The discovery of Sicilian products and projects of excellence will be accompanied by the sharing of stories and tales of the systems that help to maintain the fertility of the countryside and to protect biodiversity. Tony Nicolini will talk with Paolo Inglese, Professor of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Sciences, and the Sabadì chocolate Ambassador, Natalia Caruso.
This is an opportunity for an informal meeting and dialogue to share with the public their experiences of exchange of knowledge and discuss together food richness and health, starting from ancient grains, oil, kinds of honey and jams, and Modica chocolate.
Ancient grains_ Sicily with its wide variety of microclimates and different types of soil is suitable for the cultivation of ancient Sicilian grains. Peasant agriculture has preserved ancient wheat varieties that represent a precious heritage both for their organoleptic properties and for their value in the context of ecological conversion with a view to protecting the environment. It is a supply chain that is of particular importance for the Sicilian agricultural sector. Very important transformations originate from wheat, such as pasta, bread, leavened products in general and all Sicilian pastries.
The Olive Oil. It is an essential element. The Mediterranean is a civilization of the olive tree – says Braudel – In Sicily, extra virgin olive oil is still produced today according to the most ancient traditions. The island is among the regions in Italy that produce it in greater quantities: here the olive groves , often protected by dry stone walls, extend as far as the eye can see. Countless varieties of olives are grown. 80% of the crops concern the Biancolilla, Cerasuola, Moresca, Oglialora Messinese, Santagatese, Tonda Iblea, Nocellara del Belice, Nocellara Etnea varieties. The remaining 20% is instead made up of Brandofino, Crastu, Giarraffa, Minuta, Pidicuddara, Verdello, Zaituna and another twenty less common varieties.
Sicilian black bee honey, Sicilian heritage and Slow Food presidium since 2008, as well as being a delight for the palate, sweet and velvety, is above all a concentrate of polyphenols and antioxidants (three to ten times more than the standard ones) , and also of antibacterial and antifungal substances that are not found in other types of honey. The history of black bee honey is closely linked to the figure of Carlo Amodeo, a Sicilian beekeeper who was a pupil of Pietro Gendoso, an entomologist and a great scholar of the Sicilian black bee, at the agricultural faculty in Palermo. Together they decided to isolate the black bee to preserve it, initially in Ustica, then in Alicudi, Filicudi and Vulcano.
The docile Sicilian black bees allow honey extraction with bare hands, but these bees also have the advantage of being very tolerant of both heat and cold; this makes them much more productive than other bees, with no seasonality limits. They are also very resistant to pests and pesticides.
Amodeo plays a key role in saving it from extinction and in making the honey produced an important Slow Food presidium, which today has 8 official producers throughout the region.
Modica chocolate historically begins to be produced in the 18th century in Sicily and in other territories dominated by the Spaniards, including Modica. The Spaniards were the first to combine cocoa beans with sugar and to create a chocolate that is close to the chocolate still produced in Modica , which has become the homeland of artisan chocolate. Sabadì (Tavoletta d’Oro award for the best Modica chocolate for the eighth consecutive year) will guide us through the excellence of artisan chocolate to its full potential: highly selected, local and seasonal ingredients, Slow Food presidia that highlight the richness of production of Sicily. Cold processing to keep the quality of the raw materials intact.