DistantNews
Support us
🇦🇹 Austria /Culture & Society

In Val Resia, garlic is part of the Alpine cultural heritage

From Die Presse · () German

Translated from German and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Context piece
  • The Aglio di Resia, a garlic variety from northern Italy's Val Resia, has official recognition from the Slow Food organisation and features prominently in local cuisine.
  • Its mild, sweet aroma and digestibility have made it popular, with supplies often selling out in summer.
  • Farmers plan to cultivate an additional 15 hectares as demand grows, using crop rotation with other vegetables.

Friuli is known as a culinary treasure chest, drawing visitors to places such as San Daniele, Sauris, the mountain pastures above the Canal Valley and the vineyards around Cormons. But Val Resia offers something more discreet: a garlic celebrated for its aroma and protected by the attention of the Slow Food organisation.

Aglio di Resia appears in local restaurants with pasta and peperoncini, orzotto with zucchini and Parmesan, and wild boar with potatoes. It is not an aggressive burst of flavour. The garlic is considered delicate, with white outer skins and cloves that often have a slight reddish tint. A bulb usually contains five to eight cloves. Its scent is distinctive but not harsh, with a subtle sweetness.

Aglio di Resia is highly sought after because it is easy to digest and keeps well, and it is often sold out by summer.

· Riccardo de InfantiA research associate at the University of Udine describing demand for the local garlic.

The variety is also prized for being easy to digest and for leaving less intense effects on the breath and digestion than ordinary supermarket garlic. During the summer, when the garlic is harvested, its aroma fills the valley's osterias and trattorias. Resia also hosts a garlic festival, with guided walks in the morning, farmers selling garlic and other regional produce, and traditional cooking before midday.

Officially, another 15 hectares of abandoned land has now been designated.

· Riccardo de InfantiHe describes plans to expand cultivation in Val Resia.

Locals call the garlic Strok, a name tied to the valley's history. Slavic settlers arrived in the sixth and seventh centuries and began cultivating it in the region's limestone soil, which suited the harsh Alpine climate. Men from the valley later sold it as traveling merchants as far away as Carinthia and the southern coastal plains.

Today, farmers are working to organise production and bring new land into cultivation. Riccardo de Infanti, a research associate at the University of Udine, says the garlic is often sold out by summer because of its flavour, keeping qualities and digestibility. A further 15 hectares of abandoned land has officially been earmarked for cultivation. Farmers will also grow maize, potatoes and onions so the fields can be rotated. Since the Slow Food recognition, prices have roughly doubled, de Infanti says.

Prices have roughly doubled since the official Slow Food recognition.

· Riccardo de InfantiHe explains the economic appeal of growing the garlic.
About this summary

Originally published by Die Presse in German. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

More Stories

From Our Blog