Published:
Author: Antonio Maria Guerra
San Marzano Tomato PDO
HISTORY, PLACES, INFO, INTERESTING FACTS
The history of the San Marzano Tomato is full of fascinating and unexpected details: it’s surprising to find out that its origins date back to the end of the 18th century, when a few seeds of the plant were given by a Spanish nobleman, viceroy of faraway Peru, to one of the most known Neapolitan kings, Ferdinand IV of Bourbon, also known as ‘King Nasone’. Let’s delve into the past of a product that today is considered the ‘red gold’ from Campania.
The history of the San Marzano Tomato.
The origins of the San Marzano Tomato are linked to the distant past and, more precisely, date back to the end of the 18th century (said to be 1770), when the plant’s seeds, coming from South America, arrived in the Kingdom of Naples.
According to historians, it was a gift from the Spanish viceroy of Peru (“Virreinato del Perú”), Manuel de Amat y Junient, to the sovereign Ferdinand IV of Bourbon (“King Nasone”).
Once planted, the new vegetable took root particularly well in the area around the town of San Marzano, giving it its name. This success was due to a fortunate combination of the volcanic nature of the soil, which made it particularly fertile, an excellent microclimate, and, last but not least, the skill of the local farmers, who developed cultivation techniques that are widely used still today.
Over time, the fame of the San Marzano tomato grew until it became a fundamental ingredient in the gastronomy of Campania and of Naples in particular. In the 1970s and 1980s, the original variety of the plant suffered from serious phytosanitary problems (*1) that threatened its survival: this pushed farmers and researchers to select more resistant varieties, which led to the birth of the so-called ‘Kiros’.
The definitive recognition of the product’s quality and, above all, its uniqueness came in 1996 when it was awarded the PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) mark.
Notes:
*1: Problems with viruses, fungi, bacteria and insects, which seriously threatened plant health and productivity.
The land of San Marzano Tomato.
The Agro Sarnese-Nocerino has been the home of the San Marzano tomato for more than two centuries. Located between the provinces of Salerno and Naples, this area is particularly suited to the development of the plant thanks to its extremely fertile soil, irrigated by the Sarno river and enriched by volcanic deposits rich in minerals due to its proximity to Vesuvius. A particularly mild microclimate completes the picture, creating an excellent ‘terroir’ capable of giving the tomato the organoleptic characteristics for which it has become famous.
Interested in learning more about the San Marzano tomato? Let’s discover its characteristics in this product guide.
The history of the San Marzano Tomato: Francesco Cirio and his tomatoes.
It’s impossible to tell the full story of the San Marzano tomato without at least mentioning a fascinating figure who played a key role in the knowledge and promotion of this product: Francesco Cirio.
Born in 1836 in Nizza Monferrato, Piedmont, to a very modest family, he began working in Turin, running a fruit and vegetable stall near Porta Palazzo.
This small business was very successful right from the start (so much so that he was nicknamed “l Re d Pòrta Palass”, the “King of Porta Palazzo”), and allowed him to expand his trade to include some typical local specialties. Having traveled to Paris to take the pulse of the international market, Francesco soon realized that, in the French capital, the type of goods he dealt in were disproportionately expensive. This prompted him not only to start a profitable business exporting fine Italian foods but also to look for a way to make them easier to preserve and thus sell.
To this end, he adopted a process invented in 1795 by Nicolas Appert (not coincidentally called ‘appertization’), which until then had been used mainly
in the military sector (*1) and consisted of heating at high-temperature foodstuffs hermetically sealed in special containers. The canning of tomatoes was particularly fortunate: among these, the San Marzano type proved to be the most suitable, thanks to its dense pulp and, above all, to its long, tapered shape, which was particularly suitable for insertion into metal cans.
The unique taste of the ‘Pelati Cirio’ did the rest, determining the international success of the Ciro Company, which over the years opened a large number of factories and stores, not only in Italy but also in the rest of Europe.
‘Pomodoro’: the Italian translation of ‘tomato’.
Studying the etymology of the Italian name ‘pomodoro’, it’s impossible not to deepen the knowledge of the origins of the fruit with which it’s associated. The word comes, in fact, from the fusion of other two: ‘pomo’ (‘fruit’) and ‘d’oro’ (‘golden’), clearly referring to the golden color that characterized the first tomatoes that arrived in the peninsula from the Spanish colonies in Central America in the 1500s. A color that, as we know, over the years would evolve into the red of today.
Let’s find out how the San Marzano Tomato is born in the article we dedicated to the cultivation of this great product.
San Marzano Tomato for pizza sauce.
Among the many specialities in which the San Marzano tomato is the undisputed star, we absolutely must mention the Neapolitan pizza and, in particular, the famous Margherita pizza, a true icon of Neapolitan cuisine. The fleshy pulp of this tomato, with its sweetness and pleasant acidity, once crushed (strictly by hand), can give the preparation the flavor for which it has become famous, perfectly blending with the richness of the mozzarella and the scent of basil.
A ‘golden’ tomato ... but poisonous!
Among the many curiosities dotting the tomato’s past, it is interesting to remember that, in the 16th century, when the plant arrived in Europe from the Spanish colonies in Central America, it was considered purely ornamental. A misleading rumor also spread: that its fruit, however beautiful (it was known as the ‘golden apple’), was poisonous!
Consortium for the Protection of the San Marzano PDO Tomato: contacts.
For those who would like further information on the San Marzano Tomato PDO, here follow some info to contact the Consortium of its most traditional producers.
Contacts
Consorzio del Pomodoro San Marzano DOP.
Address: Via Lanzara, 27 – 84087 Sarno (Sa) – ITALY
Official website: www.consorziopomodorosanmarzanodop.it
Mail: info@consorziopomodorosanmarzanodop.it
Copyright information.
The images displayed in this page belong to WebFoodCulture and to the San Marzano TOmato PDO Consortium, with the exception of:
Public Domain Images
- Portrait of Manuel d’Amat i de Junyent by Pedro Diaz;
- Ferdinand IV of Naples, Royal Palace of Madrid by Anton Raphael Mengs;
- Portrait of Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies (1751-1825) by Vincenzo Camuccini;
- Appert Nicolas by Édouard Foucaud;
- Ritratto di Francesco Cirio;
Creative Commons Images
- “starr-221225-5267-Solanum_lycopersicum-in_veggie_gardenin_veggie_garden_San_Marzano_variety-Hawea_Pl_Olinda-Maui” by Starr Environmental is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
- “San Marzano tomatoes starting to ripen” by Shelley & Dave is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.
- “starr-210815-0865-Solanum_lycopersicum-San_Marzano_variety_fruit-Hawea_Pl_Olinda-Maui” by Starr Environmental is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
- San Marzano sul Sarno 1980 by René Haas is licensed under Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International;
- Flag of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (1816) by F l a n k e r is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported
- “San Marzano Tomatoes” by The Marmot is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
- Jolly Roger flag by Liftarn is licenced under CC Attribution 2.5 Generic
- “San Marzano Tomatoes” by Stowe Boyd is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.