|
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tomato Comes From...
This analysis was presented at Terrazza Martini of Milan by the Province and the Chamber of Commerce of Piacenza, by the University Cattolica and by the provincial Farmer Confederation, by the provincial Farmer Union, by the Italian Farmer Confederation always of Piacenza last November 26. It has evidently not only amazed but also paved the way to a series of considerations which contrast with the popular imagination: people believe that tomato product is linked to Campania. If we read the confrontation between the Italian regional production areas (source ISTAT) we note that Puglia produces 44%, Emilia Romagna 20%, follows Campania 6%, Calabria, Lazio, Lombardia, Basilicata produce 4%, Sicilia and Toscana 3%, Veneto 2%; all the remaining regions produce 6% of the national total.
So we have a total of 5.980.430 tons of product. Things are different for the working phase that is the migration of product towards the regions and provinces that have to pack and to label the product. This recent data confirms that it is impossible for the pizza-maker and for the pizzerias to produce pizza by observing the standards demanded by the Neapolitan doc. Moreover we add and mix to this data the productions of the other remaining parts of the world . This is not a slight thing if we have to consider the play of impor-export: the United States are in the lead with 10,3 (millions of tons) then there is China with 8,9 (millions of tons), Turkey with 6,3, the former USSR with 5,6: other important producers are Egypt with 4,6, Spain with 3,1, Brazil with 2,5, Greece with 6,3 and Mexico with 1,5.In fact some months ago people reported the denunciation made by the National Association of Industries that pack vegetables. According to this denunciation S.Marzano tomato is produced and thus improperly labelled by countries such as Spain, Turkey, the Unites States and Chile: these packs are neither produced nor transformed in Italy. However beyond the production, Italy is the second transformer Country in the world after the Unites States that are first with 9,7 millions of tons (source: Oro Pomodoro 1995).
However after opening and throwing away a peeled tomato can, most professionals of pizza, if they do not directly know this market, are firmly convinced to use a product coming from Campania. The 4/5 of the pizzas in the menu are the so-called red pizzas that is tomato pizzas, the others are in general called white pizzas that is cheese or vegetable pizzas but just because tomato is the point of reference white pizzas are considered in the same way as flat loaves. The questions of people working in the restoration generally reveal the characteristics and the followed choices: the demand of tomato concentrate constantly decreases, peeled tomatoes and ready tomato sauce are stable while tomato pulps and tomato purée increase. According to the Local Economy Laboratory of the University Cattolica of Piacenza the success of this product is the price, the naturalness as point of reference, the content of the service, the innovation of the product; all meets some characteristics of the demand: seasoning, the large domestic competition and the lack of strong substitutes.
Tomato, which comes from the Andes, was acclimatized in Mexico and the Spanish navigators took it from the New World together with other mysterious plants. However tomato had an essential decorative function and cookery aristocracy would ignore it until 1694 when, according to the historian and journalist Massimo Alberini, it was cited in the "Scalco alla moderna" by Antonio Latini , nobleman of Marche for the fist time: tomato is associated to aubergines and courgettes as for preparation. The recipe suggested by Francesco Gaudenzio in the "panunto toscano" in 1704 is quite similar. Tomato (always jellow tomato) is ennobled in a dozen of preparations excluding pasta in the "Cuoco Galante" by Vincenzo Corrado in 1773. Later on tomato seasoned Neapolitan vermicelli ("Cucina teorico pratica" by Ippolito Cavalcanti in 1839) and then it was used for pizza always in Naples in 1850 .
The presentation of margherita was made by the famous pizza-maker Raffaele Esposito at the court of Capodimonte. This event confirmed and promoted the use of tomato in food preparation. It was greately reported that people started to think that pizza and "red" tomato were exclusively Neapolitan products.
Moreover there is another singular document written by Prof. Renato Rovetta in 1927 that says: "… in no Country tomato is tasty with its big flesh-coloured and scarlet yellow fruits as it is in Italy. Prof Rovetta also said that the Americans give tomato concentrate to babies instead of usual barley, carot and orange juice infusions . In the following years yellow tomatoes would be definitively abandoned to use red tomatoes generically called "San Marzano". There was another kind of tomato called "Roma" coming from the Unites States in 1956. Therefore it seemed that the genetic science had created different varieties aimed not only at the modern uses but also at the industrial transformation. Note for the Health: tomato has not only a food value but it has also many health properties. It is rich in vitamines A and C ( the highest concentration of vitamine C is in the jelly-like substance that surrounds its seeds) and it contains in part vitamine PP and many mineral salts (potassium, ferrum, phosphorus etc.).
Experts say that tomato consumption contributes to making more liquid blood and mostly elastic arteries. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
