Taste and use

That's what makes these Sicilian lentils so special:

• Taste: These yellow lentils taste slightly more bitter than the red lentils.
• Quality features: Like red lentils, yellow lentils are peeled. Lentils are an easily digestible source of protein.
  
• Use: These yellow lentils are cooked until soft in 10 minutes. Use as an ingredient in soups and salads or for Asian dishes such as Indian dal. You can find lentil recipes, for example here on our blog.

Cultivation and ecology

This is how the yellow lentils are grown:

• Cultivation method: Organic farming. The cooperative members alternate planting them in their fields with "Timilia" durum wheat and other cereals. The legumes naturally return nitrogen to the soil, which the wheat has taken away. To exaggerate a little, you could say: no spaghetti without lentil stew! The lentils are sown in January and harvested in summer.
• Producers: The lentils are planted by various members of the Valdibella cooperative. After harvesting, the lentils are dried, cleaned in a local grain mill and packed into small bags by hand by the cooperative. Valdibella uses the "Addio Pizzo" label to declare that they do not pay protection money to criminal organizations.

This is how the price is made up

Giovanna Pollari receives 1.30 euros per kilogram of uncleaned lentils.

Cultivation & processing CHF 6.73

• Cultivation and harvesting: Giovanna Pollari, Cooperativa Valdibella
• Processing: Commer. Fin Srl, Cooperativa Valdibella

Transport & logistics CHF 3.46

• Export and logistics: CTM Altromercato
• Fees: Customs
• Quality assurance: SQTS laboratory
• Packaging: Zurich plant

Procurement & distribution CHF 3.77

• Coordination, communication, online market: Crowd Container