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Slow Food Presidium 
This is our family-run farm, where the cultivation of the Breme Red Onion (Cipolla Rossa di Breme) has been handed down for generations and which sees, during the harvesting period, the collaboration of the whole family.
The Red Onion of Breme – Slow Food Presidium is a particular variety of onion limitedely produced in a floodplain area of about two hectares. The characteristics of this type of soil give to the onion many particularities. The Red Onion of Breme has a flattened shape of an intense red color and considerable size, with an average weight varying between 500 and 700 grams. It is called “la Dolcissima” (that means “The Sweetest One”) thanks to its particular organoleptic characteristics. Its main features are sweetness and digestibility and this onion can be eaten raw without any contraindication.
The history of the Red Onion of Breme begins ten centuries ago in 906 A.D., when the monks of Novalesa arrived in Breme (Lombardy), finding a very fertile soil and the optimal conditions to obtain quality crops. In a short time Breme became an important center for the cultivation of blond and red onions which are still grown today, following the methods of the past.
The cultivation methods of this vegetable are the same as those used by our ancestors. The sowing, transplanting, weeding and harvesting activities are still carried out manually today, preserving a tradition that has lasted for more than a millennium.
For the cultivation of the Breme Red Onion we start in September with the planting of the so called “mother onions” (cipolle madri), from which we’ll obtaine seeds in July of the following year. In the first waning moon of August, we proceed with the sowing of the Breme Red Onion, which will be transplanted in the open field after about sixty days. The harvest will take place in June, on the occasion of the Breme Red Onion Festival.
The fresh Red Onion of Breme is available from June to August. To facilitate consumption and conservation throughout the year, our onion is transformed in the form of different products: compote, jam with orange or ginger, mustard and soup.
An healthy vegetable, Breme Red Onion contains potassium, vitamin C, folic acid and vitamin B6. When cooked it retains the same proportions of vitamins and minerals. Among its virtues:
Awards and denominations: in 2008 the onion obtained the De.C.O. (Municipal Denomination of Origin); since 2018 the onion seed has been kept at the Global Seed Bank in Norway and starting from 2020 the Red Onion of Breme De.C.O. is a Slow Food presidium. presidium
Breme, a small medieval village of 700 inhabitants, is located in the lower Lomellina, the green lung of the Pavia area at the confluence of the Sesia and Po rivers. In the municipality, there is the ancient abbey of San Pietro, where the Benedictines used to cultivate the “sigualla” (onion in local dialect) as early as the 10th century.
Variety with a flattened shape and intense red color, it has survived over the centuries thanks to its sweetness, crunchiness and high digestibility, and is still known today with the nickname "the sweetest". These organoleptic characteristics are linked to the morphological composition of the soils of floodplain origin and to the microclimate of the area. The cultivation techniques, mostly manual, have been handed down by monks from generation to generation, until today. Ideal for jams, compotes, mustards and sweet and sour, in the cooking, these onions are excellent both raw in the typical bremese salad (tuna, beans, extra virgin olive oil, salt and vinegar), and cooked into soups and omelettes.
Production area
The Municipality of Breme
Seasonality
Harvesting begins at the start of June and ends in mid-August.
Below you can find a photographic representation of the entire chain: the “mother onions”, from which the onion seed will be obtained; the seedlings that will then be transplanted in the open field after sixty days. In June the growth of our onion is completed and the harvest begins.
With this sweet onion we can obtain various processed products, such as jam, compote, mustard, soup and sweet and sour onions, thanks to which onion can be enjoyed all over the year. These products can be combined with meats and they are excellent as appetizers, especially with a fresh.
Last modified: 29 May 2022
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