Azienda Agricola Turco

The company and its history.

The Turco Agricultural Company was established in Lesina in the early 1980s by Luigi Turco, a farmer driven by passion and tradition. This small town, located near the Gargano region in northern Puglia, Italy, is a little corner of paradise immersed in nature, where the flat lands and brackish water of Lake Lesina provide favorable conditions for high-quality cultivation.

The Turco family primarily dedicates themselves to the cultivation of tomatoes in all their forms. The red gold of Capitanata, with its sweet and bold flavor, finds its ideal habitat in this fertile land, becoming the flagship product of the company. Since 2016, thanks to the contribution of Luigi's two sons, Michele and Gianluca, the Turco Agricultural Company has also expanded into the production of artisanal preserves. The idea stems from the desire to keep the tradition of homemade "salsa" alive and bring to your tables a product that is good, healthy, and genuine.

The experience gained in the field and the constant control over all stages of production, from sowing to bottling, are fundamental requirements for achieving a superior-quality product.

We cultivate with love. Our art.

Cultivation is the fundamental part of our work as it determines the quality of the raw material and consequently the finished product. Each crop has its own seasonality: with the warm summer sun, our fields bloom with durum wheat, tomatoes, and samphire, offering a landscape rich in colors. In mild winters, broccoli, cauliflower, and fennel become the protagonists, creating a scenario of a thousand shades of green.

Initially, the seeds grow in a controlled environment to overcome the delicate germination phase. Once the young seedlings are formed, they are individually planted in the soil where they will thrive for the following months until full maturity. Thanks to innovative 4.0 agriculture systems, various plots of land are equipped with sensors that constantly monitor the health of the plants and the water content of the soil. This way, we learn to understand the language of the plants to anticipate and promptly address any needs or issues.

Innovation is always accompanied by the traditional method of the "hoe"! When it comes to eliminating weeds, there is nothing better than this traditional tool. Natural products are also chosen for fertilization to avoid the use of synthetic chemicals and achieve a "zero residue" end product. During the final ripening phase, the fields are irrigated with slightly brackish water from underground aquifers, which particularly benefits the tomatoes in terms of quality. The salt content in the water helps balance the tomato's natural acidity, limits the fruit's size, and increases the concentration of juices inside (brix degree). The result is an intense and remarkably sweet taste!

The harvest, the concluding act, takes place strictly by hand between July and August to perform an initial selection. We start at dawn to take advantage of the cool summer mornings and, above all, to keep the fruits at a low temperature, preserving their chemical, physical, and organoleptic characteristics.

Processing, Product Care.

Turco tomatoes are cultivated on the company's lands until they reach maturity. The harvest is slightly advanced to ensure a firm and consistent product. Harvested early in the morning by hand, the tomatoes maintain a low temperature, preventing any alteration of their organoleptic qualities.

During the morning, they are carefully hand-selected, following both traditional practices and modern food safety techniques. Every product from the Turco Agricultural Company possesses the unmistakable characteristics of the "pomodoro dell'alto tavoliere" (tomato from the high tableland): a pleasant and distinctive balance of texture, flavor, and sweetness. Additionally, Turco preserves and sauces boast an extremely low acidity level, making them highly digestible, flavorful, and easy to cook.