The cuisine of the Canavese area has its roots in a distant past. It is simple, but very rich in products, where seasonality becomes a predominant element in the preparation of dishes: tasty soups, dished based on mushrooms, chestnuts and onions, sausages and cheeses and a great variety of delicious sweets.
During the long winters dishes based on cabbages and pork were accompanied by native wines. In the summer, cheeses became a practical food and even today in Canavese you can find the "tume", tomino cheeses both fresh and seasoned. Among the fine and very rare cheeses of the alpine tradition: the Civrin di Val Chiusella, the Salignun con le Miasse, the Toma 'd Trausela, the Murtret di Quincinetto and all the "tome" from the alpine pastures of the Orco and Soana valleys.
For the true gourmets and during the days of celebration there was no lack of the Salam 'd potata and the simple countryside desserts: the Torcetti di Agliè, the Nocciolini di Chivasso, the Canestrelli di Borgofranco and the Paste' d melia.
Today we also use many varieties of vegetables, legumes and flours, typical and exclusive products such as: the Piattella di Cortereggio, the cabbage of Montalto, the spring onions of Ivrea, the ribbed tomato of Chivasso, the Pignoletto Rosso of Banchette, ... the Ajucca, spontaneous grass used to prepare a delicious soup based on stale bread.
Among the most famous local wines we find famous denominations: Erbaluce, Carema, Canavese Rosso and Passito di Caluso, whose production has changed the landscape over the centuries, making it particularly suggestive, thanks to the stone pillars called Pilun.
The symbol of the Canavese cuisine is the tofeja, the pot made of Castellamonte terracotta that housewives brought to the oven of the village, after baking the bread, so that the food could cook while the oven cooled down. The tofeja is also a typical Canavese dish made with beans and tasty ingredients such as pork rinds.
