If it's Provence, it must be goats' cheese!

I've just come back from a trip to Provence and was surprised to find that almost all the local cheeses on offer were goats' cheese. Down the other end of the South of France round the Pyrenees it's sheeps' cheese that rules.

I didn't have time to ask the reason for this and haven't been able to find it on the web but it's true they go exceptionally well with the region's light, summery cuisine and their delicate wines, the vast majority of which are rosé.

The best-known Provencal cheese is Banon which is wrapped in vine-leaves but most of the cheeses we sampled (see above, served with honey) were unknown to me. They also serve similar cheeses at breakfast time (below) which work really well with local fruits such as apricots, peaches and figs - in a similar way to a fromage frais. A nice idea for summer eating.