calabria – Page 45

10.02.2019

Calabrian cuisine hosts one of the sweetest citrus in the world, the so called “clementine” (Citrus clementina), which is a tangor, a hybrid between a willowleaf mandarin orange (Citrus deliciosa) and a sweet orange (Citrus sinensis). It is so named since 1902.

MYTH AND LEGEND

There is a lot of history and legend about the Orange (mother of clementine, the sweetest citrus in the world). Particularly, Orange is, symbolically, a Calabrian little sun.

This all-Calabrian fruit, modern but belonging to the noble citrus family, is, maybe, the famous “precious gold of the Garden of the Hesperides”. According to Greek mythology, Hera offered to her husband Zeus some small trees with golden fruits, symbol of fertility and love, that he, for fear that someone stole them, had kept in a garden at the extreme West of the world, guarded by a dragon and by the nymphs Hesperides, girls singing sweet songs and protagonists of many other legends.

Another myth tells of Orange as the precious fruits beloved by Elios, the divinity of the sun, who, after finishing its daily course, went to rest right in the Garden of the Hesperides …

ORIGINS

The clementine is a spontaneous citrus, arose in the late 19th century in Misserghin, Algeria. The name derives from the garden of the orphanage of Brother Marie-Clément, in Algeria, where it would be cultivated for the first time.

Another origin could be a similar fruit native to the provinces of Guangxi and Guangdong in present-day China (this explain the name “mandarin citrus”), but the main theory is that clementine arose from a cross between a sweet orange (Citrus sinensis) and the Mediterranean willowleaf mandarin (Citrus deliciosa), in Algeria.

In both cases it is relatively certain that it was the Botanical Garden of Palermo, since its inauguration in 1795, that introduced mandarin in Italy and Europe, together with the medlar. First the mandarin grew in this garden overlooking the sea facing Palermo and from there it spread to local crops.

VARIETIES

There are three types of clementines:

seedless clementines,
clementines with maximum of 10 seeds,
and Monreal (more than 10 seeds).

Italian Clementines resemble other citrus varieties such as the satsuma and tangerines. The main Italian varities are Clementine del Golfo di Taranto, Italian cultivar given Protected geographical indication (PGI) status by the European Union, produced around the Gulf of Taranto, and Clementine di Calabria, another Italian PGI variety, grown in the Calabria region.

FEATURES

The exterior is a deep orange colour with a smooth, glossy appearance. Clementines can be separated into 7 to 14 segments. Similar to tangerines, they tend to be easy to peel. They are typically juicy and sweet, with less acid than oranges.

The exterior is small, round, sweet and fragrant, its color is the same as the fiery sunsets of the Mediterranean, of which it recalls myths and legends. The internal oils, like other citrus fruits, contain mostly limonene as well as myrcene, linalool, α-pinene and many complex aromatics.

OUR CALABRIAN VARIETY

The clementines are harvested from October to February in the province of Reggio Calabria: Ardore, Benestare, Bianco, Bovalino, Brancaleone, Casignana, Caulonia, Ferruzzano, Locri, Marina di Gioiosa Jonica, Monasterace, Portigliela, Roccella Jonica, Sant’Ilario dello Jonio, Siderno, Rizziconi, Gioia Tauro, Palmi, Rosarno, San Ferdinando.

In the province of Catanzaro: Borgia, Botricello, Curinga, Davoli, Lamezia Terme, Maida, Montauro, Montepaone, San Floro, San Pietro a Maida, Sant’Andrea Apostolo dello Jonio, Sellia Marina, Simeri Crichi, Soverato, Squillace, Catanzaro.

In the province of Cosenza: Cassano Jonio, Castrovillari, Corigliano Calabro, Crosia, Francavilla Marittima, San Lorenzo del Vallo, Spezzano Albanese, Terranova da Sibari, Trebisacce, Vaccarizzo Albanese, Rossano, Saracena, Cariati, Calopezzati, San Demetrio Corone, San Giorgio Albanese.

**Fresh, into candied fruit, jam, juices, desserts, liqueurs…**

In the province of Vibo Valentia: Briatico, Francavilla Angitola, Limbadi, Nicotera, Pizzo and in the province of Crotone: Cirò Marina, Crucoli Torretta, Rocca di Neto.

