Enjoy a dish seasoned with a fragrant tomato, fresh in winter, not imported from distant countries after having undergone heavy chemical processing that alters its flavour, its genuineness, and which can be harmful to our health? Yes you can. No need for a magic wand, we have the solution at hand. Is called Piennolo tomato, an extraordinary product grown in Campania, exclusively on the slopes of Vesuvius, on land devastated by volcanic eruptions for centuries.
Incredibly that itself lava which in the past caused deaths and devastation today allows, with its precious content of mineral substances, the flourishing of a niche agriculture which has given the people who live there what is now called "The red gold of Vesuvius" or so much well-being.
Let's start with the name, Piennolo: stands, in Neapolitan, for hanging. And yes, because from time immemorial the peasants who cultivated this succulent fruit which was a quick mid-morning snack in the fields dipped on bread, with a drizzle of oil and basil, used to hang it in bunches tied with string to the ceiling of the remittances, cellars, farmhouses, kitchens to be able to consume it throughout the winter. But how does the miracle happen? The lava soil that covers a precise area of the slopes of Vesuvius does it, the one included between the municipalities of San Sebastiano al Vesuvio, Ercolano, Massa di Somma (which represent the classic and chosen territory for the cultivation and harvesting of the Piennolo Tomato) , other suitable municipalities such as Ottaviano, Pollena Trocchia, Sant'Anastasia, Somma Vesuviana, Terzigno, Boscoreale, Boscotrecase, and Trecase. That is, those areas which have been submerged by lava and lapilli since time immemorial (the last eruption which again destroyed Massa and San Sebastiano, sprinkled Ottaviano and the whole of the South with ashes, dates back to March 1944, in the middle of the war, documented by the newsreels of the Anglo-American army which at the time occupied Naples) which are rich in mineral substances such as magnesium, phosphorus, potassium. In addition of course to the sun and the microclimate of the area.
Another characteristic of cultivation is that this plant does not need water, except for the first fifteen days following the transplantation of the seedlings, so the substances that fortify it are absorbed directly from the soil and it does not need to be irrigated, which is essential to eliminate the risk of rotting, one of the most widespread physiopathies that can be found on this crop.
Thanks to all these factors together, Piennolo del Vesuvio DOP, also called in Naples Spongillo or more in dialect Spunzillo, due to its characteristic slightly elongated shape that ends in a point, has a high consistency of the skin, almost crunchy when bitten, a pulp firm and compact with a particularly sweet taste with a sour final note which makes it fresh, the particularly resistant stem at the root, a high concentration of sugars, acids and other soluble solids which make it a long-life product, therefore none of its organoleptic qualities undergo alterations for the period of time of the 7/8 months in which it can be consumed after harvest.
Let's add the piennolo tomato it is rich in Vitamin A and C, which are recognized anti-carcinogenic properties, that the presence of mineral salts such as calcium, phosphorus and potassium, exerts concrete benefits on the functionality of the heart and muscles, and that the strong concentration of lycopene, allows an antioxidant action, which stimulates the production of enzymes that favor the anti-carcinogenic activity of free radicals…
Its use: essential to give a unique taste to spaghetti with clams or seafood (no more than four or five squashed and left to dry in a pan so as to form a particularly tasty and fragrant creamy sauce), fish with Piennolo sauce , fresh meat sauces prepared instantly, panzanelle and Neapolitan pizza. And as always happens in these cases, the first to understand the goodness of this product, outside of its elective land, were the most important chefs and pizza chefs from Giourmet.
We have said that this type of tomato deriving from the traditional cultivars known as Fiaschella, Lampadina, Patanara, Principe Borghese and Re Umberto has been known for some time. And in fact the botanist Achille Bruni, in 1858, in his "Vegetables and their cultivation in the city of Naples", described cherry tomatoes, very tasty, which "keep excellent until spring, provided they are tied in wreaths and suspended from attics". But before that we also find evidence of it in the ancient Neapolitan nativity scenes.
The arrival of the PDO with a ministerial provision published in the Official Gazette of 4 January 2010 regulated – and defended – its production with a Regulation that dictates precise areas for its cultivation.
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Gioli' farm of Angelo Di Giacomo
Via Palmiro Togliatti 37
80046 San Giorgio a Cremano Naples
Telephone 0817714144 Mobile: 3386356591
e-mail info@agricolagioli.it
For five generations the family of Angelo Di Giacomo known as Gioli, owner of the Gioli farm in the locality of San Sebastiano, has been dedicated to the cultivation of the Piennolo tomato in the red variety, the best known, and yellow, with a sweeter flavour. A hard job, it starts at 5,30 in the morning to check the plants to move the soil then long hours sitting to weave the tomatoes to hang and still late in the evening for contacts with customers, restaurateurs and companies. Gioli, like everyone in the family, dedicated himself to this activity from the age of seven, but he deserves credit for having understood that it was possible to go from a family business to setting up a model company that obtained the PDO. Its land is located right on the slope of the last eruption of 1944. On the sides of the land where there are the cultivations of its prized tomato, powerful and still disturbing blocks of black lava stand there to remind how much work has been required over time to make productive these lands. Since time immemorial, the farming families of the area have jealously guarded the seeds of their tomato production which are handed down from generation to generation. Gioli's family managed to get its own variety recognized: “Giolì” which then gave its name to the company.
Gioli not only sells the bunches in the typical packages hanging inside a particularly refined packaging, filled with straw shavings and ventilated, to allow a long conservation of the precious cherry tomatoes. For some time, however, the red or yellow piennoli flavors can also be purchased in glass jars processed as Passata, Passata with whole tomato water, with the "pacchetella" method, i.e. split in half and preserved, enriched by the content of the liquid leaked during the processing. This not only ensures that piennolo is consumed in the kitchen with all its flavour, but also ensures that the flavors do not change.
Gioli has won several challenges, the next is the BIO certification of its products which, with the company transformation, are required by the market beyond the borders of Campania.
