Provence - St-Didier - The Best Nougat In France ...Maybe In The World

Nougat( the T is silent in French)is a harmonious blend of honey, egg white and sugar, flavored with vanilla and studded with almonds and sometimes pistachio nuts. When you mentioned Nougat in France, you think of Montélimar. Correct, but here is the hitch. Montélimar is the largest producer and you find their products on many supermarket shelves around the world. Unfortunately Nougat from Montélimar has become a mass product and quality can be erratic, to be polite. So let's focus on those artisans in the Provence, who continue to produce Nougat the old fashioned way, my favorite is Silvain Frères Paysans Nougatiers in St.Didier just 15 minutes south of Carpentras. Not only do they produce their own almonds, but have 100 bee hives that produce two kinds of honey: – one is dark and produces what they call 'Black Nougat' and then a Lavender honey (produced in the Luberon Valley) that produces a white nougat'. Silvain Frères Paysans Nougatiers in St.Didier, a lovely village and a favorite of mine, is 6km south of Carpentras. Pierre and Philippe Silvain are Nougatiers in the 6th generation.. Silvain Frères makes one of the best nougats in France. Their retail store has a wide selection of nougats, candied fruits and - when in season - quince paste. You can watch the production process through a glass window in the store. They also sell their products on various markets in the region. Route de Vénasque, 84210 Saint-Didier, Traveling north from Carpentras, you first pass through the town of Pernes-les-Fontaines, a lovely town of hundred of fountains, many historical. Then up the road to St-Didier, a lovely village home to the best Nouget in France. After leaving here, a spectacular way to enter the Luberon valley is to continue to Venasque high on a hilltop then down hill towards Gordes thru a most scenic roadway past the famous Abbey at Senaque and then into Gordes and down into the Luberon Valley.