26th Biligocc Festival in Casale di Albino (BG). Chestnuts on the catwalk in Casale di Albino (BG) for the 26th Sagra dei Biligocc, on 1 February 2015.
On the program the traditional "Sagra dei biligòcc", that is the festival of smoked and boiled chestnuts, the "biligòcc" in fact, which here in Casale, and more generally in Valle del Lujo, have found their chosen homeland, thanks to the Group Cultural «Friends of Casale». Here, the procedure. First, in autumn, chestnuts are chosen: not all of them, in fact, lend themselves to "mutation". The best are the «ostane» and the «careàne», sweet and of good size. After the selection, they are placed on the smokehouse, a large room where, at a height of three meters, there is a grill ("grat"), built in "nes" (alder) or chestnut wood, on which they are spread chestnuts. Under the trellis, the smoke room opens up, a second room where a dense and fragrant smoke expands, coming from a fire that burns in the underlying "chimney room" (here, we are usually on the ground floor).
Chestnuts are stirred twice a day with rakes. They must not be burned, in fact. And so it goes on for about 40 days. After smoking, it is now December, the chestnuts are placed in jute bags, waiting to be boiled. This operation occurs only a few days before the festival. On a «foghèra» (open fire), a cauldron (boiler) is placed, in which 150 to 80 kg of chestnuts are boiled in about 100 liters of water. At the end of each cooking, a few buckets of cold water are thrown into the boiler, giving the chestnuts their characteristic "wrinkle". Removed from the water, the biligòcc are ready.
For more information:
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Web: valledellujo.it
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The events may undergo changes, therefore it is advisable to check the event by contacting the organizing bodies directly. Caccia Passione is not responsible for any changes to the dates of individual events.