Vessalico garlic, the basic ingredient of Pesto Genovese, is organic and a Slow Food Presidium.
This ancient type of garlic is grown in Vessalico, inland from Albenga, and has survived thanks to the will of a few farmers.
Discover with Pesto Fresco another virtuous product of our beloved Liguria!
Our Pesto Fresco alla Genovese is also made with Vessalico garlic, which is organic and a Slow Food Presidium.
This ancient type of garlic is produced in Vessalico (Imperia), a very small town in the upper Arroscia Valley.
Vessalico garlic has survived thanks to the will of a few farmers who have continued to cultivate it for generations, handing down the bulbs, the cultivation technique and the packaging technique.
Vessalico garlic: characteristics and traditions
Vessalico garlic is harvested after the twentieth of June and, after drying, can be stored for a long time in a cool, dry place, not in the dark or in direct sunlight.
Tradition has it that the garlic is braided by hand from 13 whole plants (in ancient times, 25 plants were involved, later reduced to 13 for commercial reasons).
The garlic heads, which are therefore not severed from the plant, nor hulled in the tuft, retain the organoleptic properties. Vessalico garlic is also found to be of longer shelf life, due to the sap that persists in the leaves and continues to nourish the garlic itself, and aesthetically beautiful.
It is grown by hand and organically, and every year on July 2 the producers gather and the 18th-century Garlic Fair is held, an ideal opportunity to buy it.
It has a delicate aroma, an intense and slightly spicy flavor and, above all, an extreme shelf life.
The climate, the particular soil of the Arroscia Valley and the very small core make it a product of high digestibility, very rare in common garlic.
Vessalico Garlic: the Territory and the Presidium
Vessalico is a small village located in the center of the Arroscia Valley, a natural route for the transit of goods between Liguria and Piedmont. It was therefore the ideal place to give birth to the Garlic Fair, an event that dates back to 1760.
The Presidium brings together a small group of producers who hand down the bulbs of this particular type of garlic, while preserving its cultivation and packaging methods.
These producers are united in the “A Resta” cooperative with a trademark that distinguishes and enhances the authentic Vessalico garlic.
The Presidium, in concert with the cooperative, is engaged in theactivity of disseminating information about Vessalico Garlic in order to make its particularities known to those who reside outside the production area, where it is well known and appreciated.
Also thanks to Vessalico Garlic, Pesto Genovese has an exquisitely unique flavor!