Poireau Saint-Victor
The Allium porrum, “Saint-Victor winter” leek is an improved variety of the famous “Solaize blue”, also in the Ark of Taste. This winter leek is very resistant (to cold, freezing and worms) and tasty, planted from March to May for October to March harvest. Short at its root end, it produces fairly short but quite thick stalks, and it can be recognised by its purplish-green foliage – the violet colour appears with the cold.
It was used mainly in stews, but also in hot soups (to use the green part of the leek) like the “bonne femme” or Parisian soup, a blend of leeks and potatoes, but also in making gratins or quiches.
Today, one of the most important criteria for selling leeks is the width and size of its stem, creating hybrids selected for this criterion alone (without taking flavour into account), varieties like “Longton” or “Vitaton”.
There are not many market farmers who still grow them. One of them, Laurent Berrurier, tells us he grows on average 3 tons per year.
Back to the archive >Il servait particulièrement au pot-au-feu, mais aussi aux soupes chaudes (pour utiliser le vert du poireau) comme le potage bonne-femme ou parisien, un mélange de poireaux et de pommes de terre, mais aussi à la confection de gratins ou de quiches.
Aujourd’hui, l’un des critères de vente les plus importants pour le poireau est la grandeur et la largeur du fût ce qui a donné naissance à des variétés hybrides sélectionnées uniquement sur ce critère (sans tenir compte du goût) comme les variétés “Longton” ou “Vitaton”.
Les maraichers qui la cultivent encore sont peu nombreux. L’un d’eux, Laurent Berrurier, nous a dit en produire environ 3 tonnes par année.
