Apulica — Taste Travel Together

APULICA / FRUIT, VEGETABLES AND PULSES

Marrone di Roccadaspide (chestnut)

PGI · Fruit, vegetables and pulses · Campania

Apulica editorial team · Sources checked:

In brief

History and origin

The chestnut tree has shaped the history of the Cilento for many centuries: according to the Campania Region it has been present in the area since the eleventh century. Manuscripts in the archive of the Badia di Cava record, in 1183-1184, chestnut groves owned by the abbey in the Cilento so large that they needed an administrator on site, and Basilian monks also helped spread chestnut growing, as finds at Moio della Civitella and Gioi Cilento confirm.

Until the late nineteenth century the chestnut's value lay mainly in its flour, used for a bread that kept for a long time. That bread was vital to the people of Roccadaspide during the Second World War, and after the war chestnut growing helped the town's economic recovery.

The turning point came at the end of the nineteenth century, when the old centuries-old trees were cut back and regrafted with the «Rocca» ecotypes, chosen for their productivity and fine fruit. In the 1940s new grafts using scions from Roccadaspide spread the variety to other towns. The PGI was registered in 2008.

Sources: Qualigeo — Marrone di Roccadaspide IGP · Regione Campania — Marrone di Roccadaspide IGP · eAmbrosia — Marrone di Roccadaspide (PGI-IT-0447)

Area and method of production

The production area covers about 70 municipalities in the province of Salerno, across the Alburni, the Calore valley and part of the Cilento, largely inside the Cilento and Vallo di Diano National Park; only groves above 250 metres qualify. The marrone comes from the Anserta, Abate and Castagna Rossa ecotypes, of the Marrone dell'Avellinese genetic group.

Harvest takes place in autumn, by the first ten days of November, in rounds no more than two weeks apart, by hand or with machines that do not damage the fruit.

To keep better, the chestnuts undergo «curatura»: they spend nine days in cold water, changed periodically, and are then spread on layers of sand in airy rooms. Marroni to be sold dried are dried on metati or racks, over a slow, steady fire fed with brushwood and timber, following traditional techniques. For centuries the chestnut tree has also supplied local timber for building, furniture and fuel.

Sources: Qualigeo — Marrone di Roccadaspide IGP · Regione Campania — Marrone di Roccadaspide IGP

How to recognise it

The Marrone di Roccadaspide is mostly hemispherical, sometimes slightly elliptical or round, and large: no more than 80-85 nuts per kilo. The shell is thin, chestnut-brown with a reddish tinge and faint dark stripes, and comes away easily.

The inner skin is also thin and smooth and barely penetrates the flesh, so the kernel is easy to peel. The flesh is milky white, firm, crisp and not very floury, with a notable sugar content that gives it a pleasant, sweet taste.

It is one of the few Campanian chestnuts that can be called a «marrone type» both botanically and commercially. It is sold in autumn, fresh or dried, in the shell or shelled.

Sources: Qualigeo — Marrone di Roccadaspide IGP · Regione Campania — Marrone di Roccadaspide IGP

In the kitchen

Thanks to its generous size, the marrone is much loved for roasting, the simplest and most festive way to enjoy it in autumn. It is eaten fresh, as flour and processed: confectioners turn it into marrons glacés, jams, chestnuts in rum and purées.

Local tradition uses it in many desserts, and in cooking also in pasta and soup dishes or as a side for game. The Region notes that most of the crop goes to processing, precisely because the fruit is so versatile and easy to peel.

Nutritionally it is rich in carbohydrates and low in protein. It keeps well, especially after the traditional water cure.

Sources: Qualigeo — Marrone di Roccadaspide IGP · Regione Campania — Marrone di Roccadaspide IGP

Where to taste it

The heart of production is Roccadaspide, in the Calore valley, where the protection consortium is based at the town hall. From here the chestnut groves stretch towards the Alburni and the Cilento hinterland, within the Cilento, Vallo di Diano and Alburni National Park, with villages such as Moio della Civitella and Gioi Cilento tied to the history of the chestnut.

Autumn, from October to early November, is the season to visit the woods during the harvest and taste roast chestnuts. Dried marroni and processed products, from jams to chestnuts in rum, are available beyond the season too.

Those exploring the inland Cilento can combine the chestnut woods with the hill villages of the park.

Sources: Qualigeo — Marrone di Roccadaspide IGP · Regione Campania — Marrone di Roccadaspide IGP · Parco Nazionale del Cilento, Vallo di Diano e Alburni

Protection

When

  • The sources consulted give no months.

Where

Campania