Garlic
History
Popular medicine – a few words
As well as its culinary virtues, garlic is also blessed with herbal and medicinal benefits which have made it one of the most featured plants in books on popular medicine since antiquity.
Like its cousin the onion, it comes originally from the Steppes of central Asia. Migration and commerce rapidly took it to Egypt, and the Greeks, Romans, Gauls and Germans were also quick to appreciate it not only as a food and a spice, but also as a medicinal plant. It was fed to the workers building the pyramid at Guizèth to protect them from disease, and during the great medieval epidemics, doctors would wear a facemask stuffed with crushed garlic as protection. In more modern times, Russian soldiers used to carry cloves of garlic, and in the event of a wound they would crush and spread it around the injury to prevent infection. It was at this time, in 1944, that the medically effective constituent of Allicine was discovered.
Cultivation and production
The cultivation of white garlic (there are other varieties) in the Lomagne (the name of our area) goes back as far as 1265.
It is a bulb of 45mm or more in diameter, a pearlescent white, sometimes with violet markings. Its aroma and full flavour are the result of the chalky clay soil in which our local crops grow. The production of garlic really took off in the 1970s, and had its finest moments in the 1980s. Mechanisation came along at that time, and was well established by the 90s. The drying of the bulbs now takes place more and more in pulsed-air silos, assuring a top-quality product – but that has led to the disappearance of the traditional drying sheds.
In 2008, the Lomagne was awarded an “IGP” for its garlic crops, covering the fields of about 200 communes in the Gers and Tarn-et-Garonne counties. An “IGP” is rather like an “appellation controlee” for wines.
In the Coeur de Lomagne there are many garlic farmers. Amongst them are Marie and Francis Gamot, who in 2000 opened a visitor and exhibition centre known as the"Maison de l’ail", housed in a former winery. In just a few years, their energy and commitment have turned their dream into one of the most popular attractions in the area.
Events involving garlic
During August, garlic is celebrated for a full week during the Estiv'ail festival.
On the first Thursday in August, the Tourist Offices organises activities in and around the traditional market, and a meal under the market hall. In the evening, a Soirée Gourmande (tasting evening) follows on from lunch with servings of evening meals in the street. Succeeding days revolve around garlic, too, and on the third Thursday in August a Garlic Competition is held. The growers exhibit their plaits of bulbs ("tresses") alongside all sorts of imaginative craftwork based on this most versatile of plants. (You can see one such creation in the Tourist Office all year round: a beautiful model of the sailing ship Amerigo Vespucci). There is a prize ceremony to honour the best exhibits. And once again, to finish off the day with music, friendship and a full stomach, a Soirée Gourmande is held.
"Fête de l'ail - The Garlic Festival"
The programmes for these days can be seen on our “Events and Celebrations” page.
Recipes
Recipes based on garlic, such as the famous “tourin” (garlic soup) are available from the tourist office. You can also find them (in French) on the website of the IGP , or they can be downloaded from this site.
