Everyone knows the expression «to go into jujube soup», or rather to go in a state of solluchero, almost touch the sky with a finger. Yet few, really, have ever tasted the fruits of the jujube, as small as dates, some sweeter, others more acidic. This is because jujubes are part of that baggage of somewhat forgotten fruit and vegetable varieties, left aside in favor of other more juicy and easily available. Together with the jujube there are the pompìa, the chinotto, the azzeruola, the biricoccola. But not only.
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Forgotten fruits: buying them means guaranteeing biodiversity
“These are plants with a small distribution throughout Italy, grown and consumed locally,” he says Marina CarceaChief Technologist at the Food and Nutrition Center of the Crea – Council for agricultural research and analysis of agricultural economics. «Today, continuing to produce them, and buying them, means ensure biodiversity, because they are extremely different varieties from those found in the supermarket. In their own small way, they can too become an attraction of the territory of which they are an excellence».
For example, pompìa is typical of Siniscola, in the province of Nuoro, one of the few areas where citrus fruit can grow. The strawberry tree is widespread in the Marche maquis of Mount Conero, to which the promontory owes its name: kòmaros, from the Greek, which means strawberry tree. The jujube, on the other hand, is the traditional fruit of Arquà Petrarca, in the province of Padua. Here it is celebrated every autumn with the jujube festival, a city event which this year is held from 1 to 8 October.
«Many of these varieties have been abandoned because they are small, with little pulp», continues the expert, «others for their sour or acidic taste, such as azzeruola and biricoccola. And in fact it is no coincidence that most of these forgotten fruits are used for cooking production of jams, marmalades, jellies, grappas and liqueurs, or as flavourings».
Also a source of vitamins and mineral elements, they can become a precious addition to the traditional diet, enriching it with original colors and flavours. Re-evaluating the most obsolete fruits also allows you to rediscover a rich culinary tradition which dates back to ancient times. It connects us to the cultural roots of our country and makes us an active part in supporting fruit and vegetable biodiversity.
Forgotten fruits: which ones are found from June to September?
White cherry
Almost disappeared from vegetable gardens and orchards, the white cherry is known in Tuscany as moscatella and in Umbria as limona. Its color is strength and weakness, because if on the one hand the birds, flying over the plants in search of red cherries, spare it because they think that due to its yellow color it is still an immature fruit, on the other hand, despite being sweet and sugary, has ever been loved for marketing why it does not tantalize the senses like its purple sister. Once upon a time, however, it did, and in fact it is well represented in the seventeenth-century still life paintings of the Florentine painter Bartolomeo Bimbi, a sign that it was highly appreciated on the tables of the Medici court, who cultivated it in the surroundings of Florence.
«Even if from a nutritional point of view the red cherry is probably richer in antioxidants, because it is more pigmented, the white cherry being now obsolete is now much more original and can lend itself to beautiful fruit compositions on summer tables», suggests Carcea.
pink pear
The cocomerina pear, on the other hand, is grown on the Cesena Apennines and owes its name to the pulp, which becomes bright pink especially near the seeds. «Sweet and fragrant, it has two harvest periods: the first ones ripen at the end of August, the late ones are harvested at the end of October», he says Raffaella Ponziowhich coordinates the project of the Italian Slow Food presidia and has been working for years on the preservation and enhancement of traditional Italian varieties that risk being lost.
«Both must be consumed immediately, at the time of harvesting, almost before they fall, otherwise many of their organoleptic characteristics are lost. The watermelon pear it lends itself very well to processing into jams or preserving in syrup».
Jujube
If they are harvested when they are not yet ripe, the jujubes have a green color that recalls that of olives and a flavor that recalls that of apples. On the other hand, when they ripen they gain a darker color and the taste becomes sweeter, similar to that of dates, which they resemble especially when dehydrated.
«Jujubes are part of those forgotten fruits that can be rediscovered during walks in the typical cultivation areas, in particular that of the Euganean hills», continues the expert from Crea. Precisely in these areas the jujube broth was born, today a liqueurbut once “it was nothing more than a decoction, because in ancient times the jujube fruits were used in the traditional pharmacopoeia, in the preparation of phytotherapeutic and herbal medicines, in particular against coughs”.
