AI-generated illustration
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
In the massif des Maures, the chestnut long took the place of bread; Collobrières, which devotes three festive Sundays to it each autumn, calls itself its capital.
Fruit from Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur.
| Département | Var83 |
|---|---|
| Area | Massif des Maures, in the Var: Collobrières, La Garde-Freinet, Gonfaron, Les Mayons and Pignans, with more isolated production, as in Camps-la-Source |
| Feature | The Chestnut in All Its Guises |
AI-generated illustration
Var Tourisme includes "la châtaigne du Var" among the terroir products it invites visitors to discover, alongside olive oil, figs, truffles, honey and wine. It grows mainly in the massif des Maures, whose acidic, schistose soils and humid Mediterranean climate suit the chestnut tree. In Provence, the tree long occupied land that was too steep or too siliceous for cereals.
In these mountains where the land was difficult to farm, the chestnut was the staple food of rural populations until the 19th century, and the chestnut tree was known as the "bread tree" because its fruit replaced cereals. Dried and then milled, it yielded a flour used to make galettes, bread or porridge, which kept easily through the winter months. In Collobrières, a village mentioned in records as early as the 11th century, it formed the foundation of the local diet and economy for centuries.
According to ICI, chestnut cultivation in the massif was reportedly developed by the monks of the Chartreuse de la Verne, who notably used grafting to propagate varieties—a technique that growers still employ to restore old orchards.
AI-generated illustration
The 20th century was difficult for chestnut growing in the Var. In 1950, the Var produced 4,000 tonnes of chestnuts a year; it now produces only around 150 tonnes. Educational material from the exhibition by the Conservatoire du Freinet gives the same figure of 4,000 tonnes for 1950 across the entire massif des Maures, with production falling to 150 tonnes since 2000. The causes put forward vary from one source to another: rural depopulation, tree diseases (ink disease, chestnut blight), changing dietary habits and competition from low-cost foreign chestnuts, but also insect pests and drought, as chestnut groves were abandoned in favour of more profitable agricultural activities.
The massif retains traces of nearly 3,000 hectares of ancient chestnut groves, many of which are now abandoned; some growers still harvest trees that are 300 to 400 years old. A guide to Provence counts 2,000 hectares of chestnut trees managed as orchards in the Var, and notes that in 2021 a major summer fire severely affected the chestnut groves of the massif des Maures.
Revival begins above all with restoration work: clearing brush, pruning century-old trees, restoring dry-stone walls, and biological pest control against the chestnut gall wasp. The older generation is training a new cohort of growers, for whom local initiatives are working to ease access to land.
AI-generated illustration
Collobrières claims to be the chestnut capital: Tourisme varois sees it as having the largest farmed chestnut grove in the Var, and the destination Côte d'Azur France explains the title by the festival the village dedicates to this fruit each year, over three Sundays in October. The Fête de la Châtaigne is held there on the last three Sundays of the month.
The Confiserie azuréenne, established in Collobrières for over half a century, runs a free marron glacé museum there, displaying tools and machinery from bygone days.
Appearance
The Marrouge, a variety that accounts for the vast majority of local production, is recognisable by its golden-brown colour, patterned with characteristic stripes.
Texture
The Marrouge peels easily and its fruit is unpartitioned: it remains whole once stripped of its skin. In an ordinary chestnut, by contrast, one or two skins divide the flesh, which splits into two or three pieces when peeled.
The native chestnut tree, Castanea sativa, produces small fruit; that of Provence was grafted to yield larger chestnuts, akin to those of neighbouring Piémont. The Marrouge is the signature variety of the Var, yielding small marrons and large chestnuts prized for their flavour. It is the dominant variety in the chestnut groves of the massif des Maures. The Impériale is also grown, in smaller quantities.
The fruit is called a châtaigne when it is partitioned, and a marron when it is not. The marron remains whole once both its skins are removed, and this is what becomes a marron glacé; the unpartitioned form of the Marrouge has indeed favoured the making of marrons glacés in Collobrières.
From the fruit also derive crème de marrons, chestnut jam, flour, chestnut beer, chestnut ice cream, and chestnut liqueurs and syrups.
The chestnuts soak for nine days in a tank of cold water; any that float to the surface are spoiled.
They are then dried on slatted racks in the open air, or in a clède using a stove.
AI-generated illustration
As ICI points out, the simplest recipe is often the best: a few roasted chestnuts, still warm, to share. They can be roasted under the ashes, in a perforated pan or in the oven, or simply boiled; they must first be slit with the point of a knife. The tip from Var growers to prevent peeling from becoming a chore: boil the chestnuts for about thirty minutes, then remove both skins while they are still hot.
They are also cooked in savoury dishes, in a soup with squash for example, for "a sweet and generous soup" when the first cold weather arrives, or boiled and served with sweetened milk. The flour makes crêpes, galettes, pastries and bread. A local white wine pairs well with them.
The chestnut has its own traditions: the evening gatherings dedicated to it are known as a "castagnado", in winter hot chestnut sellers call out in the streets, marrons glacés are given as gifts for the festive season, and turkey with chestnuts graces some Christmas and New Year meals.
A collective mark, "Châtaignes et Marrons du Pays des Maures – Producteurs du Var", has been developed for producers in the Var. It is not an official quality sign (PDO (AOP), PGI (IGP), Label Rouge…).
No producer is listed for this product yet.