Description
The Ail Blanc de Lomagne PGI is garlic from the ecotype "Blanc de Lomagne".
Production Area
The production area of Ail Blanc de Lomagne PGI covers 200 communes in two departments:Gers and Tarn-et-Garonne in the Midi-Pyrenees. The processes of growing, drying, peeling, and packaging following traditional methods and approval processes take place in the production area.
Production Method
The garlic is grown in the geographical area defined by the product specification, on clayey and not on acidic soil. The Ail Blanc de Lomagne PGI may not be planted on plots of land where in the last growing seasons sorghum, maize, alfalfa or other alliums were grown, or after the plot has been used as meadowland. Sowing takes place between 15 October and 15 December. When the garlic is of the desired maturity, it is harvested and the drying process begins. The drying is carried out in the traditional way by hanging it from sticks or by forced ventilation. Afterwards, the garlic is peeled by hand to ensure that the bulbs are sufficiently white and the roots are cut off.
Appearance and Flavour
The Ail Blanc de Lomagne PGI is a bulb having a minimum diameter of 45 mm, whose colour is white to ivory, sometimes tinged with violet. It is made up of several cloves (8 to 12 depending on caliber), regular, beige-cream in colour, sometimes with streaks of violet. Each clove is wrapped in a husk consisting of a single layer of skin. The individual cloves together form a bulb, which is itself covered by several layers of thin skin. Manual, compulsory peeling allows obtaining a product with a good appearance, characteristic of the Ail Blanc de Lomagne PGI.
History
The history of Ail Blanc de Lomagne PGI is linked to the garlic growing in this geographical area, already from 1868, as proved by the agricultural statistics for the Castelsarrasin area. During the 20th century, garlic cultivation continued to diffuse in Lomagne and starting in the early 1960s, numerous events have been held with garlic as their central theme. Still today, the Ail Blanc de Lomagne PGI is produced and presented following the ancient methods, transmitted from generation to generation.
Gastronomy
The Ail Blanc of Lomagne PGI is best kept in a cool, dry, well-aired place. It is used raw or cooked as seasoning for vegetables and meat. When it is slowly cooked in the oven or in the frying-pan, its consistency becomes creamy and its taste sweet. The French gastronomy is very much based on the taste of this highly aromatic bulb, and it is often used for creams, sauces or soups.
Marketing
The product is sold as Ail Blanc de Lomagne PGI in the extra or I categories, subject to some restrictions. It is sold dried, following the traditional methods, i.e. plaited into strings, in bunches, packed in bags or pallets, or sold to the consumer packaged in nets.
Distinctive Features
The pedoclimatic characteristics of the soils on which Ail Blanc de Lomagne PGI is cultivated for decades allows a high quality product. The Autan wind which comes from the Mediterranean is very strong in Lomagne and contributes to maintain the traditional drying methods of Ail Blanc de Lomagne PGI.
