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Latini
On their farm in the Marche region near Ancona, Carlo and Carla Latini grow special clones of rare wheat that allow them to produce pasta of unrivaled taste and texture. This pasta, known by its red box, is produced in small batches using traditional methods. Latini pastas are bronze-died, then dried at special low temperatures that allow the wheat to retain much of its nutritional value. To make what Carlo Latini considers "pasta," he chose to use the old-fashioned techniques of master Italian pasta makers. He believes this is the only way to make pasta that preserves the high gluten content and exceptional flavors of our outstanding durum wheat. In 1990 Carlo chose the company's pasta shapes and designed the bronze dies for their production. He was guided by his personal tastes, the gastronomic history of Italy, and the desire to create unique pasta shapes unknown in the classic pasta die catalogs. The color of the Latini box was selected by Carlo's wife, Carla, and is the warm color of a cloak that covers the shoulders of a beautiful woman painted by Tintoretto. Latini's Senatore Capelli (in the blue box) is a special wheat clone that was originally discovered by Nazareno Strampelli, the father of modern grain farming, in the 1920s. This durum wheat reached a yield per acre that was unsurpassed until the 1960s when the variety was superseded by more productive ones. The Latinis planted senatore cappelli durum in 1991, and started producing cappelli pasta the following year. They are currently the only pastificio using this type of wheat, whose flavor, fragrance and high protein values are unrivaled (in a good year, protein levels may exceed 16%).
Marche
Marche, bordered by Umbria on one side and the Adriatic Sea on the other, is partly mountainous, with land sloping from the stunning mountains straight down to the sea. Tourists flock to Marche's straight, smooth, sandy beaches, but the region's interior goes largely ignored. The Adriatic offers an outstanding variety of blue fish and crustaceans, some of which are rare and can only be found on this coast. Not surprisingly, two of this area's specialties are fish soup, brodetto, and muscioli alla marinara, mussels spread over a pan and cooked over the fire. Second only to fish in popularity is pork, which is the centerpiece of many central Italian meals. The Marchigiani claim to be the originators of Porchetta, a boned, spit-roasted pig flavored with fennel and garlic. Pasta, notably maccheroncini and tagliatelle, has an important tradition in Marche. Pastificio Latini produces some of the best artisanal pasta in the Marche tradition. Mushrooms grow in abundance in this area. Three kinds of truffles are also found in Marche; the white ones rival those from Alba. Cauliflowers from the Marches are famous throughout Italy. And the fruit--apples, peaches, figs and cherries-- are rich and luscious, a testament to the fertility of the soil.
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