We went to Teramo’s 25th annual Agricultural fair (fiera dell’agricoltura) believing it would be a treat for my little boy, as it was sure to have a great collection of tractors available for a 19 month old to “ooh” and “arh” that he could clamber over and prod.  I’d thought it would be something like a UK Country Fair, an event I actually avoid like the plague! Indeed the tractor part was true, as bambino got to sit behind the wheel of his first red vintage Lamborghini…tractor of course! But outside petting corners, plenty of bunnies destined for the pot, there was also a foodie’s tasting heaven; out of the 200 exhibitors, 3/5 comprised an incredible array of local farmers’ products with stands from as afar as Puglia and Sardinia.

My favourites were a sweet prosciutto salami and rediscovering Fracassa who I had met and whose card I had lost at the annual Gessopalena Cheese Fair in September, a must attend for those in Abruzzo late summer.

Fracassa’s amazing range of  delicious salamis and cured meats includes some which are cured in Montepulciano d’Abruzzo ‘must’, inheriting the dark intense colours from its bath in our favourite drinkable summer fruits.   With an emphasis on natural, honey is used as the anti-oxidant in their salami and their rather divine sweet and nutty pecorino is matured in a  bran crust which absorbs the moisture from the cheese whilst allowing it to breathe.  You can visit them for tastings , they have a restaurant too so that’s on my list next time I am close to  Sant’Egidio alla Vibrata; for non-Italian speakers don’t be put off they do speak English ( their website is ecommerce , hurray!).   I bought their silky cream of pecorino with truffle to add as a very simple sauce  to pasta.

© Photography by Lucciola.me
Further Reading
Check the Teramo Comune site for dates of the fair, it is normally the last week of March or 1st week of April.
Fracassa official website

Author: Sam Dunham

Sam is a very lucky midlife 'mamma' to A who is 11 and juggles her work as a self-employed freelance travel and food web content manager and copywriter and EFL teacher - she is the founder of English in the Woods. She is the co-founder of the social enterprises: The Abruzzo Blogger Community and Let's Blog Abruzzo. She is currently writing the book 'Abruzzo: Folk and Food.