Corn Harvest, Past

Like bent over old men, dried cornstalks stand forlornly in fields joining our farm land. The corn has been picked and who knows if it has been pulverized for chicken feed or for the corn mash which will fatten the pigs, turning their rear thighs into tasty prosciutti? Then again, the corn might have been ground for corn flour for polenta or brustengolo, one of the few sweets which highlight Umbrian rural cuisine.
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‘Open House’ at Umbria’s Olive Oil Mills

Umbria, called “Italy’s green heart”, is green all year thanks to the non-deciduous live oaks blanketing the mountains of our region and the silver-green of the olive trees which cover our hills. The superb olive oils of Umbria (and particulary those of the Assisi/Spello area) – considered the best in the world by Alain Ducasse, famed French chef – are celebrated in the Frantoi Aperti (best translated “Open House at the Olive Oil Mills”) festival from the end of October to early December…
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