 Ever heard of « scourtins » (the fibre disks used in cold pressed extraction of olive oil)? No, nothing to do with some tribe of magical creatures! Up to the middle of the 20th century, scourtins, disks made of fibre in the shape of a shopping bag or basket, were used to filter olive paste.
These strange filters, fruit of the improbable union of a Basque beret and a Provençale basket, were made from coconut or aloe fibres, hemp or stalks of esparto grass. A regional product, in fact, since it was derived straight from the extraction of olive oil.
At Nyons, the Scourtinerie has always been run by the same family, represented nowadays by the present owners, Arnaud and Frédérique Fert. It was their grandfather who reinvented this very old technique by weaving the scourtin with coconut fibre. This material in fact proved itself more resistant to the pressure of the new oil presses used at the end of the 19th century. An excellent opening in the market, right up to the time of the dramatic freeze that decimated the olive trees of the region in1956 and brought the Scourtinerie to the brink of bankruptcy.
But that was without counting on the Ferts' capacity to rebound. These filters are no longer in demand? Well, then, we'll make some doormats! Moreover, that's how used scourtins have always been recycled. Today, interior mats and bathmats compete with hot pads for serving dishes and table mats. Fuchsia, yellow, blue and green: scourtins of yesteryear become scourtins of Provence, in bright colours. They can be found in the family workshop where there's a spinning wheel that dates from 1892. A place full of fantasy and humour with, in the guise of a welcoming committee, a Judea tree, some hundred-year-old plane trees and skeins of coloured coconut rope drying on climbing vines.
Contact and information: www.scourtinerie.com
La Scourtinerie Sarl
36, La Maladrerie
F- 26110 Nyons
Tel. + 33 (0)475 263 352
Photo: Annick Guillaume
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