2023-09-23 07:46:47
Sweet, crunchy, EU-certified: red onions from Tropea
Marco Furchì proudly presents the “Gold of Tropea” – inconspicuous black grains from which unique red onions grow thanks to the mixture of mountain and sea air and a special soil condition.
Red, sweet and crunchy, this is how the young farmer describes the Cipolla Rossa di Tropea, which bears the EU seal of protected geographical indication (be sure to look for the DOP seal when purchasing). The onions are not only extremely tasty, but also healthy.
Seems to be authentic local produce: red onions at the Tropea market
Quelle: UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
And best of all, they don’t cause bad breath because they contain very little acid.
The harvest begins at the beginning of June, and until autumn the shops and street stalls in and around the town of Tropea on the Tyrrhenian Sea are full of braided onion braids and other holiday souvenirs made from red onions.
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Of course, you can also taste them on site in the numerous restaurants with pizza, pasta and as an omelette, as an unusual ice cream in the “Gelateria Tonino” on Corso Vittorio Emanuele or fresh as a salad from farmers like Marco Furchì: cut into fine rings, Olive oil, a little lemon juice and fresh mint straight from the herb garden – a poem.
Tropea itself is also a poem: with its location on a tuff rock above the turquoise sea, winding streets and old buildings, it was voted the “most beautiful village in Italy” and is the tourist figurehead of Calabria. One postcard motif follows the next, and the view of the church of Santa Maria dell’Isola on a sandstone cliff on the beach is particularly beautiful.
Spicy in one go at Monte Poro
In Spilinga, in the province of Vibo Valentia, it’s all about the sausage. The mountain village on Monte Poro, less than twelve kilometers from the bathing bays on Capo Vaticano, prides itself on being the place of origin of the ‘Nduja. There is even a festival dedicated to this spicy, spicy spreaded salami that takes place annually in August in Spilinga.
Harvesting and processing the “Gold of Tropea”: the young farmer Marco Furchí
Source: Rita Schulze
The sausage is now made from pork, bacon and a lot of pepperoncino in small family businesses throughout Calabria, stuffed in natural casings and smoked. It is eaten simply on bread or as a side dish with vegetables, but it also enriches pizza and pasta with its taste and deep red color. Many Calabrians prefer to eat them a little warmed up; there are special ceramic warmers in the shape of a pig, the “Scalda ‘Nduja”.
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The sausage is sold whole or bottled in jars in the numerous souvenir shops in Tropea and other towns or in agriturismos, such as Michele Cuppari, who also hosts hungry hiking groups at a long table under a mighty oak tree in the solitude of Monte Poro.
After a tour on narrow paths through the dense forests, along mountain streams and past former water mills, the ‘nduja that has just been brought from the smoking floor tastes particularly good.
Ice cream ball with liquid chocolate center
Hardly any dessert menu in Calabria can do without tartufo. There are many variations of this ice cream specialty, but the original made of chocolate and hazelnut ice cream with a liquid chocolate center is only served under the protected name Tartufo di Pizzo in the coastal town of the same name, around 40 kilometers from Tropea.
The original only from Pizzo: Tartufo
Quelle: picture alliance/imageBROKER/Jiri Hubatka
It was invented in the 1950s: due to a lack of dessert molds, bar operator Giuseppe De Maria shaped the ice cream with his hands one day. He filled the inside of the balls with chocolate sauce and dusted the outside with cocoa powder. Since this look reminded his guests of truffles, the name Tartufo came about.
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Today there are at least 20 ice cream parlors in the center of Pizzo alone. The picturesque town built on a hillside has a lot more to offer.
For example, the Castello Murat, which you can visit after a tartufo. The medieval castle directly on the city wall was used as a military fortress and prison. The most famous inmate was Joachim Murat, Napoleon’s brother-in-law and King of Naples.
There is a small history museum in the fort and a great view from the upper platform. And after the visit? Off to the nearest gelateria, because as we all know, ice cream is always possible.
