Celebrating Summer with Tomatoes

Juicy  ripe tomatoes on a market stall 

The humble tomato has been around for ages: as far back as medieval times when in Britain, they used to hurl criminals with squashy rotting tomatoes as they waited to be sentenced. What a waste, you say and I agree totally.

Today, it is cultivated with pride all over the world recognized as a good source of vitamin C, similar to oranges. But more important, it is an antioxidant fruit which protects us against cancer and heart disease, a vital health food.   

Called tomate in French, you’ll see lots of this juicy fruit summer in Provence – most say it’s a fruit and not a vegetable. Whatever it is, I am slowly getting addicted. I like them raw, slow roasted in the oven with fresh herbs, olive oil, and garlic and simply love the Provencal style tomato dishes.

I’m not sure if it’s because of the geography, terroir, summer sun or maybe a combo of all these but tomatoes here are special, simply fabulous. 

In the past, tomatoes were referred to as pomme d’amour (love apples) because the French thought they had aphrodisiac properties. Nothing beats fresh sun ripe tomatoes, combined with olive oil and garlic they form the basics of food from Provence: bold healthy flavors of a Mediterranean dietary style - you only have to look at any market in Provence (even the smallest town will have one) and in that little market you’ll have a selection of tomato varieties to choose from.

And the main health benefits?

   --   Tomatoes contain high levels of lycopene,l a very powerful antioxidant which helps protect us against the free radicals in the body.  Doctors say a diet rich in lycopene will lower the risk of developing prostate, colorectal and breast cancer. To get the maximum benefit from lycopene, you need to cook them - an exception to the rule that cooking reduces valuable nutrients—cooked tomatoes is healthy for our organisms. The body does not absorb much lycopene from tomatoes in their natural state, it’s the heating and cooking that makes them more nutritional than the raw state.

--  Tomatoes contain vitamin A, great for improving vision, for strong hair and for the protection of the skin.
--  Eat them raw to get the maximum vitamin C. Don’t store them in the fridge though; it will only alter the sublime taste and fresh flavor.

And if you’re in Provence for the first time make sure you try the two delights-, salade niçoise and ratatouille.

Healthy salade niçoise

4 Good Reasons for switching to the Traditional Mediterranean Diet

The Mediterranean diet is the easiest, simplest, most practical diet around, yet in our search for losing weight we turn to other food plans – the paleo, the Dukan and the Atkins diets, the list goes on. But it’s over indulgence on the wrong foods and inactivity that creates the need to lose weight. Wouldn’t it be better to incorporate a healthy life style with simple eating - good eating habits that are easy to follow, nutritious and healthy? 

There’s no real definition of the Mediterranean diet, no single model, it’s more a lifestyle based on a southern European approach which includes food obtained from livestock, fishing, and agriculture from the different countries of the south.

Mediterranean diet being neglected

Sadly, the healthy eating styles and traditions of the Mediterranean diet are being neglected, fast food is gaining popularity and with that comes the obvious- we are getting fatter. And, because we’re all in a hurry these days, we’re losing the habit of sitting down and enjoying mealtimes.

We're lucky here in the south, it’s really easy to follow the Mediterranean; the choice of fruit and vegetables is endless especially in our open air markets.



Market delights in our local open air market

 Here’s why we should take a second look at the Mediterranean diet:

1. No food restrictions

The great thing about the Mediterranean food plan is that there are no strict laws on what we should eat and what we shouldn’t. Instead the diet focuses on the variety of fresh vegetables and fruit and encourages us to experiment with locally sourced products.

2. Healthy

 Originally known as the "Poor Man’s diet" because it did not include a lot of meat, only  a bit of fish but lots of seasonal fruit and vegetables this is the diet that has proved to reduce  heart disease as well as number of medical conditions brought on by western lifestyle

Key ingredients

--Healthy olive oil is the main fat in Mediterranean cooking, in salads, even used by some on bread instead of butter.

--Lots of fruit and vegetables low in fat and high in fiber such as courgettes, avocados, tomatoes, peppers, melons.

-- Fish packed with protein, vitamins and minerals.

--Nuts aren’t to be consumed every day but around 2- 3 times a week.

 3. Less expensive

Buying local and fresh means we won’t be paying too much for food especially  with a list and a meal plan for the week.  Choosing the right food makes us automatically want to cut out costly junk food items.

4.  Pleasure

The Mediterranean diet is not only about food but a lifestyle where families take time to eat together, not in front of the television but around the table. It’s this sharing which creates a deep appreciation of food.


Forget about fad diets, study the Mediterranean diet pyramid, a doable, easy, and versatile plan. Start making  healthy choices and enjoying meal times.

Corsican olive oil in the limelight at Paris International Agricultural Show

The prestigious International Agricultural Show took place in Paris from February 21 to March 1. Foodies were once again delighted by tastes, flavors and culinary delights at this 52^nd International event.

A Corsican village, represented all the wonderful products such as honey, wine, chestnut, cheeses and olive oil products making  pavilion 3, a delightful stop but noticeably this year for those  in the business of olive oil   was a change in  labeling of Corsican Olive oil  with producers adding information  to their local treasure.

Besides the protected designation of origin (PDO) Corsican Olive Oil producers can now include additional information .   Were the olives ripe and were they   allowed to be dropped into nets or were they picked green from the tree?

But how is this helpful to the consumer?

With all the recent talk of fraud, olive oil consumers are on their guard.

 What does “picked off the tree or picked off the ground really mean?”

Although in depth labeling is key for this high quality product, consumers need to understand the two very distinct tastes and aromas that the two methods will have on the resulting oil.

They need to know that when olives are picked green and processed within 24 hours, you get a more bitter oil with herbaceous aromas and flavors like cut grass while ripe fruit will produce a sweet delicate taste.

As Union President Don Jean Santaluccia   said “the olives that fall into the net are much milder than those picked off the tree and are much more fruiter.”

Surely this would be more helpful to the average consumer.

Facts and figures for Corsican Olive Oil—Olio di Corsica

·         Corsica produces some of the most delicious olive oil.   Many producers like to wait until their olives are fully matured, then let them fall quite naturally onto carefully laid out nets usually between November and May.

·         Two types of plantations exist on this sundrenched island --old orchards with old trees some more than 2,000 years old which survived two terrible fires in 1957 and 1985 and relatively young olive orchards tendered by young producers.

·         The island boasts 28 approved mills for olive oil production and 194 member producers.

·         In 2014, Corsica celebrated their tenth anniversary of PDO.

·         The average price per liter of Corsican Olive oil -- 20 euros per liter.

Olives from Corsica