Origin of Blonde d'Aquitaine
The area in the southwestern part of France is known as the Region of Aquitaine, named after the Duke of the first kingdom there in the early middle ages. The daughter of one of the dukes of Aquitaine married Henry Plantagenet, who later became Henry II, King of England. As a result, the Aquitaine area was part of the English Kingdom for some two hundred years during the middle ages.
In the extreme southern part of Aquitaine are the Pyrenees mountains, the common boarder between Spain and France. It was in these mountains that the Basque herdsmen developed their art of caring for sheep and cattle. Most of the cattle in this area are light cream colored. The three main breeds here are the Le Quercy, the Garonnais of the Plain, and the Blonde of the Pyrenees.
After World War II, the French government spent considerable time, money, and effort for the upgrading and development of the different breeds of cattle there. They were surprised and extremely pleased at the result of crossing the three breeds of cattle previously mentioned. The "super breed" they developed they called the Blonde d'Aquitaine, (Blond of Aquitaine). They developed a strain within this breed of both beef and milking cattle. Only beef cattle will be discussed here.
Blonde d'Aquitaine cattle have a nature and disposition as friendly and amiable as the quiet farmers who live in southwestern France. They have a remarkable body length without the thick layers of fat characteristic of most breeds. Blondes have smooth deep fleshing, and beautifully marbled, fine textured meat. They have the fine bone structure of an aristocrat and the small well formed head of a patrician.
Because of their fine bone structure and the absence of thick fat, they boast an extremely high dressing percentage. Blondes when dressed-out weigh as much as 70% of their live weight. Compare this to about 55% with most other breeds of cattle. They are an extremely hardy breed and both cows and calves do well in less than favorable weather conditions. Blondes calve very easily. One test in France showed that 98% of blonde cows gave birth without need of any assistance whatsoever. Many tests conclude that, not only do blondes gain weight faster than other breeds, they also gain weight on less feed.
Add to the advantages already mentioned the placement of the meat on the cattle. Blondes carry 60 to 70% of all their meat in the hind quarters where the most choice cuts of meat are found.
