A project is starting in Sicily to recover an old variety of Pistachio whose cultivation was at risk of being abandoned. All thanks to two dynamic brothers, from Canicattì, in the province of Agrigento, Vincenzo and Giulio Bonfissuto, owners of an established pastry shop that bears their name. Two young and courageous entrepreneurs who did not let themselves be discouraged by the consequences of the corononavirus pandemic, reacting in the only way an entrepreneur can react: with courage and a spirit of initiative.
The pistachio is a plant known since ancient times: already known and cultivated by ancient Jewish populations who considered its precious fruit, it was then adopted and cultivated by the Arabs who landed in Sicily taking the place of the Byzantines, in particular on the slopes of Etna, which turned out to be a natural habitat for the development of what would later become the very famous Bronte pistachio.
Many desserts in Sicily are based on Pistachios, from cakes to cannoli, from crunchy to olives, from ice cream to biscuits, from creams, to almond paste, to nougat, even to macarons.
Among the specialties of the Bonfissuto pastry shop there is above all an artisan Panettone with Pistachio which has established itself in Italy and is also highly appreciated abroad. Their journey and the development of their gastronomic project has not too "ancient" roots given their young age, but they are imbued with all the millenary tradition that the art of Sicilian pastry brings as a dowry and which seems genetically innate in the Bonfissuto brothers who have years of experience in the world of catering and catering have been put to good use in this sector.
The Bonfissutos have built their fame on recipes and creations that revisit without "offending" it the heritage of Sicilian pastry and some of the typical baked desserts of the "Italian" tradition such as Panettone. Which pays particular attention to "A meticulous and continuous search for excellent products from the Sicilian territory which has led to the rediscovery, enhancement and processing of high quality raw materials", from Modica Chocolate, to Avola Almonds, to the Pistachio of Bronte.
And it was to stock up on original and certified raw material that the two brothers recently bought land not far from their company where there were 70 pistachio plants, which would have allowed them to be self-sufficient for the needs of their production of quality products. pastry and bakery products.
Here, the discovery that those old, semi-abandoned plants belonged to a very ancient strain of Pistachio that the pastry chef brothers thought fit to develop in order to be able to count on a 0 km pistachio grove.
The brilliant idea was to start "Fustup" a crowdfunding project on the international platform Kickstarter.com (link https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/bonfissuto/fustuq-adottaunpistacchio).
The project is based on 10 types of ways to support Canicattì's Pistachio: from a simple free donation, to a minimum of 30 euros to receive their pistachio leavened product at home (and all over the world), up to 1000 euros to adopt a maximum of 70 pistachio plants (which will bear a plate with the name of the donor for each tree), a gift of 12 panettone and an exclusive day of experience in the company including overnight stay and tastings and typical meals together with the Bonfissuto brothers.
The "virtual growers" of the 70 pistachios will be able to remotely assist in the planting of their tree, with the possibility of giving it a name, testimony will be given over time of the growth, flowering, harvest of each individual pistachio and finally its transformation and usage. By contributing to the project there will be the possibility of sinking one's roots in Sicily and at the same time strengthening and consolidating the existing ones, to rediscover an autochthonous species of pistachio and the link between the land, Sicily and its genuine products.
The name of the project takes up an Arabic term which was later assimilated by the Sicilian dialect: "fastuca", a word that indicates their green gold, the pistachio.
“The laboratory where we recently moved for reasons of space is a hilly and calcareous terrain that around the XNUMXs they called “la fastuchera di contrada giuliano” an area suited for the cultivation of pistachios that is now almost lost” say the Bonfissuto brothers. “Probably a cultivation that has been abandoned over time because it is less productive and more difficult to maintain than the table grapes grown in these areas. We are running the risk of losing a unique cultural and agri-food heritage of these areas".
"With the patronage of the municipalities of Delia, Canicattì and Naro we want to bring "the elegance of Sicily to the world", also setting an example for all young Sicilian entrepreneurs not to give up, despite the obvious difficulties due to Covid19" says Vincenzo Bonfissuto. “For this we have opted for a crowdfunding platform that involves the whole world, since our products are exported all over the globe. Our hope is that they can be ambassadors of that authentic Sicily that we want to make known right now that international tourism is essentially at a standstill".
If this is not a restart….
