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Centre-Val de Loire
On the evening of the brandons, once the torches had been waved around the fruit trees, people returned to the farm to share beugnons and crêpes.
Pastry or bakery speciality from Centre-Val de Loire.
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In the Berrichon countryside of yesteryear, Brandons Sunday, or dimanche brand'lounier, followed carnival. At dusk, everyone headed to their fields with a brandon, a wooden stick or mullein stalk wrapped in straw braided into a cross, which was set alight and waved around the fruit trees or crops.
The blog Miam Berry sees it as a rite of purification and preservation, aimed at destroying larvae and insects on fruit trees. According to the blog, the tradition spread particularly through certain rural parts of Indre, compared to those of Cher.
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The rite accomplished, "on returning to the farm, beugnons and crêpes were shared". Miam Berry counts beugnons among the "lichounneries" of this period: "that is to say, fritters".
Passion Céréales places the Brandons festival on the first Sunday of Lent, the one following Mardi Gras, and notes that the beugnon remains associated with Carnival celebrations.
The word is local: Jean-Pierre Gilbert's page on Berrichon culinary terms notes "Beûgnet, beugnon. Beignet".
According to Passion Céréales, the recipe for the beugnon is similar to that of Carnival fritters made with flour, eggs and apples, as noted in Furetière's Dictionnaire (1690). The website also cites, without naming them, authors who describe these festivities in their works and mention "the famous beugnons": according to them, the batter was prepared twenty-four hours in advance and kept in a warm place until frying.
In Indre, it is found among pastries: the Tables & Auberges directory, in its text on the department's gastronomy, highlights the poirat, then cites the beugnon alongside the échaudé de la Brenne, the sanciau, the croquet de Charost and the massepain d'Issoudun.
The beugnon also features, in the "Pastries" category, in the culinary heritage inventory of the Centre region, which includes 110 products. Conducted by the Institut européen d'histoire et des cultures de l'alimentation in Tours, this inventory selects according to precise criteria: a product that is sold commercially, locally recognised, linked to shared local know-how, and present in the region's agricultural or food heritage for more than fifty years.
Appearance
a golden, fried fritter served dusted with sugar; in Passion Céréales' apple version, one-centimetre apple slices coated in batter.
Taste
"very festive and indulgent apple fritters", says Passion Céréales; Miam Berry's recipe is flavoured with vanilla sugar, orange blossom and citrus zest.
Passion Céréales' recipe: cored apple slices, coated in an egg-and-beer batter, then fried.
Miam Berry's basic recipe: a batter made with egg yolks, sugar, flour and baking powder, lightened with stiffly beaten egg whites, fried by the spoonful; diced apples can be added before frying.
the batter, thicker than a crêpe batter, must be smooth without being too runny; it rests for one hour.
peel them and core them with an apple corer to keep them whole, then cut them into one-centimetre slices.
dip the slices into the batter using a fork, ensuring they are well covered.
cook them in smoking-hot oil and turn them once browned.
remove them once nicely golden, drain on kitchen paper and enjoy immediately, dusted with sugar.
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"In Berry, fritters are traditionally served on a plate covered with caster sugar, with a small glass of plum eau-de-vie, which is reputed to aid digestion," writes Miam Berry.
Passion Céréales prefers them eaten straight from the fryer, dusted with sugar.
The beugnon bears no official quality sign (PDO (AOP), PGI (IGP), Label Rouge…): it is a traditional pastry. However, it is included in the culinary heritage inventory of the Centre region, completed in 2012, which lists it among its 110 products, in the "Pastries" category.
No producer is listed for this product yet.