The Making of Authentic Italian Rice - What Rice to Use for Risotto, Carnaroli Rice vs Arborio Rice, Aged Rice, and Northern Italian Food Culture

Making the highest-quality Italian rice, from soil mapping techniques and aging processes to pioneering blockchain technology in modern agriculture, is something Meracinque co-founder Silvia Tovo knows all about. In this episode of ITALIAN, FOR SURE, host Catrin Skaperdas sits down with Silvia for a fun, deep dive into the world of Italian food, specifically rice culture - including choosing the correct rice for risotto, the real rice-dish star of Milanese cuisine (which isn't what most people think), and how food culture takes shape across Italy. Together, they talk about: Verona, Mantova and Italian food culture How Silvia built Meracinque with her four sisters How Italian rice and its specific varieties are different than other rices around the world The rice she produces, carnaroli rice ("the king of rice"), and how it differs from the arborio variety Popular rice dishes around Italy and when in the year you eat them The breakdown of how rice is planted, harvested, dried, and aged for a full year, and why aging makes all the difference in quality What it’s like working with four sisters The adversity Silvia and her sisters face being a women owned business, especially in this sector What it’s like selling rice to different markets The pros and cons of running a food business in Italy Chapters 02:01 Intro 03:08 Verona, Montava, and Italian Food Culture 06:28 The birth story of Meracinque 08:43 Characteristics of rice: carnaroli vs arborio 12:09 Different rice dishes around Italy 14:57 What rice dishes Italians eat and when they eat them throughout the year 16:08 Rice cultivation process start to finish 21:08 Pros and cons of running a family-owned business 23:58 What it’s like to be a women-owned business in this industry 28:22 Selling Italian rice outside of Italy 35:27 Difficulties of running a business in Italy 40:56 Outro More about Meracinque: Founded in 2016, MeraCinque is an innovative agricultural company run entirely by Silvia and her four sisters—Margherita, Benedetta, Anna, and Maria Vittoria. Inheriting a deep passion for the land from their agronomist father, the sisters united to produce an exceptional, 100% sustainable Carnaroli Classico rice. Their name tells their story: "Mera" for meraviglia (wonder), their lifelong family nickname, and "Cinque" representing the five sisters bringing a new balance and harmony to Italy's traditional farming industry. Learn more about Meracinque on their website: https://www.meracinque.com/ This interview is available to watch on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube, and available to listen-only everywhere else you can get podcasts. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.