Lemons for the rabbis, bergamot for health
Italy is the country where lemons bloom. We have known about it since Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Calabria can go one step further. This is where the main growing areas of citron, also called cedro (again with a protected geographical indication), and bergamot are located.
The thick peels of the first-mentioned fruits are best known to us in the form of sticky cubes from the bakery shelf. But every year in late summer, rabbis from all over the world come to the Riviera dei Cedri and select the flawless fruits for the Feast of Tabernacles: The Etrog (Hebrew for citron) is the “beautiful fruit of a tree” that cannot be missing from the festival bouquet for the Jewish Thanksgiving .
The seaside resort of Santa Maria del Cedro tells the story Cedar Museum everything about the history of this citrus fruit and the products made from it, such as liqueur or natural cosmetics, which can also be bought in a small shop.
Specialty from Santa Maria del Cedro: the citron, which already fascinated Goethe
Quelle: REDA&CO/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Bergamot, on the other hand, is used to make perfumes and to flavor food and drinks – think of Earl Gray tea. Otherwise, it has very healthy properties and positive effects on digestion, beauty and the immune system, which you can incorporate in the form of juice and syrup as well as jam and ice cream.
More than 95 percent of the bergamot fruits grown worldwide come from an approximately 100-kilometer-long coastal strip in the province of Reggio Calabria. If you want to see the fruit on the tree, you can do so at “Agriturismo Il Bergamotto” in Condofuri, for example. In addition to overnight accommodation in the restored farmhouse, operator Ugo Sergi also offers hiking tours into the Aspromonte mountains.
Flour instead of garbage in the province of Catanzaro
Have you ever heard of Senatore Cappelli, Verna, Farro, Iermano, Maiorca or Rubeum? These are old, local wheat varieties that are grown in Calabria and ground on stones into wholemeal flour in the “Mulinum” in San Floro. It is thanks to Stefano Caccavari that they can continue to grow where Europe’s second largest landfill was actually planned. Like so many of his compatriots, he didn’t want to seek happiness far away, but instead wanted to do something for his homeland.
In the name of flour: Simona Garofalo is store manager at “Mulinum”
Source: Rita Schulze
With a crowdfunding campaign, the young man managed to save the last active stone mill in Calabria. And it was extremely successful: with the support of more than 100 members, 500,000 euros were raised within 90 days. The foundation stone for the “Mulinum” near Calabria’s capital Catanzaro was laid.
Thanks to the commitment of Caccavari and other young locals, the government’s waste disposal project was stopped. They stood directly in front of the approaching bulldozers in a media-effective manner, reports Simona Garofalo, store manager of “Mulinum,” which opened in 2016.
Source: Infographic WELT
Right at the entrance to the mill, the smell of freshly baked goods wafts around the visitor’s nose. Not only is soft wheat flour and durum wheat semolina ground here in organic quality, but it is also processed into bread, sweet or savory baked goods according to old recipes and sold locally. Ideal as a souvenir to take home.
Tips and information:
Getting there: For example with Lufthansa, Eurowings or Condor after Lamezia Terme.
Accommodation: Guesthouse from Marco Furchi in Tropea, double room from 120 euros including tour and tasting. Agriturismo “Bergamot“, double room/half board from 90 euros (www.naturaliterweb.it). “Rocca Nettuno Tropea“, double room/full board from 259 euros.
Lump sum: For example, a week all-inclusive at the “Rocca Nettuno Tropea” is included FTI including flight can be booked from 718 euros per person; in the “YOU Floriana“ in Simeri Mare on the Ionian Sea, seven nights in a double room including breakfast and flight cost from 919 euros per person. A week-long hiking trip in Calabria, for example Gebeco including flights from 1245 euros per person in the program.
Trips: Guided hiking and boat tours are among other things www.csttropea.itnaturaliterweb.it or at FTI (via Meeting Point Italy) buchbar.
Information: ENIT – Italian Tourist Board and calabriastraordinaria.it
Participation in the trip was supported by ENIT and FTI Touristik. Our standards of transparency and journalistic independence can be found at go2.as/unabhaengigkeit
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