A “Masterchef” flour on Lake Garda

It is produced with a special type of corn that once minced emits a peculiar aroma of biscuit: and it was precisely the singular characteristic that led the Corn Flour of the agricultural cooperative “Farine Tipiche del Lago di Garda”, in Bedizzole, to the stage of “Masterchef”, the best known television culinary talent, where it has been selected as one of the products of absolute excellence with which the competitors had to be measured as part of the race. A great satisfaction for this cooperative founded only five years ago by the decision of some farmers in Bedizzole, which together with a food technologist and three doctors in agriculture have chosen to rediscover an ancient tradition. “Once this was a territory particularly suited for the production of corn – says the president of Farine Tipiche del Lago di Garda, Ambrogio Stefano -. My father often used to tell me that since the First World War until the 60s of last century there was a mill of Bergamo that bought corn in this area to produce the flour, paying even more than the normal market price. ” In other words, there has always been something special in the varieties of corn grown in Bedizzole, and the members of the cooperative decided to start to produce them again. The flour for Polenta del Garda Bresciano, rigorously stone ground, comes from a blend of three varieties: Quarantino, Ottofile Rosso (which can be defined as indigenous as it is grown since at least 200 years in the territory as witnessed by a historical volume of 1808) and Rostrato. In total, there are 16 hectares dedicated to this cultivations, and the method of the Cooperative, very rigorous, contemplates only hilly crops without irrigation. The grinding is done with an old millstone in Bedizzole near the river Chiese that was already active in 1184, has progressively abandoned and recently recovered. “The end result is a fully integral flour -explains president Stefano – We keep the germ as it contains a particular oil which helps to give a very particular flavour to the product, while shortening the shelf life to a few months.” The flour of the cooperative can be bought directly in the mill, which is open every Sunday for the sale and the visit: from here you can alsot take trail of about three kilometers to walk or bike along the river. Alternatively, the product is sold in the nearby kiosk and in some delicatessens, even if the main customers are the chefs of haute cuisine on Garda Lake who use it to enrich their dishes.