Friday 11 December 2020

Gherkins; hardly an earth-shattering subject.


Back in the early 70's when I bought our first house here in France, one of my major Summer cash-crops was Gherkins (Cornichons).


Gherkins are the small fruit of the 'Ridge Cucumber', a short plump Cucumber with a spotty surface; they were picked when about 7 cms long.

The 'Ridge Cucumber' is a highly prolific producer of fruit, and as long as one continued to pick regularly, its production would continue for quite a while. It was also a very easy plant to grow. The Gherkins didn't need to travel far; there were several processors in the immediate area.

The merchant would come to the house every other day, weigh our crop, and pay in cash. It was a very efficient way of making 'pocket money'.

Then it all ended. No doubt new regulations came from Brussels that halted the production. My photo above shows the Kühne Cornichons that I now regularly buy; they hail from Germany (well, they would wouldn't they).

In the grand scheme of things, Gherkins may be of little importance, but it's just one of many things that have disappeared from the farm gate. Farms no longer have Cows, Pigs, Ducks, Geese, Chickens, vineyards, or even any 'edible crops' (I did see some fields of Tomatoes this year). There are only two major crops regularly grown; Sunflowers for oil, and Maize. As there are very few cattle around, even haymaking has become pointless.

Fields upon fields are now left unworked. Most are mowed for the sake of tidiness, and their owners continue to receive their 'Single Farm Payment', regardless of anything being grown.

Brussels has a lot to answer for. Gherkins may not be the perfect gauge of a country's agricultural health; but they certainly represented another nail in that coffin that has become European farming. 

28 comments:

  1. I wonder how long your gherkins keep after opening (according to the label) The ones I buy say to use within one week. As I am the only one who eats them and it is a 670 gram jar it always takes me a lot longer than that. I suppose it is the "manufacturer" being extra cautious.

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    1. The ones in the picture tend to turn slightly lighter green after having been opened for a few weeks, but that certainly doesn't stop me from eating them.

      I've just been to look at the jar, and it says to eat within 3 weeks of being opened. Nonsense.

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  2. Same in my youg days in the fens of Lincolnshire Cro - every farm had fresh veg at the gate - not any more.

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    1. One doesn't expect life to stay the same, but to go downhill so sharply is worrying. The changes over here have been devastating.

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  3. I thought it was so ridiculous when our local farm auberge was no longer permitted to serve their own home grown fresh salad with meals.

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    1. I had been eating Chez Murat in Pomarede for decades, then these stupid new laws came in about home produced Paté, hams, vegs, etc, and the place went downhill at once. I think their spirit was taken away from them. We don't eat there any more.

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  4. As I have said before, when we were farming we had one very large room piled from floor to ceiling with EU farming directives which had to be read and followed to the letter. They arrived regular as clockwork. We were inspected annually, always treated like criminals and always France came first (in our opinion).

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    1. All those years ago, everything worked so well, and we all helped each other. Now all that has changed, and people's temperaments too.

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  5. When will Brussels learn that if the green stuff hits the fan, you can't actually EAT all these directives they keep printing? You'd soon get fed up with Maize and Sunflower seeds too.

    Diversity is the answer. This from someone else who remembers produce for sale at farm gates.

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    1. Hardly anyone (apart from me) grows anything that you can actually eat. The farmers now either cut wood, or pick chestnuts. It's a funny old world; especially as our climate is perfect for growing most things.

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  6. We once had a farm by the Dead Sea. The vegetables grew there in a wonderful way. I think today all the farms there have become tourist farms.

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    1. 'Tourist Farms' sound dreadful. The Dead Sea must be a big tourist attraction too.

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  7. It makes me sad. We are glad that farms are still traditional here in NZ, although wool prices have been low here.

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    1. I can buy a really nice NZ frozen Leg of Lamb here for about €20. If I buy a locally grown one, it costs about €35. I believe that NZ still has no subsidies, so how is this possible?

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  8. NZ lamb here is also cheaper than the local fresh and always makes a very tasty roast. I also wonder about those prices. As for gherkins , ours are German because I get them from lidls. We can get your same brand here but they are twice the price.
    The EU is mysterious and downright ridiculous with its regulations. The Greeks ignore them as much as they can but a lot of piffle does filter down.

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    1. The French tend to formulate many of the laws, then of course they ignore them. It's become a national sport.

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  9. The cash cows here are corn and soybeans. Companies rent the land from the farmers, clear the fields, plant many acres with that years crop and return with their huge equipment at harvest. This is good revenue for the farmer but not good for the land as there is nothing organic being put into the soil and air. The smaller farms still have vegetable stands and for that we are thankful.

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    1. Not so long ago the farmers here grew Tobacco, Wheat, Barley, Asparagus, and all sorts of root crops for the Pigs. Not now!

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  10. I love a cornichon .... and silver onions ! I guess change comes to each generation and I’m someone who hates change. Sorry I’ve been AWOL Cro .... I’ve got a new computer and a new phone abd there are a few tweaks to be done ! XXXX

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    1. Very exciting. I loved having my new laptop, they are always so much better than the previous one. Not so sure about the new phone.... I'm still resisting!

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  11. Pickles are not what they used to be. My grandmother used to grow cucumbers and make bread and butter pickles. Fond memories.

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    1. At this time of year I make pickled onions and pickled red cabbage, both essentials to go with the cold Turkey after Christmas.

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  12. They are not fashionable here but I love the complex flavours of the gherkins.

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    1. I'm never without a jar of Gherkins. At present I also have some pickled green tomatoes, and of course plenty of pickled walnuts.

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  13. I love gherkins, too, and as I'm a notorious expiry-date ignorer, I hadn't even realised these things were packaged with use-by-dates. They're a pasteurised pickle, as far as I'm concerned, and can be on the go in my fridge for months or more, to no ill effect. I guess if I was an EU farmer, I'd be the kind to have been locked up for sedition ages ago, despite my love for keeping rules. Get between me and common sense, however ...!

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    1. Before it was mentioned above, I'd never thought to look on my jar to see if there was an 'eat by' date. I too shall ignore it.

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  14. You can't beat a couple of gherkins with a wedge of good quality mature cheddar cheese and a slice of fresh pork pie.

    And you are right, farming isn't how it used to be.

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    1. If only I could buy Pork Pies here; they are one of the real delights of the UK! Farming certainly isn't what it was, but no fault of the farmers; it's the meddling bureaucrats who've ruined it.

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