When life hands you lemons...

You’ve all heard us talk about the lemon industry here in Menton, so here’s a brief history to get you more acquainted with this wonderfully sour treat!

Introduced to Europe in 12th century, lemons have been grown in Menton since the 15th century. In the 17th century the “Magistrate of Citrons" was enacted, which was an authority made up of 18 members named each year by the Prince of Monaco (Menton once belonged to the Principality) and charged with harvesting all the citrus fruits (at this time the tree was not farmed – the trees grew wild across the area). The lemons were sold in auction blocks to purchasers, with the bidding done in front of the Great Council. The council then distributed the money to deputy advisers who paid the owners from which the fruits had been collected.

By the 19^th century, citrus fruit cultivation had become the premiere economic activity of Menton: in 1860, the production of citrus fruits (lemons and oranges) was estimated at 2.8 million tons of fruit. The village exported 35 million lemons per annum, mainly to England, Germany & Russia but also North America!

Also at this time laws were enacted to regulate the quality of the fruit for export and to care for the trees. "This so productive tree,” wrote Papon in 1804, “fruits 4 to 5 times in a year without harm. Indeed, it is naturally healthy and is not susceptible to insects or disease. It produces fruit all year.”

The flourishing lemon industry dropped during the Second World War before being almost completely eradicated by a terrible freeze, in 1956, which almost erased five centuries of traditional lemon growing in the area. Undaunted, 15 farmers revived the industry, and managed to produce 100 tons of fruit the following year. The area has never looked back. Nowadays the City encourages home owners as well as farmers to replant lemon trees, orange trees, clementines and kumquats.

The harvest of lemons is made several times a year in order to "soulager" the tree and to facilitate the maturation of the following fruits. The May flowers (called "precede fiou") bears fruit which is harvested from October to February. In March the fruits come from the "segunde fiou" (second flower), which is a more fragile crop. Lastly, the third harvest, which is done in summer, is called "verdame.”

Three varieties of lemon tree are cultivated on Menton: Bignettes (begnet) which produces fruit with thin, smooth skin and is very juicy; Sériesqués with thick and smooth skin but which contains less juice than Bignettes, and Bullotins. Bullotins are larger than the other 2 varieties, their skin is very thick and rough and they have little juice.

Anyone for lemonade?

Another glorious day here. Temperature of 23C and just a few, puffy clouds in a clear blue sky!