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AOC — PDO — Burgundy
The "black pearl" of Bresse — the only turkey in the world to bear an appellation of origin, reared for seven months only to appear once a year, at the Christmas table.
Free-range poultry from Burgundy, PDO (AOP) since 1996.
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The turkey first appeared in Bresse at the end of the 16th century, on farms that, in the course of the 20th century, all kept a flock of turkeys with black plumage and black legs. Yet its official recognition lagged far behind that of the chicken, poularde and capon: the "Dinde de Bresse" appellation d'origine contrôlée was only recognised in 1976, twenty years after the 1957 Volaille de Bresse AOC; European PDO status followed in 1996, the same year as its cousins. Volaille and Dinde de Bresse remain to this day the only poultry family in the world to hold a PDO.
Every year since 1862, the "Glorieuses de Bresse" have brought together four poultry competitions in December, where local breeders proudly present their finest birds ahead of the festive season. Many of them nickname their turkey the "Black Pearl".
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The production area of Dinde de Bresse is identical to the one defined by experts in 1936 for the recognition of the "Volaille de Bresse" appellation: an undulating bocage plain straddling the Ain, Jura and Saône-et-Loire, with clay-silica soils and a humid climate under strong oceanic influence. This geomorphological and climatic combination, favourable to grass crops and to maize — which appeared in Bresse as early as the start of the 17th century —, forged the reputation of plump, well-fed poultry. Bresse farms, modest in size and fragmented by a network of hedges and bocage, long practised self-sufficient mixed farming: breeders produced their own cereals to feed their turkeys, particularly during the growing and finishing phases.
Appearance
Fine, clean, white skin, free from bruising or abnormal discolouration; white flesh, well-developed breasts, good fat cover leaving the backbone invisible.
Aroma
Delicate aromas, characteristic of the black-plumaged Bresse strain.
Taste
Marbled meat with a pronounced flavour.
Texture
Very juicy, tender and delicate flesh, thanks to the intramuscular fat developed during the finishing period.
a maximum of 10 weeks in a heated building, feed composed of at least 30 to 50% cereals depending on age, GMO-free.
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Dinde de Bresse is best enjoyed gently roasted, traditionally accompanied by chestnuts or cardoons for Christmas meals. Reared outdoors and then carefully fattened during its finishing period, it escapes the dryness sometimes reproached in standard turkey: its flesh remains juicy, tender and flavourful right to the end of the plate. A rare product — some twenty Bresse breeders market around 20,000 birds each year —, it has won acclaim far beyond regional borders, from Japanese and Singaporean tables to the finest French dining rooms.
Since: 1976
Area covered: Bresse plain: Ain (01), Jura (39), Saône-et-Loire (71) — the same area as the PDO (AOP) Volaille de Bresse, defined by the experts during the 1936 ruling.
Key requirements: Male or female turkeys aged at least 28 weeks, from a black-plumaged strain, marketed exclusively for the festive season (1 November to 31 January), in drawn form with a minimum weight of 3 kg (females) or 5.5 kg (males), reared in three periods (starter, growing, finishing) with access to a grassy run of at least 20 m² per bird during the growing period.
Since: 1996
Area covered: Bresse plain: Ain (01), Jura (39), Saône-et-Loire (71) — the same area as the PDO (AOP) Volaille de Bresse, defined by the experts during the 1936 ruling.
Key requirements: European registration of the appellation d'origine contrôlée, confirming the requirements of the national specification.
No producer is listed for this product yet.
