A must of Calabrian food is Honey, a delicious product, an authentic mediterranean piece of culture.
Main types of honey in Calabria are the following:
Wildflowers – ‘Miele Millefiori’
Eucalyptus – ‘Miele di eucalpito’
Fir Honeydew (Spruce & Fir)
Orange Blossom Calabrian
Strawberry Tree
Bergamot Flavored Honey
Bergamot Honey
Citrus – Orange, Lemon, Grapefruit
Chestnut Calabrian
Orange Tree Honey Calabrian
Spicy Flavored Wild Flower Honey.
Generally, it is used for the preparation of traditional sweets (Pignolata, Mustaccioli, etc…), but orange blossom Honey is employed also in folk medicine (bronchial infections). Only in recently honey has been characterized and appreciated as monofloral.
Main places of production are Amaroni (Catanzaro) Italy and San Ferdinando (Reggio Calabria), where honey is of a ‘clear’ or ‘dark’ quality.
CHESTNUT HONEY
This kind of honey is perfect with Pecorino cheeses or with semi aged Pecorino, flavoured with Balsamic Vinegar.
The production comes from a very big diffusion of the chestnut trees, which often represent the wilder part of the region, both far from the sea and best-preserved. The rich woods of Chestnut cover great extensions of the land.
This environment is pure and without traces of pollution, so that in summer swarms of bees release tons of wonderful nectar, which is perfect for delicious contrasts between aged cheeses and meat dishes.
Namely, this honey is full of impalpable grains of chestnut pollen and these give it a flavor decidedly particular, moderately sweet and bitter aftertaste.
The presence of pollen is due to the chestnut blossom, not particularly beautiful, but long with a sharp smell, sticky to the touch, rich in pollen and nectar, which, depending, on the altitude is everywhere in the months of June and July.
The outcome is a Chestnut honey very rich in fructose, which crystallizes only after a long time, dark (from brown to black), strong, intense, tannic and woody.
“MILLEFIORI” HONEY
Usually, this treasure of thousand of flowers, patiently elaborated by swarms of bees, is moderately sweet and wonderful with semi aged Pecorino, for example Mount Poro or Pecorino of Crotone.
The quality of this clear honey comes from a slow creation by spontaneous roaming of bees collecting the nectar from several floral sources.
The wildflower meadows of Calabria are the place where bees search wildflower floral sources. The natural conditions vary during the year, so that the taste of wildflower honey slightly differs from year to year.
Dried figs
filled with chocolate in Calabria are donated to relatives and friends, or
however tasted during the Christmas holidays, because they can be kept for
months, if stored in tin boxes and covered – once dried – with sheets of baking
paper.
Dried figs filled with chocolate are
a must of the Calabrian Christmas gastronomy, a gift of Mediterranean
civilization to South of Italy, to Italy and to the world (they are very
appreciated in London, for example).
It is a healthy and delicious sweet
to eat in just one mouthful. They can be covered either with dark chocolate or
with white chocolate, depending on personal taste. For the filling it can be
used both almonds and walnut kernels.
The traditional preparation period
for this typical Calabrese dessert is September, a period of abundant figs. In
this way, a delicious idea was devised to preserve and enjoy them throughout
the year, even in the coldest months.
Furthermore, born as poors food, today it has become an elite product!
GENERAL PREPARATION OF DRIED FIGS
The figs are cut in half, leaving
them united in the narrowest part, that of the petiole. Hence the name crocette, that is the cross-shaped name
they take after the filling and pressing. Figs are dried in the sun on special
reeds.
A selection therefore takes place
because the figs destined for the preparation must all be of the same size.
After the selection the figs are stuffed according to tradition with a
preparation of sugar and cinnamon, with the addition of walnuts or almonds and
orange and lemon peel. They are then pressed manually so that the two open
parts of the fig are perfectly matched.
Once the figs are stuffed they are
baked and cooked at 200 °C, then the product is sterilized. Immediately after
cooking, they are cooled in special rooms and then packaged. The dried fig
crosses are packaged with three different preparations:
the
first involves the use of almonds for the filling of figs,
the
second the use of walnuts and
the
third instead involves covering the product with dark chocolate.
SPECIAL RECIPES
Skewers of dried figs (“schiocche”)
The Schiocche are skewers and are made from dried figs baked in the oven, then skewered on two sticks alternating the fruits on the right and left so as to make a sort of pigtail.
Figs stuffed with Walnuts
They are dried figs stuffed with walnut cooked in the oven, then skewered in sticks alternating the fruits on the right and left. This combination of dried figs and walnuts is excellent in terms of nutrition. In addition to the excellent energy and nutrient supply, thanks to the omega 3 contained in the nuts, the intake of this food product helps to reduce the bad LDL cholesterol and also thanks to the fiber content there is a better control of blood sugar levels.
“Crocette“, Crosses
of figs with Nuts
The largest pieces of figs are used
for figs stuffed with dried fruit, spices and citrus fruits. In the Calabrian
tradition we find the crosses, prepared with four figs. The fruit is opened in
half leaving the part of the petiole joined, it is usually filled with walnuts,
carnation, cinnamon and citrus peel, orange or lemon. Open figs are placed in a
cross shape, two below and two above.
Stuffed Figs: Almond Crocette
The fruit is opened in half leaving
the part of the petiole joined, it is usually filled with almonds, carnation,
cinnamon and citrus peel, orange or lemon. Open figs are placed in a cross
shape, two below and two above Figs, even if you think they have many calories,
it is a fruit that can be consumed by adults and children, it has no dyes or
preservatives, it has digestive properties. The Calabrian crosses can be
consumed instead of a snack.
