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Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
In Rians, squash is not merely an autumn vegetable: it is a festival, a brotherhood, and an entire village devoted to its cucurbits.
Vegetable from Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur.
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The village of Rians, in the Var, has made a name for itself as the "Squash Capital" thanks to a festival founded in 1996, which over the years has become an unmissable event in the département during the second half of October. The event brings together numerous stalls run by growers, seed merchants (grainetiers), and artisans around the annual harvest of squashes and ornamental cucurbits.
To keep this tradition alive, a Confrérie de la Courge du Var was registered in Rians on 10 March 2015. Its statutory purpose is to promote the Courge du Var, its derived products, and the surrounding environment, as well as to build partnerships to showcase regional produce and local heritage.
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The commune cultivates five species of cucurbits: Cucurbita pepo (hull-less seeded squashes and pattypan squashes), Cucurbita maxima (pumpkins, potimarrons, turban squashes), Cucurbita moschata (musk squashes, including Musquée de Provence), Cucurbita ficifolia (fig-leaf gourd), and Cucurbita mixta, with intermediate characteristics. Each edition of the festival showcases this diversity across its stalls, featuring ornamental gourds, muscade squashes, Nice varieties, potimarrons, and pattypan squashes.
Appearance
A great diversity of shapes and colours — from small to large squashes, long to shorter ones — depending on the varieties grown and sold locally.
The commune cultivates five species of cucurbits, from which numerous commercial varieties derive. Local growers notably sell Muscade, Potimarron, Iron Cup, Butternut, Spaghetti, Buttercup, Mini Jack, Sucrine, and Longue de Nice squashes, alongside pattypan squashes and ornamental gourds.
local growers sell them on site during the festival, alongside seed merchants and artisanal processors.
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Rians squashes feature just as comfortably in traditional Provençal dishes — daube provençale and gardiane de taureau readily welcome a side of squash — as in inventive sweet and savoury creations showcased during the festival: chips, crêpes, navettes, macarons, pâtes de fruits, right through to chocolate versions or reinvented candyfloss made with squash. Each year, the festival's competitions crown the best squash gratin or the best squash tart.
Brotherhood
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