Castagna di Montella

Produced from the seed with a white, crunchy pulp and a pleasant sweet taste, it has high shelf life, flavor and fragrance characteristics and is considered among the best chestnuts produced in Italy. The Protected Geographical Indication "Castagna di Montella" refers to chestnuts produced 90% from the Palummina variety and the remaining 10% from the Verdole variety. The distinctive characteristics of "Castagna di Montella" PGI are represented by a medium or medium-small size (75-90 fruits read more

Produced from the seed with a white, crunchy pulp and a pleasant sweet taste, it has high shelf life, flavor and fragrance characteristics and is considered among the best chestnuts produced in Italy. The Protected Geographical Indication "Castagna di Montella" refers to chestnuts produced 90% from the Palummina variety and the remaining 10% from the Verdole variety. The distinctive characteristics of "Castagna di Montella" PGI are represented by a medium or medium-small size (75-90 fruits per kg) and the rounded shape of the fruit, with a flat underside, convex base and obtuse, medium-hairy top. The seed has a white, crunchy pulp with a pleasant sweet taste. The peel (pericarp) is thin and deep brown in colour, easily detachable. The shape of the fruit justifies the etymology of the name of the Palommina variety, a shape that recalls the resemblance of a dove which in dialect translates into "palomma". Thanks to the high characteristics of fragrance, sapidity and shelf life, the "Castagna di Montella" PGI is used fresh (including frozen) and dry, in the shell or without. From a nutritional point of view, the "Castagna di Montella" is particularly relevant for its carbohydrate content, while its protein content is low. In addition to being used as roasted chestnuts, Montella chestnuts are particularly requested by the processing industry for use in marron glacés, jams, natural, puree. Excellent for garnishing meat and in soups, but their use is especially enhanced in the preparation of different types of sweets. The "Castagna di Montella" PGI is considered among the best chestnuts produced in Italy; the reasons for this success lie not only in the intrinsic quality of the variety, but also in the composition of the soil, in the favorable climate but also in the high professionalism achieved by the chestnut growers of the area which contribute to enhancing the quality level of the product. A commercial typology of the "Castagna di Montella", especially during the Christmas period, is the baked chestnut (the famous Castagna del Prete), for which an integration to the current production specification has been requested. It is made with dried, toasted and subsequently hydrated chestnuts in shell with water. In particular, the preparation provides that the chestnuts, once dried on wooden racks, below which they light up for 15 days. of the fires using chestnut wood, are toasted in ventilated ovens and then rehydrated. Once shelled, these chestnuts have an intense brown color and a characteristic flavor that recalls the caramelization of sugars. read less

The evidence of the presence of chestnuts in the cultivation area of ​​"Castagna di Montella" PGI is very ancient. According to some, in fact, in this area the cultivation of chestnuts, originally from Asia Minor, dates back to a period between the 6th and 5th centuries BC. The Longobards (571 AD), subsequently, would have issued the first law, in memory, for the protection of this cultivation, already considered a precious resource at that time. Just think, in fact, of the importance that chest read more

The evidence of the presence of chestnuts in the cultivation area of ​​"Castagna di Montella" PGI is very ancient. According to some, in fact, in this area the cultivation of chestnuts, originally from Asia Minor, dates back to a period between the 6th and 5th centuries BC. The Longobards (571 AD), subsequently, would have issued the first law, in memory, for the protection of this cultivation, already considered a precious resource at that time. Just think, in fact, of the importance that chestnut flour assumed in medieval times, especially in the sieges of cities and castles, for the advantage of being able to keep for a long time. Since those times the history of Montella and that of the chestnut tree, the true wealth of these areas due to its multiplicity of uses, have never separated. The "Castagna di Montella" is part of the landscape of the Terminio-Cervialto area, in which, thanks to its climate and soils, it produces a fruit of high product and organoleptic quality. The richness of the chestnut tree in these areas was not limited only to the production of the fruit: it was the main source of wood for construction, to create furniture, as well as firewood. The "Castagna di Montella" also arrived in the United States and Canada in the 19th century, following the emigrants, and even today these two states absorb more than half of the production. read less