European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 28, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                June 2007 stars and stripes Page 27 photos by Leah and stripes French Davaillon which Many consider the Best in the Are a hot item at fruit stands along the roadsides in Provence during the from Page 26 Davaillon melons Are not necessarily grown around the they can come from a vast area of to Bear the Melon de Avail the melons must be tested and sorted at one of five recognized Melon distributors near the at these sugar Content is an infrared machine checks out the Interior for workers carefully scrutinize the exteriors of each rejecting those with imperfect Only the Creme de la Creme carry the coveted last 2 million tons of these melons were primarily in France As there Are not enough melons for during the Melon May through the Syndi Cate conducts official tastings attended by local restaurant Melon growers and shop owners who sell Melon every two weeks these Melon aficionados taste five different varieties of rating them on Sweet flavor and the object is to determine whether new varieties measure to currently there Are 20 Sylvain Peyssard cultivates about five acres of melons in Fields just outside the Melon who is continuing a tradition started by his grandma says that the growing pro from seed to takes 80 one Plant can produce eight you must know a Melon very Well to know when its he the last three Days of maturity Are very that when the sugar Content even if the melons Are picked too they will continue to Ripen after being picked and the taste will not be he Back at his Prevot says he was introduced by Chance to the melons that be came his passion in he was driving to Paris to visit his Mother when his car broke Down in he called his Mother to Tell her of his she told him to take advantage of the Stop and buy some the woman who sold me the melons became my Prevot i stayed in my Mother is still waiting for her photojournalist a member of the society of american travel lives in the North lube Ron area of Contact her through Sylvan Mottard cultivates about Flat acres of Melon Fields just of to if continuing t family tradition started by hit grand Withoff tasting Success couple makes award winning Olive Oil by Leah Larkin special to stars and stripes he carefully pours a Small Quantity of the liquid from the dark Green bottle into a tiny lifts the spoon to his nose and sniffs the it smells of fresh Cut he he then moves the spoon to his Mouth and letting the juice Roll around in his Mouth before the he is reminiscent of with a its Long on the Jeanbenoit Hugues was not tasting he was talking about his Olive caste Las Huile Dolive de la Vallee Des Baux de a Premier Olive Oil that has won numerous appellation Origine Contr Lee Means that the Oil was produced in the Valley of Les Baux in and his built their Olive Oil Mill at the foot of the medieval town of Les Baux in Provence just four years they had recently returned from the United states where they had been living for some 15 years Ashu gues ran a company and realized the american the couple decided to sell the company and come Back to our they Felt it was a Good time to take their two Young then Ages 6 and Back to France and to the world of relatives and it was also a Good time to realize another financed with the profits of their the couple owned a Grove of Olive Trees in Remy de Cathe Rine had often returned to France from the states in the Summers to work on i caught the Olive acknowledges her if you have an Olive you will under it starts with just one Olive their original plan was to buy an old Mill and make their own but since Olive Trees dont produce regularly each year and they had a limited number of they needed they now own 90 acres and some Trees that pro Duce Between and liners of Oil per then they decided to build an Olive they got a permit and purchased state theart equip ment from we wanted the newest technology to get the Best from the Jeanbenoit they named their Oil caste Las after one of the areas where they have some of which Are thought to be 400 years old Leah special to stars and stripes Jeanbenoit Hugues tastes the Olive Oil he helps caste Las Huile Dolive de la Vallee Des Baux de in a Competition in his product was recently judged one of the worlds 15 Best extra Virgin Olive or that the Beauty of Olive Jeanbenoit you cant kill they will surely outlive if extreme cold kills the the roots survive and go on to produce new Olive he Are like men there Best at age Olive Trees Bloom in bursting Forth with a multitude of fragrant Flowers that last Only a the withered Flower turns into a tiny which grows throughout the summer until Harvest time in october or Early the olives Are harvested by using a comb that knocks them into a making Olive Oil is simpler than making says with Olive Oil youre Only extract ing the juice from the theres no transform no ferment stars and stripes you dont add you know the same Day if you did Well or Jeanbenoit analyses each of their four varieties of olives Gros sane and Verdale to determine their As soon As they Are the olives Are rushed to the null where the Oil is extracted the varieties of olives Are crushed separately and the Oil is extracted at below 27 degrees about 81 degrees fahren using heat to extract the juice might provide More but taste is Jeanbenoit says his method ensures that his Oil has a Low acidity level and peroxide Index of less than providing an extra Virgin Olive Oil with the potential for very Long to qualify As extra Olive Oil must be made from the first pressing of olives and have a free acid count of less than percent and a peroxide level below Jeanbenoit advises buying Only extra Virgin Ohve be cause it is considered to have the Best Aroma and other categories have either a higher rate of acidity or Are refined made using solvents to extract the which is then affecting the in the Mill caste Las Oil costs 20 euros about for a 75centiliter bottle about 25 its a gourmet product Ideal for sprinkling on fish or steamed vegetables and Catherine is involved in Selling and marketing the in addition to Selling at their the couple Sells to stores in France and to distributors in other primarily the United Selling is they because France is not known for Ohve Spain is the biggest producer 36 percent of world followed by Italy 25 the remain Der comes from Tunisia and a few other coun with France accounting for just caste Las Oil was awarded a Medaille Dor Gold medal in Paris in 2004 and in a Competition in it was recently judged one of the worlds 15 Best extra Vir Gin be has not led the couple to we will not exceed the size of the says who believes spending time to advise customers about their product is just As important to Success As what is inside the we want to keep our a Way of sharing our