COPIA OMAGGIO • COMPLIMENTARY COPY EDIZIONI PRC

[Gourmet]
Marzano. Attualmente si coltiva nell’Agro
Sarnese-nocerino nel Salernitano, nell’Acerrano-nolano
e nell’area Pompeiana-stabiese
in provincia di Napoli e nel Montorese in
Irpinia per un totale di 41 comuni. L’area di
coltivazione si estende su oltre 16.000 ettari
potenziali, anche se il prodotto destinato
alla Dop, riguarda al momento poco più di
100 ettari impegnando 228 aziende agricole,
con una produzione di fresco di oltre
M. GAJIC
A Consortium
to Protect the Tomato
The Consorzio per la Tutela del Pomodoro
San Marzano dell’Agro Sarnese-Nocerino
(Consortium for the Protection of the San
Marzano Tomato, Sarnese-Nocerino area)
was registered by the Ministry for Agricultural,
Food and Forestry Policy (MIPAF)
by Ministerial Decree on 4 December 2003
(published in the Official Gazette, issue
293, dated 18 December 2003) pursuant
to article 14, Law no. 526/99 regarding the
protection, supervision and promotion of
products.
The Consortium is based in Via Piave at no.
120 - Castel San Giorgio (SA), Italy. Tel.
+39 081.5161819, Fax +39 081.5162610,
web site www.consorziosanmarzano.it
61.000 quintali destinati alla trasformazione
in pelato.
La grande freschezza e la riconoscibilità del
San Marzano ne fanno una preda ambita da
molti chef e buongustai: le sostanze minerali
del terreno sabbioso vulcanico nero, il clima
temperato grazie all’influsso del mare, il
caldo, sono le condizioni di partenza di uno
dei Propilei della cucina napoletana e quindi
italiana.
for peeled tomatoes. Selezione Cirio 3, San
Marzano 2 and similar ecotypes (including 20
SMEC 3, created through a selection process
funded by the Campania Region, undertaken
in 1995-97 by the Consortium for Applied
Agricultural Research - CRAA in the Italian
acronym) are all recognized exemplars of this
tomato. The Cirio 3 is the reference cultivar for
San Marzano growing, and indeed accounts
for almost all output. The name itself is
steeped in heritage: in 1875, Francesco Cirio
of Turin founded the first cannery in Southern
Italy, starting a tradition that is still going
strong all over the South.
The characteristics that have made San
Marzano’s name are its typically bittersweet
flavour, a lengthened fruit with parallel
F. STRAUB - STOCKFOOD
lengthwise dimples, a very low amount
of seeds and fibres, bright red skin and
ease of peeling. Fresh or processed, these
characteristics and a unique chemical/physical
makeup truly make the San Marzano tomato
stand out.
It is worth noting that the protected origin
status applies exclusively to “peeled” and
canned product made from processing San
Marzano ecotype tomatoes. An application
has been submitted to the EU regarding the
local Consortium’s proposal to add “filleted
peeled” tomatoes to “whole peeled” tomatoes.
San Marzano tomatoes are grown in a total
of 41 town municipalities dotted around the
Agro Sarnese-Nocerino (Salerno), Acerrano-
Nolano and Pompeiana-Stabiese (Naples),
and Montorese (Irpinia) areas. Of the 16,000
potential hectares available for growing these
tomatoes, only 100 hectares are used to grow
protected denomination tomatoes: 228 farms
produce 6,100,000 kg of fruit to be processed
into canned, peeled tomatoes.
San Marzano’s unique freshness makes it
highly-prized by chefs and gourmets alike.
The mineral substances in the black sandy
volcanic soil and a climate tempered by sea
breezes have combined to produce one of the
great ingredients of Neapolitan and indeed
Italian cuisine.
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