This morning, we were picked up by Gianni and headed to a Bufalo farm. The group from last night's dinner joined us on our excursions this morning, including Grace who is Gianni's niece. Grace is originally from Canada and moved here to marry her husband Ciro. Our hosts for the day were from the Battipaglia Rotary Club.
The bufalo farm used to be a small village and had a small church on the property. The employees of the village visited Paestum infrequently. We saw the nursery which houses baby bufalos ranging in age from 19 days to 6 months. The mothers are artificially inseminated. The bufalos don’t start to produce milk until 18 to 24 months of age. They live for 60 days in small cages. They are using an experimental process called intensive farming which means that the animals do not have free range. The females have horns. The males are only kept for two years before being sent to slaughter. The meat is very lean and full of iron. There is an inn where you can come and stay or where they host many events.
We then visited the Casa de Ficcio, also known as a Dairy and Cheese Shop. We sampled bufalo mozzarella and toured the cheese processing area. We also learned that Ricotta means “cooked again”, and it is made from the leftovers of the mozzarella cheese-making process.
We visited an agricultural institute where they make wine, jam, and various other food products. This secondary school is for students starting at age 13. The purpose of the school is to train students in the art of making food and wine. We witnessed applesauce being made and had the opportunity to sample a very young, but very delicious red wine from aglianico grapes grown on site. We were given jars of orange marmalade, strawberry jam, and applesauce.
Next we headed to a coffee factory called Pareo which is owned and operated by Ciro, Gianni’s nephew and Grace’s husband. We learned that Italian coffee is typically made of a blend of at least seven types of beans. The beans are roasted on site and are imported from all over the world. Coffee beans of the highest quality tend to be grown in the mountainous regions along the equator. Ciro explained that he uses traditional oakwood fired roasting. They offer three lines of coffee: Pareo (traditional), Bio (organic), and Orzo Mondo (barley). He exports to the US a brand called Suave which can be found at Costco.
Then we visited a grower of strawberries, Roma tomatoes, cantaloupe, Italian peppers, and grape tomatoes. The farm is part of a 15 farm cooperative of which Paolo is the President. Two of the farms are organic.
We had a great lunch with typical food from this region including artichokes, eggplant parmegiana, and smoked buffalo cheese.
Then we headed to Paolo’s farm where he operates a food packing plant that during peak times can process 100 tons of produce per day. He grows nectarines, peaches, kiwi, and fennel. There was a large scale in the packing plant so Martina, Nick, and Jason each weighed themselves to see what they had gained since arriving in Italy. They were all disappointed.
We then visited the Casa de Ficcio, also known as a Dairy and Cheese Shop. We sampled bufalo mozzarella and toured the cheese processing area. We also learned that Ricotta means “cooked again”, and it is made from the leftovers of the mozzarella cheese-making process.
We visited an agricultural institute where they make wine, jam, and various other food products. This secondary school is for students starting at age 13. The purpose of the school is to train students in the art of making food and wine. We witnessed applesauce being made and had the opportunity to sample a very young, but very delicious red wine from aglianico grapes grown on site. We were given jars of orange marmalade, strawberry jam, and applesauce.
Next we headed to a coffee factory called Pareo which is owned and operated by Ciro, Gianni’s nephew and Grace’s husband. We learned that Italian coffee is typically made of a blend of at least seven types of beans. The beans are roasted on site and are imported from all over the world. Coffee beans of the highest quality tend to be grown in the mountainous regions along the equator. Ciro explained that he uses traditional oakwood fired roasting. They offer three lines of coffee: Pareo (traditional), Bio (organic), and Orzo Mondo (barley). He exports to the US a brand called Suave which can be found at Costco.
Then we visited a grower of strawberries, Roma tomatoes, cantaloupe, Italian peppers, and grape tomatoes. The farm is part of a 15 farm cooperative of which Paolo is the President. Two of the farms are organic.
We had a great lunch with typical food from this region including artichokes, eggplant parmegiana, and smoked buffalo cheese.
Then we headed to Paolo’s farm where he operates a food packing plant that during peak times can process 100 tons of produce per day. He grows nectarines, peaches, kiwi, and fennel. There was a large scale in the packing plant so Martina, Nick, and Jason each weighed themselves to see what they had gained since arriving in Italy. They were all disappointed.
We were then dropped off at the hotel to get ready for the evening festivities. We had a reunion with the people we had met over the last two weeks. We couldn't believe how many people we knew. Jason and Martina even sat at dinner with the hosts for next weeks excursions. After a dinner of speeches, pasta, fish, and so much more, the Inner Wheel planned an after dinner show of opera singing and dancing.
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