Challes F-72250 (Sarthe)

Challes - Départment Sarthe

Mayors of Challes (left) and Heidgraben (Germany) Partnership town of Challes

Challes is a lovely and quiet little village of about 800 inhabitants. It is situated about 20 kilometers south of Le Mans (famous for its 24 hours car race) which is the main city of the Departement Sarthe. Challes is close to the Loire Valley Châteaux with easy access to Britanny and Normandy. Looking at the bigger picture, it is located 2 and a half hours drive southwest of Paris.

Industries :

- Perfume bottling factory, Old fashioned weaving factory (Le Crin), Agriculture - Farming.

La Crinoline or "Le Crin" : Usine de Crins - Old fashioned weaving factory

Story to come up soon...............

Gastronomy : " Rillettes "

A preparation of pork meat cooked in lard then pounded to a smooth paste, potted, and served as a cold hors d'oeuvre. Pork Rillettes from the neighboring region of Tours and Anjou are renowned for their fine texture and deep colour because they are almost caramelized by the cooking process. Balzac praised this 'brown jam' in his book Le Lys dans la Vallée, Rillettes from Le Mans and La Sarthe, also of pork, are characterised by large pieces of meat in the fat and by their paler colour (they are cooked very slowly). Formerly Rillettes were made of old breeding sows, whose meat was rather dry; the prolonged cooking in lard tenderized the meat so that it acquired the smooth soft texture that is the hallmark of well-made Rillettes. They are served cold, sometimes with toast, they can also be used in sandwiches and canapés.