Clementines can be tasted fresh or made into candied fruit, jam, juices, sorbets, desserts and liqueurs. You keep an ambient temperature for 2 or 3 days, but if you want to keep them longer, they must be stored in the fridge.

…Taste this Mediterranean Authentic fruit of Calabria and you will find and appreciate Myth, History and the Real Scent of Calabrian Cuisine!

9.02.2019

A real new entry of Calabrian cuisine is the exotic “Limone Caviale” (Caviar Lemon), cultivated in our land, become a trendy food from the stellar price.

Calabria is not new to the presence of exotic fruits, ended up becoming identifying products thanks to a long history and the unattainable quality guaranteed to them by the land and by its particular microclimates.

A PERFECT LAND FOR NEW EXOTIC PLANTATIONS

Plants such as Cedar, Bergamot, Calabrian lime, some typical varieties of oranges and mandarins, the Annona Cherimola, are now part of the Calabrian agricultural landscape, as for centuries, even if their ancient exotic origin has been forgot.

**Trendy and stellar like Russian Caviar**

Over time, the arrival of new species has not ceased, such as the recent planting of “Goji” in the Piana di Sibari, where the famous “health berries” have seen their nutritional quality improve to the point of becoming the best in the world. “Goji” is the well known (Lycium barbarum, or Ningxia goji) chinese berry, native to Asia, which has been long used in traditional Asian cuisine. The fruits has recently become common in the West as health foods or alternative medicine remedies.

**Another exotic plantation in Calabria: Goji**

And in this same area, already known for the excellent quality of its citrus fruit, has recently made its debut “Limone Caviale” (Caviar Lemon), a new variety of citrus, surprising for its characteristics and price. The price is simply stellar!

This is also called the Finger Lime (Microcitrus australasica, Limone Caviale or Caviar Lemon), literally a “Finger Lemon” because of the almost cylindrical shape of the fruit, more commonly called “Caviar Lemon” or “Citrus Caviar”, name suggested by the pulp composed of a myriad of spheroidal vesicles of juice, which are broken by chewing and that resemble the caviar in an incredible way.

White, red, pink, green, with an intense or more nuanced color, the small soft spheres of the Finger lime are intriguing with their intense spicy aroma to the creative minds of the chefs, ready to use them in the most imaginative dishes, where taste and aesthetic impact go hand in hand.

In short, it is the raw material for starred cuisine or luxury vegan, as also reveals the price per kilo, which revolves around 200 euros and makes it a fruit to be measured carefully, as if it were real Russian caviar.

MEDITERRANEAN FEATURES OT THE LIME

Calabria, given the already consolidated citrus vocation of the Piana di Sibari, is an excellent candidate to achieve the best results in this new cuisine culture. This decidedly bizarre fruit, Finger Lime, comes from a small and thorny shrub from the eastern subtropical coastal area of Australia, to be exact from the areas of Queensland and New South Wales, two lands characterized by an almost Mediterranean climate.

The fruits, with a characteristic oblong shape of 5-10 cm, sometimes slightly curved, have a smooth or slightly wrinkled skin with colors that, even in the pulp, go from green to brown, to reddish, to blue. It is not strange saying that this citrus is that with the widest color variation, among all other species present in Calabria.

The plant is continuously re-flowering, which guarantees a continuous fructification throughout the year.

TASTES OF THE FRUIT

As for the taste of the pulp, it is described as a mix between bergamot, grapefruit and lime, with notes of pink pepper, while the peel, usable grated in the kitchen and in pastry, gives a pleasant bitter note.

More than for natural consumption, Finger lime is in fact particularly suitable for gastronomic preparations, to which it confers taste and beauty without renouncing significant nutritional values: in fact it boasts antiseptic properties, promotes digestion, is refreshing, diuretic and provides good quantities of vitamin C, B6, folic acid and potassium.

In short, “Limone Caviale” is a a fruit of great versatility, capable of seducing even the most demanding gourmets.

Tag: calabria

Clementines of Calabria (“Mandarini”)

Caviar Lemon: trendy and stellar