Niccolo Machiavelli was a great admirerand to the point that it should never be missing from his table. But the history of Finocchiona and its gastronomic link with Tuscany are well established even before the 400th century. They date back to hard times of the Middle Ages, when, since there wasn't much to spend due to the scarce economic conditions of the time, i Tuscan butchers to make up for the use of the rare and expensive pepper, which arrived from the East, used to season and flavor fine cured meats, they thought of add to the dough what mother nature naturally made available in the Tuscan fields and hills: the fennel seeds. Certainly a less aggressive flavor than pepper, but very aromatic and with an elegantly intense aroma. And from this Finocchiona took its name, the Tuscan cured meat par excellence and excellence, which, over the following centuries, was even more appreciated and loved, becoming the 'queen' of the noble set tables and of the most popular taverns in Tuscany.
An impact on around 300 protected bees and 300 million pollinated flowers a year
So it was born linked to the typical and spontaneous expression of a local plant, Finocchiona. Centuries later the Consortium for the protection of Tuscan Finocchiona IGP he thought it appropriate enhance this relationship with nature and the environment by tying its name to an imimportant and responsible environmental protection project carried out with 3Bee, the climate tech company that works to protect biodiversity and the quality of life of pollinators and bees. 3Bee's is an operation that impacts approximately 300 bees protected and 300 million flowers pollinated each year. An important initiative aimed at raising public awareness of the bee conservation, consider the actual ones with good reason “sentinels of the ecosystem”, whose number has drastically reduced due to pollution and the use of pesticides, causing incalculable damage to the ecosystem of the entire territory, but at the same time aimed at guaranteeing the raw material of the Finocchiona dressing thanks to the shot peening of the plant.
The pollination of the plants is increased to obtain fennel seeds for the king of Tuscan cured meats
“Already some time ago, the Nobel Prize winner Maurice Materlink underlined the fact that the disappearance of bees would lead to the extinction of at least 100 different varieties of plants - explains Alessandro Iacomoni, President of the Finocchiona PGI Consortium - A cry of alarm that the Consortium has harvested, providing for the installation of pollinator hives near the fields of the fennel-producing companies. This ingredient, which gives Finocchiona its unmistakable aroma and flavour, colors the Tuscan landscape intense yellow in summer and naturally attracts bees. The adoption of a real beehive for the production of honey stems precisely from this initiative to raise environmental awareness and protect bees".
Silvia Moser, project manager as Account Specialist of 3Bee, a climate tech company founded in 2017 explains that “Adopt a Beehive” is a project dedicated to the protection of bees but also to the regeneration of biodiversity. “Often, he observes, the adoption of a beehive is associated exclusively with the production of honey. In this case, thanks to the Hive-Tech technology, the impact generated is greater.
3Bee: a cutting-edge methodology to safeguard the action of the ecosystem's sentinel bees
With the company biomonitoring we can check the state of health of the apthe. A concrete and controllable environmental commitment through the appropriate application. Thanks to technology we reduce the death of families by 20%, we reduce chemical treatments by 30%, we increase productivity by 30% for the beekeeper and we contribute to increasing biodiversity by 50% (pollination – reduction of trips – economic savings – indirect CO2 abatement)”.
Through the exclusive technologies developed by the company – they add to 3Bee – beekeepers can constantly and completely monitor their hives in order to optimize production, save time and treat their bees by preventing problems and diseases.
The device is bio-mimetic and detects different vital parameters of the bees necessary for the assessment of the condition and health of the hive. the data is transmitted to the Cloud where it is processed by artificial intelligence algorithms. With the aim of diagnosing and predicting any problems and diseases. thanks to the internal sensors In fact, the beekeeper can remotely control weight, temperature, sounds and humidity in the hive using the app and can also analyze weather conditions, productivity, level of stocks and surrounding blooms, creating his own personalized work calendar. in this way it can optimize the organization of its business by intervening when necessary and in a targeted way to safeguard its hives.
But obviously since it is Finocchiona PGI, one of the most popular food products, the Consortium could not overlook the most exquisitely gastronomic aspect: honey. In fact, what will be obtained from the bees between April and June will also be used by the Unione Regionale Cuochi Toscani (URCT) for innovative recipes capable of combining the unmistakable taste of the most characteristic of Tuscan cured meats with the notes of honey product.
Finocchiona and honey give life to a balanced and enjoyable combination on the palate.”
“Me and a selected group of colleagues such as Lorenzo Pisini, Giampiero Cesarini and the pizza maker Tommaso Vatti were involved by our President Roberto Lodovichi in the creation of this recipe book – he says Maria Probst, chef of the Osteria di Torre a Cona – I'm really proud to be one of ambassadors of this project, because I believe it is essential to raise public awareness of these issues. On the gastronomic side, as far as pairings are concerned, sweet and savory are extremely accomplices and, in the right doses, the Finocchiona and honey give life to a balanced and enjoyable combination on the palate.”
Finocchiona: great exploit of the market + 22% for a sale value of 22,4 million
Obviously the production Regulations are the keystone of the production of Finocchiona PGI and of its growing success in recent years attested at the end of 2021 with a production of over 2 million kilograms of bagged dough, i.e. 1 million and 92 thousand pieces produced with an increase of 22,7% in the second half compared to the same period of the previous year. Numbers that testify to the effectiveness of the enhancement work expressed by the Finocchiona Igp Protection Consortium with a market with a production value exceeding 12.9 million euros and a sales value of 22,4 million.
The specification approved in 2015 guaranteed an excellent quality product, which protects and guarantees the consumer thanks to the use of exclusively fresh, certified and controlled meat obtained from pigs of Italian pedigree registered since birth, and to the use of precise ingredients: fennel seeds and/or flowers, garlic, salt, pepper and, optionally, red wine. The quantities can vary within a range well defined by the Regulations, allowing producers a touch of craftsmanship and imagination in personalizing their recipe and the final result according to their historic tradition, which, in most cases, dates back to recipe handed down from their ancestors producers of Finocchiona.
