They are grown in Emilia Romagna and are smaller and darker than foreign ones: a made in Italy production from seed to shelf
Until a few days ago, if we wanted to buy some peanuts, the choice was practically obligatory towards a foreign product: peanuts from Egypt or Israel or the United States, for example. Now, however, the market launch of the first 100% Italian peanuts from seed to shelf.
The initiative
It is an initiative of Coldiretti, Noberasco and SIS, Società Italiana Sementi, a company of the BF agro-industrial group, according to which a national peanut supply chain has enormous potential for development and will see the entire sector committed to reactivating the agricultural and industrial aspects necessary to respond to a consumer request in the coming years which promises to be of great value (purchases of dried fruit have doubled in the last ten years in Italy) and which could lead to the cultivation of over thirty thousand hectares on the national territory.
How is the Italian peanut
Smaller, darker and with a particular taste compared to conventional types, but always rich in proteins, the Italian peanut seed is deposited in the field in April, while the harvest takes place in the middle or end of September; peanut cultivation requires peaty soils, high temperatures and many hours of light, all characteristics that blend with the Italian climate. Precisely for these characteristics, the region that has seen this cultivation most developed was theEmilia Romagna and in particular the area of Ferrara.
The rebirth of a supply chain
In reality, that of the Italian peanut is a return, the rebirth of a supply chain abandoned 50 years ago because it was not considered convenient and which will now allow the resumption of a know-how, research and employment segment of great importance. According to the promoters of the initiative, there is also the aspect of sustainability and of healthiness of the Italian peanut. The so-called food miles – that is, the km traveled by the product from the place of production to the place of consumption – will be almost zero, bringing important advantages to the quality of the product, the time and the effectiveness of drying, which in many cases will take place in plants "in the field". Just thedrying – fundamental procedure for product quality – is one of the aspects that will be investigated and probably placed at the center of future experiments.