Traditional Vegetables of Sicily
Traditional Vegetables of Sicily
Traditional Vegetables of Sicily
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Ferdinando Branca
University of Catania
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Increasing attention is now being paid to diversity in horticulture in order to understand and
chronicle food crop variation and to safeguard and conserve valuable genetic material. This is
particularly true for vegetables that have important implications in agrosystems and growing
techniques, the exploitation of niche environments, social systems, and culinary history. Here
we briefly review some traditional vegetable crops grown in home gardens and peri-urban
farms in East Sicily and especially the Catania province as a result of the unique environmental
conditions that prevail and the special history of Sicily.
Messina
Palermo
Trapani
Mt. Etna
Catania
Agrigento
Siracusa
Sicily
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Since 1970, we have actively evaluated biodiversity in relation to the history of Sicilian vegetable cultivation in order to avoid the risk of
germplasm disappearance of cultivated species
as has occurred, for example, in parsnip
(Pastinaca sativa, Umbelliferae) and seakale
(Crambe maritima, Brassicaceae) as well as to
recuperate ancient landraces (Scuderi and
Branca, 2006).
In the following summary we give examples of
some of the unique vegetables considered traditional, since they have a long history and are
produced in restricted geographic areas.
LILIACEAE
Allium cepa var. aggregatum (Cipudda
agghiarola)
Information on the cultivation of this unusual
allium is scarce but the history of the crop
would seem similar, at least in part, to that of
the onion to which it is related. It is common
only in home gardens along the Ionian coast,
where the leaves and the false stem are used to
flavour some dishes, salads in particular.
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BRASSICACEAE
Brassica oleracea var. botrytis (Ciuretto)
Ciuretto.
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CUCURBITACEAE
Lagenaria siceraria (Cucuzza longa, Bottle
gourd, Calabash gourd)
Bottle gourd is an ancient cucurbit that was
referred to by Columella and Pliny. The plant
has white flowers and fruit size and shape can
be very variable; many have a very long neck.
The mature fruits have thick woody rinds and
have been used as vessels, floats, and many
other uses. There are two common types: a
short necked ornamental type, var. a fiasco,
and a long edible type, var. longissima. The
long fruits harvested at immature green stage
were a popular vegetable in antiquity (cucuzza
longa) but they were replaced by various immature fruits of Cucurbita pepo from the New
World where various types are known as
zucchini. However, the cucuzza longa is still a
common vegetable in Sicily and is largely grown
in home gardens and in peri-urban farms both
for fruit and shoot production. The shoots,
called tenerumi, are very appreciated in Sicily
and they are very popular in summer season in
ASTERACEAE
Helianthus tuberosus L. (Patacca,
Topinambur, Jerusalem artichoke)
Topinambur or Jerusalem artichoke, an early
import from the New World, is occasionally
found in home gardens where it is used both as
an ornamental and as a food crop; the tubers
are used in preparing a number of local dishes.
It is a hardy plant that colonizes larger and
larger areas through its numerous tubers.
Tubers are 3-5 cm in diameter, with a creamy
white or reddish-wine surface colour with white
or yellowish pulp. In the Sicilian climatic and
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LAMIACEAE
Ocimum basilicum (Baciric, Bacilic, Basil)
growing conditions, the plant propagates vegetatively from tubers. Tuberization takes place
from the end of summer to autumn; harvesting
may start in autumn and is carried out before
the above-ground part is completely desiccated
and can overcome the whole winter. The
tubers, only about 20% dry matter, easily lose
water and deteriorate. Most of the dry matter
consists of inulin, a polysaccharide that hydrolyzes and turns into fructose, and that is better
tolerated by diabetics. The flavour resembles
that of the artichoke. Genetic variability is very
limited in Sicily, and tuber production is decreasing.
The tubers are cooked for human consumption
and fed raw to animals. There is some information on its use to produce syrups and alcohol.
The nutritive value is inferior to potato tubers.
FABACEAE (LEGUMINOSAE)
Vigna unguiculata (Fasulina, Blackeyed
pea, Cowpea, Yardlong bean)
Of central African origin, blackeyed pea was
used by the ancient Greeks, Romans, and
Arabs. The crop is particularly important in
some tropical and subtropical countries, such as
Nigeria and Brazil. In Sicily it is mainly widespread in coastal areas where it is traditionally
grown in summer.
The plant is annual, with a straight-standing,
twining stem with both dwarf and crawling
forms. Leaves are alternating and formed by
three triangular and rounded leaflets at the
base. Flower colour varies from white to rose
and lilac, grouped in two or three on long pedicels. The cyclindrical pods are often curved, 2035 cm long and pale green. The seeds are oval,
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Ferdinando Branca
Giuseppe La Malfa
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