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Traditional Products of Le Marche
Le Marche is found in central Italy to the east of its more well known neighbours
Tuscany and Umbria, therefore benefits from the same favourable climatic
conditions, where you'll also find the atmosphere of northern Italy, and the
charm of the south. The landscape is dominated by three elements:
the sea
with a coast - equipped with elegant and historic fishing ports along with
industrial areas, the mountains, with rich fields, beech woods and
cultivated terraces, and the countryside with more
than 100,000 houses where up to thirty years ago, resided much of the half
million inhabitants operating as 'contadina' or peasant farmers working on a
sharecropping basis.
The concept of sharecropping (half between peasant and landlord) has ensured a
decent standard of living in the countryside, the tenants being able to feed
themselves with the products of the fields and live in houses which also
housed the animal stables. But it has also ensured a sense of environmental
conservation being tied to the
survival and the future of families, and has continued to the present day.
The role of share-farmers is crucial, therefore, in ancient and modern
agriculture, which still dominate the production of typical products
that are now more than ever, a means of income and growth.
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Olive trees were a precious commodity, but even more precious
was the Marche oil, which has always enjoyed an enviable reputation. In the
thirteenth century, the transhipments from Le Marche reaching the Po valley
paid tolls in oil to which was given a higher value than that from other
regions. The Venetians appreciated " olio de Marchi" which was resold at a
higher price because its aroma and flavour, qualities still intact today.
The quality and typical characteristics of the Marche olive oil are the
result of the combination of several factors: the basis of the variety used,
a combination of the Leccino and some local varieties, the particular soil
and climate environment in Le Marche, the ancient agronomic techniques and
not least, the wise oil refinery tradition that sees the most advanced
production coexisting with small plants that perform the role of crushing
and extraction. The result is an oil that for years, does nothing but
collect awards at national and international levels. The typical oil Marche
has a fruity medium-light taste, with frequent hints of grass and green
almond, slightly sweet flavour with hints of pepper, both bitter and spicy.
The presence of numerous varieties typical of the regional mix to the oil
mill and the Leccino olive variety in varying degrees, from time to time
extolling one trait or another, enables a virtually infinite combination of
shades and flavours that each sample of oil becomes unique. |
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The history of the meat production is closely linked to the Le Marche sharecropping
families, where almost all parts of the pig were eaten. A lot of care and attention
was placed into raising the pigs that were bred with acorns and mash. This aspect is still
active today and this is reflected very positively on the quality of sausages
and pork products. The slaughter
took place in winter, when food was scarce, from other rural activities less
demanding and the low temperature allowing better preservation of meat. The
custom of not wasting any part of the animal, leads to making maximum use of
lard also gave birth to two more traditional meats: salami of Fabriano and
Ciauscolo. |
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Truffles are, weight for
weight, one of the most expensive foods on the planet. Luckily, however, a
little goes a long way and in the Marche you can indulge in them without
pawning the family silver.
Of some sixteen species of tartufi found
in the Marche, only two are worth killing for - the tartufo bianco or
white truffle (Tuber magnatum Pico) and the tartufo nero pregiato or
black truffle (Tuber melanosporum Vitt.).
The white is the finest - and the costliest;
tartufi bianchi can cost well over £1,500 a kilo depending on quality
and seasonal abundance. The black version comes at a more modest price. Both
are a perfect antidote to the hard Marche winter as to buy them fresh you
have to be here between October and the end of December for the bianchi
and between December and March for the neri pregiati.
In summer any fresh truffles to be found on
restaurant menus will be the tartufo d'estate or summer truffle
(Tuber aestivum Vitt.), a pale shadow of its noble sisters - milder and aromatic.
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Cheese - Honey - Biscuits - Biological Products - Pasta |
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