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Pici are the Tuscan pasta par excellence, reflecting the culinary tradition of the region, which provides products with a simple but genuine and full-bodied flavour.
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Pici are the Tuscan pasta par excellence, reflecting the culinary tradition of the region, which provides products with a simple but genuine and full-bodied flavour. It is a type of pasta kneaded by hand using only three simple ingredients: flour, water and salt. Their shape is reminiscent of spaghetti but they are thicker and more porous and have an irregular length.
The origins of this extraordinary pasta are very ancient, it seems that this variety of pasta was already loved by the Etruscans. We find the first evidence of this pasta in the famous Tomb of Leopardi in Tarquinia, dating back to the fifth century BC, where there is a bas-relief depicting a banquet, the Etruscans among other things were a people dedicated to parties, good music and good food, in which is represented a familiar intent to serve a beautiful bowl of a pasta irregular and cylindrical in shape reminiscent of today’s pici.
According to Marco Gavio Apicio (25 B.C.37 A.D.), who can be considered the first true gastronome of antiquity, as well as the greatest Latin treatise writer on gastronomy, who has handed down many ancient recipes, the name pici can be traced back to ancient Rome in De Re Coquinaria.
Other voices claim that the name derives from the gesture that is made with the palm of the hand to make the dough take this shape, what in Tuscan culinary jargon is the verb “appiciare”. Another theory traces the origin of the name back to the small village of San Felice in Pincis near Castelnuovo, in Arezzo.Â
But there could also be a connection with Pigelleto, a typical fir tree on Monte Amiata, which is white and narrow and elongated in shape, just like pici.
Pici traditionally originated as a “poor” dish, typical of the peasantry, due to the simplicity of its ingredients. In the dough we find only water, flour and salt. There is no need even for eggs, which were often consumed only by the rich or relegated to special occasions for most people.
Traditionally, in peasant homes, this pasta was seasoned simply with just a little oil or chopped onion and salt. But each family had its own recipes with the addition of other ingredients and flavours.
Today, pici is still a very versatile pasta that adapts well to any sauce, from the simplest to the most sophisticated and important.
| Weight | 0,55 kg |
|---|---|
| Region of origin | Tuscany |
| producer | Toscodoro Società Agricola |
| Zona di produzione / lavorazione | SANSEPOLCRO (AR) |
| packaging | 500 g |
| Main ingredients | Durum wheat semolina, water. |
| appearance | similar to spaghetti but thicker, rougher, irregular. |
| color | straw yellow |
| smell | Wheat |
| Taste | Delicate |
| conservation method | Store in a cool, dry place away from heat sources. |
| designation | Tq.I.P. |
| Recommended pairings | Perfect to be served with cherry tomato and basil sauce Tq.I.P., pitted Taggiasca olives Tq.I.P. and Olio Evo Taggiasca Tq.I.P., or accompanied by a good glass of Barolo Docg. |
| Expiration date | |
| smaltimento | Plastic packaging and paper label; packaging in the plastic collection and label in the paper collection. |
Nutritional values
NUTRITIONAL VALUES PER 100 G:
ENERGY VALUE 1529 kJ / 366 kcal
PROTEINS 13 g
FATS 1,5 g of which saturated fatty acids 0,4 g
CARBOHYDRATES 75 g of which sugars 3 g
SALT 0,01 g
The producer
The agricultural company Toscodoro is located in the heart of the Tuscan Valtiberina. It cultivates and produces the best raw materials to carefully make dry pasta and high quality artisan food specialities. The food specialities of this small farm are produced with 100% Italian and Tuscan premium wheat flours.
Thanks to their decades of experience in the food sector and their knowledge of top-quality products, they were able to set up the Toscodoro company with the aim and purpose of making various types of artisanal dry pasta and other food specialities typical of their area. The bronze drawing and the slow drying process give their 100% Italian products a unique colour and taste.
Production area
Sansepolcro, formerly called “Burgus Sancti Sepulchri”, is a Tuscan municipality in the province of Arezzo.Â
The historic Tuscan town lies on the banks of the Tiber River and is located in the last stretch of the Tuscan Apennines.
As its name suggests, the ancient village developed around the ancient Benedictine abbey of Santo sepolcro, now the Cathedral of San Giovanni Evangelista.Â
Its foundation dates back to the 10th century, when two monks, Sant’Arcano and Sant’Egidio, returning from a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, decided to found their monastery on these hills, with a chapel inside to contain the sacred relics brought back from their journey. In fact, during the century the town was also known as ‘Novella Gerusalemme’.
A fief of the Camaldolese abbots in the early Middle Ages, Sansepolcro was a free commune from 1163. A borderland, it defended its freedom by fighting against Castellani, Perugini and Aretini.
It passed from the Lordship of Uguccione della Faggiola to that of the Tarlati and then to that of the Malatesta.Â
It was briefly under the dominion of the popes and then passed, from 1441, under Florence, from the Medici to the Lorraine, until the unification of Italy.Â
In 1520 Sansepolcro was made a city and named an Episcopal seat by Pope Leo X.
It was also the birthplace of the great Renaissance painter Piero della Francesca, who at the time often signed his name as Pietro del Borgo and portrayed his birthplace several times.
San sepolcro is still today a folkloristic town linked to ancient traditions, where events such as the Palio della Balestra and the flag games are held, special events rich in tradition.Â
These ancient lands have also always been famous in the Italian food and wine tradition for the production of handmade pasta.Â
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