NUORO - Ogliastra's wild mullet roe which, given its origin in the Middle Ages, has its new brand and a new packaging to give nobility to a refined product that has imposed itself even in the gourmet cuisine of starred chefs.
It is "Peschiera Reale d'Ogliastra 1316", the date on which the first historical documents of the product date back, fished and worked entirely by hand and which has become the top product of the Tortolì Fishermen's Cooperative.
"With the launch of the new brand we are also celebrating the 77th birthday of the Coop - Mattia Pastrello, marketing and communication manager of the coopertiva told ANSA. - We have chosen a name that recalls the history of the Tortolì pond to honor all generations of fishermen who with sacrifice and passion have handed down the ancient knowledge of the craftsmanship of mullet bottarga. But we also thought of a new 'clothing' that would restore the preciousness of the product to the eyes: an elegant and refined box wrapped in a band velvety with gold inserts, which contains inside, lying on a bed of straw, his majesty the mullet bottarga. Alongside a card explaining its origins and processing ".Four hundred euros per kilo is the price of mullet roe caught and processed by hand in the Tortolì pond. Prices are more than halved for another line of Coop bottarga, this time produced from imported mullet and processed with the artisanal methods of local fishermen: "We are talking about two different products that the consumer at the time of purchase by reading the labels can clearly distinguish - continues the Marketing Director of Coop Pescatori - The bottarga caught and processed in our ponds has a completely different flavor given by its very high quality and a very limited production: we can produce 2 thousand pieces per year at most and the demand exceeds the supply, hence the high price of the product. While imported mullet bottarga processed by us,we can produce it in huge quantities but it certainly has a different flavor, which is why prices are lowered ". (ANSA).