As he writes Morello Pecchioli in his book The forgotten fruits. Knowing and cooking ancient, unusual and curious products (Gribaudo, 2017), the jujube «it is consumed fresh or dried or transformed into jams, marmalades, syrups, candied or in alcohol», but today it is «very welcome even in preserves that see it combined with other fruits – quinces, table grapes, cherries, lemon peels –, it is used to make desserts and is also appreciated by great cooks who have rediscovered it and they use it as a sweet and sour ingredient in their dishes». With 69 milligrams of vitamin C per 100 g (source Crea), jujubes are positioned just below the ascorbic acid intake of a kiwi and even above many citrus fruits, such as oranges and clementines.
Biricoccola
Biricoccola was born from the natural union of apricot and plum. «It is a fruit that has a delicately velvety skin like apricots and a pulp that, in terms of flavour, resembles that of a plum: sweet, but with a sour streak», Pecchioli continues in his book. Also used to make rich jams, marmalades, sorbets and various types of desserts, especially filled pies and pancakes, like donuts, it ripens between June and July and can be found in the markets or agritourisms in central Italy, in the areas of Reggio Emilia and of Ravenna, but in addition to the Emilian variety there is also a Vesuvian one.
Forgotten fruits: which are found from September to December
Azarole
With somewhat convoluted names, these fruits share a tart flavor and fall seasonality. The azarole ripens at the end of September and is part of the large rosaceae family, which includes apples, pears and medlars. In Italy we keep two varieties, one red and one white, grown mainly in Liguria, Piedmont, Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy and Sicily. There is also a third azarole, yellow, but from Canada.
All three can still be found on the market in Italy and although they can be tasted fresh, known for their thirst-quenching and refreshing propertiesby virtue of the slightly sour taste they are traditionally preferred in jams, jellies or as a base for grappas.
Strawberry tree
The use of the strawberry tree is similar, typical of the Mediterranean maquis, of the Ancona area and of Monte Conero. The inhabitants of the area collect it in autumn to transform it into jams, aromatic vinegar, preserves in alcohol or use it as an ingredient for sweets, candied, caramelized, even dipped in grappa to flavor it.
With a reddish bark and fruits with yellow pulp, “the strawberry tree plant was once upon a time never lacking for its joyful colors, for the goodness of the fruits and for its medicinal properties, in Italian gardens and orchards”, Pecchioli writes again. «It was so beautiful that it became an expression of wonder complete with an exclamation point: “Corbezzoli!”». Strawberry tree honey is also very well known and valuable, albeit bitter and niche, produced in a few areas of Italy and appreciated by those who do not like the excessively sweet taste of other honey varieties.
Pump
The tree of this citrus fruit looks like an orange tree, but with very thorny branches. «The fruits are very strange, as big as and more than a grapefruit, of an intense yellow color and with a thick, grainy, almost lumpy skin. They can even weigh 700 grams», continues Raffaella Ponzio. «Pompìa is a variety that comes from afar, it has existed for over two centuries, it grows only in Sardinia, in an area that gravitates around the municipality of Siniscola and of its parts only the rind is used to make liqueurs or the aranzada». It is a traditional Sardinian sweet prepared with the peel of the pompìa candied in wildflower honey, almonds and small colored sugared almonds.
Fresh consumption of the fruit is unthinkable because its pulp, as well as the juice, are too acidic, even more so than a lemon. «Pomìa desserts have very long processing times. At least six hours, from when the rind is scraped off and the bitter pulp is freed. At the end, all that remains is a sort of empty balloon which is first boiled, then dipped in honey and placed in a pan to simmer for about three hours». In Siniscola the pompìa is used to produce many other food preparations, including panna cotta, granitas, ice creams and obviously jam. The ripening period goes from November to January.
Chinotto is among the forgotten fruits
The chinotto is a citrus fruit originally from China which has acclimatised well in the Ligurian region since around 1500, where it found an ideal environment after being transplanted by a navigator from Savona. “Since it is grown only in the coastal area from Varazze to Pietra Ligure and once, in many Italian and French cafes, on the sales counter, you could find a vase with a majolica spoon full of small green citrus fruits immersed in maraschino: they were chinotti from Savona, famous for their quality, aroma and excellent as digestives » says Pontius.
The fruits of the chinotto are no bigger than a mandarin, with a bright green color which then turns orange, ripe from September to November. Fresh they are not eatenbecause too bitter, then candied fruit and syrups are consumed above all. They are immersed in brine (in the past sea water was used), boiled in sweet syrups and finally placed in liqueur or candied with sugar.