Mr Pic on Travel - The Messenger

• 18 | Jul | 2014
• floriculture carmazzi

The Travel column of Il Messaggero talks about the Carmazzi company, cited among the excellences of Italian agriculture that have successfully engaged in the production of non-native vegetable varieties, as in the case of Mr. Pic chilies. Following is the article: Cous cous in Ferrara, sushi rice in Piedmont. When ethnic food is produced in Italy by Alessandra Ianniello When one speaks of cous cous the mind immediately runs to Africa, to the dunes of the Sahara, to the women who patiently knead the semolina with ancient gestures. Well, if this is folklore, the reality of the facts is another. Let us forget Africa and look closer to us, precisely in Argenta (in the province of Ferrara). Here are the factories of Bia, the world's leading producer of cous cous. Its is a story of successful reconversion; from a traditional pasta factory with some problems, it has become a market leader that exports its products even to North Africa. "As people travel," explains Chef Kumalé, a gastronomade journalist, "so do ingredients travel. With daily use they then become the heritage of the lands of immigration. Just think what Italian cuisine would be if they had forbidden Columbus to bring potatoes, tomatoes and corn from America." And what about the sushi rice grown in the province of Alessandria? In fact, Riseria Monferrato exports to much of Europe its Shinode variety rice, which grows thriving thanks to the air that comes from Mount Rosa and the fertile soil of the Po Valley. Further south, in Puglia, on the other hand, Andrea Suriano, a young agricultural entrepreneur from Foggia, has begun growing ethnic products aimed mainly at foreigners, from ginger to cinnamon from turmeric to coriander. On the other hand, one who has specialized in chili pepper production is a grower from Torre del Lago (in the province of Lucca). Thanks to his collection of more than 800 types of chili peppers from around the world (from South America's Demetra to New Mexico's Habanero Red to Morocco's Cayenne and Vietnam's Dark Green), Marco Caramazzi collaborates with the Chili Pepper Academy to organize the "Chili Day" held in Viareggio (this year from Aug. 22-24). "Meeting the demands of foreigners in Italy," the chef continues, "can be the key to overcoming the crisis. Suffice it to say that, on average, a kilo of Italian vegetables costs 1 euro while the price of foreign ones goes up to 4." Despite the price (which still remains competitive with imported vegetables) Indian, Bengali and Moroccan housewives are satisfied to put home-grown vegetables" fresh in the pot. Examples are the Chinese cabbage (white and elongated in shape) and pachoi cabbage (a dark, rib-like variety) that Giorgio Scotti grows in Mediglia, a few kilometers from the Lombard capital. While in Carmagnola (in the province of Turin) a group of Chinese farmers have formed a consortium to grow pakcioi cabbage, tiángu&#257