AI-generated illustration
Label Rouge — Aquitaine
From October to March, for centuries, the chestnut was the staple food of the people of Périgord: the "bread tree" saved them from famine.
Fruit from Aquitaine, Label Rouge since 2015.
The chestnut tree very probably originated locally in Périgord: charred remains found under the Mège rock shelter, in Teyjat, suggest as much, and pollen analyses record its presence in the Dronne basin, in north-western Dordogne, around 4,000 years ago, in the Bronze Age. It then receded, undoubtedly as the climate cooled, before spreading across the whole of Périgord at the dawn of Antiquity. Yet it was still merely a supplementary fruit tree, without true chestnut groves, and would remain so until the 7th century.
Chestnut cultivation is thought to have begun later, with Benedictine monks, who are believed to have established the first chestnut groves as early as the late 8th century; indeed, a Carolingian capitulary advised governors of imperial estates to plant chestnut trees alongside other fruit trees. But chestnut groves only truly became established in the 13th century, at a time when the population was growing and hunger was becoming more pressing: grafting then began, in order to select more nourishing varieties. By the late Middle Ages, the tree's advantage was evident: in Périgord, where bread-making cereals produced meagre yields, a well-tended chestnut grove produced two to three times more calories per hectare than a field of rye or wheat farmed without animal manure. In the 17th century, Lamoignon de Courson described the Double as an 'immense forest of chestnut trees'.
AI-generated illustration
For centuries, from October to March, the chestnut was the staple food of the people of Périgord: food for the poor, it often replaced wheat, its flour used to make bread. The chestnut tree was called the 'bread tree', but also the 'sausage tree', since chestnuts also fattened pigs and poultry. When the harvest failed and maize became scarce, famine loomed: during the winters of 1812 and 1816, food shortages sparked fears of subsistence riots. Until the beginning of the 19th century, the chestnut was, along with beans and maize flour, the cornerstone of the peasant diet in Périgord. In Eugène Le Roy's novel Jacquou le Croquant, Jacquou survives solely thanks to the chestnuts found under the leaves in the woods.
In 1774, the minister Turgot, concerned by the poverty of the countryside, proposed replacing chestnuts with potatoes; Parmentier, who championed the tuber, nevertheless published a Traité de la châtaigne in 1780. The peasants of Périgord-Limousin remained attached to a fruit they knew how to prepare in a thousand ways, and it took another century before the potato dethroned it.
The tree provided more than just fruit. Its wood, as sturdy as oak, supported lauze roofs, supplied woven baskets and barrel hoops, and its trade sustained the gabarres of the Dordogne. When the harvest exceeded local needs, chestnuts travelled down the river towards the port of Libourne; as early as the 17th century, some Dutch ships were fitted with a loft to insulate them from the damp of the hold, and in 1648 around forty vessels waited there for their cargo, delayed by an exceptional drought. In communes where chestnuts were plentiful, seasonal workers—the costognaires—were hired for the gathering; in Monpazier, they offered their services at the fair on the first Thursday of October, with a chestnut leaf pinned to their hat.
AI-generated illustration
In 1804, Périgord's chestnut groves covered 85,471 hectares, representing more than 7% of the département's surface area; in 1815, Dordogne, Corrèze and Haute-Vienne were still the top three producing départements in France. Then a series of blows struck. In 1850, the discovery of the industrial use of tannin, present in chestnut as in oak, prompted farmers to fell their trees rather than tend them for the harvest; ink disease, a fungus attacking the roots, reached France in 1860; around 1956, chestnut blight, arriving from Asia via the United States, struck in turn. Forges burning charcoal, phylloxera followed by the rural exodus, and pine plantations also depleted the chestnut groves. According to the interbranch organisation, chestnut groves lost 86% of their surface area over this period.
The revival came through disease-resistant hybrids, bred by crossing with Japanese or Chinese chestnut trees, and through orchards planted with selected varieties, above all Marigoule and Bouche de Bétizac, which coexist with traditional chestnut groves: the fruit is large, predominantly marrons, and quicker to peel. A chestnut-growing development plan launched in the 1990s did not restore the tree to its former standing, but Dordogne ranked, according to figures released in 2013, first in the South-West, with more than 700 hectares and 882 tonnes per year, and second nationally behind Ardèche. According to the interbranch organisation, the Périgord and Limousin sector accounts for around 1,800 hectares of productive chestnut groves, 46% more than in 2000, supported by ongoing funding from the Département for orchard restoration in Dordogne.
To support this production, growers initially created a collective brand, 'Marrons du Périgord', while awaiting an official quality mark. The Label Rouge 'Marron' was approved by ministerial decree on 21 September 2015 and took effect upon its publication in the Journal officiel on 1 October; more than a year later, the assessment of the first harvest under this label was not optimal, owing to gall wasp and drought. It is shared across the South-West sector: the Limousin chestnut is also covered by it. In 2022, growers launched the 'Marrons du Périgord-Limousin' brand.
