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APULICA / FRUIT, VEGETABLES AND PULSES

Gargano orange

PGI · Slow Food Presidium · Fruit, vegetables and pulses · Puglia

Apulica editorial team · Sources checked:

In brief

History and origin

Citrus fruit has been part of the northern coast of the Gargano for about a thousand years. Sources recall that around the year 1000 Melo, prince of Bari, sent pomi citrini, that is bitter oranges, to Normandy as proof of a fertile and generous land. In the following centuries the orange trade grew until it crossed the ocean: around the middle of the nineteenth century Gargano oranges, which keep for a long time, reached New York and Chicago after voyages of more than forty days.

In 1870 citrus orchards covered about 800 hectares and yielded around 150,000 quintals a year. The fruit plots, locally called giardini, lay beside the landowners' houses, sheltered from wind and salt spray by dry-stone walls and screens of cane, holm oak and laurel. In the twentieth century the crop went through a long crisis.

The revival came with the work of the Park Authority, the creation of the citrus oasis and of a producers' consortium, the Slow Food Presidium for Gargano citrus and recognition as a Protected Geographical Indication.

Sources: Qualigeo (Fondazione Qualivita) — Arancia del Gargano IGP · Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio agrumi del gargano · Ente Parco nazionale del Gargano — Agrumi dell'oasi agrumaria

Area and method of production

The PGI area covers the municipalities of Vico del Gargano, Ischitella and Rodi Garganico, along the northern coastal and near-coastal strip of the promontory in the province of Foggia. The orange groves grow on red calcareous soils, exposed to cold winds that bring sudden drops in temperature; on slopes the specification provides for terraces held by dry-stone walls or grassy banks. The bitter orange is the traditional rootstock.

The two types ripen at different times and ripening may not be forced. Biondo Comune del Gargano is picked from 15 April to the end of August, Duretta del Gargano from 1 December to 30 April. Picking is done by hand only, with shears.

For sale, at least 80 per cent of the fruit in each pack must carry a sticker or a paper wrapping, and the rigid containers, from one to 25 kilograms, must be made of wood or cardboard.

Sources: Qualigeo (Fondazione Qualivita) — Arancia del Gargano IGP · eAmbrosia — Arancia del Gargano (PGI-IT-0296) · Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio agrumi del gargano

How to recognise it

The Arancia del Gargano is round and fairly small, with a thin, uniform, deep golden-yellow peel; flesh and juice are yellow-orange, the taste is sweet and the scent distinctive. One of its best-known qualities is how long it keeps, both on the tree and after picking.

The two types are easy to tell apart. The blond orange ripens between April and May and stays sweet and juicy on the tree until September; according to the Park Authority it flowers several times, almost like a lemon, and was once chosen for long sea voyages because it lasts so well. The Duretta ripens at Christmas, is practically seedless and has firm, crunchy flesh, hence its local name of arancia tosta, the tough orange.

In the Presidium's orchards you also find the sweet-fruited melangolo, small, bright deep red, with a very thin peel and a sweet-and-sour taste.

Sources: Qualigeo (Fondazione Qualivita) — Arancia del Gargano IGP · Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio agrumi del gargano · Ente Parco nazionale del Gargano — Agrumi dell'oasi agrumaria

In the kitchen

The best way to enjoy it is as it is. The consortium suggests peeling it carefully, removing the white pith and the membrane between segments, to get straight to the flesh; it should be kept in a cool, dry place.

It also goes into dishes of the Apulian tradition, such as orange salad with lampascioni and pomegranate. Gargano citrus is made into marmalades, preserves, drinks, liqueurs and candied fruit: the Presidium's producers make marmalades, candied peel and limoncello.

A typical sweet of Ischitella, Vico del Gargano and Rodi Garganico, listed among the region's traditional products, is caramelle di limone e arancia: strips of peel soaked in water for four days with frequent changes, then cooked in caramelised sugar and left to dry. It is a home recipe handed down from generation to generation.

Sources: Qualigeo (Fondazione Qualivita) — Arancia del Gargano IGP · Fondazione Slow Food — Presidio agrumi del gargano · Atlante dei PAT di Puglia (Regione Puglia, Università di Bari) — Caramelle di limone arancia

Where to taste it

The orange's landscape is the northern coast of the Gargano, between the sea and the hills rising towards the Foresta Umbra. Vico del Gargano, Ischitella and Rodi Garganico are the citrus towns: the Park Authority notes that the fruit can be bought directly from producers in these three municipalities. Vico has some eighty springs that water the orange groves, while Rodi is surrounded by citrus, olive and pine trees.

The most evocative moment is the feast of San Valentino in Vico del Gargano, patron saint and protector of the orchards. On 14 February, the day of the religious celebrations, streets, balconies and doorways are decked with oranges and laurel, the statue of the saint is adorned with orange blossom and fruit, and the procession climbs to the Carmine hill to bless the groves. The same trip takes in Vico's old town, with its Vicolo del Bacio, and the beaches of San Menaio and Calenella.

Sources: Ente Parco nazionale del Gargano — Agrumi dell'oasi agrumaria · Ente Parco nazionale del Gargano — In Puglia il San Valentino è a Vico del Gargano · Ente Parco nazionale del Gargano — Identikit dei comuni: Vico del Gargano · Qualigeo (Fondazione Qualivita) — Arancia del Gargano IGP

Protection

When

Where

Puglia

Read more

Gargano citrus

Arancia del Gargano PGI, Limone Femminello del Gargano PGI, bitter-sweet melangolo and a Slow Food Presidium: walled groves, an export history, the harvest calendar and Saint Valentine in Vico.

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