A few of my favorite things....

WALNUTS! So maybe not a few of my favorite things, but one thing I have really come to love and enjoy in my time here in the Dordogne Valley. The area is known for these little guys and they come in all shapes and sizes-in cakes, wines, oils, cookies, salads, and by themselves. The walnuts have been rumored to have been in the area for over 17,000 years. Clearly something is right in this southwest corner for them to thrive. Driving through the valleys and hills, you can find groves of them lining the road, they have also marked out a Route du Noix to map out where the official AOC classified walnuts are It also seems that many of the old houses, and even some of the new, have their own walnut tree in their yard. Many people make their own walnut wine and walnut oil, so that tree out back becomes quite handy!

The harvest for the walnuts is October-November, so I am just missing big show. Traditionally after the harvest all winter long, people would sit around the fire and crack open the shells-a way to not only keep warm, but also to provide entertainment and conversation in the long, cold, and very dark winter days. Though I will be out of here before winter sets in, I have had my fair share of walnuts to enjoy and crack open and let me tell you, they are hard shells to get through!

Earlier this week, I had the chance to go visit one of the last standing traditional walnut mills that makes the wonderful walnut oil. Moulin de la Tour dates back to the sixteenth century and this small mill uses only water from a small brook to power the mill and the production of the oil. There is a small reserve of water now behind the mill and the water that they use goes back into the brook so the flow is not disturbed. Back in the day, there were about 10 mills on this small brook that all used and recycled their water back into the brook so that other people down the line could use it.

The tour starts with the main water will that brings in the water from the reserve pond,

The pond behind the main building

Water wheel! The darker bits is the wood still showing thorugh

It is actually made of wood, but the water here is very hard so it has calcified over the years. After it comes into the dark and smoky room, it heads straight to the grinder, where the shelled walnuts are placed to be ground up.

Don't put your fingers underneath that guy!

This process takes about 40 minutes to get them to the right consistency for the next step. The large wheel itself is from another local village, Domme. The village itself is situated up high on a cliff and the cliffs are what produce these beautiful chunks of rock. They would bring these down the hill and put them on barges on the Dordogne to bring to all around France. Once the 40 minutes is up, the walnuts go into the roaster.

The basin itself is a metal basin set into a stone base. They use chestnut wood, because it burns at a low temperature and gives a lovely aroma to the walnuts.

Chestnut wood stacked up outside with a friendly chicken

The water moves a piece that keeps the walnuts moving all the time so they don't burn. And even then, there is a fine line between done and burned so they have to be watched carefully! All in all, it takes about 40 minutes to roast. When they are just about done, they move them over to the press.

When the two guys got them all in and patted in between what looked like a burlap sack, they added the weight and then cranked down the machine-all 20 tons of pressure, yikes! The pressing process took about 10 minutes, and produced the oil. After this step they don't do anything except bottle it. It is 100% natural and only walnuts are used.

The bottom block starts completely above the walnuts and ends below the edge. Essentially meaning they start as the size of the block and are pressed down to very dry bits which is used for animal feed

The mill runs as true as they can to how they would have done it many years ago. It has been in the same family for three generations, and they train their employees with utmost care. Out guide, Felipe, was only there for the summer season and was more than kind to include English bits here and there so I knew what was going on!

Felipe!

Felipe mentioned that they are lucky that they are able to still produce the oil the same as many generations before. Each year they hope that the government doesn't interfere and put a stop to their production. Because of expensive standards, they are only allowed to make the oil on the property, anything else that they might be able to make-like cookies, cakes, mustard's, etc they cannot produce. It is these standards that shut down all the other mills in the area-they couldn't compete with the high prices of setting up completely sterile facilities for their small town production of a real, fantastic product.

I really hope that they are able to keep making the oil as their ancestors would. It is very good and they are very careful in production. Plus, I have loved putting the oil on anything I can, so I only want the best stuff! :)