Short history of Misultin

Misultin (lake Como missoltini) are a typical culinary specialty of Como lake, particularly of the Tremezzina area and upper lake.

In Italian they are called missoltini but locals call them misultin. Preparation is quite complicated: they are Agoni a lake fish that is caught, salted and dried in the sun.

They are fished on stony lake beds after the breeding season, in the months of June and July. Fishing has been regulated since the Middle Ages.

The most valuable Agoni are those of May, during breeding, but today fishing in May is strickly forbidden.

The fishes, once caught and selected, are cleaned and salted, cut lengthwise and placed in a container where they are turned every twelve hours.

The necessary amount of salt is expertly guarded by the experience of the masters.

After a few days, they are skewered with a string and exposed to the sun on special racks to be dried in open air.

When they are ready, they are placed in the misolta, a wooden or tin container, with bay leaves.

A lid pushed down by stones press them in order to remove air and oil.

Misultins prepared in this way are stored for a long time.

Due to its strong flavor, it’s delicious to be grilled accompanied with polenta or, as we recommend, with pasta, in this case linguine with fresh tomatoes, the missoltini with polenta are also excellent.