Orange blossom at Bar sur Loup
Le Bar sur Loup, a village of 3000 souls located in the Grasse region, is nicknamed the Capital of the Orange Tree
Indeed, traditionally in certain points of the Alpes-Maritimes, particularly well exposed to the sun and with a particularly mild microclimate, orange trees have been growing since the beginning of the 20th century.
Here we will talk about the bitter orange tree, that is to say the orange tree scientifically called citrus aurentium. It is in May that the orange tree is adorned with its beautiful little white flowers. Traditionally, the whole family, in the old days, young and old and “pickers” got up at 5 a.m. to “fresh” pick these delicate flowers. Burlaps were installed under the trees then perched on wooden ladders whose particularity is to be made up of a single rear arm in order to best penetrate the tree, people picked the flowers.
Even today, as at home, in our gîtes located at Bar sur Loup, we continue this tradition. and we will be happy to help you discover it during your stay.
After collecting the flowers, they were placed in a large basket in the shade, covered with a cloth. In the evening, all the twigs were removed in order to keep only the flowers collected by brokers who transported them to the Grasse factories.
In Grasse, in the factories, distillation then takes place which makes it possible to produce the essential oil of neroli or essence which is used in the composition of many feminine perfumes, and orange blossom water for food.
For information, a tonne of flower will yield 600 liters of orange blossom water and 1 kg of neroli.
Also, extraction by volatile solvents is a process for producing absolute “almost pure alcohol”. Note also that healthy adult orange trees produce on average 12 to 15 kg of flowers, for a maximum of 30 kg.
The Alpes-Maritimes department is the French department where the distillation of orange blossom is most important.
Aware of the environmental, heritage, economic and tourist issues of these bitter orange trees; It should be noted that the commune of Bar sur Loup recently embarked on an ambitious program to increase the number of bitter orange trees planted in the commune. This is how we plant bitter orange trees (citrus aurantium). You will discover the first 8 that we replanted this year around our Pascaline and Noélie lodges.
Orange blossom harvest, April 23, 2020.
