In order to get their Puy name, which is protected under DOP regulations, Puy lentils have to be grown in the small Le Puy region and cultivated in unique conditions that restricts the use of fertilizers, pesticides and irrigation with a mandatory annual crop rotation.
These unique conditions mean that Puy lentil crops are at high risk from climate change. As a result of the
unstable climate over recent years, Puy Lentils have been subject to extreme harvest fluctuations and we have seen availability of supply decrease to record lows. The poor yield from the most recent harvest has meant that Merchant Gourmet are currently unable to meet the increasing demand of our much loved, bestselling Simply Cooked Puy Lentil pouch.
Despite these supply issues, we have been working hard to ensure that Puy Lentils are available to UK shoppers. Therefore we have decided to update the Simply Cooked Puy Lentil pouch recipe to include French green lentils, which means a reduction in Puy content. Puy lentils are actually a type of green lentil, and French green lentils are often grown near to the Puy region, but are not subject to the same restrictions on farming processes, so are not as exposed to climate change risk or supply issues. This also means the two varieties are closely matched in colour, taste, size and texture.
This small ingredient change is the best solution we have found to ensure that Simply Cooked Puy Lentils are continually stocked on UK supermarket shelves all year around.
