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- Quiz!
- We talk a little, a lot, passionately
The castagna! Helion, Arcs to Rhodes... The chestnut... - From Abbe's side.…
The « tour » at the mill... All in the kitchen!… Where was the sport born?... The lavenders of the Riez plateau... The Provencal... - Research Opinion
- The Library of Passadoc
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André Abbe
The castagna!
The « Castagna », chestnut in French, has long been in the slang of the French language, « grace » the bad boys from Marseille and Toulouse who were running in Paris at the dawn of the XXe century. On the Bastille side, an effective punch was a castagne.
About castagna, a true story:
A family of Roquebrune (Var) whose unique language was Provençal had to go to Fréjus on a visit to the Castagnes, honorably known in this city. The mother warned her son:
– Duvràs parlar francés a Mossu e Madama Castagne, son de la vila (You will have to speak French to Monsieur and Madame Castagne because they are from the city).
Arriving in front of Mrs Castagne, the young Roquebruno had removed his cap and said: Hello, Mrs. Châtaigne..
That's Francophonie!
Photo André Abbe
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Helion, from Arcs to Rhodes
752 years ago, Hélion de Villeneuve was born around 1270 in the Arcs (today the Arcs-en-Provence not to confuse with the Arcs en Savoie), he is the son of Arnaud de Villeneuve, lord of the Arcs and Sibylle de Sabran. He was made knight of the language of Provence and commander of Manosque and Puimoisson before becoming 26e Grand Master of Hospitallers of Saint John of Jerusalem whose seat is on the island of Rhodes...
The reputation of the Hospitallers is necessary for Pope John XXII to, among other things, bring to fruition his plans for a Grand Passage, that is to say to allow and secure navigation to the gates of the East.
Helion of Villeneuve is a supporter of such a passage by sea, it provides for the boarding of troops in the ports of Spain, France and Italy with a grouping in Cyprus or Rhodes but for this it is necessary to defeat the Turkish armies; Thus in 1320 he had to fight against the Turks who lost 80 ships and 10,000 men.
Helion never returned to the Arcs, he died on 7 May 1346 in Rhodes (the capital city of the island of the same name). History has retained the memory of a religious man and good manager.
A sensitive point between east and west
The islands of this Mediterranean region represent a strategic point that the various powers have always fought. Thus Nicosia, the capital of Cyprus remains the only capital in the world to be cut in half since the invasion of the Turks in July 1974. Greeks and Turks have been observing from the miradors placed along a border materialized by a band of the deserted city which has become the domain of cats in which patrol the UN Blue Helmets.
Only a passage called "Charlie Deckpoint" allows you to pass from one side to the other of the island.
I was lucky enough to visit Rhodes in 2008. The old town had been restored by the Italians a little brutally between the two wars. Inn of the language of Provence was still there on the main street leading to the Grand Masters Palace.
The Hospitallers had long gone to Malta.
Photo André Abbe
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Claude Boyer
The chestnut
With olive, chestnut is an emblematic product of Provence.
Once the harvest is finished, we pick this fruit with generous sun just before the olive. Depending on the varieties, it is estimated that one hectare of chestnut can produce up to 4 tonnes of chestnut per year.
Known for its excellent taste, the Var chestnut is eaten grilled or in frozen browns. The Moorish massif is its fief, whose villages celebrate it in autumn, especially in Collobrières, considered the capital of chestnut.
But Gonfaron, La Garde-Freinet, Les Mayons, Pignans, Tanneron and Camps-la-Source also have their party...
Energy
Chestnut has long been a staple of daily diet. In fact, chestnut flour contains more than 75% carbohydrates, making it an energetic food.
Once, in Provence, where the steep and siliceous terrains do not allow the cultivation of cereals, it is the chestnut tree that became the main source of food, which is why it is called the chestnut tree "bread tree".
There are several varieties
There are many local chestnut varieties in the Var: Marron, Sardonne, Imperial, Bastard, Miquelin, Pignansia and Beltassia. Fine flesh, sweet, floury, there is for all tastes.
Chestnut or brown?
The chestnut tree does not raise any questions, it produces both more or less proportion depending on the variety.
The answer to this question is far from obvious: the word "marron" could come from Italian "marrone", which means chestnut. Moreover, chestnut, considered a true fruit of the poor, was re-qualified as brown when it was cooked and served at the tables of the powerful.
Finally, brown cream, mashed chestnuts or delicious frozen chestnuts are prepared from non-wild chestnuts from castaneculture, whose bugs contain only one fruit.
The difference comes from the fact that chestnut is a fruit partitioned by a small skin called "tan", a little like walnut and brown it, is not partitioned and remains whole once shelled.
Be careful not to consume the brown from India that is toxic to it!
How does it taste?
Grilled under the ash or in pans, boiled or roasted in the oven, there are several ways to cook chestnut.
But be careful, if we grill it we must not forget the « mark », i.e. the tip of a knife is pushed into it if not during cooking, the small explosion of the fruit which bursts under the action of heat is heard.
With flour, we can make pancakes, cakes, pastries and of course bread.
Let's not forget the succulent chestnut jam and traditional turkey as well as ice cream, liquors, syrups and the essential frozen browns.
The vigils dedicated to chestnuts are named « castagnado » .
