The measure of that time, the handful, or « poignée » gave its name to the la pogne which was made only at Easter, at the time when eggs, formally forbidden during Lent, became more abundant. In spite of a few disappearances in times of famine, la pogne valiantly traversed the centuries, gaining the famous touch of an orange blossom and sometimes even a touch of rum or lemon. And when decorated with pralines, it then takes the name of « Saint-Genix » in reference to the Savoyard commune where it received this embellishment for the first time. A secular epic for a regional product which even has its own museum. Within the framework of ancient bakeries, Pascalis, which is also the oldest Roman bakery, suggests we dive into the history of la pogne before tasting it, still warm. An ideal take-away delight, since la pogne stays fresh for several weeks..

Contact and information: www.pascalis.com
Photo: Pascalis

To know more about Drôme, click here
To see the Drôme in pictures, click here 

Today, by developing products with affirmed savours « which tell their name  » as they say in Lyon, the business learned how to seduce the greatest chefs while staying close to the consumer. A real school for the taste where we can familiarise ourselves with all the complexity of savours, the local varieties and the different forms of usage. A flavoursome place!

Contact et informations: www.huilerie.com
Photo: Huilerie Richard

To know more about Drôme, click here
To see the Drôme in pictures, click here 

It follows the valleys of  Eygues, of Ouvèze and of Ennuyé before passing by Nyons, Buis les Baronnies, Arpavon and the villages perched on the Drôme Provençale. Dotted with museums, artisans, and oil mills, the Olive Tree road tells the old, old story of the green gold.

Because it's really thousands of years that we are talking about, all the way back to the image of the olive grove of Baronnies planted 2000 years ago. A hope of a secular life for this tree which starts producing only at seven years of age and reaches its peak at 35. It's immortal too, since even when the trunk dies, shoots start to grow from it to form a new tree.

Here, in Nyons country, it's the  « tanche » (the tench) which has star billing. This prettily plump olive has adapted itself to the sometimes harsh climate of the region. We are, in fact, in the northernmost olive-growing region of France. Harvested ripe, and therefore black, between December and January, lightly lined by the first hoarfrost and the dryness of the air, the tench allowed the region to receive the award of the first Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée of France in 1994. To munch or to savour in the form of oil redolent of green apples, dried fruit and hazelnuts. 

To visit on the olive tree road:

Do you know what cold pressed extraction is? There are four steps in the production of olive oil. All are designed to preserve vitamins and nutritional gems.

Cleaning and grinding

The first step is selecting olives that are cleaned and without leaves.
The olives are crushed along with their pits, which contain a natural preservative for the oil.

Extraction of the olive oil

Extraction consists of separating the << moût >> (the olive oil paste) from the << grignons >> (the solids), comprised of fragments of the pits, the skin and the pulp. This is the traditional method, which separates the olive oil paste from the solids by pressing the olives. The pressing is done with an open hydraulic press; the olive oil paste is then spread in thin coats on fibre disks called << scourtins >> which are stacked one on top of another in a mobile tower.

The machine used in the construction of the stack consists of a round steel tray with slightly raised outside edge which is mounted on a trolley for handling.
A hollow cylinder (called the needle) is inserted at the centre of the tray to keep the stack in a vertical position and facilitate the outflow of the olive oil paste along the central axis of the stack.

Separation of the olive oil and the water

Centrifugation is the system used to separate the olive oil from the water. The separation is done by machines spinning at high speed.. The moût, coming in from the top, enters a drum which is then subjected to centriguation at 6000-7000 revolutions per minute. Because of the diffrerence in their density, the oil and the water separate into two different outflows.

Filtering

This olive oil is then filtered and conditioned.

This information was provided by Huilerie Richard