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Our company is committed to the conservation and production of ancient grains.

We are used to a soft and white bread, to a pasta that does not overcook. Many do not know that all this was obtained from a genetic alteration of the grain.

Since the 1960s with the advent of chemical fertilizers, wheat has been subjected to "nanization", since by increasing chemical fertilization in order to push production, the wheat of the time, already high in itself, was even more tall and enticed.

<< The paradox is that today, a wheat with a high gluten index, which is not digestible, is said to be excellent, while a digestible wheat with low gluten is described as poor. The high gluten index speeds up the pasta making process, because wheat can be subjected to very high drying temperatures, so it is used by the industry, but our intestine does not recognize it and begins to produce free radicals that cause ills ranging from allergies to tumors. It is the usual discourse of profit at the expense of health, made on a food we eat daily >>.

Perciasacchi or Strazzavisazza wheat.

Well known for its pseudonym of Khorasan, a variety launched by the Kamut commercial brand, Perciasacchi would be the Italian Khorasan.

It is the most ancient wheat ever in genetic line very close to spelled, it could be one of the first grains brought to Sicily, by the first civilizations coming from the lands between the Tigris and the Euphrates, now Syria, where agriculture had Start.

It is a durum wheat used to produce a pasta with a strong, wild and natural character. It is characterized by strong roots and very long and amber grains, recognizable because it is very different from other varieties, for this reason it does not lend itself to sophistication. Its production is small, but highly sought after.

Thanks to the Caltagirone graniculture station that has reproduced the seed for years, we have managed to recover this variety, starting with only 200g of wheat, which was donated to us in 2005 by this institute, today we produce several tons.

In 2018 we were appointed custodians of this variety by the ministry of agriculture.

Perciasacchi has been rediscovered and re-evaluated as a cereal of excellence, thanks to the following characteristics:

- the plant has a height of approx. 1.80 m (higher than that of common wheat) and for this reason it naturally fights weeds that cannot grow under its foliage, this has allowed it to adapt well to organic farming.

- it contains higher percentages of lipids, amino acids, vitamins and minerals, as well as highly digestible characteristics; it represents a sweet and delicious alternative for the preparation of all products currently used based on traditional wheat;

- has never undergone the alterations of the genetic manipulation techniques of modern agriculture, which sacrifice traditional flavor and content for the benefit of high yield.

Gluten intolerances and allergies

Perciasacchi durum wheat is free from any contamination of radioactive cobalt from x- and y-ray induced mutagenesis, unlike irradiated GMO durum wheat varieties, used today in agriculture. The hypothesis seems well founded that the genetic modification of modern wheat varieties is related to a modification of their protein, and in particular of one of its fractions, gliadin, which is a basic protein, from which, by peptic-tryptic digestion, a substance called Frazer's fraction III is obtained, which causes inflammatory enteropathy and therefore malabsorption (gluten intolerance and allergies).

Curiosity: did you know that durum wheat flours have a lower glycemic index than soft wheat ones, in fact, the greater size of flour granules require a longer time for their degradation by digestive enzymes (amylase).

The Timilia or Tumminia

wheat The Timilia wheat, belongs to the species with the scientific name Triticum durum, is a wheat with dark kernels that resists drought well.

The Timilia flour is produced by means of ancient stone millstones in the Trapani area, following the ancient traditions; it is a lightly tumbled wholemeal flour, it contains many trace elements of wheat germ and bran; it has a high protein value and a low gluten index. This flour is very suitable for bread making, in addition to other Sicilian semolina, it must be consumed relatively quickly (about 4 months) in order not to lose its organoleptic qualities. Timilia flour, after milling, has a greyish color, different from the commercial flours we are usually used to; the food products that derive from the use of this flour are wholemeal breads or dark breads so called because of the characteristic dark color of the dough and the crumb. The typical bread produced with this particular flour is called "Castelvetrano black bread", originally from a small town of the same name in the province of Trapani. Timilia flour bread is very fragrant, with a good nutritional supply and thanks to the use of sourdoughs (natural yeast) it has a long shelf life, it can be kept soft and fragrant for a few days. Thanks to the food innovations introduced by the manufacturing companies, this flour is also used for the production of fresh and dry artisan pasta. A product with an intense and decisive flavor that goes well with sauces rich in history and culture of Sicilian cuisine. with a good nutritional supply and thanks to the use of sourdoughs (natural yeast) it has a long duration, it can be kept soft and fragrant for a few days. Thanks to the food innovations introduced by the manufacturing companies, this flour is also used for the production of fresh and dry artisan pasta. A product with an intense and decisive flavor that goes well with sauces rich in history and culture of Sicilian cuisine. with a good nutritional supply and thanks to the use of sourdoughs (natural yeast) it has a long duration, it can be kept soft and fragrant for a few days. Thanks to the food innovations introduced by the manufacturing companies, this flour is also used for the production of fresh and dry artisan pasta. A product with an intense and decisive flavor that goes well with sauces rich in history and culture of Sicilian cuisine.

