Cereals and bread
The rediscovery of mills and buckwheat
Once upon a time there were numerous mills in Trentino, thanks to the abundance of water and the spread of cereal cultivation. In Vallagarina, even today, there are many testimonies that allow us to take a dip in the past.
It has not forgotten its history, the Vallagarina, and the times when the mills moved by the waters of rivers and streams abounded in the area. In fact, the art of baking is still being rediscovered here, flanked by the revival of the cultivation of cereals, such as wheat, wheat, sorghum, rye, oats and barley.
The return to cereal cultivation and grinding, which began in recent years, contributes to building paths from the field to the oven and gives unique flavors to the products of bakeries, farmhouses and restaurateurs. In fact, some of the best known Trentino recipes are born from bread, or rather from loaves, such as canederli and strangolapreti, dishes that recall the peasant and popular origins of local cuisine.
In Vallagarina there are two mills that are still functioning today: the Zeni Mill in Sorne di Brentonico and the Arlanch Mill in Vallarsa, of which it is possible to admire the large wooden wheel outside, the millstones, machinery and tools used for processing.
Buckwheat and fanzelto
In some valleys, such as the Terragnolo valley, we are witnessing a return to the cultivation of buckwheat, once very widespread. Between the spring and summer months we proceed with broadcast sowing, then, after having worked the soil, the fields sprout and turn a bright green, until in October they are ready for cutting. Through the beating with the traditional “flavel”, the grains are separated from the parts that enclose them and from the rest of the green mass, collecting the grains, from which the “Farina negra” is obtained with which the fanzelto is prepared, a thin bread that has represented for centuries one of the most important foods in the sustenance of the local population. Inserted in the “Arca del Gusto Slow Food” specialties, it is prepared with water, buckwheat and salt, cooked in an iron pan with a little lard or olive oil and served in combination with other genuine products, such as cured meats or cheeses.