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I have reserved a good part of my epistolary to the narration of the historical-cultural part of Thunnus thynnus, because only in this way I hope to convey the reason for this strong bond of mine and the preciousness of tuna eggs.

The birth, production and marketing of bottarga is certainly not a simple path, but it is still exciting, perhaps due to the inherent uncertainty of the result that accompanies all phases of its creation.

I have talked, in a previous epistle, about that natural risk that fishermen every day lived due to the uncontrollability of the results of their work. The same is for me, is like if I felt the same concern that I now manage in a natural way anyway.

Yes, because basically the eggs are the most natural element of a pelagic, in this case of Tuna and therefore it is absolutely normal that they are not all the same or with the same aesthetic properties.

This is part of the game and it is what makes it even more delicate and fragile.

Everything stems from the sacredness of the tuna cut and the extraction of its eggs, which after due killing procedure will begin the salting phase, a living part of the master salter’s job.

The Time

I carefully prepare the brine consisting of pure water and salt and dip the eggs in it, regenerating the water daily. Gradually, for about 8 -10 days, I continued with the dry salting which sees me engaged every day in the cleaning and elimination of the excess water and mood present in the eggs. All this helped only by manual gestures and stones in order to leverage and facilitate the early stages of aging.

After making sure that the condition is perfect for the last phase, I proceed for drying in an environment where the air and its humidity play a decisive role, until reaching an ideal state for packaging and marketing.

Obviously It’s possible that the entire excursus is subjected to changes that I manage with absolute simplicity.

The bluefin tuna Bottarga is known and branded by a double signature that sees two craftsmen like me and the chef Ciccio Sultano, select and refine a product of such great prestige.

Together, in fact, we move from the “second call” of salt to the second floral phase, where we add rose petals, elderflowers and other secrets …

We signed this important project that sees us friends and professionals of great dialogue with the hope of re-evaluating the use of an ingredient that has always standed out our gastronomic continent, Sicily.