Italiano
Italian cuisine is popular all over the world, but what would it be without flour? The white powder so often taken for granted is the essential and magical ingredient, the life force of pasta and pizza. And where would we expect to find one of the leading flour producer if not in the Bay of Naples – the traditional home of spaghetti and all kinds of pizza?
In 1924, Carmine Caputo came back from the USA to open a flour mill and pasta factory at Capua but, shortly afterwards, he passed away, leaving the new business to Antimo Caputo senior, then just 21. However, Antimo’s entrepreneurial intuition told him that the company should be relocated closer to the Port of Naples so, in 1939, he bought a mill in San Giovanni a Teduccio, which is still in use today. With the help of his wife, he then set about developing customer relationships on the basis of individual needs while stressing the importance of quality over cost and, over the years, the Caputo family succeeded in constantly upgrading the company.[charme-gallery]
“Most people are unaware that the type of flour varies according to what it is to be used for, how it is to be cooked, and what the climatic conditions are”, explains Antimo Caputo junior. “We are particularly proud of the flour created specifically for Neapolitan pizza, which has allowed us to become partners in the main associations of pizza-makers and also to expand overseas into cities like Tokyo and New York. Credit must also be paid to our in-house laboratory which checks each shipment of grain for quality control”.
From a small country town to the whole planet, the Caputo family have transformed commitment and a passion for their work into the desire to perpetuate an ancient and noble Neapolitan tradition.
