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