FROM 1943
OUR STORY
A simple story, carried forward with passion and determination.
Way back in 1897 my grandparents Lorenzo and Teresa, who came from Arguello, the smallest municipality in the Alta Langa, began the cultivation of hazelnut trees of the Tonda Gentile Trilobata "delle Langhe" variety here in Diano d'Alba.
The hazelnut was a very adaptable ingredient in the cuisine of the past. Using a press hazelnut oil was produced and used to dress all types of salads, pastas, risottos and cold meats.
For a long time, hazelnut oil was the only one used as a dressing in the Langhe. Its nourishing properties for the skin and hair were also very well known, many years before the widespread use of cosmetic creams and shampoos.
Then the industrial and agricultural development.
For many years, my father Pinotu and my mother Maria continued processing the hazelnuts, supplying them in-shell to Ferrero in Alba for the production of the famous Nutella.
Many products, such as hazelnut oil, flour, grains and hazelnut paste had fallen into disuse due to the convenience and practicality of delivering the shelled nut directly to Ferrero which has always been good for business.
Hazelnuts: A Family Legacy.
My daughter Elisa, however, started to rethink this idea and began rediscovering the true flavours from out past. In a small company laboratory, we decided to shell and toast the hazelnuts directly ourselves, and transform them into many products that come from the traditional gastronomic past of the Langhe.
Read the complete story about my grandfather Lorenzo, also known as Parin Vej.
Read the complete story about my grandfather Lorenzo, also known as Parin Vej.