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Picardy
Level with the mud, in the silence of the foreshore bared by the tide, shore fishermen slice through the crisp green stems of salicorne with a knife — the little sea vegetable that has always been the pride of the Baie de Somme.
Vegetable from Picardy.
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Salicorne is a halophytic plant: it thrives in the saltiest environments, where most vegetation withers away. It has developed a singular adaptation, storing salt in its cells without being poisoned by it, enabling it to grow across the mudflats and salt marshes of the Baie de Somme. Each tide deposits a cocktail of minerals and trace elements that nourishes the plant — an indicator, too, of the good health of this coastal ecosystem.
The Association des ramasseurs de salicornes de la Baie de Somme currently brings together 144 professional shore fishermen, who harvest the plant by hand without ever cultivating it. Reinette Michon, who has gathered salicorne since the age of nine, chairs the association des ramasseurs de salicornes et végétaux marins. The Baie de Somme alone accounts for 80% of national salicorne production, making it the country's leading production area — a plant so emblematic of the terroir that a festival is dedicated to it in Le Crotoy, with support from the Fonds européen pour la pêche.
The wild harvest is in decline: fishermen report yields roughly one hundred tonnes lower than ten years ago, almost a third less, facing competition from cultivated salicorne imported from western France or abroad, notably Israel and Mexico. Yet at the point of purchase, nothing enables consumers to distinguish the wild harvest of the bay from cultivated produce — a divergence in flavour and genetic heritage that only connoisseurs perceive. Shore fishermen and the Région Hauts-de-France are now discussing an application for PGI status, much like the one obtained for Haricot de Soissons, whose application took three years to succeed before the INAO.
Appearance
bright green, fleshy, jointed stems, gathered while still young and tender at the start of the season.
Aroma
iodised, marine.
Taste
naturally salty, with no need for added seasoning, offering a flavour unlike that of any other vegetable.
Texture
crisp and juicy, particularly at the very start of the season.
fresh salicorne quickly reaches the fishmongers' stalls around the bay.
in brine to retain its crunch, in vinegar like a gherkin, or dried and ground into powder for year-round seasoning.
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Salicorne can be eaten raw in salads, paired with seafood such as prawns or smoked salmon, dressed with a simple olive oil and lemon vinaigrette. Pan-fried for a few moments in a little butter or olive oil, sometimes lifted with a touch of garlic, it makes a natural accompaniment to grilled fish or white meat — there is no need to add salt, as it already is. It also features in omelettes, seafood risottos, or pickled in vinegar as a condiment alongside rillettes and smoked fish.
No official quality sign currently protects Salicorne de la Baie de Somme. Faced with competition from cultivated salicorne from western France or abroad, shore fishermen and the Région Hauts-de-France are exploring an application for PGI (IGP) status with the INAO — a process that took three years for Haricot de Soissons, a neighbouring Picard PGI.
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