View from a hike in Piemonte
Piemonte is one of the largest producers of fruits and vegetables in Italy. Some of the prized traditional vegetables here include the square pepper of Motta di Costigliole d”Asti, or the horeshaped variety of Carmagnola, leeks from Cervere and onions from Ivrea, all of which are dipped into a hot sauce made from garlic, anchovies and olive oil.
Piemonte has 28,500 hectares of orchards, making it one of the largest producers and exporters of fruits in Italy. The province of Cuneo is famous for the fresh produce of apples, straweberries, peaches, pears, kiwis, chestnuts and hazelnuts! A trivial fact, did you know Nutella was invented in Torino? Even today, the Ferraro factory is based here.
Hazelnuts are what make Piemonte famous. It is a specific variety that makes it suitable for chocolate and confectionery production. Aside from the hazelnuts, there is also the white truffle. Mmmmmm even the words bring me back to our gluttonous gastronomical adventure in Alba…so many truffles!
Another amazing fact of farming in Piemonte is that combined with Lombardy, 223,000 hectares of land annually produce 1.3million tons of rice! This makes it the largest production of rice in Europe.
Rice is primarily grown here with the submersion method and has transformed so much land into rice fields, which are more commonly associated with Asia. Piemonte produces 60% of the national rice production! The rice is produced in an environmentally friendly and organic way. There are so many heirloom varieties of rice!
Now on to the sweets, Piemonte is famous for its Pannetone! How many of these have I devoured? They are just so good, but loaded with yeast, sugar and eggs! :(((( A baker in Torino also invented the breadstick.
I am so fortunate to have visited Piemonte!
Desert Enlightenment 