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Label Rouge — Nord-Pas-de-Calais
‘Better known as chevrier vert, the Flageolet vert is characterised by its kidney-shaped bean, its greenish colour and its two square ends.’
Pulse from Nord-Pas-de-Calais, Label Rouge since 2006.
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In the plaine de la Lys, where the cultivation of dry beans dates back to the 19th century with the Lingot du Nord, the Flageolet vert is a far more recent arrival: its introduction to the region dates from the 1950s, and its cultivation took off with great success in the 1960s. Ever since, both pulses have shared the same clay terroir and the same techniques, highly labour-intensive at harvest time — mowing, mounting on perroquets, and threshing.
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It was the success of the certification process for the Lingot du Nord that prompted the association of producers and packers, newly formed under the name ‘Lingot du Nord’, to extend its quality policy in 1996 to other produce from the Lys valley, foremost among which was the Flageolet vert. Label Rouge was awarded in 2006 for a specific variety — Verdelys — adapted to the valley's climatic conditions. The specifications have since been revised several times, most recently by an order of 13 February 2026.
Today, a handful of farms carries on this cultivation across around forty hectares of the plaine de la Lys, yielding a volume marketed under Label Rouge of about ten tonnes a year.
Appearance
elliptical, kidney-shaped bean with two square ends, green in colour, of uniform grade and with a minimum width of 3.5 mm.
Taste
after cooking, a more intense flavour than that of standard flageolet beans.
Texture
melting, scarcely floury, with a thin skin that is barely noticeable on the palate.
Crop rotation of at least 4 years, sowing of the Verdelys variety after 1 May to avoid any risk of frost.
Throughout the growing period, carried out by hand after the appearance of the first flower buds.
As the first leaves fall, to preserve the green colour of the bean; if harvested too late, it turns white.
To avoid damaging the beans or dulling their appearance.
Storage in jute sacks, batch traceability back to the producer and the plot.
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Its melting texture and virtually imperceptible skin make it a pulse of choice for slow-cooked dishes and warm salads, in the tradition of the potées du Nord where it happily joins the Lingot du Nord, its elder sibling from the same plain. Rich in plant protein, it lends itself just as well to vegetarian recipes as to classic accompaniments for braised meats.
Since: 2006
Area covered: Plaine de la Lys, straddling Nord and Pas-de-Calais, around Merville — the same area as the Lingot du Nord
Key requirements: Verdelys variety (Phaseolus vulgaris), sowing after 1 May, crop rotation of at least 4 years, mandatory weeding, harvesting by cutting below ground level shortly before maturity, open-air drying on perroquets, threshing without combine harvesters, strict sorting and grading, packaging of the single harvest of the year only.
Association
Family-owned
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Based in Merville in the Nord, the family-owned business Asseman Deprez has packaged and marketed pulses and dried fruit and nuts since its founding in 1986, under its own VIDELYS brand, in plain packaging, or under private label for its clients; it carries out the roasting and grinding of certain dried fruits and nuts in-house at its factory. Lingot du Nord PGI (IGP) features among its Label Rouge products, alongside other pulses from the region.
Thanks to its geographical location and its network, it delivers its products throughout France, where they are distributed in particular across retail chains such as Carrefour, E.Leclerc, and Super U.
| Address | Rue Louis Blériot, 59660 Merville, France |
| 03 28 49 65 32 | |
| videlys@asseman-deprez.com | |
| asseman-deprez.com | |
| Facebook page | |
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Part of the production is certified organic, since 2010. |
