Glossary of French Fine Food Terms

The words of French fine food, explained simply: labels, tea grades, olive varieties, salts, spices and confectionery. On product pages, tap a word underlined with dots to see its definition.

Labels and know-how

PDO (AOP): A European label guaranteeing that every stage of production, processing and preparation takes place in one defined area, following a recognized local know-how. In French, AOP.
PGI (IGP): A European label linking a product to its place of origin: at least one stage of production, processing or preparation takes place there. In French, IGP.
Living Heritage Company (EPV): A label awarded by the French state to companies whose craft or industrial know-how is rare and of excellence.
Terroir: A French word for everything a place gives a product: the soil, the climate, the exposure and the know-how of the people who work it.
Grand cru: Originally a wine classification. For other products such as chocolate, honey or olive oil, the term is not regulated: the maker uses it for an origin or a blend it considers exceptional.
Single origin: Made from one single origin (a country, a region or an estate) rather than a blend, so that the character of that place shows through.
Unpasteurized: Not heated after it is made. For a honey or a vinegar, the aromas stay as the maker intended.

Tea and herbal teas

Tea leaf grades (OP, FOP, GFOP, TGFOP): Letters that describe the leaf of a black tea, not its flavor. OP (Orange Pekoe): long, whole leaves. F (Flowery): with buds. G (Golden): golden-tipped buds. T (Tippy): rich in tips. The more letters, the more buds.
Darjeeling: A tea-growing district in the foothills of the Himalayas, in West Bengal, India. Its black teas are light and fragrant; the first flush (spring) and second flush (summer) harvests taste different.
Assam: A state in northeast India, on the plains of the Brahmaputra, known for full-bodied, malty black teas that take milk well.
Ceylon: The former name of Sri Lanka, still used for its teas. Ceylon black teas are bright and brisk; their taste depends on the altitude of the garden.
Yunnan: A province of southwest China, home to ancient tea trees, known for black teas rich in golden buds and for pu-erh.
Pu-erh: A tea from Yunnan, China, whose leaves are fermented and aged after drying. It gives a dark, earthy, woody cup that can improve over the years.
Oolong: A partly oxidized tea, between green and black, from China and Taiwan. Depending on the oxidation, it is floral and fresh, or roasted and fruity.
Sencha: The most common green tea in Japan: leaves steamed right after picking, then rolled into fine needles. Fresh and grassy, sometimes with a marine note.
Matcha: A Japanese green tea ground into a fine powder, from leaves grown in the shade. It is whisked into water rather than steeped.
Gunpowder: A Chinese green tea whose leaves are rolled into small pellets that unfurl in hot water. It is the classic base of Moroccan mint tea.
Yin Zhen (Silver Needle): A white tea from Fujian, China, made only from the downy buds of the tea plant, simply withered and dried. Delicate and sweet.
Earl Grey: A black tea scented with bergamot, a citrus fruit. Named after a British prime minister of the 1830s, it now also comes as a green or a white tea.
Bergamot: A citrus fruit grown mainly in Calabria, in southern Italy. The essential oil from its peel gives Earl Grey its scent.
Rooibos: A South African shrub from the Cederberg mountains. Its fermented, dried leaves make a naturally caffeine-free infusion, round and gently sweet.
Carcadet (hibiscus): The dried flowers of the hibiscus. They make a deep red, tangy infusion, naturally caffeine-free and delicious iced.
Theine: The old name for the caffeine in tea; it is the same molecule. Theine-free means a drink made without tea leaves.
Chai: In India, tea simmered with milk, sugar and spices. By extension, a blend of tea or rooibos with spices such as cardamom, cinnamon, ginger and clove.

Olive oil

Extra virgin olive oil: The highest grade of olive oil: obtained from olives by mechanical means only, with no taste defect and a free acidity of 0.8% or less.
Cold extracted: Extracted without heat. For olive oil, below 27 °C (81 °F) under European rules, to preserve its aromas; for honey, spun from the comb without heating.
Single variety: An olive oil made from one olive variety only, to express its own character, rather than from a blend.
Picholine: A French olive variety from the Gard, also grown throughout Provence. Its oil is green and herbaceous; it is also a well-known table olive.
Aglandau (Béruguette): A Provençal olive variety, called Béruguette in the Vallée des Baux and also grown in Haute-Provence. Its oil is intense, with artichoke notes and a peppery finish.
Bouteillan: A Provençal olive variety from the Var, giving fruity, well-balanced oils, often with notes of apple and almond.
Salonenque: A Provençal olive variety from around Salon-de-Provence, one of the varieties of the Vallée des Baux. Its oil is mild and fruity, with almond notes.
Grossane: A large olive of the Vallée des Baux, mostly a table olive (the black olives of the Vallée des Baux), which brings softness to blends.
Tanche: The olive of Nyons, in the Drôme provençale, picked very ripe. It gives the mild, buttery oil of the Nyons PDO and the black olives of Nyons.
Cailletier: The small olive of the Nice area, the one of Niçoise olives, which gives mild, delicate oils.
Vallée des Baux-de-Provence PDO: An olive oil appellation around the Alpilles, in Provence, made from local varieties such as Salonenque, Béruguette (Aglandau), Grossane and Verdale.
Nyons PDO: The olive oil appellation of Nyons, in the Drôme provençale, made from the Tanche olive.

