Farina di Neccio della Garfagnana PDO

Production Method

The chestnuts are generally harvested in October and November. Once picked, the chestnuts are slowly dried in traditional structures known as metati, which are fuelled with chestnut wood. The fruit are arranged in layers of between 20 cm and 90 cm, so as to allow the steam to evaporate without creating stagnation within the structure. After around 40 days, the chestnuts are shelled with traditional beating machines, ventilated either by a machine or with the use of traditional techniques; the fruit are then polished by hand to get rid of any impurities. Mills with stone grinders are used to transform the chestnuts into flour, with a limit of 500 kg of chestnuts per day, so as to avoid the overheating of the high speed grinders.

Appearance and Flavour

Farina di Neccio della Garfagnana PDO ranges from pure white to dark ivory in colour and has a fine consistency. The sweet flavour is characterised by a slightly bitter aftertaste and it has a typically chestnut aroma.

Production Area

The production area of Farina di Neccio della Garfagnana PDO is within the territory of 21 municipal areas in the Province of Lucca, in the Tuscany region.

History

The cultivation of chestnuts as fruit in Garfagnana has ancient origins, but it only became a serious cultivation in around 1100, following a demographic boom in the area. In 1664, Tanara wrote the following in his book L’Economia del cittadino in villa: “There are two types of chestnut trees: the natural one is wild, the artificial one domestic. The fruit yields a flour with which bread is made and which is very nourishing according to Galeno, which apart from that of wheat is more nourishing than any other grain, and this can be ascertained from the strong men and young women with skin the colour of milk, and pink cheeks, who live only on this flour and water “. In the general statistics of the Estensi States, Carlo Roncaglia wrote in 1847: “If the cereal products are not sufficient to meet the population’s needs, we can turn to the chestnut groves, of which there are many and also well-distributed.” In Garfagnana, chestnuts have always been dried in metati (from the Latin Metà); brick or stone structures divided in half by a slatted wooden shelf, canniccio, on which the chestnuts were laid out to dry over the fire. The dried chestnuts were then sent to the mills to be transformed into flour: in the XIX century there were 245 operating mills in the area.

Gastronomy

Farina di Neccio della Garfagnana PDO should be stored in a cool, dry place. It is used to make many traditional delicacies, such as manafregoli (chestnut flour cooked with milk); castagnaccio (oven-baked cake made with chestnut flour, oil, nuts, pine nuts); neccio (flat bread made with a paste of chestnut flour, water and a pinch of salt). It can also be used to make polenta, traditionally served with ricotta, mild cheese, sautéed mushrooms and charcuterie. Many bakeries now use the flour in traditional cakes.

Marketing

The product is marketed as Farina di Neccio della Garfagnana PDO. It is sold to retail outlets in transparent bags protected by a cardboard cover, weighing between 500 g and 1 kg. Confections weighing a minimum of 12 kg are available for industrial use, and are generally divided into two transparent and sealed sacks.

Distinctive Features

Farina di Neccio della Garfagnana PDO owes its distinctive features to the use of metati, a unique chestnut desiccator on two levels made of stone, lime and sand, as well as stone grinding mills.