Tarn River: Source of Economy

Besides inspiring clever café names, the Tarn River has provided Ambialet with many other services throughout history.  In the Middle Ages, the area obtained much of its wealth through mining.  Lead, iron, copper, along with other precious metals, were mined in this region.  It was the Tarn River which facilitated the movement of goods and provided locals with accessibility to trade.  The powerful current of the Tarn was also harnessed as an energy source and used to drive mills.  Thus another key source of revenue for this area issued from goods made in the mills:  wheat, grain, textiles, oil, and lumber.  All of these were easily transported along the river and sold to other communities.

Recipes from the Tarn River

Shane just discussed the Tarn River and everything about here. Here are two recipes that are local to the area of the tarn. There is a recipe for stuffed vegetables of the Tarn with a goat cheese and then there is a Tarn salad that has walnuts in it so be careful to let people know that there are nuts in it because of any nut allergies.

Stuffed Vegetables of the Tarn with Cabécou


Raise the stem of 4 ripe tomatoes. Cut a sort of hat on each one. Remove the pulp with a spoon.
Take 4 zucchini and dig out the inside without damaging the bottom. Sprinkle with thyme and a bit of salt and pepper.
Crush the back of the fork 6 cabécous (cabécou is a type of goats cheese which is found in the area of the Mid Pyrenees in Southern France.
Spoon a little of this same cheese into each of the tomatoes.
Bake in preheated oven 20 minutes’ tomatoes and zucchini. Remove the tomatoes and keep warm.
Continue to cook the zucchini for an additional 15 minutes.

            Serve warm.

Tarn salad with walnuts

Remove skin from 4 slices of fresh lightly dried melsat (eaten like a sausage.)

Add in 4 of the kernels of nuts without breaking them too much.

Trim a few healthy leaves of dandelion and lettuce.

Cut a few pieces of Carpaccio ham. Maintain them with a pike a good hour. Remove picks before mixing with other ingredients.

Compose vinaigrette with vinegar old wine, walnut oil with equal quantity of oil neuter, 1 tablespoon honey, salt, pepper. Sprinkle this mixture of all components of this salad.

Let the salad stand 30 minutes before presenting it to the table.

[http://gambler62.izihost.org/ambialet-priory.html] - picture

[Chalendar, Pierrette. La Cuisine Du Tarn. C. Lacour, 2001. Page 130 ]-Stuffed Vegetables

[Chalendar, Pierrette. La Cuisine Du Tarn. C. Lacour, 2001. Page 19 ] - Salad

Mills

Oh Bread! One of France's most necessary piece of food. Bread has always been of importance to French culture. In order to make bread and other products, mills are necessary to grind the grain.

Ambialet had two mills. The first was the “Lease of the Moulin de la Resse” in 1654. The millers had to pay an entry fee to the owner to use his mill. This allowed a source of revenue to the town to keep it alive and well.


The other mill was “Le Moulin de Bonneval” which was still functioning until 1955! It was mainly used to grind barley and oats for animals. The wheels of the mill can still be seen at the foot of the Mill today. In 1955, it would be thought that a mill would be of little importance in the area. The mill portrays how the people had little means of transportation in the time.This shows how cut off Ambialet was from the rest of the world; the closest town is 20 kilometers away! 

In order for each of these mills to operate, the Tarn River was of great importance. Each mill was powered by the wheel spinning in the water due to the flow of the river. The waterfall also allowed for the owner to heat his home.

Hydro-Electric Plant

©Tales of a Flaneur

Today, there is a hydro-electric plant in Ambialet. It can be recognized by the large pink building in the middle of town. Work was started in 1917 and the dam was completed in 1923. The hydro-electric plant is a power supply to the mines, factories, and the town of Ambialet.

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[Ambialet prestíqíeux et secret, "Les Moulins", p. 23 & 24]

Tarn River

The name "Tarn" is derived from the term "Taranis," the Gallic god of thunder and of floods or torrents.  The Tarn River is 233 miles (375 km) in length and it flows through a total of four districts throughout France.  It is very windy, at one point, taking on a 3 km loop, and snaking around the village of Ambialet.  The bends of the river can be seen clearly from Le Prieuré (The Priory), which rests atop a rocky hill overlooking the village.  As mentioned in the previous blog, the land formation that was shaped by the Tarn is called a 'Presqu'île.'  There is even a “Café de la Presqu'île” located in the heart of the Ambialet.  According to legend, there has been a café on that exact spot since Roman times... but you’ll have to ask Nadine, the owner of the café, about this yourself! 
 

["L'église Saint-Gilles" in Journée du Patrimoine 2010]

["Tarn River." Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved December 06, 2010, from Encyclopedia Online:  http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/583623/Tarn-River ]