AI-generated illustration
An emblematic tree of Périgord-Limousin, the chestnut tree still occupies a large part of Dordogne's woodlands, primarily in Périgord Vert and the south of Périgord Noir. Around the time of the Revolution, the Marquis de Fayolle noted that, in the arrondissements of Nontron, Périgueux and Sarlat, it covered nearly all the hillsides, but did not grow on limestone soils. It leaves its mark in the forests: old chestnut groves can often be found there, recognisable by their stocky, grafted and pollarded trunks, and by their alignment. It also leaves its mark on the language: around sixty place names in Périgord derive from the chestnut or chestnut tree, many attested as early as the Middle Ages, with people saying chastanh in Limousin Occitan in the north of the département, but castanh in Languedocien in the south.
In Villefranche-du-Périgord, the Maison de la Châtaigne, on Rue Notre-Dame, opens up an engaging and educational world where visitors can look, touch, smell and guess everything about the chestnut and the forest, on a self-guided tour lasting from half an hour to an hour. It reveals the history of the chestnut tree, Châtaigne du Périgord and the marron, and nine trails ranging from 5 to 11 kilometres link the nine villages of the community of communes. Each year, on the third weekend of October, the small bastide town dedicates two days to the chestnut, the chestnut tree and the cèpe.
Appearance
The marron, the predominant fruit in Périgord-Limousin orchards, has a kernel unsegmented by the tan, that thin, penetrating skin that is difficult to remove. The collective brand specifications stipulate a single kernel, an inner skin that peels away easily, and a size exceeding 30 mm; Label Rouge requires over 31 mm.
Taste
Marigoule is a variety with a sweet taste.
Texture
The marron is crunchy in the mouth; Bouche de Bétizac is distinguished by its firm texture.
Two varieties are primarily cultivated in Périgord: Marigoule and Bouche de Bétizac. Bouche de Bétizac is early-ripening, firm in texture, and its harvest begins as early as 20 September; Marigoule, with its sweet taste, is harvested from early October. Bournette is the third variety permitted under Label Rouge.
The word 'marron' denotes chestnuts whose kernel is not partitioned by the tan. This was not always the case: around the time of the Revolution, Fayolle observed that there were far fewer marron woods than chestnut woods, because the former, though better in taste, did not yield such a large crop; it was only gradually that varieties with unpartitioned kernels were selected. Today, the varieties planted in Périgord and Limousin yield predominantly marrons.
The sector sells more than 90% of its production as fresh fruit, mainly from mid-September to late December. Chestnuts are also processed: into flour, flakes, purée, jam or crème de marron, as well as ready-to-eat products that are pasteurised and vacuum-packed.
AI-generated illustration
In the past, chestnuts were blanched in boiling water in an earthenware pot or in an oule, the large cast-iron cauldron hanging from the chimney hook; they were also eaten roasted—known as virols—cooked without water in a large perforated pan and stirred constantly with wooden tongs. They are still enjoyed roasted, in cakes, as flour, flakes or cream, as roasted marrons, in jam or crème de marron, in a velouté or cream, or in a velvety soup prepared with vegetable stock, onions, cream and spices. Chestnut cake is a veritable institution in Périgord, and keeps for a few months in the freezer.
To peel them, there are two methods: make a shallow incision across the entire width of the fruit and plunge it for a few minutes into boiling water, a steamer or a microwave on low power, or first remove the outer skin with the tip of a knife before plunging it into simmering water. To check whether it is cooked, prick the centre of the fruit with the tip of a knife: if it slides in without resistance, it is done. Fresh and perishable, it can be kept in the refrigerator for the coming days, or in the freezer, with the skin slit or fully peeled.
The chestnut takes pride of place during the end-of-year festivities, and it is at the Sarlat Christmas market that the cry of hot roasted chestnuts can still be heard.
Since: 2015
Area covered: Dordogne, especially Périgord Vert and the south of Périgord Noir
Key requirements: Fruit over 31 mm in size and of uniform appearance, from the Bouche de Bétizac, Marigoule and Bournette varieties, with no mixing between varieties; regulated soil preparation and harvesting frequency; controlled storage and batch-number traceability back to the producer
Label Rouge LA 02/15, approved by decree on 21 September 2015. It is shared across South-West production, Périgord and Limousin.
The Label Rouge 'Marron' distinguishes the finest fruit of South-West production, shared between Périgord and Limousin: it does not apply to every chestnut gathered in Périgord. The brand 'Marrons du Périgord-Limousin', created in 2022 by growers in the sector, is not an official quality mark.
No producer is listed for this product yet.
