Different from its Toulouse and Carcassonne cousins, Castelnaudary cassoulet has its particularities and here, we stick to it. Discover the history of this legendary dish.
Cassoulet: an ancestral dish
The origin of cassoulet is not an easy story and is not clearly defined.
His birth dates back tomedieval ages. At its genesis, cassoulet was a simple stew, a dish simmered for long hours. According to works, the dish, simple in appearance, turned out to be very refined. At XNUMXth century, the Arabs are said to have introduced the cultivation of the famous white bean. Thus, mutton stew with white beans was born, based on the works of Taillevant.
The origins of cassoulet go back so far that it is the subject of legends, including one dating back to the XNUMXth century.
During the Hundred Years War, during the siege of Castelnaudary by the English, to avoid famine, the inhabitants would have pooled their food to feed the soldiers. These foodstuffs would have been nothing other than bacon, beans, sausage and other meats, all simmered in a large bowl. Over the centuries, cassoulet evolved like any great dish of French gastronomy.
It is only at XNUMXth century that the cassoulet began to be simmered in the famous casserole, itself made precisely issell and its virtuous land. There recipe of today's cassoulet dates back to sixteenth century with the famous ingot bean, brought from South America by Columbus in 1530, which will replace the white bean. Catherine de Medici, then Countess of Lauragais in 1553 imposed the cultivation of ingot beans which became widespread throughout the southwest due to its ease of cultivation thanks to Lauragais conditions. The dish “cassoulet” will designate this legendary dish from Eighteenth century.
The first cassoulet factory was created in Castelnaudary in 1836 under the brand “La Renown” created by Maison Bouissou. There official recipe cassoulet would therefore go back to 1909 and will last for many years... until it still triumphs today.
The origin of cassoulet is therefore murky, but one thing is certain, it was born in Lauragais-Audois!
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