Lautrec Pink Garlic facts for kids
Lautrec Pink Garlic is a unique kind of garlic grown in a specific area of southern France. It comes from the town of Lautrec in the Tarn department.
This special garlic has a "protected geographical indication" (PGI). This means it can only be called "Lautrec Pink Garlic" if it's grown and prepared in a certain way in that specific region. It also has a French quality label called "Label Rouge" since 1966, which guarantees its high quality. The PGI status for "Lautrec Pink Garlic" was officially given on June 12, 1996.
What Makes It Special?
Lautrec Pink Garlic is easy to spot because of its pretty pink skin, called tunicas. Unlike other garlic, its stem is quite stiff. This means it can't be braided into long ropes like traditional garlic. Instead, farmers tie it into special bunches called "manouilles".
Farmers cut the stiff flower stem early in the growing season. This helps the plant send all its energy and flavor into the garlic bulb underground. This garlic also stays fresh for a long time, even until spring, because it "sleeps" longer than other types.
This garlic has a very strong and delicious flavor. It's also dried for at least 15 days, which helps it last for a long time in storage.
Where It Grows
Lautrec Pink Garlic is grown in a specific area of the Tarn department in France. This area includes 88 different towns. The soil there is a mix of clay and limestone, and it's watered by the Agout and Dadou rivers. This special environment helps the garlic grow its unique qualities.
A Story from History
People have been growing pink garlic in Lautrec since the Middle Ages. There's a fun story about how it became so popular. It's said that a traveling merchant once couldn't pay for his meal at a local inn. To settle his bill, he offered the inn owner some mysterious pink garlic.
The inn owner was surprised by this unusual garlic. He decided to plant it, and from then on, pink garlic became a common and important crop in the Lautrec area.
