Chestnuts
The cultivation of chestnuts in Italy has very ancient origins: in some letters of the Charter-house (late twelfth century) in fact, they noted that one-fifth of arable land in the territory of Cuneo was represented by their chestnut trees.
Today, the production areas of the Cuneo chestnut extend from the Po Valley to the Tanaro Valley, including both common mountain valley. The trees are between 200 and 1000 meters above sea level, illuminated by the sun and sheltered from the wind.
The deep soils are clean, rich in nutrients and free of active limestone meaning that they represent the ideal environment for the chestnut to be able to give the fruit its characteristics.
In order to ensure the best possible conditions for the cultivated fruit, scrupulous annual cleaning of the undergrowth is carried out.
Very often the term marroni and chestnuts is confused or united as the same thing but in fact refer to two different species. Although the plant sources will be the same, the browns were obtained by selecting and grafting the trees with the best fruits.
Precisely for this reason, the marroni is renowned for its taste: sweet and delicate, it enhances the flavors of the wood, triumphing on the tables of Italian cuisine, becoming the main ingredient in many recipes of autumn.
Aesthetically, the brown has a size much greater than the chestnut (a hedgehog in fact contains a maximum of 2-3 fruits), presents a clearer skin and the thin skins that distinguish it are easily removable.
The chestnut however, is smaller, more elongated in shape and dark color. Compared to brown, the removal of the inner skin is more complex, as it penetrates further into the pulp of the fruit.