Crisp and sweet: organic water melons from Italy
Consisting of more than 90% of water, water melons are an ideal thirst-quencher in summer. The ancient Egyptians enjoyed eating the juicy fruit as long as 4,000 years ago.
Watermelons are highly thermophilic plants, which is why they are only planted in Italy after the last frost and are harvested from about May to September. The Sicilian melons start the Italian melon season and they are followed by the water melons from Apulia and Basilicata further north.
Our Italian producers cultivate different varieties of water melon differing in size and shape. There are the mini water melons of the Modellino variety and the Petito variety, which weigh between 1 and 3 kilograms. The Prestige is a medium-size variety weighing between 2 and 7 kilograms. There are of course melons weighing more, varieties such as Crimson weigh up to 20 kilogrammes. These heavyweights are popular amongst Italian consumers in particular: they are firmly convinced that "The bigger the tastier!"
But whether large or small, the flavour of water melons is at its best when they are ripe. The tap test is an indication of how ripe a water melon is. If, when it is tapped, there is a muffled but resonant sound, the water melon is ready to eat. If, on the other hand, there is a hollow and metallic sound, it is better to leave the water melon a little longer to ripen.
Below is a selection of our producers of organic water melons. Their haciendas are located in the heel of Italy’s boot in the Apulia region. All three are only involved with organic farming.
Arcangelo Santoro took up organic farming in 2005. His hacienda covers about 30 hectares – there he has plenty of space to grow organic vegetables such as cauliflower, fennel, black cabbage, melons and water melons. 8 hectares alone are reserved for growing water melons. This season he has specialised on the Prestige variety. What he likes about this variety is that it has few seeds, is compact and keeps longer. It is harvested from mid-June until September.
His cousin Vito Santoro also has a verifiable track record in organic farming going back 10 years’. Together with his son, Raffaele, he grows organic table grapes, various vegetables and melons on his hacienda of 27 or so hectares. He has set aside 3 hectares for growing water melons of the Prestige variety.
Michele Pignalosa has specialised in growing organic water melons and organic fennel. In order to be able to offer a wide range of produce, he also grows seedless table grapes and various organic vegetables on his 32 hectares of land under cultivation. He grows Prestige water melons and a small amount of Crimson water melons on 5 hectares.
Author: Ivana Giannico, Visnja Malesic
Pictures: Enzo Santoro, BioTropic GmbH (melon)
Tags: Italy (GB), Watermelons (GB)
