{"title":"Watercolor","description":"\u003ch2 id=\"speakable-headline\"\u003eAcquerello, aged Carnaroli rice from Piedmont\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cblockquote id=\"speakable-summary\"\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAcquerello from the Rondolino family is an aged Carnaroli rice from the Tenuta Colombara in Piedmont. Since 1991, the family has grown only this variety there, lets every harvest age in a cool environment for at least one year, and restores the germ to the polished grain.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\n\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\n\n\u003cp id=\"speakable-definition\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAcquerello\u003c\/strong\u003e is aged Carnaroli rice from the Rondolino family in Livorno Ferraris, grown, stored, polished, and packaged on a single estate. Acquerello rice cooks into a creamy risotto where each grain retains its bite, and it is cooked in more than seventy countries.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eFrom inn for travelers to rice estate\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Tenuta Colombara is located in Livorno Ferraris, in the vast rice plain between Vercelli and Turin, and its history stretches back more than six hundred years. Around the year 1400, it served as an inn for travelers, and it was around the same time that rice was first grown in its fields.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 1571, the property expanded to include dormitories, a tavern, and workshops, as rice cultivation required many hands. The estate was renovated between 1875 and 1898, and the two towers at the farm's entrance date back to this period.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 1920, a sleeping quarters was built for the \u003cem\u003emondine\u003c\/em\u003e, the women who used to weed the flooded fields summer after summer. The \u003cem\u003emondine\u003c\/em\u003e worked bent over in knee-deep water, coming to the rice plain year after year from many regions of Northern Italy. Today, it houses a small museum of rice culture.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSince 2004, students from the Slow Food University of Gastronomic Sciences have visited the estate every year to get an up-close look at cultivation and processing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eOne family and a single variety\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCesare Rondolino took over the Tenuta Colombara in 1935, and in 1971 his son Piero joined the operation, later dedicating the estate entirely to one variety. Until then, as elsewhere in the region, several rice varieties were grown side by side on the estate.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 1991, Piero Rondolino made a decision that still shapes the estate today. He limited production to a single variety: Carnaroli, which many chefs in Italy call the king of risotto rice. The grain is long and robust; it absorbs plenty of liquid while maintaining its shape.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCarnaroli was bred in Lombardy in 1945 as a cross between Vialone and Lencino. Alongside Arborio and Vialone Nano, it is considered one of the classic varieties for risotto and is regarded as the most reliable among them because it is forgiving even if left in the pot for a minute too long. In the field, however, it is more demanding than many other varieties.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHe brought this Carnaroli to market under the name Acquerello. Quality, as Piero Rondolino himself describes it, means a commitment to consistency and coherence. Today, Maria Nava Rondolino as well as Rinaldo, Umberto, and Anna Rondolino also work in the family business, from the field to sales.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eWhy the rice must first rest\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter the harvest, Acquerello rice matures for at least a year in silos where the temperature remains permanently below 15 degrees before it even enters the mill. The unpolished raw rice is stored with its firm husk, which protects it during this time.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDuring this rest period, the starch in the grain stabilizes. When cooked, the aged rice releases it more slowly; the grains are less likely to fall apart and better absorb broth, butter, and cheese. For a risotto, this means two things: it becomes creamy while remaining distinct, loose, and fluid.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFor particularly demanding kitchens, the family stores a portion of the harvest even longer. This reserve ages for seven years before it is polished and packaged, and is also sold in tins.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAt the stove, this shows in every classic risotto. The grains are briefly sautéed in butter, deglazed with white wine, and then topped up with hot broth ladle by ladle. Finally, cold butter and grated cheese are added, and the risotto rests for two minutes before being served. Aged Carnaroli makes this process calmer because it leaves more room for error.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eThe screw, the germ, and the tin\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAcquerello is polished in the mill on the estate using a screw-based technique modeled on machines from the nineteenth century. The grains rub against each other and slowly shed their husks; this friction is still considered a particularly gentle way of turning rice white. This ensures the grains remain whole, which is later evident in the pot.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 2002, the Tenuta Colombara acquired a new rice mill where the family implements its own process. The germ, which separates from the grain during polishing, is collected and added back to the white rice. The process is internationally patented, and at the stove, the rice behaves like traditional white risotto rice.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePackaging takes place directly on the estate in vacuum-sealed tins, which are subsequently filled with nitrogen. Once sealed, the rice keeps for 84 months from the date of packaging. The manufacturer offers the tins in 250 g, 500 g, and 1 kg sizes, as well as larger 2.5 kg packs.