I was in a Penzeys store on a visit to the States and was shopping with someone who mentioned to the clerk that I lived in France.
The clerk waved the bottle under my nose and asked if it was authentic. The lavender was overpowering in that bottle, and I said that no, French HdP doesn’t have lavender but that they put it in the blend sold at tourist shops.
She went into the back and a manager came out and asked me to leave because they had consulted with a French lady for that blend and that obciously I wouldnt be satisfied with anything they carried.
(I swear that was the extent of the conversation…)
Who knows? So much of all this is culinary tradition (and the varying interpretations of it). Flowers can bear nuts or seeds to become new plants. Do roots count? Which of the dueling Cassolet fraternal groups has it right?
My understanding is that the term “herbs de Provence” was not invented until 1960. It’s not an appellation, so I guess anyone can call anything HdP.
Wow! Just wondering, why they bothered to ask if they didn’t like to hear different opinions.
Anyway, the blend with lavender exists in France but as something special, herbes de provence aux fleurs de lavende or herbes de provence à la lavende, not something common you find in shops.
You have to be careful with lavender. One common variety is not “digestible”, i.e., can give stomach distress. Others are edible, both flower and essential oil. I would describe it as a combination of floral and acrid.
It’s a bit like the spice groups like za’atar or curry, everybody can have their blend or mix. No protected designation of origin or protected geographical indication, like certain cheese or wine.
Sorry to hear that happened. Usually they’re very nice in my local store. I’ve honestly not noticed the lavender to be overpowering, but if it was in their “smell jar” I can see how it might be. It’s not been in the smaller jars I purchase.
I’m generally a big no on flowers in my food, unless you’re talking about leaves, rhizomes/roots, or seeds and bulbs. I tried herbes de provence in my early cooking years and did not care for it. I couldn’t place my finger on it, and now I think it was lavender. It was from France, and there was a subtle florally green taste. Did not care for it. I now just put a blend of spices and herbs I like on roasted potatoes.
The premix of dried herbs commercially called Herbes de Provence is indeed fairly recent in France. It appeared in the 60’s. The recipe varies from one brand to the other and probably from one batch to the other. Often the herbs do not actually come from Provence.
However as @Sunshine842 pointed out, some HdP come with the quality mark label rouge. In that case, the proportions are 27 % rosemary, 27 % origano, 27% savory and 19 % thyme. It’s probably a requirement of the label rouge that all herbs are grown in Provence but I’ve not checked.
Originally, the herbes de Provence were the wild culinary herbs that grew in the Guarrigue on the hills of Provence. In addition to the four mentioned above, the list include: wild thyme, marjoram, chervil, tarragon, sage, bay leaf and fennel (the aerial part, not the bulb). Basil sometimes appears in this list but I doubt it’s really accurate as I’ve never seen wild basil growing in the Guarrigue.
As regards lavender, I can only confirm what @naf, @Monchique and @Sunshine842 said: NO lavender in HdP in France.
I wouldn’t say serious cooks in France never use the commercial premixes (except maybe on meat grilled on a bbq) but I think they tend, like @naf, to keep the various dried herbs separately and of course prefer to use fresh when available.
Wiki’s sources say this: " Only 10% of dried (or freeze-dried) Provence herbs sold in France are currently produced in France. 95% of so-called “Herbes de Provence” blends currently come from Central and Eastern European countries (Poland and Albania in the lead), the Maghreb, or China."
Apropos to nothing, really, the Ducros warehouse is (or was…) in an industrial estate on the outskirts of Avignon. Passed it one day by sheer coincidence.
Im fairly certain it was less wanting to hear my opinion than it was to give me a chance to wax poetic about how wonderful it was…except I didnt play my part.
I thought it waa hilarious, actually…imagine getting that cheesed about a jar of dried leaves!
