Crops, consumption and traditions

In principle, one of the two components of Farinella was barley of the so-called "world barley" variety; world probably understood as clean ie sieved cleaned, through "u farnar sc'gghiarul", from weed seeds, for example the seeds "du sciugghij", ie wild grasses such as wild oats and / or forasacchi. In the native language this barley was also called "Jursc gran" (wheat barley). This had a medium grain with the husks (peel) that was eliminated during the threshing phase and therefore the grain remained light to the point that this type of barley was used, soaking it in water for about 12 hours before cooking, for fresh summer soups. .


Barley is an ancient cereal present in various parts of the world, the characterization of the one present in the south-east area of ​​Bari and Putignano is given by the clayey soil rich in iron oxides therefore red in color, by the temperature and the angle of the sun's rays during the natural drying phase of the ears which gives them an intense and unique aroma and taste during the roasting and milling phase.

The other fundamental component of farinella was the rustic chickpea, a type of legume that is very strong and resistant to adversity. It did not fear the cold winters typical of the 372 meters above sea level in the area and, not even afraid of drought, it was never or almost never irrigated. The cultivation cycle started with the sowing in October and ends with the harvest in July. During these phases it did not need much care other than the weeding and tamping of the young plants.

The native agricultural tradition in the first half of the twentieth century provided for the biennial alternation of wheat and barley cultivation with that of legumes, including chickpeas. The surface cultivated during the flour year included 70/80% of durum wheat traditionally used, at home, for bakery products (bread, friselle, taralli, etc.), 20% of the Senatore Cappelli variety for pasta. fresh and 5/10% of "world barley" for Farinella. The overall harvest was crammed into sacks and stored in its whole grain form to then be milled from time to time in relation to the weekly / monthly needs of the family.

In the town there were two different mills, one for durum wheat flour and one for farinella.

The history of those years tells that the average consumption per capita of a family of 5 people was 5 kg per year per person with very strong differences between the consumption of those who went directly to work in the fields (peasant men) with those who remained in home (women and young children).