Toasted baguettes with spreads of olive oil-based pastes are always the best in France. Although you can probably find baguettes around every corner of your place, tapenades, pistou and aioli are still best made by the French.

Here’s a simple introduction to these pastes:

Tapenade

The most popular of all spreads, the tapenade is a mixture of olives, anchovies, capers, garlic and olive oil. It can be made with either green or black olives. To prepare: the olives and capers are finely chopped, crushed or blended. Olive oil is added to the mixture to turn it into a paste.

Olivade

Often referred to as olivada, this is a tapenade without the anchovies and capers. Simply put, it is a purer olive paste. To prepare: simply throw in the cheese, capers and onions in a bowl, and add the chopped olives, minced chives, salt, pepper and olive oil. Put these ingredients in a food processor and blend them until the puree turned into a paste.

Pistou

If you like pesto, this dish is amazingly like it. It can be green or red, and is made usually with either nuts or cheese. If it’s green, it was most probably made from basil, garlic and olive oil. Reds are made with sundried tomatoes. To prepare: mix the ingredients together after crushing them with a mortar and pestle.

Aioli

This is a kind of mayonnaise that is made from egg yolks, olive oil, garlic and a touch of acid. Egg is added to easily mix the ingredients. It is traditionally served with seafoods, fish soup and croutons. To prepare: crush the garlic while adding in the olive oil then combine the egg yolks or Dijon mustard with a whisk.

These kinds of pastes are usually made as pasta sauces and bread spreads. Normally, I feel they taste better with pasta than toasted baguettes. But if you’re more of a bread eater than a pasta-devouring monster like I am then, I suggest you try one of these pastes and enjoy the feel of Southern France in your own kitchen.