The beginning of the year has its share of traditions in the Principality. The circus, the rally… and the sour oranges! These fruit trees, which line several arteries of Monaco, are pampered annually by gardeners. On the program, the size but especially the harvest of its fruits: the bitter oranges also called the bigarades.
On Princess Caroline Street, the dozen agents are busy with their large ladders and other tools. “We started on Monday”, says Aurélie Varitto, assistant to the head of the Garden section at the Department of Urban Development. Because the schedule is loaded. The 566 bitter orange trees will be combed through according to a very precise schedule (read below)district by district.
Despite the drought, a rather good harvest
If it is still too early to say definitively, Aurélie Varitto is already taking stock of this year’s production. And it’s pretty positive. “The fruits are very ripe. They ripened quite quickly this year. We were afraid that they would be small because of the lack of water. At first they had trouble ripening but it happened all of a sudden. with the cold so finally the harvest seems equal to the other years. We can see it, the trees are quite busy. We think we will reach the figures of last year.” Last year, 7.6 tonnes of bitter oranges were indicated, including 1.3 given to individuals.
Nothing is thrown away, therefore, insists on the one who watches over the good product of the harvest. The picked citrus fruits are then placed in baskets made available to the public. “People come with their bags and help themselves. You don’t have to be a resident, we don’t ask for your identity card, we don’t take your name [rires] you can even come ten times if you want!”
Everyone makes it their own happiness
Others also benefit from the harvest. This is the case of L’Orangerie de Monaco which is stocked with raw materials. “This year, there is a company that will transform them into jam to offer them to its customers”, adds Aurélie Varitto. Some schools are partners and take advantage of this to set up educational projects. The Technical and Hotel School also gets supplies to transform them into fruit paste.
A little new this year, pruning waste (branches and leaves) is crushed on site and spread in the gardens of the Principality.
The harvest calendar
Here is the gardeners’ forecast calendar for picking, which can be evaluated according to the vagaries of the weather and the progress of the harvest.
Condamine sector:
Until January 26: Princess Caroline Street.
From January 30 to February 10: rue Grimaldi.
Moneghetti sector:
Until 27 January: boulevard de Belgique.
Monte Carlo sector:
Until January 20: avenue de Grande-Bretagne.
From 23 to 27 January: boulevard de Suisse and boulevard d’Italie.
Jam, orange wine… take your pick!
Some wonder about the edibility of bitter oranges. Yes, they are consumable. But beware, no comment. Not that they are toxic, but beware of bitterness! First of all, there is no treatment. “If there are, they are organicinsists Aurélie Varitto. It is specific to all the gardens of the Principality. Here we see that they are healthy, the leaves are very green.”
As for the pollution emitted by the city center, this is not a problem according to the assistant to the head of the Garden section at the Department of Urban Development. “They are washed and for the jam they are cooked. If there was a risk, I don’t think the people who market them would do it.”
As for the final product, “everyone has their own recipe” jokes Aurélie Varitto. “Some mix it with other citrus fruits to make jam; others use it for orange wine.” It is also possible to make fruit paste, candied fruit… In short, “the main thing is to add sugar to mask the bitterness!”.