DERUTA (PG) – The event dedicated to the Tonda Francescana® hazelnut was held on Saturday 25 May at the Rocca di Casalina in Deruta (PG), organized by the Agricultural Foundation of Perugia with the involvement of the University of Perugia and the Institute of Higher Education “Cassata Gattapone” of Gubbio – which was the occasion for the award ceremony of the first edition of the competition “The best ice cream 2024 based on Tonda Francescana® hazelnuts” which saw the victory of 6 Umbrian master ice cream makers: Bebop of Castiglione del Lago, Sweet Delights of Deruta, Il Caffè del Giardino of Torgiano, Il Quinto Vizio of Corciano, La Paola of Marsciano and La Terrazza of Ponte Felcino.
Saturday's occasion was intended to raise awareness of this new Umbrian hazelnut variety patented by the University of Perugia, whose plants are produced, under license, in the nurseries of the Foundation for Agricultural Education. A hazelnut that “has all it takes to be a new flagship product for the Umbrian economy, a product that could become central in the diversification of production for farms in our region. It is important to make the Tonda Francescana® hazelnut and its highly prized organoleptic qualities known to the community and local artisans” said Prof. Antonio Bartolini, Vice President of the Foundation for Agricultural Education.
In addition to Prof. Antonio Bartolini, Prof. Gaetano Martino, Director of the DSA3 University of Perugia, who presented the Tonda Francescana® hazelnut, explaining its importance and the phases that led to the current patent being obtained; Prof. Daniela Farinelli, the scientific and operational soul of Tonda Francescana®, who followed and completed the work started about 30 years ago by Prof. Tombesi; and Dr. Agr. Mauro Brunetti, Technical Director of the Foundation for Agricultural Education in Perugia who recalled that he had begun the multiplication of hazelnut plants with methods that were perceived by many as a futuristic bet: focusing on nursery breeding, exclusively on two types of plants, those micropropagated and those grafted onto the foot of Corylus colurna. A choice that initially aroused widespread distrust on the part of all operators in the sector, while today, 10 years later, the entire Italian nursery sector has turned towards these techniques.
At the end of the meeting, the processing method of the hazelnuts produced in Casalina di Deruta in the lands of the Foundation for Agricultural Education in Perugia, in which the “Cassata Gattapone” Higher Education Institute of Gubbio collaborates, was also illustrated. The Institute has long been equipped with a local laboratory and a series of equipment that allow it not only to grind fine dried fruit, but also to obtain oil from it, prepare crunchy and hazelnut-based pralines, and carry out toasting. and many other processes that make the fruits of Tonda Francescana® delicious.
The well-attended afternoon ended with a moment of tasting of different types of Tonda Francescana® hazelnuts – pralined, covered in cocoa, crunchy – and extra virgin olive oil produced by the Agricultural Foundation of Perugia organized in collaboration with the Strada dell'Olio evo Dop Umbria. The tasting was accompanied by the concert of the “Tritone Duo” composed of Maurizio Costantini on double bass and Umberto Ugoberti on accordion. The concert is part of the “Music among the Olive Trees and Abbeys in Umbria” series. PR – FESR 2021-2027 Priority 1 – OS 1.3 – Action 1.3.4 “Call for the support of projects in the live entertainment sector”.
