The ancient Piedmontese corn
We dedicate some small plots on our farm to the cultivation of ancient Piedmontese native corn varieties how ottofile yellow, pignoletto red and local to the island.
They are very aromatic varieties cultivated in the past until a few decades ago and then abandoned, preferring the cultivation of more productive varieties. The yield per hectare of grain of these varieties is in fact very small, around 25 quintals per hectare compared to yields that are even 4-5 times higher than the new hybrids. Characteristics such as shape, color, aromatic composition are very different between these corns.
Pignoletto Red Corn
The grain has a rostral, semi-vitreous shape of an intense red color with shades of orange, the size of the seeds is small, the panicles have a variable number of ranks ranging from 13 to 22, the length is quite standardized on average, however, specimens are sometimes found very enlarged at the base and quite short as if they had been crushed, the average production per hectare with humidity at 12% is around 25 quintals for both the red and the yellow ones.
Ottofile Yellow Corn
This corn is so called because it has 8 rows (seed rows around the cob), the grain has a slightly flattened rounded shape, glassy seeds, intense yellow colour, however there are also small crops of red grain and even fewer white grains, the length of the cob is medium but it is not uncommon to find very long cobs. The average production per hectare with 12% humidity is around 22 quintals for the yellow one and 15-18 quintals for the red and white one, the taste of the ground flour for polenta is pleasant, perhaps the roundest and softest of all the Piedmontese ecotypes.
Local corn from the island
The island's local corn has very small grains, tending towards roundness, semi-glassy, intense yellow in color with shades of orange. The cob, and therefore also the cob, is slender and sometimes even reaches 30 centimeters in length in some specimens. The shape is on average tapered, the number of rows varies from 12 to 20, the average production per hectare with 12% humidity is around 16-18 quintals.