What to eat Lot? culinary specialties and gastronomy

The black truffle, tuber melanosporum, which makes all gourmets salivate, needs no introduction. The truffle is born in May and June at a depth of about twenty centimeters, develops thanks to the rains of the summer storms and begins to ripen from the first cold. In winter, from the end of November until March, the truffle harvest is organized in the limestone soils of the causses of the Lot, more particularly in the causses of Martel and Lalbenque.

What is more expensive than caviar and is the fruit of a mauve flower brought to us by the Crusaders? Saffron! In the Lot, its land of choice since the ^11th century, it is called red gold. It is worth almost as much as the precious metal: around 30 000 € per kilo. But there is no need to use so much of it: 0.1 g is enough to flavour a dish for 4 people. It is necessary to harvest by hand 200 000 flowers to obtain 1 kilo of dry saffron! Well adapted to the soil of the causses, the plant is harvested around October 15th, especially in the cantons of Limogne and Cajarc.

The duck

Gastronomy has a name: the duck. It can be eaten in duck breast, confit, aiguillettes, fritons... and of course in foie gras. Semi-cooked, canned or raw, there is something for every taste bud! A thousand-year-old culinary specialty that has become emblematic of a certain French know-how, foie gras is the local product par excellence. The breeding and the force-feeding of ducks are practiced in all the department of the Lot.

The ewe

The dark circle around the eyes gives them the appearance of wearing glasses: this is an endemic breed of ewe called Caussenarde, which is found on the Quercy plateau. There are some 230 farms with almost 200,000 suckling ewes, for an annual marketing of about 40,000 labelled Agneau Fermier du Quercy. Originally, the farms produced wool. In the ^20th century, meat production took over, followed by milk production. The latter, mixed with that of the goat, was intended for the production of Roquefort cheese. The tender Quercy lamb has been awarded the Label Rouge since 1990 and has been recognized as a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) since 1996.

The Rocamadour cheese

It is small, round, soft and the shepherds of the Causse were already making it in the ^15th century. Old grimoires attest that it was used to pay the tithes of the lords of the time. The pilgrims on their way to Saint-Jacques carried it in their bags. It was then called "cabécou" (from cabec, the "goat" in patois). Rocamadour cheese has had its own Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) since 1996.

The mique

A very old preparation that was indispensable to the peasants when life in the fields was difficult, it warmed, nourished and soothed hungry stomachs for the winter. The recipe is complex and it is necessary to have been taught by a local grandmother to understand all the subtleties. The mique itself is a kind of country bread made with milk, goose fat, eggs and butter. Once the dough of the mique has risen, it will cook in the stewpot with a petit-salé soup. For the harsh winters, another recipe will warm you up: the mourtariol. Famous soup flavored with saffron, it was once synonymous with festivities in the countryside. Nowadays, almost nobody knows how to cook this grandmother's recipe from the Quercy region.

The pastis

Any stay in the Lot is accompanied by the tasting of this kind of tourtière filled with apples marinated in old plum. Such a fine pastry which reminds... the pastilla. It is the Moors who left the recipe in the South-West. Traditionally, pastis is a cake of the countryside, made by farmers' wives, grannies, for religious or family celebrations. The preparation is fastidious, the difficulty being to obtain a very fine paste which it is necessary to let dry during 4 to 5 hours while keeping still of the flexibility. The cake gives all its flavour when served warm.

The wonders

The doughnuts of the grandmothers of the Quercy region have their own little name, as they have delighted children for generations. They are called "merveilles" here! Sprinkled with sugar, these doughnuts were always much awaited on holidays. The Pescajoun is a big thick pancake cooked in one go, served warm or cold with sugar or jam.

The chestnut

A staple food in the region long before the appearance of the potato, the chestnut has, for a hundred years, conquered its culinary nobility. The Lot produces about 400 tons of chestnuts per year, mainly in the Ségala and the Bouriane.

The melon of Quercy

Full of sugar and sun, this fruit offers its tender, fresh and perfumed flesh. The south-facing slopes of the Quercy Blanc, its clay and limestone rich soils are perfectly suited to its production. Here are a few criteria to help you choose the right melon: slightly golden color, ribs still visible, regular shape, heavy and full fruit with a present stalk. Melons with a kind of irregular embroidery are often excellent. The producers of Quercy melons obtained the Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) in 2004.

The walnut

Protected designation of origin (PDO), the walnut known as Périgord is grown in the Lot (as well as Corrèze, Dordogne and Charente) - 4,640 hectares of production for a harvest of 6,200 tons on average in the geographical area. There are about 300 nuciculturists involved in marketing. Rich in magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, a pure cocktail of vitamins, the walnut contributes to the fight against cholesterol, stress, aging... It appears on the markets from mid-September, fresh for a few weeks only.

In the wake of Christopher Ratz's fine career as the department's first brewing adventurer (since 2001), many microbreweries have sprung up in the Lot. Today, there are about fifteen producers of artisanal beers in the region. It is difficult to draw up a complete list of them because the craze is so important. New micro-breweries are regularly created. All of them have their own characteristics and everyone will have their own idea of which one will win their preference. Our gourmet journey ends in one of the most beautiful houses of the Lot: the Louis Roques distillery. You have to enter and smell the perfumes of the distilled plum to understand what is hidden behind this name. Here, the Vieille Prune de Souillac is produced, one of the jewels of local gastronomy. Based in Souillac in the Dordogne Valley, this century-old company has been producing a sumptuous brandy since 1835!