PEPERITA.IT!
The full Italian way to Chili Pepper. The Best Chili ... in the WORLD! My farm is set in the heart of Tuscany, between Bolgheri and Bibbona in the province of Livorno. I work in one of the plainlands of the Maremma, just a few minutes away from the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea. Here we enjoy a special temperate microclimate with pleasant breezes all the year round. The farmland is divided between one 4-hectare plot and two 2-hectare plots on the “I Doccioni” estate, which covers a total area of 20 hectares. I’m a convinced advocate of natural agriculture, so I farm with Organic/Biodynamic methods certified by CCPB and DEMETER. The farm is very varied. In addition to the fields of chili peppers and vegetables, there are olive groves, orchards and facilities for processing the produce with a warehouse and office. The house is in typical Tuscan style, faithfully restored in the traditional spirit. I decided to use the old materials and techniques of bio-architecture, while complying with the highest health standards.. My solitary farming adventure keeps evolving. It all began with the solid legacy our family’s experience, handed down by my father Franco Salvadori to me and my sister Romina. For more than three generations we have grown and produced the very highest quality extra virgin olive oil, following the rules of respect for nature, which I consider fundamental. As for the chili peppers, everything began with the production of chili-flavored Tuscan extra virgin olive oil. A simple beginning, but with the objective of creating a high-quality traditional product. I immediately fell in love with this wonderful fruit when I discovered its innumerable virtues in various fields. I started to use it in decorations, personal care and beauty products. From spicy-flavored oil I moved on to the fresh produce, then sauces, freshly chopped chilis and chili powders, in a vast and colorful kaleidoscope of flavors. I studied and perfected its use in the kitchen, seeking harmonies and combinations and eliminating all discordant notes. In every specialty, from appetizers to first courses and main courses as well as side dishes, with cheese, fruit, desserts, coffee, liqueurs, in fact everywhere, chili, if properly used, adds new flavors, blends aromas, it adds character and lends a punch to dishes from every cuisine.
From words to deeds. I started by planting 600 chili plants. Harvesting and processing them confirmed the absolute need to produce the ingredients myself for use in my products, to ensure the fruit is handled lovingly and treated with the utmost care in every phase of processing. The evolution has been continuous and overwhelming. To date, over 50,000 plants are growing with organic/biodynamic methods in my fields and 90% of them were from stabilized seeds of my own cultivation (hence biological/biodynamic). The remainder consists of plants that I use to create new products, to assess the quality of special cultivars, or else they are gifts made by chili-lover friends who always remember me while traveling around the world.
The principal plot is devoted to the needs of processing. There are chili pepper plants (with some 20 varieties being grown in the current season), with numerous species of vegetables and a long list of herbs, many sown with a green manure and inserted into a multi-year rotation with the productive part. The whole is surrounded by fig trees, blackberries and hawthorn hedges, which are important because they provide shelter for birds and the natural predators of harmful insects. The two smaller portions are fully occupied by olive trees which are part of the family tradition and enable me to produce an extra virgin olive oil of excellent organic/biodynamic quality. PROCESSING is the most creative part of my business. I feel I have the soul of an artist and this is very important for the conception of products that are partly invented by the imagination but which in real terms belong to the gourmet’s paradise and therefore have to ensure flavor, originality, character, healthfulness and total quality. The setting is a small traditional farm that uses the simplest ingredients (the PEPERITA chili) completely self-produced and grown on the organic/biodynamic system, guaranteeing a naturally vital foodstuff. I NEVER USE ADDITIVES, FOOD DYES OR CHEMICAL PRESERVATIVES OF ANY KIND! The methods of preservation and processing used are ‘delicate’ and completely respect the nutritional qualities of the foods so as to keep every ingredient in the natural state in which it developed. The product is exceptionally healthy and is a valuable part of a healthful, natural balanced, diet, one that fosters longevity.
I sell all my products through my website www.peperita.it and at the outlets in: Castagneto Carducci (LI) Via Vittorio Emanuele 32 Volterra (PI) Via Gramsci 56 at the Emporio del Gusto on Via Fiume in Volterra (a short-supply-chain store) at the Oleificio Il Cavallino on Via del Paratino in Cecina (LI) I look forward to meeting you! PEPERITA.IT! The Best Chili ... in the WORLD.
