A finger on the pulse

By Hirst Schon

“The lentil is one of my favourite pulses,” said Arnaud Schon. “Puy lentil hummus is terrific.” My second conversation with the freelance French chef who cooks at The Economist concerned an evening meal he made for the magazine’s board of directors. It turned out that we were both great fans of the Puy lentil. Since I once visited Le Puy-en-Velay, south-west of Lyon, to report on these tiny AOC-protected treasures, I was able to chip in—or, to be more accurate, show off.

“It’s the volcanic soil that makes them different. You can see the volcanic cones of the area on the label of Volvic water. It’s ironic, but Puy farmers are not allowed to water their lentils—the plants have to fight for nutrition. It’s what gives them their flavour.”