Food

DOP Products of Campania, real excellences to eat

prodotti dop campania olio mozzarella - EFW
Written by EFW Staff

DOP Products of Campania, the most famous Made in Italy in the world

Campania is a vegetable garden of DOP products

S. Marzano tomato is one of the symbols of the culinary pride of the region and it is among the DOP products of Campania. It comes from Agro Sarnese-Nocerino and it is sold all over Italy as tinned tomatoes. This famous vegetable is cultivated in 40 municipalities spread in the provinces of Naples, Salerno and Avellino in a soil that is perfect to be cultivated both for is volcanic origin and the know-how achieved in the years by the local population.
The main characteristics of S. Marzano tomato are its bitter and sour taste, the bright red colour of the peel and the few seeds in the pulp.
Pomodorino del Piennolo del Vesuvio DOP is another of the most representative products of Campania and also one of the most ancient cultivation of the region, situated in the volcanic area of Somma-Vesuvio. It was used to preserve these tasty tomatoes in a big bunches hung in aired rooms to be preserved better (the so-called preservation “al piennolo”).
Well-appreciated is also the Cipollotto Nocerino produced in the agro sarnese-nocerino and the White Fig of Cilento, famous for its doughy pulp, extraordinary sweet. This product was awarded with the DOP label thanks to the precious ecotype of fig situated in Cilento that come from the precious variety spread in the south of Italy. Figs are dried under the sun, so that their peel has a characteristics yellow colour; they can be also baked in the oven.

DOP cheeses of Campania

prodotti dop campania bufala - EFW

Dairy products play an important role in the economy and cuisine of the region. Mozzarella di Bufala Campana is one of the best known and appreciated cheese all over Italy for its characteristic taste that enrich pizzas and other dishes.
It is a stretched fresh cheese produced from the buffalo milk, in the provinces of Caserta, Salento and some other areas of the provinces of Naples and Benevento. The breeding of this animal is considered as an historic activity in the areas of Volutrno and Sele that dates back to the VII century. In the same area, it is produced also the Buffalo Ricotta that derives from the whey of buffalo milk. It consistency is soft and it has to be eaten fresh.
The dried version of ricotta is obtained with a seasoning of at least 30 days and it has a thicker dough. Another authentic speciality of Campania is Provolone del Monaco that is produced in the peninsula of Sorrento. The original name of this stretched cheese dates back to the cloak – similar to the clothes of the monks – that in the past was used by the cheese makers while they unloaded the cheeses at the Naples’ haven. Provolone has a characteristic shape of a long melon and it is produced with a high quantity of cow milk that belongs to the Agerolese race. This is a specie suitable to live in a semi-wild status and in a Mediterranean environment of the Monti Lattari.
Two secret ingredients give its famous taste: the use of the rennet of goat kid milk and an ageing between 4 and 18 months. Campania shares the production area of Caciocavallo Silano with Calabria, Molise, Basilicata and Puglia (the internal areas of the South part of the Apennine). This nourishing and stretched cheese is produced with cow milk of different races, among with the autochthone Podolica.

DOP Oil is Made in Campania

prodotti dop campania olio

Campania is amongst the first regions in Italy for the production of extra virgin olive oil, but above all it boasts a great number of autochthone varieties, awarded with the DOP products of Campania. Extra virgin olive oil of Cilento and DOP extra virgin olive oil Colline Salernitane make part of the province of Salento, both characterized by a fruity taste. The province of Avellino and a part of the province of Naples are characterized by another DOP the extra virgin olive oil Irpina.
Finally, extra virgin olive oil “Terre Aurunche” which production area is located in the northern part of the province of Caserta.

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EFW Staff