Once upon a time
The red pearl of Périgord …
Known since antiquity in the realization of cosmetic products, the strawberry is today the favourite fruit of the French. Depending on the variety, its ripening season extends from May to September and beyond with soilless cultivations. In France, its peak of imports takes place from March to May. Fragile product requiring an important workforce for its picking, the strawberry growers are completed by the massive Spanish production. The 5 to 6 tons produced per year, make the Dordogne the 2nd department, after the Lot and Garonne. Low in calories, the strawberry has an antioxidant power that is worth to be advised in dieting. Juicy and delicious the strawberry will always surprise us by its shapes and by its taste.
A plant with evolving cultures, in the interest of consumer satisfactionr
The strawberry farming
The strawberry farming in the Périgord dates back to 1895, when it was made in the vineyards. It was only after the Second World War that production developed with mass sales. In 2004, the Perigord strawberry was the first in Europe to win the PGI (Protected Geographical Indication). When planted early in the summer for a harvest in the following spring, whether it is upwind or not, it needs regular maintenance with the removal of stolons. In Douville, there is the CIREF, a varietal creation center that develops a wide range of strawberry varieties adapted to all production contexts. Cultivated according to a know-how combining tradition and modernity, it has found its preferred territory on the wooded hillsides of Périgord.
Gourmet varieties
To savor without moderation
The Périgord strawberry is the first PGI strawberry in Europe, the only one that can claim its origin. The 8 varieties identified and admitted in the PGI are produced on a defined geographical area. To satisfy the consumer’s pleasure, the selected varieties are adapted to the time of the harvest, to taste strawberries 6 months in the year. The elongated Gariguette with the Darselect are rather early, whereas the tender and rather large Cirafine is later. La Cléry, the Red Donna and the Candiss are also found on the markets of our markets. The Mara des bois, an old variety, is seduced by its perfume reminiscent of the strawberry of the woods, as for the Charlotte, it remains the favorite of children.
A gourmet celebration in its honor, celebrated for 17 years already
The festival of strawberry and flowers
The festival of strawberry and flowers is organized every year in Vergt, the 3rd Sunday of May. The Périgord producers are delighted to taste the incomparable flavor of their Gariguette, Cigaline, Darselect, Cirafine, Charlotte and other Mara des Bois around the stand of the Union Interprofessionnelle de la Fraise du Périgord and local producers. They are there to make known their production, their know-how and to explain all the assets that the production uses to guarantee a product of an exceptional quality. It is also the opportunity for the Brotherhood of the Fraise du Périgord to inducte to the rank of Docte Maitre various personalities and to orchestrate the ceremonial cutting of the giant pie, a recipe of gargantuan proportions.
To crunch
The Perigordian surprise on the cake …
The strawberry is undoubtedly the fruit richest in vitamin C, seductive by its flavors, shapes and colors. Cooked for a long time in jam with or without cooking, one finds it in the dishes cooked by the great chefs: fresh salad of season enhanced by Mara of the woods, verrines and gourmet mousses. It combines very well with chocolate fondue, or in the form of a gratin of red fruits and crumble. Fast to cook, we advise you in mascarpone with its coulis and a cloud of chantilly or simply in section of Gariguettes, sprinkled with wine of Monbazillac. In spring and autumn markets, to consume quickly because of its fragility, to garnish a pie, a charlotte, it is of all the desserts !
