Cascia: Saffron, Saints and so much more!
Today we took an hour long bus ride to a suburb of Spoleto for its annual "La Mostra Mecato dello Zafferano purissimo di Cascia"... a rather big name for a day of sampling prodotti tipici of the region including the very important and rather rare, saffron. The beautiful lavender flowers are picked by hand, in the early morning hours, before the sun can damage the stigmas (the red center). It takes 150-200 flowers to harvest one gram of saffron.
We strolled and sampled amongst the various booths with food on display. It was an incredible selection of everything from legumes to marzipan vegetables to truffles (whose scent announced their presence before we were anywhere near). Lunch was in a quaint café dining on regional foods of gnocchi flavored with saffron and proscuitto.
As a side note: when we were at a bus stop, a young woman spoke to the bus driver and handed him a bag of something. We didn't catch what the conversation involved but a couple of stops later, a different woman approached the driver and he then handed her the parcel. Just an example of the small town feel we experienced today. Each place holds a treasure and for us the beauty is in the discovery!
We strolled and sampled amongst the various booths with food on display. It was an incredible selection of everything from legumes to marzipan vegetables to truffles (whose scent announced their presence before we were anywhere near). Lunch was in a quaint café dining on regional foods of gnocchi flavored with saffron and proscuitto.
As a side note: when we were at a bus stop, a young woman spoke to the bus driver and handed him a bag of something. We didn't catch what the conversation involved but a couple of stops later, a different woman approached the driver and he then handed her the parcel. Just an example of the small town feel we experienced today. Each place holds a treasure and for us the beauty is in the discovery!
1 comments:
So pigs aren't necessary to sniff out truffles? You just need a Denise? Sounds like you have another job to line up... hahaha.
People in Guatemala do the same thing. On the combi's (the cheap 'mini-van' bus system in Latin America) people will have stuff delivered. So trusting...
Sounds like another amazing experience at the Saffron festival!
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