Carnaroli is the mainstay of Igiea Adami's farm and it is grown with a natural bonemeal fertiliser and organic herbicide. Busonengo is in an area of wild flatlands called the Baraggia, now a nature reserve, where poor, clay soil fed with cold waters channeled straight off the Monte Rosa massif in the Alps provides the perfect growing conditions for rice. The cold mountain water brings with it nutrients and creates a special microclimate with big temperature fluctuations that shock the rice plants so the grains are small and full of flavour. Carnaroli was developed in 1945 as a cross between Lencino and Vialone, with one chosen for its long, elegant shape and the other for its high starch content and firmer texture. This results in a very creamy risotto that retains an al dente bite making it wonderfully hard to overcook.
