The Bergamo flat onion is an antique variety of medium-late harvest onion. This onion is characterised by a large bulb, that is flattened and covered by an intense copper coloured skin that sometimes tends towards purple. The very consistent pulp is white in colour, with some pink shades throughout.
The sowing of this onion takes place in February, and it is harvested in August; after being harvested the bulbs are left to dry in an open field in the sun. The harvested onions are stored from August to February in a dry and shady place, such as the attics of farmhouses.
It is prepared in many different ways in the kitchen: it can be eaten fresh in salads or cooked. It is used to prepare first courses, omelettes, savory pies or it can be pickled.
It is very likely that the Bergamo flat onion has been mentioned and illustrated in a work by Rodolfo Farneti (professor of plant pathology) in 1892. It is a variety that has always stood out for its excellent shelf life and in the 1940s it was cultivated, and then sold in neighbouring regions and even in Switzerland. Today it is still marketed but only locally: in fact, over the years it has been replaced by more productive cultivars and very few farmers still keep the seeds of this onion.
This onion variety has been the subject of research projects that have been completed by some professors and researchers of the University of Pavia, who have also collected a lot of information on a large number of local Lombard varieties in a publication ("Traditional Lombard agronomic varieties at risk of extinction or genetic erosion Vegetables and cereals: an overview ", G. Rossi, F. Guzzon, M. Canella, ER Tazzari, P. Cauzzi, S. Bodino, NMG Ardenghi, Pavia University Press, 2019).
The research activities necessary for the reporting of this product in the Ark of Taste online catalogue were financed by the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies, the General Directorate of the Tertiary Sector and Corporate Social Responsibility – notice n° 1/2018 “Slow Food in action: communities protagonists of change”, pursuant to Article 72 of the Tertiary Sector Code, referred to in Legislative Decree No. 117/2017.
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