Underwood fruit
Blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and strawberries are self-sown natural products from mountains. They have a very sweet taste and an intense vanilla – like flavor. They are juicy and tender, and they are used especially for the preparation of jams, jellies and for the garnish of  custard cakes. Underwood fruit (blackberries, raspberries, blueberries and strawberries) has special curative and soothing properties, and for this reason is also used for infusions and herb teas. Blueberries are known for their property of improving human visual capacity and circulation and as a detoxicating food for the intestine.  Underwood fruit is seasonal and its presence depends on weather’s conditions, above all frosts.  
  
“THE PIURO” , Black blueberry
Black blueberries, also called piuro, are a self-sown product which is gathered by the so-called local “piurai” through a special “comb” and put in special baskets called “gerle”.  Blueberries are typical of the underwood of high altitude acid-soil-forests located in the mountains surrounding Pistoia and above all blueberries can be found in moors which are not part of the forest, above wooded vegetation (more than 1300 mt). This fruit has always represented a very important resource for the area because of the abundance of its production, because of its high quality, which is known and highly valued throughout Italy, and its versatility. In addition to the consumption of the fresh product, berries are used for the preparation of homemade jams by cooking them and adding sugar, and for the preparation of syrups in liquors with sugar and black blueberry juice, blueberry pure juice, in syrup fruit, blueberry flavored grappa, and the mirtillino, a grappa-based liquor containing both black blueberries’ juice and berries. Blueberries were thought to be curative for eyes and blood circulation, and detoxifying for the intestine.

The dormant of the Pistoia mountains
The dormant, also called sleepy mushroom or March mushroom, mountains (Hygrophorus marzuolus) is characterized by a variable colored cap that may vary from grayish white to brownish grey, by white-grey, spaced, and of buttery consistency lamellas.  The dormant is a self-sown species which can be picked in limited quantities. The organoleptic characteristics of this mushroom, such as its delicacy and its palatable smell, are stronger and more persistent in case of fresh product.
Many restaurants and holiday farms prepare some of the recipes which are included in their menu with this type of mushrooms. 

Chestnut
Chestnuts have always been the symbol of the mountains and a fundamental part of the simple cooking. They are nourishing and filling and because of this they have always been a priceless resource for the farmers who called them “Bread coming from trees”. They used to prepare them boiled, roasted and ground as flour. Tasty and precious, chestnuts were considered as a good to be exchanged with wheat, corn, and their rind was a very good fuel.
Flour of chestnuts
Pistoia chestnut flour has a light brown color, sweet taste and intense smell of grilled chestnuts. Once gathered, chestnuts are dried in what is called metato.  Metato is a building with stone walls and roof which is divided in two levels one of which is called “graticcio”,  a floor made of chestnut wood where chestnuts are laid. In the middle of the room, downstairs, there is a fire that is lighted and fed for about 40 days, whose heat and smokes pass through the graticcio and the layer of chestnuts. It is important to keep the temperature constant because if the temperature gets too high then the chestnuts get dry too quickly and the flour that is obtained is a bad quality flour. Once dried, the chestnuts are arranged in the farmyard and hit with wooden stick to take off the rind, then are put into canvas bags and taken to the mill where are ground with millstones. After this, the flour is winnowed and manually crammed into wooden containers.
The local provenience of the chestnuts and the traditional technique of drying in the metati give this type of chestnut flour a strong flavor, and the preservation in wooden containers make its organoleptic characteristics last longer. Producers’ manual ability and long experience make this flour a high quality product.

 It is possible to see the production process of the chestnut flour in Val d’Orsigna, where an old metato and its mills for drying and grounding have been restored. This mill is called Molino di Giamba
The Museum of Rivoreta displays all the traditional tools used by chestnut trees grower, for example the testi, to prepare the traditional chestnut pancakes, which are made with chestnut flour. In many fairs that take place in October and November it is possible to find traditional products made with chestnut flour (cookies, necci, polenta).