Chestnuts: Gift of the Forest...

To us it's an essential part of winter, and Christmas in particular. Throughout history, however, the chestnut has proved to be a life-saver for whole communities in remoter areas of France.

Confusing things, chestnuts. Just when you think you've grasped the idea of marrons -- as in marrons-chauds (roast chestnuts) - along comes the châtaigne. The latter is in fact the correct term for a (sweet) chestnut, from a châtaignier (chestnut tree). And also for an electric shock. And then there is the marron d'inde (horse chestnut/conker), which grows, of course, on a marronier d'inde. Except that sweet chestnuts can be termed either marrons or châtaignes, depending on the numbers of fruit in each husk. Glad we cleared that one up.

For our own timely celebration of the chestnut in France, then, we'll stick with the châtaignier, both the handsome tree and its sweet, seasonal gift. As we'll discover, its long history has been far from uneventful. To be at their most productive, the trees prefer to grow at between 300 and 800m altitude, ideally on a neutral or slightly acid soil. Perhaps their most magnificent setting is southern France, in and around the Cévennes and the Ardèche, where the sheer scale of the vast, mature forests makes it hard to believe that the distinctive landscapes are anything but completely natural. But sure enough, much of what we're looking at turns out to be man's handiwork. It wasn't until the 10th Century that climate change made settlement of these remote areas viable, although they were already well known to travellers on the various pilgrimage routes which passed though them. In the Cévennes in particular, the various monastic communities which began the process of settlement eventually stimulated the establishment of outlying village communities. Essential food production centred on fruit, vegetables, assorted farm animals, honey and the local chestnuts. The trees' productivity value was soon exploited by the communities and those who ruled over them, and by the 16th Century extensive areas of new forests were being planted. When famine hit much of Lozère in 1709 the people of the Cévennes survived, largely thanks to their chestnut forests.

Traditionally, whole families gathered the local windfall crops daily, from mid-October until late December, although commercial concerns employed large teams of seasonal workers to ensure that nothing would go to waste. The 1850s saw perhaps the most spectacular exploitation (with an annual production in France of around 500,000 tonnes) of the once humble chestnut, whose importance in the national diet had by then earned the tree its nickname of 'l'arbre à pain' or bread tree. With silk production, mining, and a trade in dried chestnuts (blanchettes), it seemed that the Cévennes were doing very nicely. Around 1870, though, the trees began to show clear signs that all was not well, dying back from their tops and secreting an inky black fluid. The disease, known as la maladie de l'encre, was caused by Phytophthora - a mildew of the root system. Lower altitudes were worst affected and their foresters were left with no alternative but to fell the trees and sell them for tannin extraction. The events were a foretaste of what Phylloxera would later do to the vineyards of France. When grafting techniques finally re-established viticulture, the requirement for timber stakes prompted many foresters to switch to supplying this market, using quick-growing chestnut grafted onto disease-resistant rootstock (the same technique which had saved the vines). Traditional chestnut production had been dealt another blow, which would be compounded by subsequent economic decline, both regional and national.

When the threat of famine returned during WWII, the chestnut once again nourished and sustained remote farming communities, much of whose labour force had been depleted by the conflict. Throughout the 1950s, though, further rural depopulation was accompanied by an almost total abandonment of commercial production, as even the tannin factories closed down. In 1960 the appearance of a potentially lethal parasitic fungal attack (this time of the bark) threatened to finish the forests once and for all, but various treatments, including selective pruning, eventually proved successful in overcoming the malaise.

The return to economic prosperity following greater pan-European stability has since led to a steady revival of interest in the chestnut, whose eating qualities are once again being appreciated by a new generation. Another factor in the recovery process is the growing appreciation of the vital role played by the forests in the cultural, economic and environmental heritage of the regions. New plantations are once again being established, with existing forests receiving levels of care and maintenance unseen for many years. Various bodies now exist dedicated to overseeing the work and promoting a greater awareness of the chestnut and its social and environmental importance. As a result, a wealth of previously obscure information is now being made available to interested parties.

A major surprise is the number of varieties in cultivation. As far back as 1819 there were no fewer than thirty-eight being exploited in the Cévennes alone. Now there are even more, many of them natural hybrids flourishing in particular areas, and each with distinctive qualities suited to different culinary uses. They vary greatly in size, shape and colour, some maturing earlier than others. Some, like Marigoule are favoured for marrons-glacés, while others, such as Beaumelenque are milled for flour. Pellegrines gathered in the Vallée Francaise, below the Corniche des Cévennes, are used for both milling, drying or simply roasting/grilling as an accompaniment for meats and vegetables. And Belle Epine, which spread from the Dordogne to the Ardèche, Gard and Isère, tastes just as good as it sounds.

So, a little of the mystery is solved. But much still remains, not the least of which is only going to be revealed by visiting the regions in autumn and either gathering whatever varieties you can identify, or simply purchasing a few bags of known types from a specialist nut seller. You'll occasionally spot them at the roadside or encounter them in the marketplace. Better still, look out for the annual chestnut fairs and festivals (foires de la chataigne) which bring together the whole experience, both cultural and gastronomic, in one memorable event. We'll be looking out for some of next season's events for our regular calendar listings.

© Words and pictures Roger Moss
This feature first appeared in everything France magazine Issue 4

French Gastronomy