ROSCOFF ONION
ROSCOFF ONION
You have to go back in time to the 17th Century to discover the origin of the Roscoff Onion.
It was in 1647 that Brother Cyril, a Capuchin monk, sowed the first seeds in the gardens of his convent on his return from Lisbon.
At that time, the town of Roscoff had an activity essentially linked to maritime trade, based on the export of salt from the South of Brittany and linen fabric produced in the region.
Onions were an essential food for sailors, they help protect against scurvy, because of their richness in vitamin C.
Very quickly noticed for its taste qualities and its very long conservation, the cultivation of the Roscoff onion is developing rapidly in the neighboring municipalities.
But it was in the 19th century that the notoriety of the Roscoff Onion spread.
History records that in 1828, Henri Ollivier, a young peasant from Roscoff, started selling his produce in Britain. He comes back with empty holds and “full” pockets. From then on begins the epic "Johnnie" of the nickname of little John given by the British to the farmer sellers of Roscoff and its region.
Each year more numerous, the Johnnies then expatriate at the end of July after the pardon of Sainte Barbe to go and sell their onions door-to-door throughout Great Britain. First on foot and then by bicycle, they criss-cross the streets of large cities, sometimes loaded with 100kg of goods. The phenomenon reached its peak in the 1920s with 9,000 tonnes sold across the Channel by nearly 1,500 Johnnies.
In 2009, the AOC was obtained under the name "Oignon de Roscoff", and in 2013, the AOP, Protected Designation of Origin, which rewards the cultivation of onions!
