Fruit, vegetables and pulses

Pomodorino del Piennolo del Vesuvio (Vesuvius cherry tomato)

Pomodorino del Piennolo del Vesuvio PDO, hand-braided and hung to last the winter

Old local strains of cherry tomato, selected by farmers on the slopes of Vesuvius, grow here in open fields on volcanic soil with little water. Picked as whole clusters in high summer, they are bound by hand around a plant-fibre ring into the piennolo, which hung somewhere dry keeps them for seven to eight months. A PDO since 2009.

• Small oval fruit ending in a pointed tip, the pizzo, under a thick vermilion skin
• Firm, dry, almost crunchy flesh and a lively flavour poised between sweet and tart
• After months on the piennolo the skin darkens and a faint bitter note appears, the mark of keeping

How to enjoy it. Its bright acidity belongs in spaghetti with clams, seafood dishes and pizza; the tomatoes kept on the piennolo make deep, concentrated sauces right through the winter.

Production areas

Campania

Season

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