Cinta Senese
Vernaccia di San Gimignano
Saffron of San Gimignano
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| Enogastronomy |
CINTA SENESE
Several old paintings, including the 14 C fresco called “Effetti del Buongoverno” and painted by Ambrogio Lorenzetti in the Palazzo Comunale of Siena, demonstrate the presence of this breed in Tuscany since 14 C. The Cinta Senese is the only Tuscan native pig bread to survive extinction.
The snout is long, and the animal has black hair and a white band from which its name is derived. The pigs grow free in the forests eating grass and acorns. The very low fat is not separate from the lean, and it provides flavour and taste. In the 1980s, due to the changes in agricultural system, the breed suffered a severe numerical reduction. Today there are about 200 sows in 80 herds. Most of the herds have been started for breeding less then 10 years ago, often as a hobby or in connection with agritourism, but increasingly for production of lard, salami, prosciutto etc.
ARTICLE FROM http://www.slow-food.info
VERNACCIA DI SAN GIMIGNANO
Excellent white wine, first DOC in Italy in 1966, in 1993 it also obtained the DOCG.
Color: yellow, straw-like hue, tending a golden color with age
Scent: light and penetratine
Taste: dry, with slightly bitter after taste
Alcoholic grade: 11, for the Riserva 11,5
Vernaccia is an excellent aperitif, it is also excellent with hor d’eouvres, it is an exquisit accompanied with all fish dishes and it is suitable for white meat courses.
To be served cold at the temperature of 11/12°.
SAFFRON OF SAN GIMIGNANO
The history of the cultivation of saffron takes us back hundreds of years; many documents have been found that testify that to its intensive cultivation at San Gimignano during the Middle Ages. As a product worth a great deal of money it was very important to the merchants of those times and to the city's economy. In 1228 the Town Council of San Gimignano paid its debts, incurred during the siege of the "Castello della Nera", partly in money and partly in saffron. In 1276 the Council introduced taxation on imports and exports. The export duty produced such a great deal of money that in 1295 the Council decided that it was worth assigning two officials adept in the weighing of saffron to be permanently present at the gates of the City where the export duty was levied.
The extremely pure saffron of San Gimignano is produced naturally without the use of any chemical products in all phases of its cultivation, drying and conservation.
The saffron of San Gimignano is extremely pure. It is produced naturally and no chemical products are used in any phase of its cultivation, drying and conservation. The saffron stamens are packaged whole in order to guarantee their pure quality as well as to protect their strong pungent and slightly bitterish aroma.
Now, at San Gimignano, the countryside once again cultivates saffron, alongside its other high quality produce, thanks to the programme of reintroduction organised by the association "Il Croco". The reintroduction of this famous flower has also been made possible thanks to the help of the UNIVERSITY of Florence and the contribution of the Province of Tuscany through ARSIA. Only packages bearing the logo illustrated here contain the extremely pure saffron of San Gimignano. Repeated chemical and organic testing has demonstrated that the saffron of San Gimignano is of the very highest quality so much so that application has been made for I.G.P. identification (the CEE symbol indicating protected origin.
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