The Romans once enjoyed the European oysters that proliferated in their time in the Marennes-Oléron basin. With production neighboring 40,000 tons a year, Marennes-Oléron is Europe's leader in the field. The oysters derive their distinctive flavor from the small basins in which they are allowed to mature and acquire their geographically specific taste and their characteristically green color by dint of boat-shaped microorganisms, the blue navicula.

Certified quality is duly indicated by red labels, and there exist different vintages («crus») in accordance with how long the oysters remained in the basins: a month for the "fine", two months for the "special". There are fewer of the latter and they achieve greater fullness. As for the «pousses» (shoots); they are kept in the basins for four to eight months.

In Oléron they are traditionally eaten raw with white-wine-flavored small sausages; in Charente they are savored along with «grillons» (pork sausages).

Melons

Ripe in August, the small and sweet cantaloupes are halved and filled with Pineau des Charentes. It was in the 1970s, between Thouars and Loudun, that melon growing in Haut-Poitou got underway in earnest. The Haut-Poitou area is France's third largest melon-producing region, and the melons sold under the label "Les Maîtres du melon du Haut-Poitou" account for some 15% of overall production.

Farci poitevin

Over the centuries, this herb pâté was basically a pauper's culinary pittance. Garden herbs were added to leftover meat and fresh vegetables. In our times, every family would seem to possess its own recipe, and yet the same vegetables — sorrel, leeks, cabbage, lettuce, spinach — are customarily used along with eggs; onions, parsley and pork are added on. It should nonetheless be noted that in days gone by, cooking procedures were already various.

Only rarely was the pâté cooked in an oven, after having been rolled up in a net, cloth or tea towel in order to keep the cabbage leaves tightly attached.

Potatoes

Alcmaria, Starlette, Roseval, Charlotte and Amandine are the five appetizing early potato varieties originating in the isle of Ré. They recently became the first to be awarded an AOC formally attesting to their origin. The cumulative secret of their succulence resides in the temperate, sun-drenched climate, the fertile soil, stringent production regulations, and a wide range of varieties in terms of the soil available. 

Year in and year out, Ré produces 6000 tons of potatoes. Mineral fertilizer, mulching with seaweed and carefully regulated irrigation provide the potatoes with their outstanding taste and characteristic tang of the sea..

Legend has it that the «chabichou du Poitou» was first produced in the 7th century by Saracens who had stayed on in the area following the battle of Poitiers («chabi» is said to be a distortion of the Arabic word «chebli», meaning «goat»). Its thin white rind tinged with a grayish blue and white, firm yet creamy interior is popular with many a consumer. The flavor of the cheese depends on the skill of the manufacturer as he salts it. Maturing lasts from 10 days to several months and produces a cheese that is more or less rounded in taste and increasingly flavorful as time goes on. This cheese has been awarded AOC status.

Other Poitou cheeses include «caillebotte», the creamy Mothe-Saint-Héray variety shaped like a camembert, specialties from Couhé-Vérac and La Crèche, and cylindrical goat cheeses such as Sainte-Maure.

«Tourteau fromager»

This rustic recipe dates back to the times when salt, a rare and costly commodity, was employed quite sparingly and when, instead of being added to cheese, it was used fresh in cooking, as curds, or in a soft cake served as a dessert on special occasions.

Spongy but firmly shaped in a crisp, fresh pastry crust, the cake is prepared with fresh goat cheese (or cow cheese if none is available), eggs, flour and sugar. It is eye-catching on account its rounded top, which always remains blackish, visibly «burnt».

Pineau des Charentes

Pineau des Charentes stems from a blend of three-quarters fresh grape juice and grape must, along with one quarter of cognac that is at least 60 proof. Since the alcohol prevents the must from fermenting, the blend retains its high sugar content. After energetic blending, it is stored in oak barrels and left to age.

Pineau should be served well-chilled, as an aperitif, a dessert wine or with melon or other fruit. Pineau blanc is drier; it is derived from a grape variety known as «Saint-Emilion des Charentes» or «Folle blanche». Pineau rosé has a fruitier taste; it is made with red Cabernet and Merlot grapes. The quality varies in accordance with the cognac employed.

Cognac

The vineyards of Cognac cover 200,000 acres, making it the second largest area of production in France (Bordeaux is the first). Export accounts for 94% of overall sales. 

The nearby vineyards radiate out from Cognac in concentric circles - Grande Champagne, Petite Champagne, Borderies, Fins Bois, Bons Bois and Bois Ordinaires.

Distillation consists of two heating operations in copper stills. The first produces the «brouillis», the second the «coeur» (heart) which will become cognac.

The young spirits just out the still are gradually transmuted into liquid gold by the alchemy that takes place between the wood and the alcohol. Every year, 3% of the spirits evaporate — they are known as the «angel's share». The blender's basic task is to felicitously bring together spirits from different areas and of different ages. 

The combined spirits are then put into barrels and left to blend naturally. Cognac is never a single alcohol but always a blend.

It is sold as three-star, Vieilles Réserves, XO and Napoléon - the names indicate the differences. Cognacs made mainly with Grande Champagne and Petite Champagne and containing at least 50% Grande Champagne are deemed worthy of the name Fine Champagne. All the leading cognac houses are open to visitors and are happy to provide them with a glimpse of a seemingly magical process.

Butter, a gourmet gem.

Butter from Echiré is to be seen at the best tables throughout the world. Well-known to gourmets ever since the early 20th century, it began to appear in leading restaurants and luxury cheese and dairy stores over the 1950s and the 1960s. Manufactured in wooden churns, it is sold in pats and boxes but also, more peculiarly, in characteristic little baskets. The skills enlisted were rewarded by the granting of an AOC. Echiré butter owes its character and elegance to the region's soil, which imbues the grass where cows graze with a specific quality that can hardly be "bottled". Another favorite butter for gourmets originates in Pamplie, where it is manufactured in the traditional churns by a small dairy located between Niort and Parthenay.

White gold - salt

When spring comes, salt workers reconstruct the layer of clay that carpets the floor of the basins so as to ensure their remaining watertight. They then diffuse the water through the network of squares, skillfully dosing out the quantities. Thanks to the sunshine, evaporation may get started and salt workers can begin «harvesting» the salt, in small quantities, through autumn. Using a sort of long-handled scraper called a "simoussi", they haul the crystallized salt to the water's edge and pile it up in heaps. The constant sunshine and strong winds ensure high output from this checkerboard of land hemmed in by water. «Fleur de sel» is a naturally fine and pure salt that forms a thin skin on the surface of the water; it is a commodity prized by leading chefs. The quality of the salt produced on Ré island has earned it a «red label».

Angelica, a touch of witchcraft

This umbelliferous plant was imported from Scandinavian countries in the 12th century and found a suitable home in the Marais Poitevin. It grows at a truly spectacular rate. Indeed, gardeners claim that they can hear it increasing in size. Legend has it that Raphael, the Archangel, gave it to humankind to save us from contagious diseases and chase out evil demons. It is said to possess a thousand and one medicinal virtues as a tonic, a stomachic, a sudorific, an expectorant, a carminative, a depurative, etc. In the 17th century, it became a gourmet treat in the form of a liqueur or crystallized fruit. Nowadays, it is valued for its gastronomic qualities and used in a wide range of products — jam, cream, confectionery or crystallized stems and liqueurs.

Angelica is the basic ingredient in a green liqueur obtained by maceration and distillation in cognac, along with added sugar and distilled water. It is likewise commonly used in its crystallized form to decorate cakes, and the shapes it takes are highly extravagant.