Comballe facts for kids

Comballe is a special type of chestnut from France. It's known for being the most produced chestnut in the country. This lovely nut comes from the Ardèche region. It has a bright, streaky brown color. People love its fine, sweet, and tasty flesh.

Comballe Chestnuts: A French Favorite

The Comballe chestnut is a very popular variety grown in France. It's famous for its great taste and how much of it is produced each year.

Where Does the Comballe Chestnut Come From?

The Comballe chestnut gets its name from a farmhouse called Combeaux. This farm is located in the mountains of Ardèche, France. The Comballe variety first appeared in the early 1700s. From there, it spread throughout the region.

The Ardèche region is the biggest producer of chestnuts in France. The Comballe chestnut is so well-liked that it makes up one-third of all chestnuts grown there! This tree grows best in its home region, especially in areas like the Boutieres. It thrives at elevations between 400 and 650 meters. You can find it in the Cevennes mountains in Ardèche and also in Lozère. Because of its excellent qualities, it has become more popular than many other local chestnut types.

What Does a Comballe Chestnut Look Like?

The Comballe chestnut has a very bright brown color. It often has golden highlights and clear, dark stripes. Its shape is long and oval. The little fuzzy tip on the nut is long and thin. The scar where it was attached to the tree is large, clear, and shaped like a rectangle.

Why is Comballe So Popular?

The inside of the Comballe nut is white, fine, sweet, and smells wonderful. Many people say it's one of the best-tasting chestnuts. These great flavors make it perfect for all kinds of dishes. You can use it in many recipes, including delicious chestnut cream.

Comballe nuts are also easy to peel, which is a big plus! Sometimes, a single nut might have more than one tiny plant embryo inside.

Challenges for Comballe Chestnuts

Even though Comballe chestnuts are wonderful, they do have some challenges. The outer skin of the nut develops late. This can make the nuts vulnerable to certain problems. For example, they can be affected by insects or rot during warm and wet autumns. This makes them harder to store for a long time.

The Comballe tree itself has delicate bark. This makes it more likely to get a plant disease called chestnut blight.

High Yields and a Special Clone

Comballe trees produce a lot of nuts. The nuts are also a good size, with about 30 to 70 nuts making up one kilogram.

There's even a special version of the Comballe called "Marron Comballe" (CA106). This clone is even better because its nuts are less likely to have internal divisions.