It's easy to say tomato But when you say Buttiglieddru, you say something more than a tomato: there is history behind it, there is the territory, there is the authentic flavor of the countryside, of those of the past, and above all there is a cultivation practice that respects nature and which has sustainability as its imperative.
Widely cultivated in the past by the farmers of thearea of Licata, south of Agrigento, who consumed it raw or used it for preserves or purées or put it in the sun to dry and then preserve it in oil to season pasta all year round, the Buttiglieddru tomato was disappearing when sacrificed on the altar of the reasons for a market that demands products that are profitable in terms of intensity and crop yields and resistance to disease.
In short, in the last twenty years it was become a real rarity compared to the cherry varieties, the Naomi and Rita cluster varieties introduced in 1989 by the Israeli seed multinational HaZera Genetics, or the datterini tomatoes obtained from a cross of Asian origin, which in recent times have met with the exceptional favor of the public of consumers and the large distribution.
Fortunately, however, as has also happened for other products that FoodFIRSTonline has recently talked about, there was a hitch on this path towards forgetfulness and it was set up by a group of farmers, proud of their land and their traditions, ill-disposed to accept that Buttiglieddru should disappear from the face of the earth. The recovery action of this group of enlightened farmers then found the big one Slow Food protective umbrella who inserted Buttiglieddru among the new principals of last year.
And things have fortunately changed since then because this tomato has a charge of cultural and organoleptic originality that makes it a true champion of biodiversity.
But let's go in order. Meanwhile, the reason why it has this strange name buttiglieddru must be traced back to its shape which recalls that of an elongated and pointed bottle. But the most interesting thing, the peculiarity that distinguishes it from the others is the cultivation technique which is almost unique. Writing about tomatoes in February may seem a bit out of time. Not in the case of Buttiglieddru. whose sowing traditionally took place between December and January by placing the seed in small holes where previously manure that was not completely mature or with a certain quantity of nitrogen was placed.
And this entails the fact – as Ignazio Vassallo, trustee of the Agrigento Slow Food convivium explains – that the manure fermentation produce heat and favor the germination of the seeds. So that the first fruits can be harvest as early as early May.
But this is not the only secret that has been handed down for generations to protect the plant from the cold and avoid the risk of freezing: the hole, in fact, is covered by the stubble of the wheat, i.e. by what remains of the harvest, and around the reeds over a meter high are planted to protect from the wind.
«Fifty years ago, when there were no greenhouses, the Licata tomato was the first to grow in all of Europe, and our market was the first in Italy as regards the offer of this first fruit» continues Vassallo. «I remember that people from Naples and Puglia also came to buy it from us».
But then the greenhouses arrived, the more productive and sugary cultivars designed by foreign multinationals and the glorious and honest Buttiglieddru had to give way.
And here another interesting chapter opens for which one can well understand how important it was for the survival and restarting of the production of this particular tomato.
If we talk about this technique using the present and not the past, it is because, as has been said, a dozen producers have decided to invest in the cultivation of a tomato which, for half a century, had literally disappeared from Licata. Partly because it has "a low yield and the harvest requires a lot of effort, given its small size", continues Vassallo, partly due to the increase in the cultivation of the cantaloupe melon, and then again due to the change in agricultural habits.
"In recent decades we have begun to use pesticides and other chemical products that break the balance in nature" says Vincenzo Graci, agricultural entrepreneur, president of the Association for the protection of the Buttiglieddru tomato of Licata and worthy guardian of the buttiglieddru seed. «In nature there are useful and harmful insects, but with the arrival of greenhouses and synthetic products this balance has disappeared. As soon as we tried to grow outside the greenhouses we were no longer able to produce, because the tomatoes were attacked by parasites such as the tuta absoluta».
What to do then? “The only solution was restore that balance in an open field – explains Graci -. The trick was use insects instead of pesticides: the “useful” ones, if placed in the conditions to live in the land that will host the tomato, they are able to keep away the parasites that would damage the plant. An example is Nesidiocoris tenuis, an entomopredator that lives in land cultivated with lagenaria courgettes: for three years, therefore, we have been planting the pumpkin first and then the tomato. To manage to cultivate again as it once was it was a victory."
And the taste has gained a lot. Because the Buttiglieddru not only recalls the taste of the tomato of the past "but embodies it - adds Graci - because in fact it is authentically a traditional tomato". The reason? It also lies in the fact that the cultivated land around Gela is particularly brackish, so the sugar content of our tomato reaches 9 degrees Brix and more. The flavor is very intense, it's not just sugary like its more famous relatives, but it manages to combine the sour component typical of tomatoes with the sugary component, re-proposing in this the old genuine taste of the tomatoes of the past.
In addition to this, its nutritional properties are remarkable: it has a significant concentration of potassium, which has a beneficial effect on bone health, acts on the heartbeat, on the transmission of nerve impulses, on blood pressure control, and of important mineral phosphorus. for the proper functioning of the nervous system and for teeth and bones. It is also rich in trace elements such as iron; zinc; selenium. And finally it contains lycopene, a powerful antioxidant and vitamins A, B and C.
In short, the cultivation of Buttiglieddru is not only important because all the conditions and natural balances of the old agriculture are recreated but also because it is a product with great benefits for the body. In short, it is a healthy product as well as good.