A tree to do everything
If we add to this that chestnut wood is used for cabinetmaking, carpentry, parquet floors, barns in vineyards and cooperage... that the leaves can be used to line the dishes to avoid the preparation from attaching to the bottom or rolling cheeses so that they do not stick to each other during refining, it can be said that for Man the chestnut is to the plants what the pig is to the animals.
Its only fault, it only provides average heating... that you want nothing is perfect in this low world..
Good castagnado to all...And as in France everything ends up with songs, let's finish with the unforgettable Jean Ferrat:
I hear the old floors cracking
I hear noise in the house
I hear, I hear in the attic
Singing, singing my chestnut
Text: Claude Boyer – Photo: André Abbe
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The collection of olives... It was discussed at length in the 96e issue of La Gazette de Passadoc. André Abbe returns with this memory:
The « tour » at the mill...
A return of « 8 litres per 100 », indeed it is very little..
I find myself starting from the « measurement », the double decal containing about 12 kilos of olives. Olive growers considered that the average honest yield was around 2 litres of oil per measure. This was equivalent to 16 liters per 100 kilos of olives, twice that unfortunate « 8 litres per 100 ».
The yield depends on many factors, olive varieties, climate, I do not extend on the subject today.
The miller charged for his work according to the quantity of measures the farmer brought, not according to the number of litres of oil produced.
In order to have its own oil, it was necessary to bring a minimum of 300 kilos of olives corresponding to the « tour » under the stone wheels, in the « escorts »...
I do not know the traditions of modern mills, but the questions of performance arise in the same way. No miracle!
I call this photo taken in a modern mill in Roquebrune (Var) about ten years ago, The photo of the Three Dédé : Dedicated the owner of the mill, Dédé who picked the olives and Dédé the owner of the olive trees who photographed them!
(Dédé is also the nickname of the Departmental Directors of Agriculture and Equipment, the oils of our administration).
Photo André Abbe
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All in the kitchen!
Where are the mushrooms lovers? Poor pissacan and snare picking.
The period of the orongs and bolets once called « Negro head », I don't know the new name, had passed. These are my favorite mushrooms. Too bad.
I was gone to look for delicious lactaries and girolls but I had to fall back on snakes and pissacans (photo). I don't know the French name of this modest fungus in the Cep family. He can be eaten provided he is picked in his early childhood.
I had the water returned, then married my mushrooms with morteau sausage slices, a clove of garlic and a pinch of pepper so that the whole was about to eat. I lack imagination.
Text and photo André Abbe.
Um... It smells good so far!
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Where was the sport born?
... asks André Abbe.
The France-Japan rugby match was barely over as the World Football Championship in Qatar began.
I spend hours in front of my TV watching the Blues' victories. Cocorico!
Fatally, I hear nonsense in the mass of comments.
« Sport was born in England » said a sports journalist. All wrong!
The English word « sport » comes straight from löccitan « deport » which we can translate into relaxation. We find it in poems of provençal troubadours, limousines and gascons.
Richard Lion's Heart and his sequel introduced the word to England, the English took care to shorten it.
I repeat, I prefer rugby, but I don't miss any World games that TF1 broadcasts...
Photo André Abbe
Jeanne Monin
Small precision gleaned in the Historical Dictionary of the French Language Alain Rey, famous linguist:
– Sport : from « disport » borrowed from the old French « port », variant « Deportation » → entertainment, which appears in writing around 1130.
The « Perfides » threw the « Say » in the Thames to keep only « sport » Hey!
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The lavenders of the Riez plateau
André Abbe says:
Almost every year, I go to the plateau of Riez (Alpes de Haute Provence), late June or early July. The lavenders in full blooming offer a spectacle I never get tired of. But the fields of lavender (or lavender) do not lack charm in winter, under the snow.
Here is a photograph about 40 years ago on the town of Thorame – Basse (Alpes de Haute-Provence).
Je précise à nouveau que le lavandin est un hybride de la lavande « fine ». Ne pas confondre !
Le lavandin produit plus mais son essence a moins de valeur que celle de la lavande (qui ne pousse qu’au-dessus de 800 m d’altitude).
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The Provencal
Qui arrive à lire le provençal ? Une autre langue ? demande André Abbe.
Puisque Noël approche, je vous invite à lire ce message en provençal écrit dans des carreaux de faïence émaillée sur un mur de Correns (Var). La traduction en français ne demande pas de grandes connaissances.
On se croirait au Portugal, pays des azulejos. Mes félicitations aux auteurs.
Photo André Abbe
Car Dieu a tant aimé le monde qu’il a donné son Fils unique,
afin que quiconque croit en Lui ne périsse point, mais qu’il ait la vie éternelle. »
Verset de l’Évangile selon Saint-Jean, précise Giselle Penat-Lorde.
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Pour illustrer un prochain article de Claude Boyer sur le film d’Henri-Georges Clouzot Le Salaire de la peur (sorti en 1953) – et afin d’éviter les images vues et revues sur Internet – Passadoc recherche des photos récentes et archives du Gard.
Et notamment :
– L’ancien camp de Saliers sur la commune d’Arles.
– La bambouseraie d’Anduze.
– La Camargue.
– La rive gauche du Gardon entre l’ancien Hôtel et la source de la Canelle.
– Les virages de la D 979, traversant le camp des Garrigues (entre Nîmes et Uzès).
– La route de la Baume (ancienne D 127) en limite du village de Poulx.
Merci d’avance ! On attend vos commentaires ou vos messages privés…
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