Flavio, Ferdinando, Federico, Fulvio, Fausto and grandfather Felice use traditional methods passed down through the centuries. The organic Mulino Marino stone-grinding mill is in the small Langhe village of Cossano Belbo. The mill’s history dates back to the year 1001, when Cossano Belbo rose up clinging to a spur, dominated by a castle inside whose walls was the same burrstone mill still operating today. 

The Marino family’s involvement with milling started with Felice, who is still working. He came from a family of peasants and bakers in nearby Mango, and since boyhood he worked in the mill as a laborer, carrying sacks full of grain and learning the art of milling and all the secrets of making good flour.

During the war he fought in the resistance as part of the Matteotti Brigade. Then in 1955, having fallen in love with the trade, he decided to buy the Cossano Belbo mill, which contained three hydraulically powered grindstones.

Traditional milling is a real art, and like all forms of art requires passion and experience.

From blends of Ottofile and other heirloom corn varieties, the Marinos produce three remarkable polentas, grusera, fine and taragna.

The corn is naturally stoneground using Ottofile and other local heirloom varieties like Marano and Ibisco.  Ottofile corn is held in high regard. Grown in the hills without the need for irrigation, it is recognizable by its eight rows (otto file) of grains running along the cob, giving it a characteristic octagonal shape. From this prized variety the Marino mill obtains grusera, fine and taragna cornmeal.

The grusera (meaning coarse in Piedmontese dialect) is a very flavorful cornmeal ideal for high-quality, tasty polenta, cooked for a long time. Taragna, a mix of buckwheat flour and coarse cornmeal, makes a polenta to be eaten with cheese or, says Ferdinando Marino, to be fried and served with drinks. The fine cornmeal is faster cooking and ideal for a creamy, soft and light polenta.

Add a tablespoon of oil for every liter of water, and salt as desired. Sprinkle in the cornmeal, whisking at the same time. But never stir the polenta while it’s cooking, and cover to make sure it doesn’t dry out too much. A heat diffuser over the flame is recommended to stop the polenta sticking to the pot.