Our manufacturing secrets
We invite you to take a behind-the-scenes glimpse of our gourmet ingredients being made in our production workshops in Condom in the Gers region where we dream up, concoct and make our ingredients.
Our vanilla workshop
For over thirty years we have been selecting our vanilla directly at the source, mainly in Madagascar and in close collaboration with our passionate suppliers. Whether it is processed or simply sold as beans, our vanilla is labelled “Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla.”
From choosing the bean to the extraction process and flavouring the sugar, we have developed cutting-edge expertise to capture and preserve the very essence of the vanilla.
We are proud that our highly concentrated vanilla extracts have become a staple ingredient in your cake recipes, and that our vanilla beans help make your crème brûlées even more delicious.
Our secret
Our vanilla production facility is unique in France, and we have been improving it since it was set up in 1981. Once we have made our own vanilla concentrate from our own beans, it is diffused in a concentrator to impregnate every single grain of sugar with vanilla. This gives our sugar an unrivalled flavour — the most aromatic on the market — and a slight colour.
The process perfumes the workshop so much so that Agnès, our quality expert knows, even before the timer goes off, that it is time for our vanilla sugar to undergo its quality controls prior to packaging.
Our coulis and toppings
We make our delicious coulis from a recipe that is as simple as a homemade one, i.e. without additives or preservatives. Rich in fruit (70% minimum) and with just the right amount of sugar, our coulis and toppings add a delicate, gourmet touch to your desserts.
We only select the best varieties of fruit, which are picked when perfectly ripe. Mathieu, our expert in charge of the coulis workshop, takes delivery of the fruit, checks it carefully and then cooks it following our traditional cooking method in a huge steam kettle at between 70°C and 80°C, depending on the fruit, in order to preserve all its natural taste and texture.
We then package our coulis in attractive glass jars, which are pasteurised to ensure a long shelf-life while retaining the fruit’s flavour and colour.
For true gourmet palates (Mathieu’s in particular!), we have developed expertise in making chocolate and caramel — plain, with butter with Guérande salt and Bourbon vanilla – toppings!
Our store cupboard staples
Yeasts, baking powders, gelatin, Fixantilly and more. We develop our own baking powder recipes to guarantee the best results and preserve the taste of your baking creations.
For your cake mixes to raise evenly, it’s all a question of chemistry! At La Patelière, we are constantly on the lookout for innovative natural solutions, and that is why our experts work tirelessly to invent and develop the most effective ingredients so that you can make the perfect cake.
Nos secrets
Des mélanges spécifiques pour vos
réalisations : nos poudres à lever
sans phosphate, neutres en goût pour
ne pas dénaturer vos savoureux
desserts, ou encore des levures
boulangères super-actives pour
boulangers pressés.
Our extracts and flavourings
Our aim is to produce flavourings and extracts that are as close as possible to the natural flavour of the fruit, making them easy to use at home whatever the season. Our quest for naturalness calls for limitless creativity, and we concoct our flavourings with the aim of imparting a whole range of tastes — citrus, vanilla, bitter almond, raspberry, pistachio, coconut, and more — in just a few drops.
The high concentration of flavour in either powder or liquid form is designed to suit all uses. Claire takes particular care to ensure that the new flavours we develop reflect the latest baking trends.
Top tip
Opt for a powdered flavouring when you need to add it directly to other dry ingredients, or you are working with a powdery mix, e.g. macaroon ingredients. Because liquid flavourings dilute more easily, add them to wet mixes and cake batters at the very end.
