Rucola della Piana del Sele (wild rocket)

History and origin

Rocket from the Sele Plain has ancient roots. The first references to its cultivation on this plain near Salerno date back to the Middle Ages, in the medical works of the Salerno Medical School and in particular those attributed to Constantine the African, a physician born in Carthage who arrived in Salerno in 1077.

In the following centuries the crop kept its importance, up to the great expansion that began in the 1980s, which made rocket a leading crop on the plain.

Recognition as a Protected Geographical Indication gave a name and rules to this bond between the Sele plain and wild rocket, the species Diplotaxis tenuifolia, protecting a product that joins a medieval tradition with modern farming.

Sources: Qualigeo — Rucola della Piana del Sele IGP · eAmbrosia — Rucola della Piana del Sele (PGI-IT-02436)

Area and method of production

The PGI area covers eight towns in the province of Salerno: Battipaglia, Bellizzi, Eboli, Pontecagnano Faiano, Giffoni Valle Piana, Montecorvino Pugliano, Montecorvino Rovella and Capaccio Paestum. It is the plain at the mouth of the Sele river and the first hills around it.

It is grown in unheated tunnels covered with plastic film only to protect the plants from hail and heavy rain; in spring and summer also in open fields or under nets. Soilless growing is not allowed, and sowing uses certified seed and precision drills. Sprinkler irrigation is limited to specific moments: after sowing, once germination has occurred and after each cut, to help the plants regrow.

It is harvested when the leaves are 8 to 25 centimetres long, by machine or by hand with special sickles, with one to ten cuts depending on the season. Straight after harvest the rocket goes into refrigerated rooms or trucks at 2 to 6 degrees.

Sources: Qualigeo — Rucola della Piana del Sele IGP · Regione Campania, Assessorato Agricoltura: Rucola della Piana del Sele IGP

How to recognise it

It is wild rocket, with narrow green leaves. The leaves are 2-5 centimetres wide and 8-25 long, deeply cut into narrow, toothed lobes up to 4 centimetres long; in some the teeth shrink until they almost disappear. The surface is smooth, hairless, a matt green with bluish tints, and the segment at the tip of the leaf is elongated and three-lobed.

To the touch and to the bite it is crunchy. Its aroma is its strongest sign: spicy and peppery, intense and penetrating, with a marked savouriness that in many dishes even allows salt to be left out.

It is sold fresh, in nets or in sealed packs such as trays, bags and tubs, or ready to eat as a pre-washed product. Loose sale is not allowed: the closed pack with the PGI mark is the guarantee of origin.

Sources: Regione Campania, Assessorato Agricoltura: Rucola della Piana del Sele IGP · Qualigeo — Rucola della Piana del Sele IGP

In the kitchen

Thanks to its bold taste, Sele Plain rocket has found its way into a great many recipes, from starters to side dishes. Its marked savouriness makes it a seasoning in its own right: in many raw uses it can be dressed without adding salt, letting the leaf give the dish its character.

It should be kept in a cool, dry place, away from light and heat, to preserve the crunchiness that sets it apart.

The PGI rocket also gives rise to a special product: Rucoletta, a liqueur made from an infusion of its leaves, which brings the spicy, peppery aroma of this plain near Salerno to the glass.

Sources: Qualigeo — Rucola della Piana del Sele IGP

Where to taste it

PGI rocket comes from Battipaglia, Eboli, Bellizzi and Pontecagnano Faiano, on the Sele plain, and climbs towards the hills of Giffoni Valle Piana and the two Montecorvinos, at the foot of the Picentini Mountains; to the south the area reaches Capaccio Paestum.

On this plain the cultivation tunnels are part of the farming landscape all year round, because growing under cover allows several cuts depending on the season. The packed product with the PGI mark is sold fresh or ready to eat, never loose.

A trip to the temples of Paestum and the Cilento, or a hike in the Picentini Mountains, passes right through these towns: the easiest way to connect the peppery taste of rocket with the plain that grows it.

Sources: Qualigeo — Rucola della Piana del Sele IGP · Regione Campania, Assessorato Agricoltura: Rucola della Piana del Sele IGP

Protection

• Protected geographical indication (PGI) — PGI-IT-02436 (eAmbrosia — Rucola della Piana del Sele (PGI-IT-02436))

When

• The sources consulted give no months.

Where

Campania