Finistere is in the north-west of France, part of Brittany, and around the small port of Roscoff in Finistere they grow onions. The 'oignon de Roscoff' (Roscoff onion) has the French/European geographical protection certificate AOC, meaning to be marketed as the famous Roscoff onion the onions must have been produced in a certain limited geographical area around Roscoff.
The story goes that a monk who had spent time in Portugal brought the distinctive sweet pink onions back with him in the 17th century. He taught the nuns at the Convent of Roscoff how to cultivate them.
Later Roscoff's proximity to the United Kingdom led to cargoes of onions being sent off in the summer with teams of men who would walk the length and breadth of the United Kingdom selling their onions door to door. They became iconic and a sort of stereotype of what a Frenchman looked like for many British. They were nicknamed 'Onion Johnnies', a somewhat patronising name that they themselves ultimately adopted and owned.
The Johnnies rode bicycles and carried the onions in strings around their necks. The name 'Onion Johnny' may be a bit patronising, but in fact the onions were much appreciated by the British housewives and cooks of the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries. And the French producers knew their product was superior to the onions the British could grow, and were proud of them.
At the peak of this trade, in the interwar period, there may have been as many as 2000 Onion Johnnies.
Roscoff onions are a medium sized onion, characterised by their copper pink skins.
3 comments:
The "Onion Johnies" were still going in the late '50s... I remember them and Mum used to buy at least four ropes off them... they were better than any for raw onion dishes.
Didn't know they were Ross-cough onions... Mum always used them or the huge round Spanish onions for her onion and beetroot salad. I use whatever is to hand, with mixed results.... must try with Roscoff bunions.
We had several visits from one in the early 50s - as much as the onions themselves, I think my mother liked the chance to practise a little French - and modest flirtation. My father was much amused to learn his name - M. Bastard.
Tim and Auty: thanks for sharing your personal memories of the Onion Johnnies. Always nice to have a bit of detail from someone who remembers these things.
Post a Comment