Salt, pepper and spices

Fleur de sel: The fine crystals that form on the surface of salt marsh pans in hot, dry weather, gathered by hand. Light and crunchy, it is added at the last moment.
Grey sea salt: Salt raked from the clay bottom of the salt pans, moist and grey, for cooking.
Guérande: Salt marshes on the Atlantic coast of southern Brittany, around Guérande and Batz-sur-Mer, where sea salt has been harvested by hand for centuries.
Camargue: The Rhône delta on the Mediterranean: a land of salt marshes, rice fields and flamingos.
Kampot pepper: A pepper grown in the province of Kampot, in Cambodia, protected by a geographical indication. Its black, red and white peppercorns are aromatic and complex.
Timut pepper: The dried berry of a Nepalese tree of the Zanthoxylum family, not a true pepper. It has a striking grapefruit note and a slight tingle.
Sichuan pepper: The berry of a Chinese tree of the Zanthoxylum family, not a true pepper, known for its citrus scent and its tingling effect on the tongue.
Piment d’Espelette: A red pepper grown in ten villages of the French Basque Country, protected by a PDO. Dried and ground, it is fruity, with a gentle heat.
Ras el hanout: A North African spice blend whose name means “head of the shop”: the spice merchant’s best blend, often of more than a dozen spices.
Garam masala: A blend of warm spices from northern India, such as cardamom, cinnamon, clove, cumin and pepper, added at the end of cooking.
Sumac: The dried, ground red berries of a Mediterranean shrub, tangy and lemony, widely used in Middle Eastern cooking.
Combava: A knobbly citrus from Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean, also called makrut lime. Its zest and leaves have an intense scent of lemongrass and lime.
Tonka bean: The seed of a South American tree, with warm notes of vanilla, almond and caramel. It is used grated, sparingly.
Yuzu: A very fragrant Japanese citrus, between lemon, mandarin and grapefruit, used mostly for its zest and juice.
Bigarade (bitter orange): The bitter orange, also called Seville orange. Too sour to eat raw, it makes the best marmalades, and its flowers give orange blossom water.
Orange blossom: The flower of the bitter orange tree. Distilled, it gives orange blossom water, a classic of Provençal and Mediterranean pastries.
Herbes de Provence: A blend of dried Provençal herbs, mainly thyme, rosemary, savory and oregano.

Chocolate and confectionery

Bean to bar: The chocolate maker carries out every step itself, from the raw cocoa bean to the bar: sorting, roasting, grinding, conching and molding.
Cocoa butter: The natural fat of the cocoa bean. A “pure cocoa butter” chocolate contains no other vegetable fat.
Praliné: A paste of caramelized almonds or hazelnuts, finely ground. Crispy praliné (praliné feuilleté) adds thin flakes of crêpe dentelle.
Gianduja: A smooth blend of chocolate and finely ground hazelnuts, born in Turin.
Ganache: A smooth mixture of chocolate and cream that fills chocolates and cakes.
Nougat de Montélimar: A white nougat from Montélimar, in the Drôme, made with honey, egg whites, sugar and a high proportion of almonds, sometimes with pistachios.
Calisson: A sweet from Aix-en-Provence: almond paste and candied melon on a thin wafer, topped with royal icing, in a lozenge shape.
Marron glacé: A whole chestnut candied slowly in sugar syrup over several days, then glazed.
Candied fruit: Fruit preserved by slowly replacing its water with sugar syrup, over several days, so that it keeps its shape and color.
Pâte de fruits: A small square of fruit purée cooked with sugar and pectin, rolled in sugar.

Vinegars and condiments

Balsamic vinegar: A sweet, dark vinegar made from cooked grape must and aged in wood. The name comes from Modena, in Italy; elsewhere, “balsamic” describes the style.
Cider vinegar: A vinegar made from apple cider fermented a second time, fruity and gently acidic.
Banyuls: A naturally sweet wine from the Côte Vermeille, in Roussillon, near the Spanish border. Aged in oak, it also makes a renowned vinegar.
Dijon mustard: A smooth, strong mustard made from brown or black mustard seeds and verjuice, wine or vinegar. The name designates a recipe, not a place of production.
Tapenade: A Provençal spread of olives, capers and olive oil, often with anchovies. Its name comes from tapeno, the Provençal word for caper.

Honey

Monofloral honey: A honey made mainly from the nectar of one flower species, such as lavender, chestnut or linden, with its own color, texture and taste.
Chestnut honey: A dark, liquid honey with a strong, slightly bitter taste and woody notes.

Home and body

Saponified oils: Oils turned into soap by reaction with an alkali: the traditional way of making soap, as for Marseille soap.
Vegetable wax: A candle wax made from plants such as soy or rapeseed, instead of paraffin, which comes from petroleum.
Grasse: A town in the hills above Cannes, the historic home of French perfumery, where many perfumers still compose their scents.

Coffee

Specialty coffee: A coffee that scores at least 80 out of 100 when cupped by certified tasters, following the Specialty Coffee Association protocol.