The ABC's of Campania Food & Wine: N
The ABC's of Campania Food & Wine: N
N is for Noce di Sorrento and Naturalis Historia Taurasi DOCG
N is for Noce di Sorrento:
Walnuts were brought over to Italy centuries ago from the middle region of Asia Minor, and they have been known in Italy since at least the first century AD. As Pompeii and Herculaneum have so often helped archaeologists and scholars in placing time periods with specific products (at least in this blog series), frescoes display walnuts, and charred remains of nuts very similar to today’s walnuts have been found. Noce may also mean simply “nut.†In ancient Roman markets, foreign foods were assigned varying names that could be confused with one another, signifying origin, the town’s market, or even the seller of the product. The names of walnuts, chestnuts and hazelnuts were often jumbled together.
The Cultivar Sorrento is the most highly prized variety, from the Sorrentine Peninsula where the volcanic soil, ideal for so many grape varieties, has the perfect composition for walnut groves, too. There is also production in the regions of Nolano-Palmese-Sarnese, Campi Flegrei, Vesuvius, Vallo di Lauro e Baianese, Valle Caudina, as well as the Caserta Plain and the Irno Valley. This variety can be oblong and slightly pointed at one end, or small and round. Walnuts are harvested from June to September; those harvested first are used in the production of Nocino, a famous digestivo, or digestive, walnut liqueur. Manual harvest continues until October, and then the walnuts are dried on open-air trellises. IGP status has been applied for and is in the works for these particular walnuts, which will help popularity and consumption with rising international competition of other walnut varieties. Sorrento walnuts are popular in both sweet and savory dishes in Italy, in baked goods, candies, breads and sauces. The kernel, i.e. actual nut, is popular with the confectionery industries because it is easily extracted whole. Spaghetti con noce is a popular and simple recipe, as well as pane di noce.
touring information:
This Agriturismo provides assorted digestivi made from Sorrento walnuts. Azienda Agricola Il Convento Via Bagnulo, 10 80061 Massa Lubrense, Naples Telephone: 39 081-878-9380 info@ilconvento.biz Agriturismo Villa Chiara Via Pacognano,19 80069 Vico Equense, Naples Telephone: 39 081-80-9165 Email: info@villa-chiara.com The restaurant of this hotel offers menu items that highlight the Sorrento walnut: Hotel Ristorante O Sole Mio Via Deserto, 13 80064 Sant'Agata sui due Golfi Massa Lubrense, Naples Telephone: +39 081-87-0005 Email: info@osolemiohotel.com
N is for Naturalis Historia Taurasi DOCG:
Last week, the Mastroberardino winery was highlighted as a famous and one of the oldest wine producers in Campania. This week, one Mastroberardino wine in particular shows the outstanding quality of the winery and its products: Naturalis Historia Taurasi DOCG. The Naturalis Historia was named after the famous work of the same name by Pliny the Elder, writer, scientist and acute historical observer born in 23 or 24 AD. The encyclopedic work is written in 37 books, and Pliny claims to be the first to systematically document the natural world in such extensive detail – including the first record of viticulture.
The wine is made of 100% Taurasi Aglianico grapes harvested exclusively from the vineyard Mirabello Eclano. These vineyards are near the site of the ancient Roman town Aeclanum, and known for its vines that are up to forty years old. Naturalis Historia DOCG ages well and represents the terroir of this ancient, volcanic soil in Irpinia. It is aged for 18 months in French oak barrels, and becomes an intense ruby red color with fruity and floral notes of violet, cherry, prune, raspberry and chocolate. It is full-bodied and richly flavored, with a velvety touch to the palate with strawberry jam, bitter cherry, spices and licorice notes. It has softer tannins than the usual Taurasi, and finishes with a long, sweet aftertaste. Naturalis Historia pairs perfectly with roasted game, steak and other meats, as well as highly flavorful and mature cheeses.
Sources: Aglianico “Naturalis Historia†Mastroberardino 1997 DOC. Call Me Wine. Hehn, Victor. Cultivated Plants and Domesticated Animals in their Migration from Asia to Europe. John Benjamins Publishing Company 1976. Google Books. Lengo, Arturo. Cucina Napoletana. New Holland Publishers 2008. Google Books. Mastroberardino: Naturalis Historia Taurasi DOCG 2004. Winebow. Noce di Sorrento (Walnut of Sorrento). Taste of Sorrento. Notizie Letterarie: La Naturalis Historia. 18 Nov 2008. Il Vino e Oltre. Sorrento Walnuts. The Foods of Campania. 12 Nov 2010.