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Throughout any normal day, Piedmontese people constantly make use of the myriad of quality products available. Fresh fruit in season and excellent milk provide a healthy balanced breakfast. For lunch there are the cheeses from high mountain pastures and meat from beef cattle, bred for quality, handled by butchers skilled in traditional methods. Piedmont can boast no less than nine cheeses certified as protected in origin DOP (denominazione di origine protetta). The traditional breeds of cattle and pigs are guaranteed not only by government inspection but also by the producers’ own voluntary labelling system and the Piedmontese butchers’ hallmark of quality - COALVI (Consorzio di Allevatori Vitelli Razza Piemontese).
But this is only one of many examples of the celebration of the food and wine culture in the region: they range from the Fiera del Tartufo (Truffle Fair) in Alba to the Cheese fair held in Bra; from the Università di Scienze Gastronomiche di Pollenzo (University of Gastronomic Sciences) to the ICIF (Italian Culinary Institute for Foreigners) in Costigliola, Asti; not to mention those two important cultural organizations, Piemonte Internazionale and Slow Food. Events, schools and projects, all aimed at presenting high quality Piedmont food and wines, and confirming the Regional government’s commitment to their protection and promotion. Not just eating to live then, but learning how to develop the capacity to appreciate the subtleties of taste and flavour. The awakening of this new interest in the culture of food and wine is also owed to the untiring efforts of the chefs and restaurateurs who have worked over the years to recreate and develop recipes from the traditions of Piedmontese cuisine, while finding the classic wines to accompany and complement them. Today Piedmontese food and wine offers products with certificates of origin, Denominazione di Origine Protetta (DOP), of provenance, Indicazione Geografica Protetta (IGP), of traditional farming methods (PAT). These products include rice from the provinces of Vercelli and Novara, milk and cheeses from high mountain pastures, fruit grown on the foothills of the Alps, vegetable produce and the superb Piedmontese beef and pork: all guaranteed and regularly inspected for certification by local government, by Consortiums or by the producers’ own labeling. Piedmont has always offered an abundance of wild produce from the land,
especially in autumn, the season of truffles and mushrooms. Known and
appreciated since ancient times, the white truffle was a prized delicacy in all
the royal courts of eighteenth century Europe. And time has not dimmed its
appeal or value: at truffle auctions today some rare varieties are sold for
astronomical prices, as high as 2000 Euros per kilo.
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