CA’ DE MEMI

WE PRESERVE LOCAL BIODIVERSITY

Ca’ de Memi is a small farm in the Venetian countryside, in North-Eastern Italy. The farm consists of only 13 hectares of land, owned and run by the Scquizzato family—who made it their mission to recover open pollinated varieties of maize in order to preserve local biodiversity.

Maize cultivation is deeply rooted in Venetian history since the 16th century. The culinary past, and present, of the “Serenissima” Republic of Venice is brimming with recipes that feature corn as their key ingredient: corn flour is used for polenta (a savoury cream used as a side for meat and fish), but also for bread, cakes, biscuits (zaeti are the most popular ones), as well as breading for fried delicacies (together with breadcrumbs).

“Cinquantino della Castellana” Wholemeal Yellow Corn Flour

Primitive and fragrant: Cinquantino flour is stone-ground from whole seeds and not precooked. Cinquantino is a rare, non-GMO, and low-yielding variety of maize, which we are proud to cultivate as Guardian Farmers at Ca’ de Memi. Its colour is bright yellow, its flavour truly unique.

“San Martino” Eight Row Stone-Ground, Wholemeal Red Corn Flour

Eight Row San Martino corn is an ancient, non-GMO variety with large, long seeds arranged in 8 rows on the cob (hence the name). The seed is pearl-coloured on the inside, dark red-purple on the outside. This variety becomes ripe for harvest at the beginning of winter time (traditionally around St. Martin’s Day on 11th November). Eight Row San Martino flour is stone-ground from whole seeds (wholemeal) and is not precooked. It makes a beautifully unusual, purple-coloured polenta.

“Badoera” Wholemeal White Corn Flour

Badoera is an ancient maize variety from the Venice region in Italy, brought back to life after touring the world. In the late 19th century, in fact, Venetian immigrants brought this variety to Brazil, where it was exclusively cultivated until recent years. Badoera flour is stone-ground from whole seeds, non-GMO, and non-precooked. It makes a marble-white polenta, great to pair with delicate meats, cheese, and lagoon fish.