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S'ARGIDDA
di Fausto Caboni
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organic farm
production of spices, cereals, mushrooms, legumes, vegetables
saffron
saffron flowers
Among all the crops that the land of Sardinia produce, saffron stands out: San Gavino's farmers produce around the 50% of Italian saffron.
We leave it in its natural state: the threads (or stigmas), the thin three red threads inside the flower. They are the only proof of the purity of the saffron (it is very easy to adulterate saffron powder by adding other substances).
Organic, P.D.O. "Zafferano di Sardegna" (Saffron from Sardinia) and Slow Food Presidia® "Zafferano di San Gavino Monreale" (Saffron from San Gavino Monreale) brands attest and guarantee genuineness, origin and quality of the product.
For all these good reasons, doses equal to less than half of those normally indicated in recipes based on saffron powder are sufficient. Our mothers only need 1 gram of saffron threads to season 50 helpings of risotto!
cereals and flours
wheat field
Sardinia has very ancient traditions of cereal cultivation: the first spelt seeds found date back to the Neolithic. The first seeds of durum wheat and common wheat date back to the 14th century BC. Traces of bread have been found in the Nuraghes. During the Latin domination, Sardinia was considered a "granary of Rome".
In particular, the Campidano plain is particularly suited to the production of cereals. Since the 20th century, durum wheat has been the most widely cultivated cereal: the most important variety is the "Senatore Cappelli", which has had the greatest diffusion in Sardinia.
On the farm we produce typical "Senatore Cappelli" durum wheat, "Solibam" common wheat (evolutionary population) and spelt.
The cereals produced are then ground in a millstone, in order to obtain high quality flours.
shiitake mushroom
shiitake mushroom bales
In the farm we have mount a shed to produce organic shiitake mushroom ("shiitake" in Japanese means "oak mushroom"), its Latin name is "lentinula edodes" and it is one of the "healing mushrooms" according to the homonymous book of the Austrian physician, researcher and scientist Dr. Georges M. Halpern, pharmacology specialist and expert in mushrooms healing properties.
Shiitake has Eastern origin, it is produced mainly in Japan and China and it is the second most consumed mushroom in the world (especially in the Far East) and its consumption is booming thanks to its fragrance and its nice taste, because it is suitable to be cooked in different ways and, above all, thanks to its many and important beneficial effects.
We cut it into slivers and dry it to use it to season first and second courses all year round.
habanero chilli
habanero chilli plant
We organically cultivate the "Red Savina" and the "Yellow" varieties of the habanero chilli.
The "Red Savina" habanero is the hottest: this variety reaches a content of between 200,000 and 600,000 Scoville Heat Units, the unit of measurement of the pungency (as a reference, the classic cayenne chilli reaches about 30,000-50,000 Scoville Heat Units). From 1996 to 2007, the Red Savina habanero was the hottest chilli in the world according to the Guinness World Records, then was overtaken by other hybrid cultivars.
The "Yellow" habanero reaches a content of between 80,000 and 300,000 Scoville Heat Units.
We dry it at a temperature below 40°C, in order to preserve the properties, then we powder it in order to use it more easily to season meat and sauces especially.
spices
rows of herbs
In our farm we produce the following organic spices, always paying much attention to the quality rather than quantity: laurel, basil, curry plant, marjoram, lemon balm, mint, myrtle leaves, oregano, parsley, rosemary, sage and thyme.
We dry all them at a temperature below 40°C, in order to preserve the properties, then we crumble them so they can be directly used for seasoning or for the preparation of infusions.
The preparation of an herb tea is simple and quick: put an appropriate amount of water to boil in a little pot, then turn off the stove and add a teaspoon of the spice you like, stir the mix and let it stand for a few minutes. Finally, pour the infusion into a cup filtering it through a strainer and then add some sugar at pleasure.
other products
pumpkins plant
Other products organically grown in small quantity, but with high quality are:
» chickpeas, excellent and with a low cooking time,
» seasonal vegetables, including different varieties of pumpkins,
» sweet potatoes with white and purple flesh,
» potatoes with white and yellow flesh,
» cape gooseberry, a small and tasty fruit,
» honey, that now we only produce to a family use.