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Nut market entrants

T HE scent of marzipan wafts through the air as confectioners from a century-old company in southern France prepare calissons, one of Provence’s famed sweets made of candied melon and crushed almonds. French producers have over the past decade sought to revive almond production, and the traditional gourmet treat first introduced in Provence under King Rene in the 15th century is now increasingly made with locally grown almonds. Provence, where almond blossoms famously inspired artists including Vincent Van Gogh, was once a key almond-growing region. With the overnight frost of 1956 devastating orchards, production declined in the mid-20th century. While the vast majority of almonds are grown in the US, French producers have sought to hold their o French almond producers revive traditions to counter US dominance

ground against US competitors, aiming to position the locally grown almonds in a premium segment and promote environmental awareness. “I bet – even without being Pierre Herme, the best pastry chef in the world – that if you taste an American almond and then a Provence-grown almond, you’ll notice the difference in flavour immediately,” said Alexis Bertucat, communications director for Le Roy Rene, a confectionery. Le Roy Rene, which is based in the city of Aix-en-Provence, uses around 50 tonnes of locally grown almonds a year to make snacks such as calissons and nougat. ‘Reduce our carbon footprint’ According to Bertucat, the company imported American and Spanish almonds when it was bought in 2014 by Olivier Baussan, founder of the L’Occitane en Provence chain of cosmetics and beauty products. However, the idea to grow its own almonds and revive a tradition going back to the 15th century quickly took hold. “The reason we make calissons in Aix-en-Provence is because there used to be almond producers all over the place,” he said. Bertucat said that thanks to the

American-grown almonds and Provence-grown almonds carry different taste profiles, says Bertucat.

In 2011, cherry producer Fabien Dauphin began growing almonds to diversify crops. Following in the footsteps of his great-grandfather who owned almond trees before the devastating frost of 1956, Dauphin – who is the president of the Provence almond producers’ union – owns 22 hectares of almond trees in the village of Cucuron. Almond production accounts for half of his income, thanks in particular to online and market sales. “Almond production is still a niche market. Our customers are often people with high purchasing power,” he said. Dauphin is also considering branching out into pistachio production, which is still in its infancy in France. “They’re really similar industries: the exact same apparatuses are needed and above all, they share customers,” he said. – AFP

to the international market. “We would need 50,000 hectares of almond trees to cover our needs,” he said. In 2018, Moulias co-founded La Compagnie des Amandes with former government minister Arnaud Montebourg, which helps farmers with planting of almond trees on their land. ‘Virtuous agricultural practices’ The company now takes care of 230 hectares of groves in southern France. “With our more virtuous agricultural practices, we cannot achieve the same yields as the Americans,” said Moulias, pointing out that French almonds use “five times less water” than those grown in California. A processing plant was launched in October, which supplies high-end pastry makers such as Laduree, supermarkets and the cosmetics industry.

The company said that using wild venison reduces reliance on artificial inputs, curbs water contamination and offers a lower-carbon alternative to beef, while supporting biodiversity. Levy is also the hospitality and catering partner at Tottenham Hotspur, whose award-winning sustainability initiatives include its work in catering and nature enhancement. Its N17 Burger uses plant-based ingredients to lower the meat content, with a 33% reduction in carbon emissions per burger. Levy added that its nationwide rollout also includes The Oval cricket ground in London, The National Theatre, The O2 and The National Exhibition Centre. work of farmers in Provence – “their irrigation methods, the way they treat the trees very lightly or rather focus on creating living soil”– the almonds his company uses have a high fat content. “When it’s combined with candied fruit and sugar, it produces a very distinctive flavour.” The company says it was also driven by concerns that were economic and environmental in nature. “If we use almonds that are locally grown, we reduce our carbon footprint,” Bertucat shared. France now has more than 2,700 hectares of almond trees, according to official figures. Dwarfed by 50,000 tonnes of imported nuts, the production of shelled almonds stands at around 1,200 tonnes a year. Almond producer Francois Moulias said that the local harvest could continue to increase, but would still remain low in relation

Production of shelled almonds in France stands at around 1,200 tonnes annually.

UK stadiums swap beef burgers for wild venison to cut carbon emissions THE humble beef burger is disappearing from menus at venison portions, served in eco-friendly packaging sustainability push as their meat enters stadium menus.

with condiments made from surplus vegetables, in place of what would have been 54 tonnes of beef burgers. The venison burger debuted at Brentford’s stadium, while close to 5,500 wild venison burgers were sold at Twickenham in just one month, said sports and entertainment caterer Levy, when met at the women’s Rugby World Cup final in September. “Our fans really like it. It’s more popular than last year’s beef burger,” Beale said. Independent studies vary on the size of the carbon gap between beef and wild venison, however, the results obtained depends heavily on how emissions are counted. Levy says Britain’s estimated two million wild deer, which have no natural predators, are helping drive a

stadiums across Britain, as venues such as Brentford’s Gtech Stadium switch to wild venison in a bid to slash carbon emissions. Hospitality partner Levy UK says the move, now rolling out to more than 20 venues in Ireland and the UK, could cut emissions by 85% and save up to 1,182 tonnes of CO ĸ e (carbon dioxide equivalent) annually. “Beef has the highest impact in terms of carbon emissions in all of our ingredients that we offer,” James Beale, head of sustainability and community at Brentford, told Reuters. “We wanted to replace that with wild venison that has 85% less carbon emissions per kilogramme than our beef burgers. So, it has a huge impact.” The initiative will supply wild

Substituting plant-based ingredients in burgers reduces carbon emissions by 33%, studies find. – ALL PICS FROM 123RF