To the nose, it is wild and full of olive and is super tingly to the inner nostril hairs.

The color is a light yellow green, without any dark shadows or edges on the spoon.

To the tip of the tongue, there are some great wonderful soft touches. It feels good. The flavor of the oil is distinct and you can taste it with just a touch.

Full of richness, a mouthful will surprise you. It starts like a nice French oil, buttery and vapory, and just as it disappears there is an explosion of olive and just before, if you pay attention, your nose will tingle again, and then you will get this, almost an assault, a large push of tickle, actually a massive tickle that makes you cough. Some might think it is a peppery finish, which it is, yet it is not an Italian peppery kick.

It starts so round and finishes with a great olive cloud. The punch is the surprise and the flavor is so special. This is the best this oil has been in forever!

Chateau Virant is named after the ancient rock chateau built into the nearby mountain side, locally known as the "Virant rock." Originally named for the Etruscan-era God Wirant, this chateau which dates from the 7th century BC was a place of wine trade. Fragments of amphorae, ceramic pots used to store wine, found during archaeological excavations date this activity to the Iron Age. Through medieval times, this castle was a place of worship, dwelling, and protection for the people.

The property's modern revival began in 1974, when Robert and Noele Cheylan purchased the abandoned estate. Children of farmers and self-taught visionaries, the Cheylans spent over a decade restoring the vineyards, cellars, and olive groves—laying the foundation for the estate's dual reputation in wine and olive oil. Their son Pascal and daughter Christine later joined the venture, bringing agricultural and scientific expertise that propelled the estate forward. Christine founded the first on-site olive mill in 1996, transforming Chateau Virant into one of France's most respected producers of olive oil.

Today, Chateau Virant is managed by the Cheylan family's second and third generations. The estate spans 42 hectares of olive groves and over 70 hectares of vines. The olive trees include hardy specimens that survived the devastating frost of 1956, now re-grafted and thriving alongside younger plantings.

Salonenque and Aglandau are the primary olive varieties, harvested early and cold-pressed on-site to preserve flavor and healthful properties. The estate also produces award-winning wines, with rose, white, and red varietals aging in underground cellars that date back to the 19th century.

Chateau Virant's extra virgin olive oil holds the prestigious AOP (PDO) Aix-en-Provence designation and is certified HVE3 for environmental stewardship.

The oils have won more national gold medals than any other in France since 1996, with international accolades from London and Japan. In 2012, the estate was awarded the Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant (EPV) label, recognizing excellence in traditional craftsmanship.

Since 2018, their oils have been officially endorsed by the Culinary College of France—a testament to their standing in French gastronomy.

Shop now for Chateau Virant AOC Olive Oil!

Not for the faint of heart. Sounds weird, but totally delicious. And great for dinner conversation.

See the Easy White Pepper and Walnut Oil Ice Cream Recipe here!

Tuna, black Nicoise Olives, and green beans will make this salad spring into summer! Be sure to use the very best French olive oil you can!

See the Salade Nicoise Recipe here!

This was hands-down one of the best canned tunas I've ever had—!
"and it's not even oil-packed! I was expecting dry and dense, as water-packed tuna often is. This was so flavorful, moist and delicious on its own that I had it straight from the can, with just a small blast of lemon juice. It easily rivals any of the fancy Italian and Spanish olive oil-packed tuna brands. It's the perfect tuna to build a Salade Nicoise around!!!"
-- Tina Ujlaki - James Beard Award Winner

I always have a couple of cans on hand!

Shop now for Lummi Island Wild Albacore Canned Tuna!

Scalia is known for its anchovy fillets packed in extra-virgin olive oil—yes, extra-virgin! Many companies, especially those available in the grocery store, use second-press oil or less flavorful oils—like sunflower or soybean. In addition, these anchovies have been aged for at least 12 weeks, which means richer, more complex flavors.

Shop now for Scalia Anchovy Fillets in Olive Oil - Mason Jar!

In Italian, AgroDolce means "sour and sweet," and this nuanced vinegar beautifully expresses both. Albert and Kim Katz have long been fascinated with the idea of marrying the sweetness and complexity of wine grapes that have been left on the vine to concentrate the flavors and natural sugars, with the bright and crisp acidity of authentic Orleans Method vinegar.

The versatility of this elixir will expand your repertoire!

For a simple salad dressing, add just a drizzle of olive oil, along with salt and pepper. You'll need less oil with the balanced acidity in AgroDolce than in your regular dressing recipe.

Try Katz Sauvignon Blanc vinegar in a pear, walnut, and blue cheese salad with a splash of walnut oil. It marries well with salads and other dishes that include goat cheese, or with goat cheese alone.

Mix this white grape vinegar with a bit of mustard, black pepper, herbs and olive oil to marinate chicken for the grill or to roast.

Toss with peak summer tomatoes and fresh mozzarella for an easy and delicious appetizer.

To achieve AgroDolce, Sauvignon Blanc grapes are harvested from the Suisun Valley that borders Napa on its west side. The grapes have intentionally been left on the vine for at least a month to six weeks longer than if they were to be made into a dry finished wine.

By harvest time they are almost "raisiny" from their concentration of fruit and sugars. This is the same tradition used for hundreds of years to make the great Sauternes of France.

