Making the highest-quality Italian rice, from soil mapping techniques and aging processes to pioneering blockchain technology in modern agriculture, is something Meracinque co-founder Silvia Tovo knows all about.

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In this episode of ITALIAN, FOR SURE, host Catrin Skaperdas sits down with Silvia for a fun, deep dive into the world of Italian food, specifically rice culture - including choosing the correct rice for risotto, the real rice-dish star of Milanese cuisine (which isn't what most people think), and how food culture takes shape across Italy.

Together, they talk about:

- Verona, Mantova and Italian food culture
- How Silvia built Meracinque with her four sisters
- How Italian rice and its specific varieties are different than other rices around the world
- The rice she produces, carnaroli rice ("the king of rice"), and how it differs from the arborio variety
- Popular rice dishes around Italy and when in the year you eat them
- The breakdown of how rice is planted, harvested, dried, and aged for a full year, and why aging makes all the difference in quality
- What it’s like working with four sisters
- The adversity Silvia and her sisters face being a women owned business, especially in this sector
- What it’s like selling rice to different markets
- The pros and cons of running a food business in Italy

Chapters

02:01 Intro
03:08 Verona, Montava, and Italian Food Culture
06:28 The birth story of Meracinque
08:43 Characteristics of rice: carnaroli vs arborio
12:09 Different rice dishes around Italy
14:57 What rice dishes Italians eat and when they eat them throughout the year
16:08 Rice cultivation process start to finish
21:08 Pros and cons of running a family-owned business
23:58 What it’s like to be a women-owned business in this industry
28:22 Selling Italian rice outside of Italy
35:27 Difficulties of running a business in Italy
40:56 Outro

More about Meracinque:

Founded in 2016, MeraCinque is an innovative agricultural company run entirely by Silvia and her four sisters—Margherita, Benedetta, Anna, and Maria Vittoria. Inheriting a deep passion for the land from their agronomist father, the sisters united to produce an exceptional, 100% sustainable Carnaroli Classico rice. Their name tells their story: "Mera" for meraviglia (wonder), their lifelong family nickname, and "Cinque" representing the five sisters bringing a new balance and harmony to Italy's traditional farming industry.

Learn more about Meracinque on their website: https://www.meracinque.com/

This interview is available to watch on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube, and available to listen-only everywhere else you can get podcasts.