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 The French Paradox > Eating is an art in southern France
It was the 60 Minutes program, watched by 20 million Americans, that set off the California wine boom of the early ’90s.
Since then however, with nutritional health increasingly becoming a government priority throughout the developed world and governments spending significant sums on research into the ‘obesity epidemic’, it has been found that fresh fruit and vegetable consumption is probably also a decisive factor in the French Paradox.
Indeed, in Lot-et-Garonne as across all the rural and urban south-west, fresh food is the name of the game: after all, this is the ‘garden of France’ so everything is available locally, fresh daily.
The French make eating an art. No where is this more true than in south-west France where you do not rush when eating a meal. The main dishes are full of vegetables; they probably get the necessary daily three-five servings of vegetables in the main course alone
Fruit is eaten daily, either by itself, with cheese, or as an enhancement to a main course. Even the desserts are filled with fruit – fruit tarts, poached pears with basil, Rosemary Sorbet. Berries with Muscat with lavender
Herbs are in everything, absolutely everything. Herbs permeate the air in French cooking. Herbs are in sauces, soups, salads, desserts, casseroles, meat dishes, and grilled meats – when a local eats a steak, it’s not with salt or pepper, it’s with tarragon, garlic, shallots and wine.
Central to this diet is freshness – freshness is essential. Fresh locally grown fruit ripened on the vine packed with nutrients and sent to market the same day it was picked. A French cook would never use week old vegetables or fruits, not only do they lack nutritional value but they lack flavour. So who’s for a meal in Lot-et-Garonne?
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