The unfermented juice from the grapes is blended with Katz' proprietary wine vinegar and slowly aged in oak barrels until it becomes a balanced AgroDolce Sauvignon Blanc vinegar.

The finished vinegar is almost sherry-like in color and complexity, with hints of vanilla from the wood, and sweet apricot, fig and pear from the late-harvest grapes, but all supported by a strict backbone of crisp acidity from the vinegar base.

This Katz Sauvignon Blanc vinegar is a must-have condiment for any essential pantry!

Shop now for Agrodolce Vinegar Sauvignon Blanc here!

Without a doubt, some of the best sweetened dried cranberries we have ever tasted. None of that super-sweet stuff here. These cranberries are sweetened with a touch of all natural sugar, so they are not overly sweet, and you can still taste that great cranberry flavor.

Shop now for Organically-Grown Sweetened Dried Cranberries!

The harissa really shines in this recipe, and the yams are delicious served hot or at room temperature.

See the Roasted Yams with Harissa and Dried Cranberries Recipe here!

Also known as Paillete Feuilletine™, these Crepes Dentelles crumbs are hard-to-find pastry crunch and are normally only found in commercial kitchens.

As Tina says, "Add these buttery, toasty-sweet shards to ganache, frostings and truffles for a super crunch."

Called for in classic French recipes, these pastry flakes are a common ingredient when making Praline Feuillete or filling for Praline.

Note that Paillete Feuilletine Flakes are delicate and are naturally small.

Shop now for Feuilletine Flakes - Pastry Crunch here!

Eating Feuilletine Flakes by the handful is like the best cookie ever, but not quite. By adding luxurious hazelnut creme from Andrea Slitti and a bunch of fabulous chocolate you get a cookie that has just about everything you might want, since it is like a great candy bar!

See the Feuilletine Flakes Hazelnut Creme Cookie Recipe here!

Valrhona Manjari chocolate is an extraordinary bittersweet couverture chocolate made from a blend of the best Trinitarios cocoa beans from Madagascar. With a 64% cocoa content, Valrhona's Manjari is perfect for home pastry chefs and professionals alike.

This Madagascar dark chocolate is the perfect compromise between the ultra-dark bittersweet chocolate couvertures with 70% cocoa content and the (often too sweet) dark chocolate couvertures with less than 60% cocoa content.

Valrhona Manjari chocolate contains a higher-than-typical amount of cocoa butter to give your desserts and truffles a silky finish and make your favorite drinking chocolate oh-so-rich! With the sweetness of the tropics, Valrhona Manjari chocolate has an intense taste, sustained fullness, and then hints of dried fruit and grilled almonds with a woody base.

It is suitable for pastry, chocolate fillings, molding, enrobing, and icing. The Valrhona "feves" are small oval disks that are easier to work with than large industrial size blocks.

Valrhona started in 1924 when a pastry chef from Tournon created a chocolate factory, which eventually achieved worldwide recognition. In 1984, it became the first to offer a chocolate with 70% cocoa. Valrhona in Tain l'Hermitage is considered by most pastry chefs and chocolatiers as the premier chocolate company in the world.

Their focus is solely on their chocolate, and to ensure the highest quality and optimum flavor, they grow their own cocoa beans, their own cane sugar, and their own vanilla on plantations all around the world. Now that's quality control.

Valrhona has finally begun to offer its professional products, cocoa, and couvertures, packaged for the home pastry enthusiast in a palette of subtle flavors, to create elaborate and delicious chocolate preparations.

This Madagascar dark chocolate is especially good for fillings and for pouring, dipping, and molding. You cannot go wrong here.

Shop now for Valrhona Manjari Dark Bittersweet Couverture 64%!

These rich treats get their name and richness from the double dose of darkness—cocoa powder and bittersweet couverture chocolate chips. They get their crunchy texture from Scottish pinhead oats.

These oatmeal cookies with dark chocolate chipped up are chocolate wafers.

See the Double Dark Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies Recipe here!

The first "bite", so to speak, of the Habanero Carrot Curry sauce was a pleasant, albeit fiery, taste that evolved from the flavor of carrot to a hot burn to a finish of more flavors including turmeric and curry, all whilst the heat is subsiding!

Wowsa! A haute sauce that doesn't dull the senses, has plenty of heat and, on top of it all, tastes like something you can recognize!

Shop now for Marshall's Habanero Carrot Curry Haute Sauce!

Green Beans in a pepper infused vinegar, garlic and salt. What could be better?

They crunch when you munch. Hard to resist. You pull one out, and without a doubt, it's a treat that can't be beat!

Now we eat it on a sandwich, in a salad, or on a plate as a cool side. Really, we eat them anywhere. These green beans pickled in vinegar must be good for you and healthy, too, 'cause we crave them soooo!

Though it's a silent jar, every time I open it, there magically seems to be hands reaching in to have "just one"!

Ms. Eater Extraordinaire!
"I go to Barley Sprout and they serve a scrumptious organic green salad with housemade balsamic dressing and your green beans and asparagus...they pickle their carrots and add an organic tomato...its so fresh and full of flavor...handcrafted with care and reverence..."
-- Cathryn

Shop now for Mama Lil's Pickled Green Beans here!

Verjus is a nice, lightly acidic alternative to lemon juice. Many chef's like it because it does not conflict with their wine selection.

See the Verjus Mint Sorbet Recipe here!