justice en centre-ville, where I think much of my student loan might end up going this year. Sundried tomatoes are a nice pretentious snack anywhere in the world, but the French (and the Italians, I think) don't seem to drown them in oil like we do back home. These dried tomatoes are fine for putting in salads or eating with some equally pretentious hummus, as well as just munching while walking around the rest of the market. The taste is like sundried tomatoes you may have had before, but even more tangy and naked of all that oil.







   I didn't go for these in the end, but it's an odd little way to sell garlic. The Frencha re of course famous for their love of l'ail, but here they're served up in a way different to anything I've seen before. Already coated in sauce or mixed into a little marinade, these pre-skinned garlic cloves let you use as much of the stuff as you want (which, in my case, would be a LOT), without all that mucking about with garlic crushers and too-big knives.

    

     I first encountered the huge quantities of figs this region can offer a couple of years ago while picking chestnuts- a huge tree in the front garden held enough figs for us to make a good twenty jars of fig jam. I found it surprising then, and still do, that stallholders can charge so much for something that grows wild, often by the side of the road, like blackberries in England. These ones are admittedly bigger than those you'll find elsewhere, but clearly don't have the deep violet colour that they have when fully ripe. 

     It seems like most of the delicacies of the South are heavily sugared, like these dried figs I managed to get at half price. They're wonderfully chewy and dense, and apparently contain a lot of iron so we can all convince ourselves they're actually healthy and throw them chopped up onto our breakfast every day. 

Elsewhere, sweets have not the slightest hint of health benefits. These two are from local patisseries and have an astounding amount of sugar in them. On the left is Guimauves in strawberry, lemon and violet flavours, and seem more or less like posh marshmallows, more of a mousse inside and very very tasty. On the right is a little bag of Calissons, Aix's local speciality, which gives them license to charge ridiculous amounts for them- while this bag of five mini Calissons cost me 2€, bigger boxes go up to 50€ for an amount that would barely satisfy two hungry Frenchmen. That said, they are really very nice- a flavour of combined citron peels and spices mixed into almond paste. Basically, heavy marzipan with icing on top, but satisfying in its own special way.