TYPICAL
PRODUCTS
The Asti province is known above all for its wines: the vineyards cover a large
part of the hill of Monferrato. The range of DOC and DOCG comprise all types of
wine: white, red, dry, bubbly and sparkling, suitable to accompany the most
varied menus for the most refined palates.
There are great red wines such as Barbera, produced all over the province, or small and precious typical
local production of single communes, such as Albugnano or Loazzolo.
In all cases, though, there is still a family run
production, following tradition and seeking quality rather than quantity. This
quality can be seen at first hand in the many private wineries such as the
community wine-cellars, historical and modern cellars, and in the vineyards
themselves which are so difficult to tend as they are on hilly territory with
rows so tight that it is impossible to gain access with mechanical means.
Together with the wine we have the Piedmont traditional dishes enriched with
local produce. There is "bagna cauda" (simple but very flavorful sauce made from
oil, garlic and anchovies, which since medieval times come from nearby Liguria).
The sauce accompanies the square shaped peppers from Motta di Costigilole,
cardoons from Nizza Monferrrato and vegetables from the Tanaro valley.
We have "agnolotti",
the famous filled pasta which change their ingredients every few kilometers: at
Calliano they are filled with donkey meat; at Viarigi with rabbit; at
Costigliole they make "plin" and at Cessole the pasta is served without
condiment in serviettes. Ancient dishes, such "finanziera", "fritto misto" (once
created to use up offal), "tartra'", "fricando'", are served in the province's
restaurants.
On the winter menus we find the richest dishes in the cuisine,
enhanced with melted cheese, flavored with mushrooms and precious white
truffles, and mixed boiled meats. The spring menus consist mainly of garden
vegetables, such as asparagus from Vinchio, peppers, mixed vegetables served
with rabbit, chicken, etc.
Wines are accompanied favorably with slices of cheese and
salami. We point out "robiola" of Roccaverano, a cheese of very ancient
production made from goats' milk, of rich flavor which changes with the seasons
according to the grass of the pastures on the high hills of Langa between
Piedmont and Liguria.
It often accompanies local honey and the perfumed "mostarda"
(sweet mustard sauce with grapes, nuts and fruit). Among the types of salami,
certainly the most original is the production with donkey meat in the north
east, and salami flavored with wine and with truffle, produced in small
workshops. In the Asti province we find also raw ham, produced only at Cocconato.
Naturally in Piedmont we cannot ignore the sweets,
especially here in the Asti province, land of Moscato and Brachetto,
irreplaceable dessert wines. The list here would be very long, from "zabajone"
made with Moscato, "bunet" and stuffed peaches to specifically local products:
at Asti the "polentine", "palio" cakes, "astigiani", handmade nougat.
There are
numerous stopovers throughout the province for those with a sweet tooth. At Mombaruzzo in the 1700's the soft "amaretti" originated, still produced today in
factories with a flavor of the past.
In Langa the main flavor is that of
hazelnut, the "Tonda Gentile" hazelnut of the Langa area, the best in Italy for
the production of sweetmeats. Thus we find hazelnut cake, "amaretti" made from
hazelnuts and "nisulin". Not only cake shops conserve these treasures: also in
the many bakeries in the smallest villages it is possible to discover products
and biscuits, such as "ubia' di Grana", "canestrelli di Cinaglio", "caritin",
each with its history, legend or religious tradition to recount, because in this
area food represents culture and history.