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eFrom the rice fields to over seventy countries\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Rondolino family cultivates around 200 hectares of rice fields around the Tenuta Colombara, and only Carnaroli grows in all of them. The water comes from the Dora Baltea, a river from the Aosta Valley, and from April to August, the fields are covered by a shallow layer of water.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDuring this time, swallows, dragonflies, frogs, and waterfowl live in the basins, and around 160 grains ripen on every ear of rice. In late summer, the fields are drained, the plain turns golden, and the harvest begins.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom here, Acquerello rice goes to more than seventy countries. Among the chefs who use it, Acquerello counts Alain Ducasse and Enrico Bartolini among its users. The estate collaborates with the Harvard Business School and the University of Pollenzo in research and teaching.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWith us, you can get the one-year aged Acquerello in a 500 g tin for the family and a 250 g tin for smaller households. For a Risotto alla Milanese, we have \u003ca href=\"\/en\/products\/ingo-holland-safran-faeden\"\u003esaffron threads\u003c\/a\u003e at the ready, and for the final touch in the pot, a \u003ca href=\"\/en\/products\/cavola-993-parmigiano-reggiano-30-monate\"\u003e30-month aged Parmigiano Reggiano\u003c\/a\u003e. You can find further \u003ca href=\"\/en\/collections\/risotto\"\u003erisotto rice\u003c\/a\u003e and ready-made risotto mixes in our range, as well as more from the land of the rice fields among our \u003ca href=\"\/en\/collections\/italien\"\u003especialties from Italy\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"acquerello-carnaroli-risottoreis-500g","title":"Acquerello – Carnaroli Risotto Rice 500 g","description":"\u003ch2 id=\"speakable-headline\"\u003eAcquerello Carnaroli risotto rice, aged cool for one year\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\n\u003cblockquote id=\"speakable-summary\"\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAcquerello Carnaroli risotto rice from the Rondolino family is a rice from Piedmont that is stored cool in silos for at least one year before being refined. The grains remain intact during cooking and absorb broth, butter, and cheese perfectly.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\n\u003c\/blockquote\u003e\n\n\u003cp id=\"speakable-definition\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAcquerello Carnaroli risotto rice\u003c\/strong\u003e is an aged Carnaroli rice by Acquerello from Livorno Ferraris in Piedmont. The Rondolino family grows only Carnaroli here, lets it age for a year, and refines it gently, which is why an Acquerello risotto becomes creamy while each grain retains its bite.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!--nl--\u003ch3\u003eA year of rest in a cool silo\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter the harvest, the Acquerello rests for at least one year in silos on the estate. There, it remains cooler than 15 degrees all year round. During this time, the starch in the grain firms up. You will notice this later at the stove, as the rice absorbs the hot liquid ladle by ladle.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe aged rice releases its starch more slowly into the liquid, and the grains swell evenly, from the outside deep into the center. This makes the dish creamy and glossy in the pot, while the rice itself keeps its shape. Every grain carries the flavor of white wine, onion, and butter with it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!--nl--\u003ch3\u003eSlowly refined, grain by grain\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn the Rondolinos' mill, a large screw handles the refining, a technique modeled after nineteenth-century machines. The grains rub against each other and gradually shed their outer husk, patiently and layer by layer.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis takes longer than in an ordinary rice mill, but in the end, whole, smooth grains remain in the tin. This pays off in the risotto, because an intact grain releases its starch a little with every ladle of broth. This way, an Acquerello risotto stays loose and flowing at the end—in Italy, they call it \u003cem\u003eall'onda\u003c\/em\u003e, like a wave.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!--nl--\u003ch3\u003eRisotto with saffron, mushrooms, or Parmigiano\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFrom the 500g tin, you can cook about six portions of 80g each, enough for a dinner with family or friends at a large table. For a \u003cem\u003eRisotto alla Milanese\u003c\/em\u003e, a few \u003ca href=\"\/en\/products\/ingo-holland-safran-faeden\"\u003esaffron threads\u003c\/a\u003e dissolve their color in hot broth until the rice shines golden yellow at the end.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn autumn, porcini mushrooms go into the pot, in spring green asparagus and fresh peas, in winter pumpkin with a bit of sage. At the end, stir in cold butter and freshly grated \u003ca href=\"\/en\/products\/cavola-993-parmigiano-reggiano-24-monate\"\u003eParmigiano Reggiano\u003c\/a\u003e; Italians call this final step \u003cem\u003emantecare\u003c\/em\u003e. Then, let the Acquerello risotto rest for two minutes before serving it on warm plates.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!--nl--\u003ch3\u003eStir, wait, and stir again\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRisotto rice is not washed before cooking, because the fine starch on the surface makes the Carnaroli risotto creamy later on. Briefly sauté the grains in butter or olive oil until they become translucent at the edges. Then, deglaze with a splash of white wine.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter that, pour in the hot broth gradually, just enough to keep the rice covered. Stir calmly and evenly in between, and the kitchen will fill with the scent of wine, broth, and toasted grains. You can find more \u003ca href=\"\/en\/collections\/risotto\"\u003erisotto rice\u003c\/a\u003e and ready-made blends in our assortment; everything about the Tenuta Colombara can be found on the \u003ca href=\"\/en\/collections\/acquerello\"\u003eAcquerello producer page\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Acquerello","offers":[{"title":"500 g","offer_id":61017225527630,"sku":"041VIA531183","price":10.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0905\/1124\/5646\/files\/acquerello-canaroli-reis.png?v=1790849461"}],"url":"https:\/\/nurgutes.de\/en\/collections\/acquerello.oembed","provider":"nur Gutes","version":"1.0","type":"link"}