Ariège is particularly rich in distinctive local produce of all kinds and a visit to any of our local markets is a sensory feast. Vegetables, fruits, herbs, honey, jams and jellies, fruit juices, eaux-de-vie, artisanal beer, wine, ice creams and sorbets, mushrooms, lentils and beans (look for the Coco de Pamiers, a small and flavoursome haricot), unpasteurised milk and cream, all kinds of cheese made from the milk of cows, sheep and goats, trout and salmon, snails, mountain charcuterie (especially cured ham and dry sausage), meat (particularly lamb and Gascon beef), chicken, and (of course!) duck in every which way …. all will fight for your attention as you wander round the stalls.

Croustades – fruit filled, double crust tarts – are a speciality: much more delicious than they sound as the pastry contains half a cow’s worth of butter! You’ll also come across millas, a dessert made from white corn meal, butter and milk, stirred for hours like polenta, cooled, then cut and fried in (more) butter. Oddly millas is often found at butchers’ shops, a throwback from when it was made with lard after the annual slaughtering of the house pig.

There are no big factories or large scale production lines: Ariège is the preserve of the small farmer-producer, many certified organic or biodynamic, most of the rest working in a sustainable way on ‘lutte raisonnée’ principles or better. Many are recent or not-so-recent incomers, refugees from urban life, seduced here like us by the unspoilt natural environment and the promise of a different life. Most welcome visitors – in high season every day, out of season by arrangement: look for the Bienvenue à la Ferme and Manger Bio leaflets.

There are so many producers that it’s actually impossible to travel very far without stumbling across one. To give you a taste of what’s on offer, listed below you’ll find what we think are the best markets, along with places to find local produce in our own village of Rimont and those immediately adjacent.

Rimont – 3km
The village épicerie/bar at Le Bon Accueil – local produce
Au Coin de l’Alambic – eau de vie and other local produce
Le Grenier à Jambons – mountain charcuterie
Ferme de Milles – goat’s cheese
Bâtard - honey

Castelnau Durban – 5km
L’Echoppe – local produce and crafts
Ferme du Carregaut -  cheese, unpasteurised milk
Ferme de la Hulotte – goat’s cheese
Domaine de Douach – jams and jellies
La Buscaillerie – unpasteurised milk, yoghurt, crème fraïche

Clermont – 5km
Le Souleilla – local produce
Les Croustades de Clermont – croustades 

Lescure – 5km
Ferme de la Baure – unpasteurised milk, fromage frais, cream

Durban sur Arize – 7km
L’Enco de Thérèse et Rosalie – everything duck!

Montseron – 7km
L’Etoile du Matin – épicerie and organic bakery