Stuffed Dried figs, covered with Chocolate
The chocolate-covered figs are real
pleasures of gluttony. Serve as a dessert, they cannot be missing from the
Calabrian table where figs are an ancient and traditional food. Figs can be
processed in many different ways.
The figs are first cut in half and
then filled with a filling:
of
hazelnuts,
cocoa,
aromas
including carnation, cinnamon and citrus fruit peel.
Everything is mixed with the cooked wine which gives it a unique and particular taste. Finally they are covered in chocolate and packed in 250g boxes.
Variously stuffed Figs
In the Calabrian tradition we also
find the flavored figs, prepared with the fruit that is opened in half leaving
the part of the petiole joined, it is usually stuffed and flavored with:
nuts,
carnation,
cinnamon
citrus
peel (orange or lemon).
Almond flavored figs
In the Calabrian tradition we also
find the flavored figs, prepared with the fruit that is opened in half leaving
the part of the petiole joined, it is usually stuffed and flavored with:
almonds,
carnation,
cinnamon,
citrus peel (orange or lemon).
Figs stuffed with Almonds
They are dried figs stuffed with
almonds cooked in the oven, then skewered in sticks alternating the fruits on
the right and left. This combination of dried figs and almonds is excellent in
terms of nutrition. In addition to the excellent supply of energy and
nutrients, thanks to the omega 3 contained in the almonds, the intake of this
food product contributes to reducing the bad LDL cholesterol and also thanks to
the fiber content there is a mile control of blood sugar levels.
HISTORY
“Li Ficu siccati” (the dried figs) are one of the most famous
sweets in Calabria.
Introduced at the time of Magna Graecia, fig cultivation has been documented in the province of Cosenza since the 1500s. The Figs of Cosenza Dop are a fascinating and historically significant production in Calabria. The denomination “Fichi di Cosenza“, as stated in the production disciplinary, refers exclusively to the dried fruits of domestic fig “Ficus carica sativa” (domestic L.), belonging to the “Dottato” variety. In the Cosentino area, and especially in the Valle del Crati, the Dottati varieties have found an ideal habitat, in a moderately ventilated hilly environment, not arid but not too rainy.
For the rest, the great
Mediterranean culture and civilization has given to Calabria and the world an
ancient plant: the fig has evidence of its cultivation dating back to the first
agricultural civilizations of Mesopotamia, Palestine and Egypt, from which it
subsequently spread throughout the basin of the Mediterranean Sea.
If by definition it is called “Fico Mediterraneo“, it is also
considered historically a native and common of the Caucasian regions, and of the Black
Sea. In Italy the Fico existed before the foundation of Rome (it is in the shadow of this plant
that Romulus would have been suckled and Oar).
Despite its ancient and noble
origins, fig is now considered a “minor fruit”, as it is classified
in modern fruit-growing treaties. After having played a leading role, today it
has remained more tied to the memory than to the reality of Mediterranean
agricultural productions such as the olive tree and the vine.
The fig tree arrived in Calabria in
an uncertain period, probably at the time of the Greco-Roman civilization by
the Phoenician travelers who used it
as barter goods or who, in the dry version, used it as a reserve of calories
for the labors of the crew. From then on its cultivation quickly took hold,
particularly in the province of Cosenza, thanks to an ideal pedoclimatic
situation.
FICO DI COSENZA, PROTECTED BY THE QUALITY MARK “DOP”
The peculiarities of the “fico di Cosenza” have been
recognized in 2010 with the quality label “DOP” (In Italian:
“Denomination of Protected Origin”). The typicality is related to the
Valle del Crati (CS), where a hilly environment with a temperate climate has
created the right conditions for optimal vegetation.
The Fichi di Cosenza PDO are of an elongated drop shape, sometimes
slightly flattened at the apex. The peduncle is always present, short and thin.
They are fruits with a very sweet taste of small size, with elastic skin, soft
pulp and very small seeds. They are marketed after being dried in the sun on
“cannizzi” (reeds) or
wooden boards or even in the oven. With the typical golden color, dried figs
have a higher yield than other varieties and are full, fleshy, mellow, soft,
plastic, very white, highly sugary and easy to preserve.
The production, processing and packaging area of Fichi di Cosenza PDO includes several municipalities considered in their entirety or only in part of the province of Cosenza, located between the mountainous area of Pollino and the Sila Plateau, in the Calabria region.
Drying and processing of dried figs
in Cosenza is a tradition, handed down from father to son in the south: the
heat is used to eliminate the humidity inside the fruit and to obtain a product
that can be conserved for the rest of the year.
Traditional fig dishes are present
in festivals and fairs in the province. In particular that of St. Joseph, which is celebrated in Cosenza at least from the
mid-nineteenth century.
In the kitchen, at the beginning or
end of the meal, the Fico di Cosenza PDO is the protagonist of many traditional
productions: montagnoli, crocette,
nocchette, stuffed figs, baked figs,
balls, braids, corollas, salami and fig honey. These figs are an
indispensable ingredient for preparing a classic
dessert for the holidays, the “pitta
‘mpigliata” or “pitta’
nchiusa“.
PROPERTIES OF FIGS
The benefits of figs are many:
Excellent
for reducing symptoms of fatigue because it is a highly energetic and complete
food with all the nutrients
Rich
in mineral salts and Vitamin C and A
Easily
digestible
Thanks
to the presence of the fibers they help the normal intestinal functions.