Page 11 - Guida di Lanzo

Prodotti tipici/tipycal products
vacca sterile e vecchia che non ha partorito vitelli. In passato tale
definizione risale alla necessità di non sprecare la carne, anche se
poco pregiata. Oggi gli ingredienti non sono più quelli “di scar-
to”, ma sono: carne di vacca sgrassata di prima scelta, pancetta
o lardo di suino, spezie e vino. I moderni metodi produttivi non
hanno comunque snaturato l’antica ricetta rimasta quasi invaria-
ta come agli inizi dell’Ottocento. E la costituzione dell’Associazio-
ne Produttori del Salame di Turgia, ne ha permesso l’inserimento
nel Paniere dei Prodotti tipici della Provincia di Torino, insieme ai
Grissini Stirati, ai Torcetti e alla Toma di Lanzo.

Among the typical products of Lanzo and its valleys it is worth mentioning: the ‘Toma di Lanzo’,
salumi of various varieties from the ones of ‘turgia’ and goat, to the excellent butter and the ‘gris-
sini stirati’ (the ironed bread-sticks).
For those who love sweets we suggest the ‘Torcetti’ (meliga pastries produced with corn flour),
the ‘ofele’ (wafers for special occasions)and the honey of various type: chestnut, rhododendron,
alpine flowers and ‘millefiori’ (flower essence). To remember is also the ‘Amaro di Lanzo’, a local
liqueur still made according to the old recipe.
The cheese called ‘Toma di Lanzo’ (tuma d’lans), which has recently obtained the prestigious
recognition of the brand D.O.P (product with protected origin) is produced by the shepherds fol-
lowing the old recipe. The Toma, perfect to be tasted on its own, is the base ingredient of the
‘Fondue’ and of the famous ‘Polenta Concia’, well-known recipes of all typical restaurants in Lanzo
and whereabouts.
The ‘Torcetti di Lanzo’ were traditionally born as sweets made with bread dough, passed in
caster sugar or honey and baked in the wooden oven of the town. As time went by the product
was subjected to various changes: the size was reduced to about a half, the dough was lighter and
the surface became brushed with a water and sugar coating. From 1800 onwards, the ‘Torcetti’
became a characteristic product available in all confectioner’s in Lanzo.
The ‘Grissini Stirati’ were ‘invented’ in the1684 by an inhabitant of Lanzo (with the help of An-
tonio Brunero, baker of the Savoy House), upon the wish of Maria Giovanna Battista di Nemours,
worrried about the health of his son Vittorio Amedeo Duke of Savoy. Prescribed by the doctor of
the court, Teobaldo Pecchio from Lanzo, prepared himself a dough which was rolled by hand into
pieces to form some very long and thin little sticks. Napoleon Bonaparte was so fond of them that
he regularly sent special couriers to Torino to have them collected. This was because the water and
air of Paris never allowed to obtain a product as good as the Piedmontese one. The ‘Salami di
Turgia’ has antique origins in the Lanzo valleys. Proof of this particular presence (requested by a
grocer who ordered the painting!) can be found in the fresco of the 18th century representing the
Maddalena at the feet of the Nazareno visible in the ‘Parrocchiale di Gronscavallo’. In piedmont’s
dialect ‘turgia’ means an old sterile cow that has not given birth to any calves. In the past this
definition went back to the necessity not to waste the meat, even if it was not of prime quality.
Nowadays the ingredients are no longer ‘of waste’, but are of degreased, first choice cow meat, pig
bacon or lardo, spices and wine. The modern production methods, however, have not changed the
nature of the old recipe remained almost unvaried as to the beginning of the 19th century. The
creation of the Association of the Producers of Salami di Turgia, has permitted its insertion in the
‘Paniere dei Prodotti Tipici della Provincia di Torino’ (the basket of typical products of the province
of Turin), together the ‘Grissini Stirati, the ‘Torcetti’ and the ‘Toma di Lanzo’.