Azienda Agricola Brice e Baloci
Tradition and innovation reach their maximum balance here thanks to high quality products respectful of the natural tastes of bygone times. The sweet chestnut varieties of Catenaia Alps, like Marrone, Giallina and Pistolese, become delicious dried fruits or very fine flour following thousand years old methods of slow wood drying, oven toasting and stone grinding.
Our farm is located on the Tuscan Appenines, 700m a.s.l.: we started for fun in continuing our predecessors’ acient tradition of taking good care of the wood and its precious fruits.
In 2006 we decided to give a new shape to this passion of ours, setting up our farm with the funny name of Brice e Baloci. These two words have a double meaning in Arezzo dialect: the first indicates both roast chestnuts and beautiful girls, while the second refers to both boiled chestnuts and boys with heads in the clouds.
Chestnuts flour and dried chestnuts are the main products in a limited group of processed fruits coming from our woods, our garden and our orchard: we make jarred marrons in various combinations, jams, and excellent extra vergin olive oil we prepare delicious pickles with. We strictly comply with the rules of organic farming that has always been our inspiration and we have therefore been certified by CCPB Certification Body for more than 10 years.
Our philosophy includes a healthy lifestyle, respect for the environment and human health. We embrace the future with an eye on those innovations that may simplify our work, but that are anyway well rooted to the traditions that have built the history of our family and the greatness of our beloved territory.
Organic chestnut flour
Our organic chestnut flour is the pride of our production, renowned all over the Tuscan territory for its marked taste and its fine density. The sweet varieties of our chestnuts like “giallina”, “marrone” and “pistolese” togheter with the continuation of good old traditions (slow wood drying, oven toasting, stone grinding) keep the taste of this unique product unaltered overtime.
In order to obtain this extraordinary product the processing chain is extremely short: all processes are carried out in the farm by the expert hands of our highly skilled personell. 20 days in the drying and smoking chamber are needed , then the chestnuts undergo shelling and later they are manually selected. The best chestnuts are then subject to delicate toasting for one entire night in a low temperature wood oven and finally they are transferred to our stone mill to be ground and then packed.
The main feature of our flour is its incomparable sweetness which originates from the sugary raw materials, of course, but primarely from the meticulous manual selection of the dried chestnuts: the best fruits are thoroughly sorted from the ruined or mouldy ones thus allowing us to have a sweet and healthy products with extremely low levels of aflatoxins and ochratoxins which are detrimental to our wellbeing.
Chestnut flour is a highly versatile ingredient which can be very useful for the preparation of both sweet and savoury recipes.
This product is most commonly renowned for the preparation of a traditional Tuscan cake, “castagnaccio” (chetsnut cake), but it can be easily used to prepare hand-made pasta in combination with wheat flour or durum wheat flour. For the correct amount just follow the traditional recipes, replacing one third, up to half the customary flour, with chestnut flour so that the mixture can readily bind.
Rich in proteins, fibres and vitamins, our chestnut flour is beneficial to human intestinal bacterial flora and can help reduce cholesterol.
Organic dried chestnuts
Our organic dried chestnuts are a natural and healthy alternative to modern candies, to be savoured slowly and with no reproach: this is because they are rich in numerous nutritional values like carbohydrates and mineral salts like potassium, iron, calcium, sodium, magnesium, phosphorous and chlorine. They also contain fibres, proteins and vitamins (C, PP and group B vitamins), thus proving extremely useful for sport-lovers.
Fibres ease intestinal motility, restoring the bowel bacterial flora and reducing cholesterol.
Dried chestnuts can be boiled to use in desserts or to go with soups and savoury dishes. They do not contain preservatives and are dried in a traditional manner that is 20 days in a wood drying room.
Local recipes of the Tuscan tradition
Castagnaccio, ingredients for 4/6 people:
Ingredients:
350 g chestnut flour, 900 ml water; a pinch of salt, oil to grease the pan; a handful of walnuts or pine nuts, a rosemary twig; (raisins to taste).
Preparation:
Mix water with flour and salt, grease a pan and pour the mix. Sprinkle with pine nuts (or walnuts), rosemary and raisins (optional).
Cook in the oven for about 45 minutes, 180°C
Official Organic Certification
Your Reviews
“The flour is of the highest, long-lasting quality
The family is extremely reliable in the delivery
The conditions for organic production in the family business are very good”