Grigio pigs in their natural habitat
Grigio del Casentino is a hybrid pig resulting from the crossbreeding of the Large White and Cinta Senese. The former provides lots of meat with little fat, while the latter offers far less meat with a significant proportion of marbled fat. This combination is an animal that is perfect from all points of view.
However, a genetically perfect animal is not enough for exceptional products. The meat of our Grigio del Casentino® pigs is so good because the animals live outdoors and feed on what nature offers them.
Extensive breeding in their natural habitat is an essential ingredient. Grigio wouldn’t be the same without the forests of Casentino. Its meat wouldn’t carry all the scents and flavors of nature, aromas that change with the seasons and offer a true taste experience.
Semi-wild pigs, life outdoors
As we have seen in our article on fat, all pigs that have the gene of an Italian autochthonous breed must be raised semi-wild. These animals are not meant for cages or sheds: if they were confined, the amount of fat would become excessive.
Semi-wild breeding means taking care of the animals without taking away their opportunity to be animals. Unlike what happens in intensive farming, true meat factories, our pigs are free to move, feed healthily, and grow.
We have no cages, only small huts that serve to shelter the pigs, especially the young ones. Zero hormones or antibiotics: our pigs live in conditions of well-being and have all the time to grow naturally.
Natural feeding
It’s the natural feeding in this precise territory that makes the meat of these pigs so special. Experienced palates can enjoy recognizing the scents of the different seasons. Chestnuts, mushrooms, fruits, and berries leave their aromas in the meat.
Grigio pigs feed on nature surrounding it, which is typical of this valley. In practice, eating its meat means eating a piece of Casentino.
Its farming keeps alive a tradition and a territory. Extensive breeding protects an entire ecosystem and maintains the traditional techniques of farmers who worked with respect, without any waste.
Between the Grigio pigs and the Casentino forests, there is a relationship that must be protected. It’s a natural balance: nature nourishes the animals, which in turn maintain biodiversity by spreading the seeds of the fruits they feed on.
Genuine products, from the forest to the plate
The connection with the forests and outdoor life are essential ingredients of this meat. However, processing methods also make a difference between a good product and an exceptional one.
But let’s start from the beginning. Grigio del Casentino® meat is exceptional because:
- The crossbreeding between Large White and Cinta Senese results in an animal with a perfect balance between fat and lean meat. We’re talking about pigs of superior genetic quality.
- Extensive farming ensures the welfare of the animals. Pigs are free to move and feed on nature. Zero antibiotics, hormones, or other rubbish.
- Processing methods are artisanal and follow the traditional recipes of our land. We work with time, humidity, and temperature, without chemical shortcuts.
Products made this way are not just tastier, and we’re not just talking about flavor. For us, good meat also means healthy, genuine, ethical, and sustainable.
The taste of Casentino
Perhaps because Casentino is our home, we firmly believe that bringing to the table a food that so clearly identifies a territory is always a plus. The meat of an animal that has lived freely in its natural habitat is very different from that of one raised in some shed somewhere.
Food – and meat especially – should tell a story and have its own identity, a well-defined origin. The exact opposite of what happens with the industrial production of meat, where pigs are raised with only profit in mind.
Grigio del Casentino pigs have now become one of the protagonists of the Casentino territory. The Cinta Senese perfectly represents Tuscany – just think that it has been bred for over a thousand years and even appears in Ambrogio Lorenzetti’s famous fresco cycle Allegory of Good and Bad Government (1338-1339) – but the Grigio pigs have also conquered a place of honor.
Bred by generations of Casentino farmers for its exceptional meat, excellent resistance, and reproductive capacity inherited from the Large White, our Grey Pig of Casentino® is no longer just a farm animal, but a part of the history and culture of the territory.
Diet is the most important choice we can make every day. Choosing good, healthy, and sustainable meat from extensive breeding and respectful farms, where animals live semi-wild, is the best way to do good for ourselves and the environment.
