The history
In the unspoilt Italian region of Abruzzo, in the ancient village of Spoltore, Fabio and Valentino Bioriviera are carrying on the tradition of pasta making started by their grandfather back in the 1940's. Under his expert tutelage they have mastered the customs behind the creation of fantastic pasta at the same time as pushing boundaries to create the finest organic [1] products.
In 1945, the ‘grain story', as the Bioriviera brothers like to call it, began with their grandfather Emilio. He made pasta in Capestrano (L'Aquila city in Abruzzo) using traditional techniques and with the aid of a water-powered stone mill for grinding the grains. The path from there takes us round the world to Venezuela where he and his wife decided to start a pasta production business. However, finally in 1964, they returned to their native Italy to establish the Pastificio Riviera business near Pescara in Abruzzo.
This is where Valentino and Fabio enter the story. From a young age they helped their grandfather in his business. Starting with the simplest of jobs, their responsibilities and their passion for pasta-making quickly grew. Then, in 2006, when their grandfather retired, they took over the business.
Since then there have been a few changes. Their grandfather still lives across the road offering his expert advice and encouragement, but the brothers now focus more on organic and ancient grains, such as spelt, embracing a mixture of age-old methods and modern innovation. Indeed, the town they live in - Spoltore - actually takes its name from the Latin name for spelt, which goes to show just how long this grain has been being used in the Abruzzo region.
For optimum nutrition, the brothers use semi-polished spelt and wheat to make their pasta, which retains all the benefit of the wholegrain whilst offering a lighter texture. As spelt thrives in hilly areas with sunny days and cool evenings, Abruzzo offers the ideal conditions. Spelt is also ideally suited to organic farming as it is relatively cold, disease and weed resistant. Wheat, on the other hand, needs more sun, warm weather and flat ground to grow on, so, the brothers source the best organic wheat from regions such as Puglia and Sicily.
The process
The whole grains are gently milled, removing only the coarsest bran. Once the flour has been mixed into pasta dough, it is pushed through traditional bronze moulds, giving the pasta a rough surface ideal for absorbing the flavours of the sauce. The pasta shapes are then dried at below 60° for 24 hours. During the process strict attention is paid to the balance between heat and humidity, which is fundamental to the quality of the finished pasta; the humidity is never allowed to reach more than 12.5%. If there is too much humidity in the process, the pasta becomes tarnished with white spots caused by moisture trapped inside it.
The drying process itself consists of two parts:
- Pre-drying - ½ hour at higher temperature i.e. 60°
- Drying - 24 hours at 55°
We believe that the pasta that Bioriviera produces is of exceptional quality. Our guarantee is that it will always be 100% organic and 100% delicious. Fabio and Valentino are both generous and enthusiastic and we at Clearspring are happy and proud to include their products in our European range.