Russello wheat

Il Russello is an ancient variety of Sicilian durum wheat, brought to Sicily by soldiers who returned from the war in Russia, impressed by the intense red of the grain, in fact another name of Russello is tangarò deriving from the word Taganrog Russian port where ships docked. for loading and unloading of grain. Now rare, our company has reintroduced it in cultivation for more than ten years, taking care of its selection; this grain is more than one meter and 80 in height and was much appreciated by the farmers for the quantity of straw produced.

As for bread-making, although it has some rheological characteristics which, according to the official parameters would not be fully suitable for bread-making, it is used to produce hard bread, according to the technique traditionally widespread in the province of Ragusa, the results that can be obtained are exceptional: both on an organoleptic and visual level.

It seems that the black bread of Castelvetrano was originally obtained by properly mixing the Tumminia variety with the Russello variety but, given the low production of the latter, it has been replaced with other varieties of wheat.

Majorca wheat

Characterized by its white color, it is a soft, very soft wheat with a robust plant. It is able to grow in marginal and arid areas, producing seeds with strong nutritional properties. One of the few varieties of soft wheat produced in Sicily, it was cultivated by farmers in small fields to donate it to the church, which prepared the hosts for us It is particularly suitable for preparing sweets, especially biscuits, but it is also excellent as a raw material for bread and breadsticks.

Cappelli wheat

It is a durum wheat used mostly to produce pasta. It is the oldest wheat, it is the only variety defined as ancient recorded among the modern varieties, that is, all the other ancient varieties of wheat are registered in the register "conservation varieties" except Cappelli.

History: defined as the "chosen race" in the 30s - 40s, it was widely used in the lands of Puglia and Basilicata. Its name derives in honor of the Abruzzo senator Raffaele Cappelli, promoter in the early twentieth century of the agrarian reform that led to the distinction between hard and soft grains. It is a durum wheat, aristato (ie with awns, the filaments that can be seen in grasses), obtained by genealogical selection in Foggia, in 1915 by Nazareno Strampelli. For decades it was the most widespread cultivation, until the most productive varieties spread.

Currently, the multiplication of the seed has been granted exclusively by CREA to the seed company SIS of Bologna which has monopolized its sale, today it is no longer possible to cultivate this variety if not with a cultivation contract with this company.

Our company no longer cultivates this variety, we opted for the cultivation of the Bidì - Margherito variety, which among other things would be the father of Cappelli, since prof. Strambelli when he created the variety drew on this Sicilian variety. Furthermore, the Bidì margherito is registered by the Sicily region and therefore accessible to all and free from any royalty required for cultivation.

The Bidi wheat or

Bidì margherito , so called in the western part of Sicily, name deriving from the writing on the wheat sacks coming from tunisia BD or durum wheat in French "Blè Dur", or Margherito called in the eastern part of Sicily for the location where the Margherito valley in the Catanese area was cultivated. it is a wheat that produces 50 percent less than modern varieties - 20 quintals per hectare instead of 40 or 50 - with a very low gluten index and therefore digestible.

Excellent for its aptitude for making pasta and for giving well leavened bread.

Sultan

chickpea History: chickpea is one of the oldest and widely used grain legumes in the Middle and

Far East. Archaeological finds, at Hacilar in Turkey, of seed samples

probably attributable to wild forms of Cicer have been traced back to over 5000

years BC. Evidence of cultivation dating back to the Bronze Age has been found in Iraq in the following millennia. Chickpea is grown in all Mediterranean countries.

Uses: Fresh seeds are used like pea seeds or in their stead, or they can be eaten raw. Dried seeds can be used in a plurality of ways: as such, as hulled cotyledons, as flour, after having hulled them, to prepare different dishes, germinated to cure vitamin deficiencies, since the content of Vitamin C is twice that in the seeds dormant. Except for methionine and tryptophan, chickpea is an excellent source of amino acids whose effectiveness seems to increase with the addition of minerals and vitamins.

Botanical characteristics and Biology: chickpea belongs to the Leguminosae family (or Papilionaceae). It is an annual herbaceous plant with a semi-erect habit, sometimes erect or prostrate. It has straight or supple, angular stems, 20 to 25 cm long.

Needs and environmental adaptation: the biological cycle can last from 4 to 6 months depending on the sowing time.

Cultivation: it is a renewal crop, improving as it is leguminous, therefore capable of fixing atmospheric nitrogen. It turns out to be a crop that does not tolerate the close return (not less than 3 years, otherwise there is the risk of the spread of fungal and orobanche diseases). The soil must be prepared with medium-deep plowing (25-35 cm) in August-September.

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