Pasta, pizza, cookies…hemp! A real craze, a fashion that has ancient, ancient roots. In fact, hemp is one of the most widely cultivated plants in the world, and today, after a long period of production stoppage, it is attracting interest again.
After the historical leader of the Italian left, Mario Capanna, publicly stated that he never consumed ‘joints’ on a regular basis but invested in hemp cultivation, the topic of cannabis flour is back in the news. Is it merely a passing fad or a reality to be enhanced and invested in? The use of Sativa Hemp is not new, it has very old traditions in the East and West. Campania has also been a major producer of raw materials obtained from its processing.
In the early twentieth century, Caserta was the second province in Italy for textile hemp production, the center of which was between Bologna and Ferrara where dozens of ‘maceri’ still dot the agricultural landscape-a crop of primary importance in the economy of the families involved in its production, marketing and export.
The crisis of hemp cultivation began in the 1960s and resulted in its disappearance in favor of cotton and synthetic fibers on an industrial level, while cultivation also suffered from the ‘bad name’ resulting from the use of cannabis as a narcotic.
The cultivation of hemp has a very low environmental impact, requires no pesticides, needs little water to grow, and above all improves the quality of the land it occupies.In addition to these characteristics, what is of greatest interest is its versatility. It can be processed to obtain valuable raw materials for use in a wide variety of fields: textiles, construction, food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, industrial, and energy with biofuels.
Hemp seeds, and all its derivatives, are now considered as food supplements of natural origin containing all the essential amino acids necessary for the proper functioning of the human body, resulting in a complete food from a protein point of view. The presence of Omega 3, Omega 6 and phytonutrients, in addition to exerting anti-inflammatory power, ensures a significant reduction of bad cholesterol levels in the blood, acting against high triglyceridemia, hypertension and atherosclerosis. The fiber content, which stimulates proper bowel function, and mineral salts and vitamins, particularly of the E group, with antioxidant action, are not negligible.
In the face of so many health benefits, there has been an awakening of a desire on the part of chefs and producers to make real experiments in the culinary sphere in an effort to bring to life increasingly original hemp-based products.
The flour is produced by grinding and sifting the remainder of the seed pressings to extract the oil, and the resulting dough, rich in essential fatty acids, provides considerable protein as well as being more digestible because of its good fiber content.
Credits: p&p bakery & confectionery, July/August 2015.
