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PGI — Pays de la Loire
A legendary white lingot bean, the white heart of the Vendée, whose name echoes the Spanish "monje" that carried it across the Atlantic.
Pulse from Pays de la Loire, PGI (IGP) since 2010.
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Mogette de Vendée is a white lingot-type bean, originating in Mexico and brought back to Europe by Spanish navigators. Its cultivation spread from Spain from the 17th century onwards, finding one of its favoured lands in the Vendée. As early as the end of the 17th century, doctors noted bean cultivation in the Vendée, where it seemed to have found 'its land of choice'. In 1930, the head of the Vendée agricultural department noted that grain beans—including 'a local variety, known as Mogette'—then covered nearly 9,000 hectares and formed 'the basis of the diet of Vendée countryfolk'.
The name itself is rooted in the Spanish "monje" or "monja" (monk, nun), a reminder of this Iberian origin; the variant "mojhette" stems from the Saintongeais dialect, spoken in Charente, Dordogne and Gironde. "Mogette", with a G, remains the only spelling officially protected by the PGI throughout the European Union.
The geographical area of the PGI covers the entire Vendée département, where bocage occupies 70% of the surface. The soils—brown forest soils (brunisols) or leached soils (luvisols)—present a good balance between clay and silt that ensures a water reserve favourable to cultivation; the oceanic climate, with mild winters and warm, sunny summers, enables the natural drying of the pods in the field. As early as 1931, a gastronomic guide distinguished several producing terroirs within the département: Fontenay-le-Comte, Luçon and Nalliers in the south, but also Pouzauges in the haut bocage.
A daily staple of the Vendée countryside from the early 20th century, Mogette remains today one of the emblems of the département's table, championed by more than 70 Label Rouge producers. The Confrérie de la Mogette Vendéenne, an association founded on 5 May 1987 and headquartered in Le Poiré-sur-Vie, works to reward and promote anyone, French or foreign, who contributes to the development and promotion of the mogette vendéenne.
Appearance
Bean of uniform white colour, without distinct visible veining, with a thin, shiny skin; elliptical to broad kidney shape, 1 to 2 cm long, with a thickness greater than or equal to 4.5 mm.
Aroma
Subtle aroma, typical of dried beans.
Taste
Mild and delicately floury flavour, without bitterness.
Texture
Melting after cooking, resulting from the good clay-silt balance of the area's soils and the producers' management of water stress.
soils with a good clay-silt balance (brunisols or luvisols), on a plot where the previous crop was not a legume.
pulling then drying in windrows on the ground (indirect harvesting), or drying directly on the vine (direct harvesting).
carried out when at least 90% of the pods are dry (dry mogette) or 65% of the beans are white (semi-dry).
Soak for 12 hours before cooking, then simmer gently with aromatics (onion, garlic, thyme, lard). Served warm or hot as an accompaniment to a meat dish, or on its own spread on toasted bread. A white wine from the Val de Loire or a dry cider from the Vendée bocage pair well with it.
Since: 2010
Area covered: Vendée (85)
Key requirements: Lingot variety included on the list recognised by Vendée Qualité, sowing from 10 May to 20 June, drying in windrows on the ground or on the vine, dried bean with a thickness of ≥ 4.5 mm and a final moisture content of 12–17%. PGI (IGP) recognition by the European Union on 8 October 2010.
No producer is listed for this product yet.
