The Latini and their fields.

Carla and Carlo Latini, wheat-growers and pasta-makers, produce their pasta by hand and monitor it from field to plate. They not only process nothing but durum wheat from their own harvest but have, during the past 10 years, planted small test fields with a large number of old, almost forgotten types of durum wheat in order to assess their suitability for pasta production - not to boost the yield, but to restore consistency, flavour and freshness. They pay special attention to the protein content of the different types of wheat, as a high gluten content is important for the binding strength of the ground grain and thus for the excellent quality of the pasta. Pasta production is currently based on five types, grown on about 300 hectares. Every year the Latinis decide whether or not to add other types from the test fields after a series of scientific tastings.