Sassi della Calvana

Category:
Fresh pastries and bakery, biscuit, confectionary and pastry products;

1. Product name:
Sassi della Calvana

2. Other names:

3. Short product description:
The product refers to the rocks of the Calvana Mountains and looks, in shape and colour, like the rocks or “sassi” themselves. Four different combinations of ingredients native to the Val di Bisenzio are used to make 4 different types of biscuits, all of which are called Sassi della Calvana.
They have a rounded shape and pale yellow colour that varies according to the type of ingredients used. They’re 3/4cm in size, taking into account the artisan nature of the product.
The chestnut flour biscuit obviously tastes like chestnuts and pine nuts.
The raisin and Vin Santo biscuit has the aroma of the Valley’s sweet wine.
The hazelnut biscuit marries with the flavour of the local extra virgin olive oil.
The extra virgin olive oil biscuit pairs the local oil perfectly with the flavour of lemon.
The biscuits are packaged in sealed 350g paper bags with a transparent panel and information about the ingredients and origin.

4. Production area:
Municipality of Vaiano

5. Production status:
r disappeared r at risk r active

6. Production process:
Depending on the type of biscuit being made, the ingredients are mixed in an electric mixer, shaped into balls by hand, placed in trays and baked at 240°C for 15 minutes.

7. Materials, equipment and premises used for production:
-Electric mixer
-Oven trays
-Oven
-Biscuit bakery

8. Notes on traditionalism, homogeneity of spread and persistence of production rules over time:
Sassi della Calvana are inspired and named after the traditions of the territory. The basic idea is to produce something kept soft by the use of locally produced olive oil and bring a hint of quality to enrich a typical peasant recipe from Calvana, an area with ancient settlements where the history of agricultural sharecropping and wealthy nobility are interwoven, creating a fascinating meeting point of taste. It was in these big farm kitchens that they met, on one side the simplicity and creativity of the peasants, on the other, the curiosity and flavours of global travels. The oven and baking method, housewives’ secrets, marry with taste and accent the ingredients used, from season to season.

9. Production:
Production is around 1,700kg a year, primarily sold in the production area, but there’s good future potential. At the moment, they’re only made by one bakery in Vaiano. The product can be tried during the “Da Torre a Torre, camminata dei sapori su un itinerario sulla strada di mezzacosta in Calvana” festival, which is organised for the third Sunday of September.