Top 4 Ligérien Vegetables

Pomme de terre de Noirmoutier are French potatoes originating from the Vendée department's municipalities of Noirmoutier en l’Ile, l’Epine, La Guérinière and Barbâtre. The potatoes have yellow flesh and thin skin that's easily detached before cooking. They are produced from varieties and hybrids of Solanum tuberosum L. The harvest period lasts up to 31 August after a period of outdoor cultivation for a maximum of 130 days. Today, there is an annual celebration of these potatoes, which starts from the end of April to the beginning of May and it attracts several thousand people each year.Expand

Mâche nantaise is a small type of lettuce of the olitoria variety with long leaves that are shaped like spoons springing from the root. Lamb's lettuce, as it's called in English, can not be sold directly from the ground, but must be processed to become a finished and washed product ready for consumption. It is grown in the French regions of Loire-Atlantique, Vendée and Maine-et-Loire, where the maritime climate enables the lettuce's quality, along with the specific spoil and traditional methods of production in beds. Its taste is distinctively tangy, and is used raw in salads and also steamed and served in vegetable dishes. One of the healthiest salads that is low in calories, it can also be prepared in a traditional French style - paired with beets and dressed with walnut oil.Expand

Le Bonnotte is the world's most expensive potato, grown on the Île de Noirmoutier, an island in the Bay of Biscay. These rare potatoes grow in sandy soil that absorbs the ocean scent and is fertilized with seaweed and algae. The land space on which the potatoes grow is limited to less than 50 square meters. The fragile and delicate Bonnottes are picked exclusively by hand, one by one, during only one week per year, which explains the high price of 500 Euros per kilogram. They shouldn't be peeled, as the skin absorbs all of the aromas and flavors of the soil and the nearby seawater. The flavor is slightly lemony, with a salty aftertaste and a hint of walnuts. These potatoes can be used for the preparation of purées, salads, soups, and creams.Expand

Echalote d'Anjou is a fresh shallot of the Alium cepa species grown in the French region of Maine-et-Loire, with its light clay and limestone soils and mild climate. The shallots are pink and the bulbs must be firm and compact, with no defects like scratches or bruises on the flesh. It is slightly long in shape and the skin on the bulbs is delicate, thin and shiny with a yellow to copper color. The distinct, intense aromas, sharpness in smell and taste differentiate it from other similar products. The sharpness comes from the natural drying in the fields, so the aromas become more concentrated in the bulbs. Because they are harvested by hand only when fully ripe, they have a long shelf-life of several months.Expand