- More than 140 tons of citrus fruits are collected for elaborate floats and displays at France’s Lemon Festival, but the rare Menton lemon is none of them.
- Menton was once one of Europe’s leading lemon producing regions, but due to tourism and other factors, the lemon orchards have declined.
- Currently, there are only 56 small-scale producers growing Menton lemons, and they face challenges such as land development and climate change.
As the French Riviera town of Menton prepares to hold its annual Lemon Festival, it gathers more than 140 tons of citrus fruit to assemble ornate floats and spectacular park displays, drawing thousands of people to the Fete du Citron. fascinates. But none of them are real Menton lemons. The Menton lemon is a rare variety beloved by its fans, including Louis the 14th, who enjoyed drinking its juice and bathing in its essential oils.
They are too precious and there are not enough of them.
“To be honest, we’d rather people taste the lemons on display than see them,” said Marlene Klenk, events manager at the Menton Tourism Board.
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Menton was once Europe’s leading lemon-growing region and enjoyed worldwide fame, with lemons exported to the United States and Russia in the 18th century. But that was before the French Revolution repealed the law protecting Menton from competition from other lemon-growing regions, and the Riviera emerged as a playground for tourists and the wealthy, steadily expanding orchards and farmland. This was before they were replaced by hotels and villas.
Visitors admire sculptures made of lemons during the 90th Lemon Festival in Menton, France on March 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Daniel Cole)
Currently, there are only 56 small-scale growers still growing premium lemons, and some worry that a warming climate will only increase difficulties for growers in the coming years.
In the 1960s, when Pierre Thiabault, a sixth-generation lemon farmer, was looking for work to support his family, he had to break with family tradition. He established a hardware and electronics store to earn a living. Now retired, he tends his family’s orchard on one of the last remaining lemon hills overlooking the city of Menton and the Mediterranean coast dotted with private pools.
“The valley of Menton used to be covered with lemon groves and there were trees everywhere,” said Schiabault. Now, he said, “the land has been sold to a developer and all you see is the building.”
He recalls his father collecting a ton and a half of lemons every 20 days. Currently, the region’s annual production is around 200 tons.
“Today’s young people will not be able to make a living by growing lemons,” says Schiabo.
The region is located between the Southern Alps of France and the Mediterranean Sea and is approximately 247 acres in size, extending beyond the city limits of Menton to Roquebrune, Sainte-Agnès and Castelard. A protected mountain range, close proximity to the sea, a mild climate with constant sunshine and moderate rain during the winter, and sandstone-rich soils give Menton lemons their unique flavor. It has a sour taste, but is neither bitter nor sweet, and has a lemongrass scent. With that enthusiasm. They are larger than most lemons and have thicker skins.
During the Lemon Festival, visitors to the municipal orchard La Casetta were given slices of Menton lemons by the caretaker to sample. One woman picked up her slice, inhaled its aroma for a moment, then took a bite before passing it to her companion.
Krenz calls it “our caviar.” Mauro Colagreco, the famous chef who runs Menton’s three-star Michelin restaurant Le Mirazur, praises it and incorporates it into his fish dishes and desserts.
The Menton lemon gained attention in 2015 when the European Union granted it protection as a geographical marker. This is intended to aid marketing of the lemon and prevent name abuse by lesser varieties. It is the only lemon in France that has such an indicator.
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Laurent Ganac has been growing lemons for 30 years, since moving to the area as a landscape gardener. He started from scratch with about six acres of uncultivated land and spent years clearing the land, creating terraces, planting 400 trees, and installing an irrigation system.
Although he has benefited from geographic indicators, he said he and Schiabault are both concerned about climate change. This region of France has endured three years of drought, which has seen rising temperatures and seasonal disruptions, but lemon crops have yet to be damaged. So far, snowmelt from the mountains has helped.
But if farmers want to continue producing lemons, they need to adapt to rising temperatures, he said.
“Our goal with Menton Lemon is to put it on a plate for a specific customer, in a restaurant, or in a gourmet jam,” Ganak said.
