Bergamo bramata flour is made by grinding vitreous corn or ground vitreous seeds to a fairly coarse grain size, which is why it is also rough in the mouth.
It has a golden yellow color, very intense with some lighter mottling and orange, sometimes red reflections.
It has an aroma of well-baked bread crust.
Corn is harvested in October and is then dried.
Flour is produced and consumed throughout the year.
Not just polenta.
Cornmeal is used to make pasta, especially traditional shapes such as *foiade*- wide noodles, bread, gnocchi but also sweets.
It was the dish of shepherds during transhumance who enjoyed it accompanied by milk and its derivatives.
Typical is the *chissöl*: a pellet of polenta with a piece of taleggio cheese inside placed over the coals; a preparation often offered as a welcome in local restaurants.
Bergamasque polenta, in addition to cheeses, the princes of the area, goes well with cured meats, game, birds in particular, and low court animals.
Endless recipes see it paired with: *löanghina* (long sausage), salamella, salami-also cooked, rabbit, stuffed hen, ribs with cabbage, braised, roasted, but also vegetables and mushrooms or offered as a single dish enriched with local cheeses and butter from the mountains.
Polenta bergamasca is unique: it must stand upright and be able to be cut with a knife.
For centuries it was the staple food of the less affluent local populations so much so that the Bergamasks were called “polentoni.”
Now it is queen of the table in restaurants all over the world because of its organoleptic and nutritional qualities.
The *Wholemeal and bramata flour of Bergamasc*a can only be produced in the entire administrative territory of the province of Bergamo.
There are numerous festivals and fairs in the area where it is a protagonist in catering.
Bergamasque polenta flour has been granted Traditional Food Product (PAT) recognition by the Ministry of Agriculture.
The name Farina integrale e bramata della Bergamasca is reserved exclusively for the product that meets the conditions and requirements set out in the production specifications of the Bergamo, City of a Thousand… Flavors brand established by the Bergamo Chamber of Commerce.
