9,4 Mb - formato pdf - Enoteca Regionale
9,4 Mb - formato pdf - Enoteca Regionale
9,4 Mb - formato pdf - Enoteca Regionale
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FUCINO PLATEAU CARROT<br />
This carrot is grown all over the uplands of the Fucino Plateau, in the<br />
Province of L’Aquila.<br />
It is perfectly smooth and reddish-orange in colour, with a tender, crispy texture<br />
and sweet taste, characteristic of cultivated varieties, but here they are<br />
intensified by the altitude (700 m asl) and the type of soil, which are ideal<br />
for growing this product. The carrots are harvested using appropriate<br />
machinery and are immediately transported to the processing centres, to be<br />
processed for each type of intended market. Harvesting occurs according to<br />
the most appropriate stages of maturity for the various uses of the product,<br />
for the carrots must maintain their qualitative and sensory characteristics<br />
during storage. For fresh consumption, the carrots are generally harvested<br />
before the roots have reached their full size, in order to maximise their sensorial<br />
and nutritional qualities, and above all their crispiness, while those<br />
destined for industrial processing are harvested in accordance with processing<br />
plant instructions.<br />
PRODUCT DESCRIPTION<br />
Typical Fucino Plateau carrots are a reddish-orange colour even after peeling, and completely<br />
smooth and without root capillitium, the green neck is incomplete in colour; the<br />
particularly tender, crunchy texture and the sweet flavour distinguish it from carrots<br />
grown elsewhere. This type also has a high content of carotene and vitamins.<br />
Accept parameters that define the marketing and sensorial traits can be summed up<br />
as follows:<br />
• Colour: intense along the whole root.<br />
• Exterior: no browning on the collar, no roots hairs.<br />
• Flesh: water rich, sweetish flavour, crispy and tender.<br />
• Beta carotene: 70–100mg/kg.<br />
PROCESSING AND CONSERVATION METHODS<br />
Description of processing and conservation premises: the warehouses or otherwise,<br />
for washing and cold storage, shall comply with the necessary health standards.<br />
The premises are separate for each stage of processing, arranged so as to allow transit<br />
of products, identified by species being treated (the same centres deal with conditioning<br />
of other vegetables from the Fucino district, such as salad, chicories, fennel,<br />
etc). Processing waters are normally from artesian wells and are regularly checked.<br />
The cold cells allow for product preservation, whether loose or conditioned; in the former<br />
the carrots may be kept for 20-30 days and in the latter, packaged carrots can be<br />
stored for about three weeks.<br />
The carrots are harvested mechanically in order to keep production costs<br />
down, but sometimes they are picked by hand in order to obtain superiorquality<br />
or special-grade products. In order to avoid damage to the roots,<br />
which could spoil the product by causing rotting or mould during the subsequent<br />
stages of storage or packaging, particular care is dedicated to the<br />
care and maintenance of the machinery and to keeping it up to date. The<br />
carrots are packaged in various ways, compliant with EC Regulation 730/99<br />
(and subsequent modifications) based on the specific demands of the market.<br />
They are then are stored in refrigerated warehouses in conditions of<br />
controlled temperature and humidity to ensure their specific traits are protected.<br />
Once the carrots have been transported to the processing plant, they<br />
are placed in special washing machines. The processing water, classified as<br />
drinking water, is systematically checked by chemical tests to ensure that it<br />
satisfies the necessary standards. The washed carrots are placed on a conveyor<br />
belt and are selected by hand before being packaged in special containers<br />
and automatically weighed. Processes are kept to a minimum to<br />
safeguard product quality.<br />
Credit for draining Lake Fucino must go to Prince Alessandro Torlonia, who<br />
created a channel leading out of the lake around 1862 and promoted the<br />
implementation of the outlet. Reclamation was not completed until 1876,<br />
however, leaving the land suitable for future crop growing. The terrains that<br />
host these crops, originating from age-old sedimentation of rocky detritus<br />
eroded from outlying mountains, were originally destined for pasture and<br />
subsequently for cereal farming. As time passed the land was settled by<br />
useful fauna and microflora, becoming ever more fertile so that nowadays<br />
the Fucino basin is one of the richest in Italy. A young and naturally fertile<br />
land, considered free of pollution. Weather conditions, in turn, have contributed<br />
to completing the scenario of an area whose aptitude is perfect for<br />
carrot production. In point of fact, in 1958 (this was the year when the first<br />
Fucino organic census data emerged) the farmers who became aware of the<br />
area’s potential dedicated an enormous 19 hectares of land to this crop,<br />
with investments soon increasing to 1,000 hectares in 1972, 2,500 in 1994<br />
and are currently established at about 2,200 hectares.