Typical crops
Preserving the typicality of local local products is one of the objectives we care about most. To safeguard biodiversity as good agricultural practice. But also and above all to enhance the local production which includes specialties of often millenary tradition, renowned throughout the world for their quality and uniqueness, including the "Pomodoro Regina", the "Carosello Melon Barattiere" , the "Fig Fiorone" and turnip greens "Cime di Rapa".
Turnip greens
"Cime di Rapa"
It is one of the typical products that most represent us and of which we are most proud. Ambassador of our traditions in Italy and in the world.
Belonging to the Cruciferae family, the same as cauliflower, cabbage and sprouts, turnip greens are the most tender inflorescences and aerial parts that grow from the plant botanically classified as Brassica rapa L. subsp. Sylvestris. They are rich in mineral salts, vitamins and antioxidant factors.
Variety
Turnip greens can be classified according to the location where they are grown (for example our Fasano turnip tops, with coarse inflorescence), according to the length of the vegetative cycle (Natalina peak or Marzatica peak), or according to the early variety or late variety. The varieties according to the length of the cycle are: Quarantina, Sessantina, Novantina, Centoventina, or 120 giorni or Gennarese.
Seasonality
It is one of the typical vegetables of the winter season. Turnip greens are consumed during autumn and winter and optimally accompany some of the traditional Mediterranean foods.
Regina tomatoes
Regina is the name of a local variety of tomato, grown in the brackish coastal soils of the “Parco delle Dune Costiere from Torre Canne to Torre San Leonardo” up to Egnazia, along the ancient Via Traiana.
The name of this tomato is inspired by the characteristics of the peduncle, which growing takes the form of a chaplet. The skin, rather thick – a characteristic due precisely to the brackish water with which the gardens near the sea are irrigated – increases the shelf life of this variety and resistance to pests.
High concentrations of tocopherols, lycopene and ascorbic acid make it a food rich in natural antioxidants.
These peculiarities are closely linked to the geographical area in which this variety is grown, which makes the Pomodoro Regina a unique product “Made in Puglia”.
Seasonality
The queen tomato is harvested from July: a part is sold fresh and a part is placed in boxes where it undergoes a drying until the beginning of September, when the cotton is ready for spinning. At this point the cherry tomatoes, tied by the peduncle with cotton thread to form the ramasole, are hung on the vaults of the farms and are kept until the end of April of the following year.
Carosello Melon Barattieri
The “Barattieri” are always part of the curcubitaceae family, but their scientific name is Cucumis Melo: the same name as melons, because, in reality, they are unripe melons (so much so that those of spherical shape are also called carosello), cultivated in many varieties along the Apulian territory, and in particular in that south of the capital: the most important areas of cultivation are the provinces of Bari and Brindisi.
Cultivated in many varieties along the Apulian territory: the most important areas of cultivation are the provinces of Bari, Brindisi and Lecce.
They have a skin that can go from light green to dark green, sometimes streaked with white, and covered with a down, more or less accentuated, or even absent. More precisely, barterers have a spherical shape, slightly tapered and are hairless. Inside the flesh is light green, harder than that of cucumber, but crunchy and pleasant to the palate, and is characterized by greater sweetness, which varies depending on the degree of ripeness in which they are harvested. They are never bitter because they do not contain cucurbitacin, a substance contained in cucumbers, and this also makes them more digestible. They have a good content of mineral salts, including potassium, and practically zero calories.
Seasonality
Il Barattiere is located in the markets from June to October. The ‘cucumarazz’ becomes even tastier in this period because it is grown in the immediate vicinity of the sea: it has softness and fragrance thanks to the climate and the use of brackish water used for irrigation of the fields.
Figs Fioroni
Fioroni are a particular variety of fig, widespread especially in southern Italy.
They are born from the so-called bifera, which bloom not once but twice a year: at the end of August like all the others, but also in late spring / early summer. These varieties have a double budding: the buds of the previous year stay on the plant all winter and bloom in spring; The tree then produces other buds that run their course quickly and bloom in late summer.
In Italy Fiorone is a very common variety of fig, which is grown mainly in Puglia near Fasano. This area, in particular, thanks to its proximity to the sea, offers a privileged habitat to the “Petrelli” fig tree, which needs a warm climate
It is rich in fiber, calcium, manganeium, potassium, vitamin A and B vitamins. Contrary to what is usually believed it is not very caloric, it contains 94 Kcal per 100 grams.