Catching a Rainbow

Lautrec, a town in southwest France, made famous by the post impressionist painter Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec Monfa; is also famous for its garlic.

Legend has it that pink garlic first appeared in the Lautrec region in the early Middle Ages.
The story begins with a travelling merchant stopping in Lautrec looking for a place to stay and something to eat.
When the time came to pay his bill the salesman found he had no money; in its stead he offered some fine pink garlic. The bulbs, different in appearance to the usual varieties, were gratefully accepted and planted by the innkeeper.
Each year he re-planted the bulbs until he had enough to sell and the pink garlic spread through out the region.

Originally the farms producing the famous garlic were small, 500 to 1000 square metres, but as its popularity increased so the land under cultivation increased. Marketing following the Second World War has made the Pink Garlic de Lautrec an economic success.

Towards the end of the 1950s, a group of farmers in an attempt to further improve and to enhance this production founded the Lautrec Union for the Protection of the Pink Garlic.
The “Label Rouge” or Red Label certification was awarded in 1966, thus marking the official recognition of the superior quality of Lautrec’s Pink Garlic. The Red Label being a national standard of certification for quality assurance within Europe.

In 1996, Lautrec’s Pink Garlic was awarded a European protection with the Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) but as yet no Appellation d’origine contrôlée.

Lautrec’s Pink Garlic is famous for its remarkable taste. It has a subtle sweet flavour ideal for using raw in salad dressings as well as for cooking wherever a recipe calls for garlic. It is less pungent than some, is more refined and is ideal for those trying garlic for the first time.

It also has good keeping qualities provided that it is kept in the right conditions.
Garlic should never be stored in a refrigerator, the temperature and humidity will cause it to rot and the smell will pervade everything.
It is best kept whole, at a moderate temperature 12 to 15 °C in a dry well ventilated area. If kept properly the garlic will keep until the following season.

Lautrec’s Pink Garlic comes ready braded as a rigid stick or manouille and not as a more usual plat. The outer skins of Lautrec’s pink garlic are removed leaving only the last layer so allowing the pink colour of the cloves to show through


The Pink Garlic Festival in Lautrec takes place every year on the first Friday of August. This aromatic annual event highlights the passion these people have for their garlic. Displays of local food wine and of course garlic abound. A competition is held to see who can braid the longest manouille (tress) of garlic in 3 hours.

Syndicat de Défense du Label Rouge Ail Rose de Lautrec, (Lautrec Union for the Protection of Pink Garlic),
Rue du Mercadial, 81 440 Lautrec, France, Tel : (+33) (0)5 63 75 90 31,
email: info@ailrosedelautrec.com



Acknowledgements

GNU Licence
http://www.fsf.org/licensing/licenses/fdl.txt
http://ot.lautrec.free.fr/index%20ang.htm