By Vincent Obbard of Samarès Manor
C
haumontel is a small town with a Chateau just North of Paris, south of Chantilly, near Luzarches, Seine-et Oise. This is the place which gave its name to a pear which became famous in the Channel Isles due to its wonderful taste and enormous size. It seems that it was here that they were grown bigger and better than anywhere else. The pear was discovered by a fruit expert called, Merlet, and included in his book called ‘L’Abrégé des Bons Fruits’ (1675) just at the time that Louis IV was establishing his massive 25 acre ‘Potager du Roi‘ at Versailles, on other side of Paris, to the South West. One could say ‘Right place, right time.’
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A gift of pears was a welcome gift to anyone of class with good taste. In 1760, one Nicolas de Ste Croix, in dire financial straits, asked a friend in Jersey to send a gift of Chaumontel Pears to the Earl of Liverpool, President of the Board of Trade, asking for preferment, sadly, however, to no avail. Only just two years after the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, John Stead wrote a guide book which gives a glowing account of the Jersey countryside including how the productive soil enabled the inhabitants to grow superior fruit of all kinds: “The flavour and size of their peaches, nectarines, apricots, plums, grapes and pears are not excelled in any country in Europe. A species of pears called Chaumontels, which are carefully raised in this island, are unrivalled for their peculiarly delicious flavour; they are often sold here for five pounds a hundred, and many thousand are sent to England every season for presents, and to supply the principal fruit shops in Covent Garden, where they are not unfrequently sold for the extraordinary sum of half a crown each”.
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The Chaumontel needs good rich soil and plenty of sunshine to grow to its perfection. It has to be understood that the pear is late to mature. If picked in October it must be kept in a dry cool place until Christmas when it ripens and can be enjoyed at its best
Image: Chaumontel pears growing at The Elms
The chaumontel pear and its jersey story
